1 Corinthians 6 (3)

Pray Psalm 51.10-13.
Create in me a clean heart, O God,
And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from Your presence,
And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of Your salvation,
And uphold me by Your generous Spirit.
Then I will teach transgressors Your ways,
And sinners shall be converted to You.

Sing Psalm 51.10-13.
(Passion Chorale: O Sacred Head, Now Wounded)
Create in me a clean heart, renew me from within!
Take not Your Spirit from me because of all my sin.
Salvation’s joy restore, LORD, and keep me in Your hand;
thus shall I tell Your strong Word to sinners in the land.

Read 1 Corinthians 6.1-8; meditate on verses 7, 8.

Preparation
1. What did Paul describe as an “utter failure”?

2. What should these brethren have done?

Meditation
By this point the Corinthians were probably saying, “All right already! I get it!” But Paul is not finished casting this situation—bringing Kingdom citizens to judgment before unbelieving judges—in the worst possible light. It was an “utter failure” on the Corinthians’ part. But in what sense? In the sense that they completely failed to live their citizenship within the Kingdom framework to which God had called them. They went beyond the Word of God to seek the word of fallen, sinful men concerning a matter that should have been resolved within the church. They failed as citizens of the Kingdom of God.

It would have been better just to absorb the wrong than to go whining and complaining to unbelieving judges to get what they thought they deserved. Instead of being cheated and wronged, however, they cheated and wronged their brethren by depriving them of true justice and subjecting them to the uncertainties of fallible men.

“You’re a failure! A cheat! A wrongdoer!” Do you think Paul was serious about our learning to live as people who belong to God? Who have been translated into His Kingdom? In whom the Spirit of God is writing and teaching and empowering us to live by the Law of God (Ezek. 36.26, 27)? In the second epistle he will declare it boldly: “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation!” (2 Cor. 5.17) New creations don’t dress up in the old leaven of their former sinful lives. If we do not encourage one another, by our own actions and words, to live like those who belong to God, we are guilty of all that Paul insists on in these verses.

And who wants to go through life with “UF”—utter failure— stamped on their forehead? Let’s live like who we are and encourage our brothers and sisters in the Lord to do the same.

Treasures Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
Instead of wearing a pithy WWJD bracelet or flaunting a Purpose-Driven Life keychain, perhaps we should don a UF sweatshirt purchased at our local Christian bookstore? Maybe if we owned our Paul-given nomenclature we would be more likely to confess and turn from it?

This is obviously serious business that needs attention; and we must give it such.

“Do not say, ‘I will recompense evil’; wait for the LORD, and He will save you” (Prov. 20.22)

“Do not go hastily to court; for what will you do in the end, when your neighbor has put you to shame?” (Prov. 25.8)
“But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two” (Matt. 5.39-41).

As our inimitable mentor, Pat Hunter, once asked, “What are you willing to take for Jesus’ sake?”

We most assuredly do not want Jesus to perceive us as “utter failures” in His Kingdom work.
To preclude that, we have the entirety of His Word to guide us in the right paths (Ps. 23.3).

“The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul;
the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple;
the statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes;
the fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever;
the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether…
Moreover by them Your servant is warned,
and in keeping them there is great reward” (Ps. 19.7-9, 11).

Keep God’s Law; walk in His paths; stay in His court; daily feast on and follow Jesus—the Word of God;
then throw away any kitschy thing that has UF on it! We will not be needing that reminder any longer.

For reflection
1. What kind of “failure” do we realize when we seek guidance other than from God and His Word?

2. How do we cheat—steal from—our neighbors by not showing them the way of righteousness?

3. How can we avoid being cheats and utter failures? How will you avoid these pitfalls today?

Here there may be as many as four crimes involved. The first is not knowing how to bear being wronged. The second is to do wrong. The third is to reserve settlement of the matter to the unrighteous. And the fourth is that this kind of thing is being done to a fellow believer. John Chrysostom (344-407), Homilies on the Epistles of Paul to the Corinthians 16.7

Pray Psalm 51.1-9.
Let there be no unconfessed sin in you. Ask the Lord to search you and to convict and cleanse you as needed. Call on Him to keep you in His path throughout the day ahead.

Sing Psalm 51.1-9.
(Passion Chorale: O Sacred Head, Now Wounded)
Be gracious to me, Savior, according to Your love!
According to Your mercy, my sins, my sins remove!
O wash me, precious Savior, and cleanse me from all sin;
look on me with Your favor, and cause my grief to end.

Against You only, Savior, have I become unclean;
thus just the condemnation which You pronounce on me.
LORD, I was born to sinning, while You seek truth within;
to wisdom my heart winning, release me from my sin!

In Jesus’ blood and mercy, LORD, cleanse my evil heart!
Let me washed, cleansed, renewed be and pure in whole and part.
Bring joy again and gladness; look not upon my sin.
Deliver me from sadness; renew me yet again!

T. M. and Susie Moore

The Church in Corinth was in need of revival. But there was much to be done before that would happen. The Church today is in need of revival, and the same is true for us. Our book, Revived!, can help us to discern our need for revival and lead us in getting there. Order your copy by clicking here.

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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter, available by clicking here.