“Do Not Be Deceived”: 1 Corinthians 6:7-11, by CountrySlicker
7 Now therefore, it is already an utter failure for you that you go to law against one another. Why do you not rather accept wrong? Why do you not rather let yourselves be cheated? 8 No, you yourselves do wrong and cheat, and you do these things to your brethren! 9 Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, 10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God. (1 Corinthians 6:7-11)
When someone cheats us (or wrongs us), we have to be cautious not to allow ourselves to use worldly motives and tactics to achieve justice. Sometimes we are so caught up in proving that we are “right” that we allow our desires to drive our actions. Proving that we are right and seeking justice becomes a mission in our lives. There is the risk that in order to accomplish the mission, we sacrifice our principles and our Christian witness. We begin to implement worldly tactics to accomplish fleshly desires (being right or imparting justice). In doing so, we revert to the ways of the world that we repented from when we gave our life to Christ.
Paul addresses this very topic in his letter to the Romans:
17 Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. 18 If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. 19 Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. 20 Therefore “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (Romans 12:17-21)
It would be better for the Christian to accept being wronged than to revert back to the unrighteous ways of the world that he repented of when he gave his life to the Lord. A Christian, one who has repented of their sins and turned to a life of service to God, has a new identity. The old identity was associated with worldly and fleshly desires and an eternal damnation (eternity in hell). The new identity is associated with a life of righteous living and a heavenly citizenship.
David Guzik writes… Paul called this man to do something hard: to give up what he deserved for the higher good of God and His kingdom. But the man who was wronged should not think Paul was asking him to take a loss. No one who accepts wrong for the sake of God’s glory will be a loser. Ideally, the church should have settled the dispute. But if the church failed to do so, Paul asked the man to trust in God, not in secular judges and lawsuits and courts. Paul didn’t say, “Why not suffer wrong instead of confronting the problem?” Instead, he said, “Why not suffer wrong instead of bringing your dispute before unbelievers?”
It is not unlike Christ to confront a wrong and seek to resolve the issues. After all, it was Jesus that instructed “Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother.” (Mathew 18:15) What is unlike Christ is to employ worldly motives and sinful behaviors in order to seek vengeance. Jesus gave us methods to address wrongs that have been committed against us. These methods differ from the methods of the world.
Paul cautions “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, 10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.”. The identity of a Christian is in a life dedicated to serving God and representing Christ. The identities listed in verses 9 and 10 are worldly identities associated with serving the flesh. These worldly identities are not compatible with the life of a Christian. In other words, you cannot have both a Christian identity and a worldly identity. One must be sacrificed for the other.
Paul wrote to the Ephesians… 17 This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, 18 having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart; 19 who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. 20 But you have not so learned Christ, 21 if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: 22 that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, 23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness. (Ephesians 4:17-24)
The act of repentance is a decision to turn from the old life (a corrupt life rooted in the world) and to a new life (a righteous and holy life rooted in Jesus). Throughout the scriptures, it is always taught that there is a choice between the two lives; they cannot co-exist as one individual cannot have two masters. A choice must be made.
As Paul states in verse 11 “And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.” The identities that Paul listed were the old life for many of us that have turned to Christ. We turned away from lives as fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, homosexuals, sodomites, thieves, covetous, drunkards, revilers, and extortioners in order to accept the new life of righteousness and truth that God has provided. This is not to say that the Christian will not fall into sin from time to time while seeking to live a righteous life. We are all sinners and we stumble on occasion. Paul is referring to those whose lives are dominated and characterized by sin. Instead of accepting the life of sin, the Christian confesses the sin, repents of it, and seeks to avoid the sin as they grow in their relationship with Jesus.
The Corinthian Christians, as well as many Christians today, still struggle with allowing themselves to slip back into a life of sinful ways in order to accomplish what they may consider a righteous outcome. In this instance… “justice for a wrong”. Their idea being that the end justifies the means. This is not a biblical position available to the Christian. John wrote… “This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.” (1 John 1:5-7)
Do not be deceived into believing that the Christian can adopt sinful ways of the world to accomplish a righteous outcome. This amounts to putting faith in the world to accomplish God’s plan. This is never, and can never, be truth. It is strictly a deceitful lie of our flesh and our enemy. Having been washed, sanctified, and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God… we put our trust and faith in Him alone. With God, even what is meant for evil will be used by Him to do good. This is the power of our God! We choose to put our trust in Him, not in ourselves.
“Do not be deceived: “Evil company corrupts good habits.”” (1 Corinthians 15:33)
May you trust fully in the righteous and holy ways of your God and Savior to accomplish His will in and through your life.
God Bless,
CountrySlicker
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GUNS N GEAR
Unless we actually know the specifics of the situation Paul was dealing with here then his advice is useless and suspect. What if the guy suing the other Christian was suing him for sleeping with his wife? He should just “allow the wrong”? Nah bro. This is similar to Paul’s opinion that slaves who are Christian should not look down on their slavemasters who are Christian as bad Christians for not granting their freedom. Paul has some wrong takes when he deviates from the commandments of God to his own opinion, which he admits he does do sometimes. I.e. the passage that says “and for the rest I have no commandment from the Lord, but here is my opinion (and I think I have the Holy Ghost)”—I don’t think I am thinking of 1 cor 7:25; I think there is another similar passage that actually says “as for the rest” and “I think I have the Holy Ghost.” But 1 Cor 7:25 is similar, he admits that he is merely giving us his view there.
Also Paul’s position that the “least esteemed Christian” would be a better judge than an actual judge of the country juat becauae they are nominally a Christian is horribly naive. And in our case today, the two are likely to be the same thing! What then? Paul was not as smart as he thought nor as most Christians think. He was the Fauci of early Christian theology–usually wrong, but worshipped as infallible nonetheless.
I pray that nobody actually takes anything you’re saying seriously. As a Christian, the Bible should be our foundation, as it is the word of God. By your reasoning, how could anyone ever have faith in anything the Bible says?
You ought to spend some time thinking about the following verses, since you have some very glaring misunderstandings of God’s word.
Matthew 18:6 says “But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.”
One thing to keep in mind about this verse is that “little ones” can apply just as much to those of us who are young and immature in our faith (which we all are in comparison to Christ) as it does to literal children.
2 Timothy 3:16 says “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness”
message acklowleged
I just read this and then went to the Bible where I had already planned to read before bed- psalm 58. It describes much of the behavior Paul wrote about.
Indeed.
Psalm 58 -The Just Judgment of the Wicked
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1 Do you indeed speak righteousness, you silent ones?
Do you judge uprightly, you sons of men?
2 No, in heart you work wickedness;
You weigh out the violence of your hands in the earth.
3 The wicked are estranged from the womb;
They go astray as soon as they are born, speaking lies.
4 Their poison is like the poison of a serpent;
They are like the deaf cobra that stops its ear,
5 Which will not heed the voice of charmers,
Charming ever so skillfully.
6 Break their teeth in their mouth, O God!
Break out the fangs of the young lions, O LORD!
7 Let them flow away as waters which run continually;
When he bends his bow,
Let his arrows be as if cut in pieces.
8 Let them be like a snail which melts away as it goes,
Like a stillborn child of a woman, that they may not see the sun.
9 Before your pots can feel the burning thorns,
He shall take them away as with a whirlwind,
As in His living and burning wrath.
10 The righteous shall rejoice when he sees the vengeance;
He shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked,
11 So that men will say,
“Surely there is a reward for the righteous;
Surely He is God who judges in the earth.”
And where is therein any advice, allowance for or approval of opposition, even to violence, in self defense and defense of the one’s family and property from the tyranny of illegitimate “authority,” or even that of mere criminals?
Most discussion of this topic is centered on Romans 13 demanding submission to civil authority as being ordained by God, receiving it’s power from Him, and being necessary for civil society, in opposition to evil.
How does that apply to our present and obvious circumstances? When is it not only necessary but ordained by God to pull down the tyrant and his apparatus of enslavement and destruction? Who decides what is rightful civil government and what is unjust tyranny?
I believe many people are struggling with this, having been Roman Thirteen-ed though false doctrine as well as government propaganda, that the people have no power either of discernment or of kinetic resistance (self defense). Even the oft repeated plea for “peaceful protest” as the means for redress of grievance is denied through intimidation, thug tactics, imprisonment and ruined lives.
The Founders of the once great Republic knew the answers and spelled them out in the Declaration and the Bill of Rights, as well as their many essays and exhortations. And acted on principle at the risk of their “Lives, Fortunes and Sacred Honor.”
“When in the course of human events…………”
Tell me we are not exactly there, right now.
Corinthians 6 is dealing with individual relationships between Christian brothers and sisters. There is guidance within the scriptures, especially the Old Testament law, for dealing with violence and criminals. This supports Paul’s teaching that we are wrong to go to worldly legal systems to settle disputes within the Christian community… the Christian community has all that is necessary to govern itself within the Bible.
The Christian should place a higher value on God working through the church (fellow brothers and sisters in the faith) than a worldly court system. Christians should place their faith in God’s system of governance above that of a corrupt world. If a Christian cannot place their faith in God to govern (through His people) the every day affairs of men, how can they place their faith in God to govern in the ultimate judgment…. eternal salvation?
Corinthians does not deal with the principles of “Just War” or “the pulling down of tyrants”. Applying 1 Corinthians 6 to these topics would not be productive and helpful.