1 Corinthians 6:1

If you have judgments of things pertaining to this life, set them to judge who are least esteemed in the church. I speak to your shame. Is it so that there is not a wise man among you? No, not one who shall be able to judge between his brethren. But brother goes to law with brother, and that before unbelievers.

Now, therefore, there is utterly fault among you because you go to law one with another. Why do you not rather take wrong? Why do you not rather suffer yourselves to be defrauded? No, you do wrong and you defraud, and that your brethren.

And, Fathers, we look into your word. We do ask that by your Spirit, you would speak to us today. The passage before us is, Lord, no doubt difficult for us in our natural selves, our sinful nature, to be able to apply. But, Lord, we ask that by your Spirit, you would work in us that which is good, that which brings glory to your name, that which encourages and builds fellowship within the body and is a good witness to the community. Lord, speak to us, we ask in Jesus' name. And all God's people agreed, saying, Amen. You can be seated.

As we've seen in our study of the book of 1 Corinthians so far, the church at Corinth was a church that was filled with problems. They had factiously divided the fellowship. They allowed moral looseness to leaven or taint their witness. As we'll see in 1 Corinthians 6 this morning, they were filing meaningless lawsuits in the courts of Corinth, not dealing with the matters as they arose within the church.

As Paul was establishing another church in the city of Ephesus, the news of the carnality of Corinth weighed heavy on his heart. The church that he had planted several years prior was missing the mark at many levels. The Corinthian church was rapidly losing its witness and its testimony in the city.

The parallels to the 21st century are clear. The churches in our day are very similar to those in the past. Therefore, the exhortations and rebukes found in this letter are applicable to us.

The Greek culture in the city of Corinth was dominated and influenced by a litigious nature. The people were given to debate and loved to bring lawsuits before the courts. The courts in Corinth, as in the city of Athens, were located right in the middle of the marketplace, known as the agora, the open market. It was one of the chief entertainments of the day to watch these debates take place in the open courts.

If a civil matter could not be resolved in a civil manner under a private arbitrator, the case would be brought before what was called the bima, the judgment seat of the city. The pro-council was present there, and it was where the tribunal of the city would gather to hear cases. This was right in the open marketplace, allowing all the people conducting their normal day-to-day business in Corinth to hear the lawsuits and draw their own conclusions.

No doubt, there was in the city of Corinth, like in Athens, a rumor mill that circulated all the problems of the people. It was actually at that bima, the judgment seat in Corinth, where Paul was brought before the pro-council of Achaia, the region of which Corinth was the capital. Paul was brought before that bima seat in Acts chapter 18 by the Jews of the city.

In Acts chapter 18, verse 12, it says, "When Gallio was the deputy of Achaia, the Jews made a united insurrection against Paul, and they brought him to the judgment seat." The judgment seat there in the original language is the word bima. They said to Gallio, "This fellow persuades men to worship God contrary to the law." The Jews did not normally go before public law courts to decide civil matters or religious matters in that way.

Typically, the elders of a Jewish village, or really the elders of a Jewish synagogue, were sought to settle matters such as disputes. The Jews considered it far better to resolve conflicts in a family spirit rather than in a legal spirit. However, the Greek culture was almost completely opposite. William Barclay, a noted commentator, stated that during that time in Athens and Corinth, disputes were often decided in the open marketplace. At times, there could be anywhere from 40 to 6,000 jurors hearing a case. Historical records indicate that cases in Athens were indeed heard by as many as 6,000 jurors who were supposed to come to a decision about the matter. The Greeks were, in fact, famous or even notorious for their love of going to the law.

Acts 18 makes it very clear that this custom had permeated the Jewish synagogue. Jews normally would not go to open courts for these matters, but the Greek custom had influenced the synagogue in Corinth. Apparently, from 1 Corinthians chapter 6, the Christians were also affected by this custom. As we come to this chapter, Paul specifically addresses the issue in the church at Corinth, where people were bringing trivial, frivolous matters between brothers within the body of Christ to the open court.

In verse 1, we see the folly of this practice. If you're taking notes, note the folly: "Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unjust and not before the saints?" It is important to recognize that when Paul refers to the "unjust" in verse 1, he is referencing those who are not saved. Paul is not claiming that the courts in Corinth were so corrupt and immoral that they could not hear a case. We know from several occasions in the book of Acts and in some of Paul's letters that he would go to the courts to have matters heard. He even appealed to Caesar under Roman law when he was being tried and ultimately condemned to death by Nero.

So, Paul is not saying that these courts are bad or that the judges are not good judges. Rather, he is pointing out that these judges are not believers. In a religious sense, he describes them as unjust. Therefore, he questions why anyone would choose to go before them.

For judgment, Paul says? This is folly to you. Clearly, Paul saw this custom as distasteful. On a personal level, it was distasteful to him, perhaps because of his heritage from his Jewish background, but he also considered it disgraceful to the church. Paul was shocked and ashamed that the people of Corinth were not shocked and ashamed. It blew his mind, as we saw last week in chapter 5; he was appalled that there was such immorality in the church, and it astonished him that they were not shamed by this.

Now, once again, when we come to chapter 6, he is staggered by the fact that they are engaging in behaviors that are very carnal, not at all Christian or Christ-like. He asks, "You're not ashamed by this? You're not shocked by this?" You see, shock and shame only leave us when we become accustomed to certain behaviors. When those behaviors become common and normal to us, we become desensitized, and we are no longer shocked. I wonder how many things are going on in churches across our nation today that, from a biblical perspective, should shock and shame us, yet we are so accustomed to them that they just go by without any real thought.

The church at Corinth was that way at this time. Paul asks, "Dare any of you do this? You bring these trivial matters before the judges of the city of Corinth, and it's open for all the city to hear about these things. Why would you do this?"

What was the issue, Paul? What's the problem with this? For one, Paul did not want matters of dispute to cause greater discord within the body of Christ. The church at Corinth was already divided; they had separated themselves into different factious groups. Now, this kind of attitude and behavior was causing them to be divided even more. Paul states that one of the reasons this ought not to be the case is that it is causing discord within the body of Christ.

Additionally, Paul did not want such matters to diminish the witness of the church in the city of Corinth. The issues occurring within the fellowship were causing them to have a diminished witness in the city. Thirdly, as we will see as we go through this passage today, Paul expected that the Corinthians, the Christians in the church there, should have been able to judge for themselves matters such as these. Because it was causing disunity within the church and a diminished witness, Paul was deeply concerned.

Within the community, the fact was that they should have been able to handle these matters. Paul says this should not be the case. Now, Paul did not naively expect that Christians would never have such disputes. When he says, "Dare any of you do this?" he is not saying that you should never have a dispute, because even Paul, as we saw in the Book of Acts, had a dispute with Barnabas. Such disputes ought to be resolved in a Christ-like manner within the confines of the church, which is what Paul teaches in this passage.

In verse 1, we see the folly of the church at Corinth. In verses 2 through 4, he reminds them of the future. The folly of the church contrasts with the future of the believer. Do you not know that saints shall judge the world? If the world shall be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Know you not that we shall judge angels? How much more the things that pertain to this life? If then you have the judgments of things pertaining to this life, set them to judge who are least esteemed in the church.

Eleven times in the Book of 1 Corinthians, Paul asks questions such as these that we find in verses 2 and 3. His implication, of course, is that the Corinthians should have known these things. In chapter 6 alone, there are six questions that Paul poses: "Do you not know?" Two of them are found here in verses 2 and 3. Don't you know that we are going to judge the world, Christian? Don't you know that we are going to judge angels? Back in chapter 3, Paul said to the church at Corinth, "Do you not know that you, the body of Christ, are the temple of God?" We saw last week in chapter 5 that he said, "Do you not know that a little bit of leaven or sin leavens or taints the whole lump, the whole church?"

Why did Paul ask questions like this? Because, again, eleven times in the Book of 1 Corinthians, he asks rhetorical questions such as, "Don't you know this?" Certainly, for one reason, Paul wanted the church at Corinth to consider these realities. He wanted them to think about what he was saying. But I think another reason he asked questions like this is that, in one way, Paul is shaming them. As you read through 1 and 2 Corinthians, you see that Paul had quite a sarcastic wit. Maybe that's one of the reasons I like him so much. In this passage, he employs some sarcasm.

The church at Corinth was puffed up. They believed they were wiser than everybody else, more loving, gracious, and tolerant than others. They considered themselves far more spiritual than the rest. Paul addresses them, taking them down a notch, asking, "You who are so wise, don't you know these things?" They were not as wise as they thought they were, and they should not have been as proud as they were.

Paul reminds them, "Don't you know that the saints shall judge the world and angels?" This is a phenomenal revelation, something quite amazing. In 1 Corinthians chapter 6 and in a few other places in Scripture, we find this truth revealed: there is coming a day when Christians will be called upon by God to deliver judgments upon this world and even angels.

Of course, we know the commission that God has given us here and now is significant. We are to go into all the world and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. This Great Commission, found in Matthew chapter 28, is a huge task to which we have been called. However, beyond this temporal call, there is something more that God has for us.

Apparently, when we get to heaven, we will serve some heavenly jury duty. God has a plan for us in the ages to come in the area of judgment. Jesus reveals this in the Gospel of Matthew, specifically in Matthew chapter 19, when He speaks to His disciples. In verse 28, Jesus says to them, "Truly I say unto you, that you which have followed me in the regeneration, that is, after the glorification when we're with the Lord, when the Son of Man shall sit in the throne of His glory, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel."

The context of Matthew 19 shows Jesus speaking to His disciples gathered at that time, but this promise extends to the whole body of Christ, as we see in other passages of Scripture, most notably in the book of Revelation. In the Old Testament, in the book of Daniel, specifically in Daniel chapter 7, we read that there is coming a day, in verse 22, when the Ancient of Days will come. This is a reference to Jesus, and judgment will be given.

To the saints, Daniel 7:22 says, "Judgment will be given to the saints of the Most High, and the time will come to possess the kingdom." Then, in the book of Revelation, specifically Revelation 2:26, Jesus says, "And he that overcomes and keeps my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations." The Greek word translated as "power" there is "exousia," which means jurisdiction to judge. So, I am going to give you power over the nations, church.

In Revelation 3:21, Jesus states, "To him that overcomes will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I overcame and have sat down with my Father in his throne." This is very clearly outlined in the 20th chapter of Revelation, which speaks about the judgment that we are going to be given the task to bring about. Revelation 20:4 says, "And I saw, John the Revelator, I saw thrones and those that sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them. I saw the souls of those that were beheaded for their witness of Jesus and for the word of God, which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received the mark upon their foreheads or their hands, and they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years."

You see, prophetically, the Bible reveals that there is coming a day when Jesus will rule and reign here upon the earth. After that last great war, which we call Armageddon in the valley of Megiddo, He will rule and reign for a thousand years. The scriptures reveal that the church will rule and reign with Him. At the end of that thousand years, we will sit in judgment against those who rejected Christ and the angelic beings that were against God. Revelation chapter 20 outlines this whole concept for us.

The idea of judging angels is an interesting one. The scriptures reveal that we are created a little lower than the angels. In rank and in creation, we were created after them, but God has committed into the hands of the church a judgment over angels. What exactly does this mean? First, we might say this does not mean that when you get to heaven, you will be looking for your guardian angel and asking, "Where were you in the third grade when that red-headed kid punched me in the eye? Five demerits for you." It does not mean that. However, it does mean that when God passes judgment upon fallen angels, we will have a role in that process.

In Revelation chapter 20, we will sit with Him in judgment, and we will be involved somehow. Paul, applying this truth to our time, says that if this is the case—if we are both going to judge men and angels—then we must recognize that God has gifted and enabled us in Christ to be able to pass righteous judgment. We are called to decide, to discern disputes, to determine who is right, who is wrong, and what ought to be done.

This reality ought to affect our daily lives right now. If it is true, as the Scriptures say, that we will be involved in the judgment of men and angels in the ages to come, then it should change the way we think and the way we live. If we are going to judge men and angels, we ought to strive to live in a manner that is befitting a judge. We should seek to live in a way that is above and beyond reproach.

Moreover, we must recognize that within the body of Christ, even those whom we may practically look down upon have been gifted by God with His wisdom to make righteous, discerning judgments. This brings a whole new concept to the idea that we are constantly told we should not judge. The phrase "Judge not, that you be not judged" does not reflect the full meaning of Scripture, particularly in Matthew 7. God has given us what is needed by His Spirit to decide rightly between two opposing parties within the church.

In 2 Peter 1:3, the apostle Peter states that according to God's divine power, He has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness. We have everything necessary to live this life in a godly way and to make judgments about matters between disputing believers, discerning who is right, who is wrong, and what should be done.

If that is the case, how should we judge? If it is a reality that we are to judge these issues between believers, how are we to judge? If you're taking notes, number one: we should judge in righteousness. We should judge in righteousness, seeking to judge in the same way that our Father God judges. In Isaiah chapter 11, we read that He does not judge according to the seeing of the eyes nor the hearing of the ears.

But He judges with righteous judgment. Read through the Proverbs, and you see many cases in which we are to judge in a righteous way. We are supposed to hear both sides of the story beforehand and then judge according to the Scriptures and according to God's Spirit that He has given to us. So, we judge in righteousness.

Secondly, we should judge with meekness. We should consider ourselves when we are judging another because every single one of us is, in fact, a sinner. Oftentimes, the things that we are called upon to make judgments about are issues that we ourselves have dealt with. True? Therefore, in righteousness and with meekness, considering ourselves, we should judge with ready forgiveness. We should judge in a biblical manner.

Matthew chapter 18 gives one such example of how we ought to judge between individuals who have issues with one another. In Matthew 18, verse 15, it says, "Moreover, Jesus says, if your brother shall trespass against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone." This is extremely important because typically, when someone trespasses against us or does something we don't like, we don't go to talk to them; we go to talk to all our friends. We might say, "Did you hear what so-and-so did to me? Oh my gosh, that is so terrible. We should just kick them out of the church. Don't invite them to that fellowship dinner."

But that is not what the Scriptures say. If you have a trespass against you from another brother, go tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained a brother. However, if he will not hear you, then take with you one or two more, so that in the mouth of two or three witnesses, as the book of Deuteronomy says, let every word be established.

If there is no restitution and no way of bringing about a resolution, then bring someone else with you in a biblical manner to confront the issue. If he neglects to hear them, tell it to the church openly; expose it. The point of telling it to the church is so the whole church can come to that individual and say, "Please, you need to repent." But if that individual neglects to hear the whole church, let him be unto you...

As a heathen man and as a publican—not a republican, but a publican. In other translations, it says "tax collector." As Ray Stedman, a great Bible teacher, used to say, publicans take money from people, while republicans give it back. I didn't say it; Ray did.

In Colossians 3:13, Paul says that we are to forbear one another and forgive one another. If any man has a quarrel against you, even as Christ forgave you, so also you must do. In another translation, the New Living Translation, Paul's words are rendered this way: "You must make allowance for each other's faults." Well, that makes it interesting, doesn't it? You must make allowance for people's faults.

How many of you here today are perfect? Oh my goodness! I can't believe those two raised their hands. Boy, Eric, I'm going to tell Justin Alford that you raised your hand. Nobody's perfect. We all have fallen short of God's glory. Therefore, when someone does something wrong or they hurt us—like taking our parking space or sitting in our seat—we must make allowance for people's faults.

Of course, I'm making light of it by mentioning parking spaces and seats, but these are trivial issues, frivolous things. We could actually call these things sibling rivalries because we are the body of Christ. We are brothers and sisters in Christ. It is a family dispute. When you have kids and they're fighting over something, you don't bring them out into the middle of the cul-de-sac at your house and call all your neighbors out to judge between these kids. No, it's a family dispute. Deal with it.

So, you must make allowance for one another's faults and forgive the person who offends you, as Paul says. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must also forgive others. Must.

Now, at the end of verse 4 in 1 Corinthians 6, Paul says that you set them to judge who are least esteemed in the church. There are several different views on what this means. Bible students debate what Paul means when he says to set those to judge who are least esteemed. Some people believe that Paul is again using a bit of sarcasm and saying you're better off...

Asking the weakest member within your church to settle a matter is preferable to going before the most qualified unsaved judge. Some think that the phrase refers to those who are least esteemed by the church, as opposed to worldly judges. They are the least esteemed by the church. It may be that Paul is saying God can use even the least member within the body of Christ to make a decision because He has given them the power by the Holy Spirit to do so. Ultimately, the result is the same. Paul is basically saying it is wrong for Christians to take civil suits like this, disputing matters within the body of Christ. It is wrong to take them out into the world and into the open courts.

Now, I must add that there are circumstances where lawyers and judges in the worldly sense are necessary and needed. If there is criminal activity or a situation where law enforcement needs to be involved, then it must certainly be brought out into the open. This is not saying that we are to hide these things within the church, as some within the body of Christ have been accused of doing in recent years. If there is criminal activity, we call the police. However, if this is a disputing matter between people, we ought to be able to deal with it, Paul says.

But what keeps us from this? What is it that prevents us from settling these things in a biblical manner, in a Christ-like, Christ-honoring way that serves as a good witness to the world? Simply put, it is our flesh. That is what keeps us from doing it the way that the Scriptures reveal. We have certain motives behind our reasoning, and often when we expose them in a wrong way that is not Christ-like, the motives stem from pride, a desire for retribution, or vengeance. Sometimes it is as simple as wanting to make some money on the issue.

In our flesh, we have this very competitive, sinful nature that loves justice. We think, "I have rights, don’t you know?" Therefore, we want our rights taken care of. We seek to secure a verdict that is in our favor. We desire justice, and we seek vengeance and retribution. The Scriptures reveal that these are not ours to seek. In the Old Testament and in Romans chapter 12, we are reminded of this truth.

In verse 19, the Apostle Paul says, "Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves." Why? It is written, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay," saith the Lord. We see in 1 Corinthians chapter 6 the folly of the church. They were bringing civil matters before the community of Corinth, causing disunity within the body of Christ and diminishing their witness in the community. Paul reminds them of the future that is to come.

Now, in verses 5 through 8, we see the failure. Paul speaks to their shame, asking, "Is it so that there is not a wise man among you? No, not one that shall be able to judge between his brethren?" A brother goes to law with another brother, and that before unbelievers. Therefore, there is utterly fault among you. This is a failure for you because you go to law one with another. Why do you not rather take wrong? Why do you not rather suffer yourselves to be defrauded? No, you do wrong and defraud your brethren.

The Corinthians were wise in their own eyes. Paul has already touched on their immense wisdom in earlier chapters of 1 Corinthians. Here, he shames them, saying, "If you are so wise, why is it that there is not a single wise person who can decide these matters?" There is not a single person in your church who can discern between right and wrong and determine what needs to be done. This is utterly a fault to you. It is already a failure for you, says the New King James Version. To have such lawsuits is a real defeat, says the New Living Translation.

The Corinthians are very similar to modern Americans, addicted to their own rights. However, in clinging to their rights so fiercely, they have already shown utter failure. Paul states that just going to the courts against your brother means you've already lost. In the Phillips paraphrase of the New Testament, it is rendered this way: "It is surely obvious that something must be seriously wrong in your church for you to be having lawsuits at all."

Paul asks, "Why do you not rather take wrong? Why do you not rather suffer? Why not just accept injustice and leave it at that? Why not allow yourselves to be cheated?"

In every single one of us, when we hear these words, there's this little moment of surprise, like, "Whoa, what?" Once again, we are confronted, as we were last week, with a great litmus test in the book of 1 Corinthians. If at this point we are thinking, "This is nuts, are you kidding me, Paul?" perhaps we are more influenced by our culture than by the values of the Scriptures. I don't say this in any way to shame anybody because I am right there in front when it comes to a real fleshly frustration when I read passages like this.

Turn in your Bibles to Luke 17. In Luke 17, verse 3, it says, "Take heed to yourselves. If your brother trespasses against you, rebuke him." That's the part we generally highlight in our Bibles. We like that, don't we? "Your brother trespasses, rebuke him." Yes, amen! Rebuke him! Then we read really fast and quietly, "If he repents, forgive him."

And if he trespasses against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turns again to you and says, "I repent," you should forgive him. We don't like that part. Rebuke him, yes. Forgive him, no! What do you mean he does it seven times a day? If he does the same thing over and over again seven times in a day, and every time he comes to you and says, "Man, I'm sorry, I repent," forgive him.

But you don't understand; I am right, and he is wrong. Have you ever been so right that you're wrong? Especially the married couples here this morning, we've been down that road, haven't we? I'm right, but I'm dealing with it in a wrong way. Or you come to find out a few days later that, well, wait, maybe I wasn't quite so right. After there's a breaking of unity and a diminished witness, we think, "But the law is on my side; you don't understand, this person wronged me."

Aren't you thankful that every single day...

When Satan accuses you before God the Father, does he not think that way? In Matthew chapter 5, during the Sermon on the Mount, we encounter a teaching that can be difficult for us to accept. Matthew 5:38 states, "You have heard that it has been said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.'" This represents equal judgment: if you wrong me, I seek vengeance. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.

However, Jesus continues, "But I say unto you, that you resist not the evil person. But whosoever shall smite you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if a man shall sue you at law to take away your coat, let him have your cloak also. And whosoever shall compel you to go a mile, go with him two. Give to him that asks, and from him that would borrow, turn him not away."

You have heard that it has been said, "You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy." Yes, hate your enemy. But I say unto you, love your enemies, bless them who curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for those who despitefully use and persecute you.

You might think, "I'll pray for that." Right? I'll pray the prayers of David: "Break their teeth in their mouth." You've all prayed that one, haven't you? I have. But why should we pray for those who despitefully use and persecute us?

Well, remember who you are. You may be children of your Father, your Father which is in heaven, for He makes the sun to rise on the evil and the good. He sends rain on the just and the unjust, all those we might assume are undeserving. If you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the publicans do the same? Do not even the tax collectors and sinners love those who love them?

If you salute your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so?

Dearly beloved, Paul says in Romans 12:19, "Avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath. For it is written, 'Vengeance is mine, I will repay,' saith the Lord." Therefore, if your enemy hungers, feed him. If he thirsts, give him a drink. For in so doing, you shall heap fiery coals upon his head.

Oh, I like that—heap fiery coals on his head. But we misunderstand the context. In ancient times, if you had someone over to your house at night...

They were getting ready to go back to their home, which would be dark and cold. People would put hot coals from their fire into a clay pot and take those home with them to be warmed when they arrived. It's an issue of hospitality.

"Be not overcome with evil," says Paul, "but overcome evil with good." Yet, Paul also addresses the church at Corinth, asking, "Why do you not suffer yourself to be defrauded?" Rather, he states, "You do wrong." When you go to the law against your brother, you yourself do him wrong, for you cheat him of Christian love and forgiveness.

When someone wrongs you, and we fight for our rights, pushing for justice to be done because we love justice, are we not rendering evil for evil? Are we not jumping back into an Old Testament mindset of an eye for an eye, or perhaps even more than that? Today, oftentimes, because of the bent of our culture, when someone does something against us, we have all the legalities in order. We look at it and see little dollar signs in our eyes, thinking, "What could I get from this? How could I benefit from their failure?"

This folly, in light of the future that God has called us to, reflects the failure of the church at Corinth. Now, in verses 9 through 11, we find the fix for this kind of behavior. In verse 9, Paul states for the third time in chapter 6, "Do you not know that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God?" Of course, the person wanting to push for their justice might say, "Oh, amen to that. The unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God. How unrighteous is this person?"

Paul continues, "Do not be deceived; neither fornicator, nor idolater, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, neither thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners shall inherit the kingdom of God." None of them. The Phillips paraphrase states, "Have you forgotten that the kingdom of God will never belong to the wicked? Do not be under any illusion."

The list provided here indicates those who shall not inherit the kingdom of God. How do we fix all these issues of debate and problems between believers within the church? We need to fix it by gaining a proper perspective. You see,

We tend, in our minds, to have a ranking system for sin, don't we? This is a bad sin; this is a not-so-bad sin. The sin of that guy over there is really bad, while mine is not so bad. God doesn't do that. Do not be under any illusion. Paul says, and he gives a pretty heavy list here: fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, and homosexuals will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Now, I know there's debate among certain governing officials, both in our nation and others today, who are calling verses 9-11 of 1 Corinthians 6 hate speech, specifically for the fact that it identifies homosexual immorality as sin that will be judged by God. There are some who say this is hate speech. Let me be clear: we don't hate people who practice such sins. We do, however, recognize that such sins will be judged.

We don't need to get into a discussion about physiology. We don't need to discuss or debate whether or not homosexuality is genetic. But we must recognize that the person who practices homosexual immorality is no worse a sinner than the person who practices heterosexual immorality. The person who lives in an unrepentant adulterous relationship is just as bad off as the person who verbally abuses their spouse. The Scriptures reveal that there is no partiality with God. There is no hierarchy of sin; this sin is not worse than that sin.

It's a heavy reality in this passage. The words presented here are hard for us to grapple with: these sins will be judged, and God is not partial. Sin is sin, and it will be judged. There is no partiality with God. He is the perfect and impartial judge, and there will be an eternal capital punishment upon all sin— all sin.

Therefore, what? Repent. Turn to God, because only in Christ Jesus is found forgiveness. Only in Christ Jesus is found pardon. The punishment for sin is severe, and Jesus bore that punishment for all those who will receive.

Him as Christ and Lord, Savior and Lord. In Christ, we're saved from the punishment of sin; that is justification. We're saved from the power of sin; that is sanctification. We shall be saved from the presence of sin; that is glorification.

We see very clearly that those who practice such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. But verse 11 is key: "And such were some of you." In this room today are people who were once fornicators. Among us are some who, at one point in time, were drug dealers and extortioners. In a crowd this large, there may be some who lived in homosexual immorality, and you no longer live that way. Even though the culture of our day says that's not possible, it's a reality.

Every single one of us was born a sinner, and every single one of us has inclinations in our flesh to sin. If left to our flesh, we would sin. Only in Christ can that be dealt with. "And such were some of you." All of us came from sinful backgrounds, the likes of which we probably don't care to dwell upon this morning, do we? We are so very thankful that we've been washed and cleansed.

Therefore, because of that, we cannot have a holier-than-thou position, because in fact, we are not holier-than-thou. We're sinners saved by grace. The fix, the proper perspective, is that all sin will be judged. Even though you have a hierarchy for sin in your minds, and the people at Corinth did, they looked at the immorality, the idolatry, and all the wickedness around them. Yet in their own hearts, within their own church, was sin. They refused to recognize that that sin was just as wicked as the sin they saw outside their doors, and yet they figured it was okay.

All sin will be judged. You and I were, and even are, sinners saved by grace. Therefore, we ought to extend that same grace to others. We are new creations in Christ. That's revealed in verse 11, isn't it? "Such were some of you, but you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our Lord." We are new.

Creations in Christ. How many of you today are thankful that God has made you new? All of us should have our hands up. Unless today you have not experienced a new birth, we all should be thankful. Since we are new creations in Christ, we ought to live as new creations—not biting at one another, not seeking to bring judgment on another. We're different than we were, created anew, and therefore we ought to live like we are.

What must we do? If we have a problem with another brother or sister within the fellowship, we should go to them alone and make it right. We should come with a heart of forgiveness, considering the way that Christ has forgiven us, being willing to let it go, even if it means we lose. Because that's Christ-like.

Consider the fact that Jesus was brought before a trial with judges, witnesses, and prosecutors who spoke ill of Him, who accused Him of things He never did nor said. Yet, He opened not His mouth—the perfect example for us, in absolute humility. Through His death, He won. It is amazing that in Christ, through our deaths, when we die to ourselves, there is a certain level of victory that comes: victory over our flesh and victory over the enemy.

We must be willing to let it go, even if we lose. It is far better to lose financially than to lose spiritually. Why? One, for the sake of the glory of God. Two, for the sake of the unity of the church. And three, for the sake of the witness in the community.

I was listening to either K-Wave or one of the other radio stations just a week or so ago, and there was a pastor on there teaching. I don't know who it was; I couldn't tell by his voice. He was talking about how a number of years ago, when he was first starting out in the ministry, he had lent his car to a friend in the church. When he got his car back, it was on the bed of a tow truck—totaled. He was angry and upset, and so he sat...

Down with this friend, this brother, he wrote out on a yellow pad of paper an itemized list of all the things that needed to be fixed and paid. He held a copy and gave a copy to this guy, who was kind of delaying on paying. The guy said, "I'm really sorry, I'll try to pay; I don't have anything to pay."

He put the little yellow piece of paper in his filing cabinet in his office. Every week, when he was preparing, he'd open that filing cabinet and think, "Oh, that guy, he's got to pay me back." At that time, early in the days of the church, they would go out to lunch with a whole bunch of people after the service. He would always sit there, and when the check would come, he'd kind of look at that guy like, "You should pay this. You owe me."

After months and months of this, he was going to teach on Christian forgiveness. He said that little yellow piece of paper kept him really angry. On the Sunday morning he got up to teach, before he went up, he pulled that paper out and ripped it into a ton of little pieces. He said it was the hardest thing he ever had to do.

How many of us today have filing cabinets full of such things in our hearts and minds against another brother or sister within the body of Christ, against our spouse, or whatever it may be? When we get to 1 Corinthians chapter 13, Paul expresses that the chief characteristic of the Christian is love. He says love keeps no record of wrongs. Oh, that we would open up those filing cabinets and let it go.

But you don't understand; that's okay. Just as Christ forgave you, so also you must do.

Let's stand and pray. Father, your word is sometimes hard for us to swallow. But what you've called us to is greater than anything we could do in our flesh. Lord, we ask that you, by your Spirit, would enable us to walk in meekness with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love, and endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Lord, help us to honor you, maintain unity within the body of Christ, and have a good witness in this world—not constantly bickering or arguing with one another, but being willing to forgive.

Yield, even if it means a loss in this life, because by doing so, we gain so much. If we lose our lives, we will find them. Strengthen us this week to be able to apply these hard truths, as no doubt you have tests prepared for every one of us, beginning the second we walk out these doors.

Lord, help us to walk worthy of the calling with which you have called us, remembering what you have called us to. For we ask it in Jesus' name. Amen. Godaluí. Amen. Man. Amen. Every life. Overpuhs.