Chapter three of first Corinthians will hold some familiar verses for some of you and they are verses that are very deserving of our focus and subsequent application. This week I hope that in your study of this chapter you will be inspired to continue your growth as a Christian and that you will strive to be a solid representation of Christ in your community. I hope you will consider ways that you can change some of the perceptions of Christians and Christianity.
In chapter three Paul speaks to the Corinthians about godly wisdom and its importance for growth as a Christian. Paul has spent 18 months with the Corinthians and another three years away from them and still they have not grown in their faith. There are several messages in this chapter, but this week I want to specifically focus our attention on the first
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Paul is clearly speaking to and referencing people who are believers. He calls them “Brothers” but he also says that he cannot refer to them as spiritual but worldly. Some people would argue that you cannot be a worldly person and a Christian at the same time but Paul is clearly doing this here. These are people who have received the Spirit and have seen and experienced the use of spiritual gifts. These are people who have grown to a certain degree in their faith, which is clear from other references (1:7 and 12:13).
These are people who have first-hand knowledge of what the Spirit is and what it can do and yet they have allowed themselves to become worldly. Another word for worldly is carnal. These are carnal Christians. Some of you may say that this is a contradiction in terms, but by putting ourselves in the context of this passage we see that this is still very real and very relevant to us today.
What does is it mean when we refer to someone as being a carnal person? To say that someone is a carnal person is simply saying that they are being controlled by their sinful nature. There are several passages in scripture that list for us certain attributes of a carnal or worldly person.
Romans 1:29-32, First
Corinthians 6:9-10 and
Galatians 5:19-21 list some of the acts of the sinful nature or attributes of a worldly person, as being--sexual immorality, impurity, debauchery, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and the list goes on.
These are all things that we as humans struggle with on a regular basis. Just taking a few minutes to personally ponder each of these listed traits will produce some sobering results. I am reminded of
Romans 3:23, which says that we all have sinned and fall short of the God’s glory. We are sinful people who all have to struggle with our sinful nature.
Think this week about what your decisions are based on. Are you basing them on a desire to live like Christ or are you controlled by your sinful nature? There are so many areas of our lives where we can easily compromise. Think about some of the following things that we often hear from those around us, even those within the church. “Sex before marriage is normal and ok.” “Looking at pornography every once in awhile is not that big of a deal.” “It is ok to listen and watch the media that I do because I know how to handle it in a mature manner.” “Doing business under the table is not really unethical, that is how business is done.” “Venting and gossiping are to totally different things, besides I wanted people to know how to pray for them.”
This is just a snapshot of things that open the door for compromise in our lives. We need to guard ourselves against the ways that compromise creeps into our lives causing us to become more worldly than spiritual. Next time you are trying to decide a course of action think about the fact that others who are not Christians are looking to see how you live and act and they are assessing Christianity by those decisions. And just a reminder; most of those decisions are being made Monday thru Saturday and not just on Sunday.
