(#021) 1 Corinthians 5 - Bad Friends Corrupt!It's easy to let our mistakes become a lifestyle.
Welcome To BARAH MINISTRIES a Christian Church
Rory Clark Pastor-Teacher
Good Morning!
Welcome to Barah Ministries…an intimate, local Christian Church with worldwide impact. My name is Pastor Rory Clark. At Barah Ministries we know that Jesus Christ is God. As Lord He is 100% Deity…He is God the Son. He is also 100% human just like you and me and His name is Jesus Christ. The Lord…God the Son…became flesh…Jesus Christ...and lived among us. He is the Sovereign God of the Universe…He is the Savior of the whole world…and He is the Jewish Messiah.
Those of us who make Barah Ministries their spiritual home believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Christianity is a relationship, not a religion. We are Christians, and we have a deep, intimate, and personal relationship with the Lord. The Lord Jesus Christ is a Person…He’s not a thing and He’s not a concept. Just as we would do with any person whom we love, we spend time getting to know the Lord through the study of His Word. You can’t get to know the Lord without knowing His mind, and the Bible is His exact thinking.
James, the half-brother of the Lord Jesus Christ calls Christians to action in James, Chapter 2, Verses 14 to 17…
JAMES 2:14a What use is it, my brethren (fellow believers in Christ), if someone says he has faith (in Christ) but he has no works (to back up his faith…a person of all talk and no action)?
JAMES 2:15 If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food… JAMES 2:16 ….and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that?
JAMES 2:17 Even so faith, if (3) it has no works (to back it up…no evidence of action)… is dead, being (faith) by itself (without works to back it up).
Genuine faith is evidenced by works. James Chapter 2, Verse 20…
JAMES 2:20 So are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless?
How do you show up as Christians? What works of yours evidence your faith?
Barah Ministries makes a difference by teaching the Word of God from the Lord Jesus Christ’s perspective, and not from man’s perspective. We search the Scriptures to learn who the Lord is as a Person, and to learn what our God has to say about Himself, about His plan for all mankind, and about His personal plan for each of us. We are here to look at our lives from His perspective. We are here to learn how to enjoy the sphere of grace, forgiveness and unconditional love in which we stand. Welcome!
TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON Bad Friends Corrupt!
LESSON INTRODUCTION
In First Corinthians, Chapter 15, Verse 33, the apostle Paul says…
FIRST CORINTHIANS 5:1 Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good morals.”
Have you ever had a person in your life whose conduct led you down the wrong path? We all have! What did you do then? Did you stay with them and get corrupted or did you flee from them? In today’s lesson, the apostle Paul tells us what we must do when we encounter corrupt lifestyles in a congregation. Also, as we do every month, we’ll celebrate The Lord’s Supper…we’ll honor our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ…and we’ll learn that His work at the Cross enabled our union with Him…and we’ll get to see the significance of this gift in our lives.
SONG INTRODUCTION
At the Cross, the Lord Jesus Christ was led to the slaughter…and like a lamb before the shearers is silent, He opened not His mouth…that is why He is called the Lamb of God…John, Chapter 1, Verse 29…
JOHN 1:29 John the Baptist saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”
Let’s celebrate Him as June Murphy sings the song Lamb of God.
MUSIC AND REFLECTION Be Occupied with the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ Enjoy the Singing of His Praises
LAMB OF GOD June Murphy
OPENING PRAYER Let us pray...
We’re grateful, Heavenly Father, for the privilege of studying Your absolute truth...the Word of God…
Father, thank you for giving us a lifestyle to live up to…thank you for being the ultimate planner who laid out a successful path for each of Your creatures…thank you for inviting us to this life…thank you for giving us the chance to discover our unique path…and thank you for giving us time to orient our lives to worshipping You…challenge us to live on the narrow road that leads to the resurrection life…
…we ask this through the power of God the Holy Spirit…in Christ’s name...Amen.
TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON Bad Friends Corrupt!
We have a few things to finish up in First Corinthians, Chapter 5…last week we learned that there is a time to kick someone out of a church. Let’s remind ourselves of what we studied in First Corinthians, Chapter 5, Verses 1 to 8…
FIRST CORINTHIANS 5:1 It is actually reported (by Chloe’s people and others) that there is sexual immorality among you…the kind of sexual immorality that is not even considered okay among the Gentiles (unbelievers…who find some conduct repugnant)…that someone is having sex with his father’s wife (the man’s step-mother).
FIRST CORINTHIANS 5:2 Why the have you (Corinthian believers) become arrogant (puffed up with self-importance) instead of mourning about this so that the one who has done this WOULD BE REMOVED FROM YOUR CONGREGATION?
FIRST CORINTHIANS 5:3 For my part, although I (Paul) am absent in body, I am present in spirit…and I have already pronounced judgment…(making a decision) in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ as though I were present…concerning him who has committed this act (of having sex with his step-mother) …
FIRST CORINTHIANS 5:4 …and when you (as a church) are assembled…just as I am assembled with you in spirit…with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ (as our guide) …
FIRST CORINTHIANS 5:5 …let us agree to deliver this man over to Satan for the destruction of his flesh…so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.
FIRST CORINTHIANS 5:6 Your boasting (about yourselves) is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven (a small sin like this) leavens the whole lump of dough (ruins an entire congregation) ?
FIRST CORINTHIANS 5:7 CLEAN OUT THE OLD LEAVEN (the man engaging in sexual immorality as a lifestyle) so that you may be a new lump of leaven (cleansed from this impurity) … that you may be just as you are in fact…unleavened (a new creation). For Christ, our Passover, also has been sacrificed (at the Cross).
FIRST CORINTHIANS 5:8 Therefore, let us believers in Christ celebrate the Passover feast, not with old leaven, nor with leaven that is malicious and evil…but let us celebrate the Passover feast with the unleavened bread that is pure and truthful.
When is it time to kick someone out of the church? When their conduct reflects a lifestyle that hinders the advancement of the gospel message… when they are lovers of self and not lovers of God…when their conduct causes people to leave a congregation…when their conduct causes unbelievers to think there is no difference between a Christian and an unbeliever…when their conduct is infiltrating…extinguishing…defiling… tarnishing…and ridiculously disgusting. There's a big difference between coming to church drunk and being an alcoholic. One is more severe than the other. One is a lifestyle, and the other is a mistake. As believers in Christ, we make mistakes, but we don’t have to turn our mistakes into a lifestyle. In the final verses of First Corinthians, Chapter 5, Paul gets more specific about what he is recommending…
Passage Four-Section 2
FIRST CORINTHIANS 5:9 When I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people…
FIRST CORINTHIANS 5:10 …I did not at all mean not to associate with the sexually immoral people of this world (unbelievers)…nor with the greedy predators and swindlers of this world…nor with the idolaters of this world…otherwise you would be obligated to leave the world completely. The Corinthian culture was filled with people who engaged in orgies, and usury, and worship of pseudo-gods…there was no way to get away from these people other than to die! And notice, Paul was not just singling out sexual sins…there were equally repugnant lifestyles filled with other sins.
FIRST CORINTHIANS 5:11 But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called “brother” (a Christian) if he is a sexually immoral person, or greedy, or an idolater, or one who is verbally abusive, or a drunkard, or a financial predator—I told you not even to eat with such a person.
The Lord Jesus Christ hung out with “tax-gatherers and sinners” according to the Pharisees. So, if you’re inclined to use this passage to beat yourself up, remember that. But the Lord was what he wants us to be … “a light shining in a dark place.” Christianity has to reflect different values than those lived by unbelievers.
FIRST CORINTHIANS 5:12 For what have I to do with judging outsiders (unbelievers)? Do you not judge those who are within the church?
FIRST CORINTHIANS 5:13 But those who are outside the church, God judges. (As for you) … REMOVE THE WICKED MAN FROM AMONG YOURSELVES.
What is the essence of what Paul is saying to the Corinthians? He’s saying, “If you think lowering God’s standards to meet your conduct is okay, instead of changing your conduct to meet God’s standards, you’re mistaken. Bad friends corrupt good morals. Don’t be infected by tolerating sinful lifestyles in a congregation or in your own life.” We know that we are flawed. We don’t have to turn our flaws into a lifestyle. We don’t have to flaunt our flaws in a church nor do we have to tolerate the flaunting of flaws in a church. What we need to do instead is to reflect a lifestyle that attracts unbelievers rather than repelling them.
When we return from our five-minute break, we’ll take the offering and then we’ll celebrate The Lord’s Supper.
FIVE MINUTE BREAK NOBODY Casting Crowns
TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON Bad Friends Corrupt!
As you give today, let your attitude reflect the Lord’s attitude as communicated in Acts, Chapter 20, Verse 35…
ACTS 20:35b “…remember the words of the Lord Jesus Christ, who Himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”
Let’s welcome up Deacon Denny Goodall with the offering message.
THE OFFERING Deacon Denny Goodall
OFFERING VERSE
ROMANS 12:3 For through the grace given to me I (Paul) say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think…but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith.
OFFERING SONG THERE IS NONE LIKE YOU David Bauer, Instrumental
THE LORD’S SUPPER CELEBRATION At the Cross, the Lord Jesus Christ Made it Possible to Be in Union With Him
Welcome to The Lord’s Supper Celebration, the most intimate expression of our love for the Lord Jesus Christ in The Christian Way of Living. The Lord demonstrates His desire for a deep, intimate and personal relationship with His believers by creating a way to keep on sharing His body and His blood with us, just as He did with His apostles on the night before His death. Luke, Chapter 22, Verses 14 to 16…
LUKE 22:14 When the hour had come (and His crucifixion was near) … the Lord Jesus Christ reclined at the Passover table…and the apostles reclined with Him.
LUKE 22:15 And the Lord said to the apostles, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover meal with you before I suffer … ”
LUKE 22:16 “…for I say to you I (the Lord Jesus Christ) shall never again eat this Passover meal until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God the Father.”
In First Corinthians, Chapter 11, Verse 26, the apostle Paul says, on behalf of the Lord…
FIRST CORINTHIANS 11:26 …as often as you eat this bread (representing His body)…and as often as you drink this cup (representing His blood)…as part of the Lord’s Supper Celebration…you proclaim as a reality and you announce the significance of the Lord Jesus Christ’s death on the Cross…and His resurrection from the dead…until He comes again at the second coming.
The Lord’s Supper Celebration is a time when the resident members of this congregation join hands through the miles with our non-resident members, and we demonstrate our unity by remembering our Lord together. This is a celebration for which we set aside time. We don’t do it on the move.
During the Lord’s Supper Celebration, Jesus wants His believers to look back to the Cross for a moment. He wants us to REMEMBER how He rescued us from the kingdom of darkness. He wants us to REMEMBER the sacrifice of shedding His blood to cover our sins. He wants us to REMEMBER the deliverance to the resurrection life He orchestrated, bringing us into His kingdom of light. Most of all, the Lord wants His believers to look forward with ANTICIPATION that He is coming again.
As believers in Christ, when we celebrate The Lord’s Supper, we ask ourselves in reflection, “What did the Lord Jesus Christ do for us at the Cross?” At the Cross, the Lord Jesus Christ made it possible for us to be in union with Him.
If you are a believer in Christ you are placed “in union with Christ” at the moment of salvation through the baptism of God the Holy Spirit…you are EN KRISTO IESU as the Greek language puts it. You are now in possession of a gift, for all eternity, whose power would stagger your imagination if you could grasp the depth of it in your mentality…the power of the Lord Jesus Christ indwelling you. Here are just a few things the Bible has to say about being IN UNION WITH CHRIST JESUS.
In union with Christ Jesus means you were given a grace gift by God the Father billions of years before you were created…Second Timothy, Chapter 1, Verses 8 and 9…
SECOND TIMOTHY 1:8 Therefore, do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord Jesus Christ… nor of the testimony of me (Paul) His prisoner…but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God the Father…
SECOND TIMOTHY 1:9 …(God the Father)…who has saved us believers in Christ and who has called us with a holy calling…not according to our works…but according to the Father’s own purpose and according to the grace which was granted to those of us in union with Christ Jesus from all eternity (before the creation of the world)…
In union with Christ Jesus means it was God the Father’s will to bless you, endowing you with mind-boggling spiritual wealth…Ephesians, Chapter 1, Verses 3 to 6…
EPHESIANS 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ…who has blessed us believers in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places based on our union with Christ…
EPHESIANS 1:4 …just as God the Father chose us, believers, to be in union with Christ before the foundation of the world…that we would be holy and blameless before Him.
EPHESIANS 1:5 In unconditional love, God the Father predestined us believers in Christ to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself…according to the kind intention of His will…
EPHESIANS 1:6 …to the praise of the glory of His grace, which God the Father freely bestowed on us who are in union with the Beloved (the divinely loved One…Jesus Christ).
In union with Christ Jesus means you are loved in a way you don’t even believe, no matter how much God tells you…no matter how much His Word tells you…no matter how much I tell you. But when you look back to the Cross…and when you see in your mind’s eye what the Lord did for you as He hung there…you know, without having to express what you know in words, how much you are valued and esteemed by the Supreme God of the Universe. Romans, Chapter 8, Verses 38 and 39 say…
ROMANS 8:38 For I (Paul) am convinced that neither death nor life…nor angels nor principalities…nor things present nor things to come…nor powers…
ROMANS 8:39 …nor height nor depth…nor any other created thing…will be able to separate us from the unconditional love of God the Father, which is bestowed on those in union with Christ Jesus our Lord.
In union with Christ Jesus means you are redeemed…purchased from slavery to sin…and forgiven for all your sins. Ephesians, Chapter 1, Verse 7…
EPHESIANS 1:7 In union with Christ, we believers in Christ have redemption through His blood (shed for us at the Cross to cover sin) … we have the forgiveness of our trespasses…according to the glorious riches of God the Father’s grace…
EPHESIANS 1:8 …a grace which the Father lavished on us.
In union with Christ Jesus means you are justified in the eyes of God the Father…and the righteousness of God the Father and the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ are imputed to you…credited to your account as a free gift…your admission ticket to heaven…Second Corinthians, Chapter 5, Verse 21…
SECOND CORINTHIANS 5:21 God the Father made Jesus Christ, who knew no sin, to be a sin substitute on our behalf…so that we might have the absolute righteousness of God the Father as a gift because of our union with Christ.
In union with Christ Jesus means you are a child of God, made into a completely new species...Second Corinthians, Chapter 5, Verse 17…
SECOND CORINTHIANS 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in union with Christ, and all believers in Christ are…there is a new creation…the old man thing passed away (it died… crucified at the Cross) … behold, new things have come.
Galatians, Chapter 3, Verse 26 says…
GALATIANS 3:26 For you believers in Christ are all sons of God the Father, through your faith and through your union in Christ Jesus.
Romans, Chapter 8, Verse 1 sums up the power of this miracle very well…
ROMANS 8:1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in union with Christ Jesus.
At the Cross, the Lord gave us union with Himself, an unprecedented and unbelievable gift. When we learn to use its power, we’ll realize there is nothing we can’t do.
THE LORD’S SUPPER CELEBRATION Enjoying the Elements
Obeying God’s command, we keep on celebrating Christ and His Cross regularly. We eat to remember who He is as a PERSON. We drink to remember His WORK on the Cross…the voluntary sacrifice He made to deliver us. We remember with gratitude what God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ have done to save us. Matthew, Chapter 26, Verses 26 to 28…
MATTHEW 26:26 While they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and after a blessing, He broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take…eat…this is My body (which is being broken for you).”
MATTHEW 26:27 And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you…”
MATTHEW 26:28 “…for this is My blood…the blood of a new testament (a new covenant)… blood poured out for many for the forgiveness of their sins.”
As you enjoy the bread and the cup, REMEMBER the Cross, and the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who hung there. Let us keep on giving thanks that we are loved unconditionally, that we are forgiven, and that we are accepted fully by a Lord who is always there for us…the One on whom we can depend. Let’s keep on being transformed by His life…His death…His burial…His resurrection from the dead…and His Word.
SONG INTRO
According to Jeremy Camp, there is a supernatural power indwelling us…let’s learn about it from his song SAME POWER.
LORD’S SUPPER SONG SAME POWER Jeremy Camp GOD WANTS YOU! Make the Most Important Decision of Your Life
The closing moments of our study are for the benefit of anyone who does not have a personal relationship with the Sovereign God of the Universe, the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We want you to know that GOD WANTS YOU.
After hearing these opening comments, an atheist would say, “There is no god. God doesn’t exist.”
The bible has a different view. Even though people think the Bible is “just a bunch of stories,” the apostle John makes the function of the Bible crystal clear…John, Chapter 20, Verse 31…
JOHN 20:31 …these things written here (in the Bible) have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ (the Jewish Messiah)…the Son of God (in human form)…and that by believing in Him you may have the resurrection life in His name.
Philosopher Blaise Pascal, in what has come to be known as “Pascal’s Wager,” says that human beings bet with their lives that God either exists or He does not. Pascal is right, so if you are an atheist would do well to at least consider what the Bible has to say. Romans, Chapter 3, Verse 23 says…
ROMANS 3:23 …for all creatures have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…
Romans, Chapter 3, Verse 10… ROMANS 3:10 …as it is written, "There is no creature who is righteous, not even one…"
Since atheists are created creatures, human beings, they would do well to be curious about exactly what the Bible is proposing. First Corinthians, Chapter 15, Verse 22…
FIRST CORINTHIANS 15:22a For all in union with Adam at physical birth (and that is every human who comes to earth) are set to die the second death in the Lake of Fire…
That’s horrible news for an atheist! The good news is that the Lord has an interesting attitude toward ALL of His creatures…even those who think there is no god. Second Peter, Chapter 3, Verse 9…
SECOND PETER 3:9 The Lord is not slow about His promise of salvation, as some accuse Him of...instead He is patient toward you unbelievers (including atheists)…not wishing for any of you to perish (in the Lake of Fire) but for all of you to come to repentance (a change of mind about having a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ).
The Bible claims that God exists and that God lives in heaven. How can you get to heaven? If you're an atheist, and you think Pascal was right, then there is no downside to believing in the Lord Jesus Christ. Right where you sit, RIGHT NOW, you can tell God the Father that you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and that is the moment of eternal life for you. Acts, Chapter 16, Verse 31…
ACTS 16:31 “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and everyone in your household who also believes.”
Believing in the Lord Jesus Christ is an atheist's acknowledgment that if there is a God, it might be smart to have faith in Him. John, Chapter 14, Verse 6…
JOHN 14:6 Jesus said to the doubting apostle, Thomas, “I am the way (to salvation), and I am the truth (through the Word of God), and I am the resurrection life…and no one comes to God the Father (in heaven) but through believing in Me.”
No creature can do a thing to get to heaven on his own. Romans, Chapter 11, Verse 6 says…
ROMANS 11:6 But if salvation is by grace, and of course it is, it is no longer based on works…otherwise, grace is no longer grace.
God's grace makes your salvation a free gift to you…if you have to work for a gift then the work makes you deserve the gift. In salvation, there is no way for you to impress God enough that He would allow you to save yourself. It's very wise to let God save you because once God does something, He never changes His mind. Heed the warning in John, Chapter 3, Verse 36…
JOHN 3:36 “He who believes in the Son has the resurrection life right at that moment… but he who does not obey the command to believe in the Son will not see the resurrection life…instead the wrath of God (the Lake of Fire) abides on him.”
Who is this God who saves you? The apostle Paul describes the Lord Jesus Christ…in First Corinthians, Chapter 15, Verses 3 and 4…
FIRST CORINTHIANS 15:3 For I (Paul) delivered to you as of first importance what I also received (the gospel message) … that it was Jesus Christ who died for our sins according to the Scriptures…
FIRST CORINTHIANS 15:4 …and that He was buried…and that He was raised from the dead on the third day…according to the Scriptures…
The apostle Peter reminds us of the words of Old Testament prophet Joel in Acts, Chapter 2, Verse 21…
ACTS 2:21 ‘And it shall be that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ will be saved.’
If you’re an atheist, I encourage you to keep on investigating to see if you’re right about there being no god. And if you’re not right, and you think there may be a God, there’s plenty of room for you in heaven!
SONG INTRO
First John, Chapter 3, Verse 1 says this…
FIRST JOHN 3:1 See how great an unconditional love God the Father has bestowed on us believers in Christ…that we would be called children of God…and that’s exactly what we are…
When God loves unconditionally, He’s not at all like humans. He doesn’t talk about His love. Here’s June Murphy to tell us what God gives instead… DEMONSTRATED LOVE…not talk.
CLOSING SONG DEMONSTRATED LOVE June Murphy
CLOSING PRAYER Let us pray...
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