Choices, Choices, Choices
April 21, 2001
We live in a wonderfully free country! One of the incredible freedoms we have in our nation is to be able to make choices. We can decide what we want to eat today, and all of us have choices. We can decide to buy a different vehicle, and we have not only the opportunity to make that kind of decision but to even decide what features might be on it and even what color it might be. We can choose the size of our family. We can choose where we want to live, because we have the freedom to travel to get to work and other centers where we might have non-work obligations or commitments. We can choose in so many areas of our lives, including in our Christian and spiritual lives; we, constantly, make choices about how we’ll work out what we believe in our lives.
All my life, I’ve had a hard time with 1 Corinthians 6. It seems to be a portion of the letter to the Corinthians in which Paul says something about this, a little about that, and then goes on to another topic, in addition. I haven’t been able to find it tremendously relevant and valuable to me. It seemed to me that there must be a ‘big point’ in all that is written there- that there is a ‘point’ to the chapter, and, yet, it always seemed to me that all the different points Paul made didn’t fit together into a nice whole.
Well, that changed a month or so back and it seems like I can see now for the first time. I’ve recognized that what Paul writes here fits right in with all he has written to this point in the book; his consistency is really incredible! Maybe you’ve always seen this, and that’s terrific. I haven’t. The subject of choices is very important in this chapter, along with the encouragement to make good, sound, and godly decisions or choices!
So, what’s so exciting about what Paul writes to the Corinthians, and to us? Let’s look at this chapter together and see what’s in this letter to one of our congregations nearly 2000 years ago.
The beginning situation is rather shocking, if you’re used to thinking as an idealistic Christian. If you don, you can’t imagine this kind of thing happening. Ideally, you’re right, but practically…. well, it doesn’t always work out ideally. Church members were taking church members to court! They shouldn’t be doing that, though. Right there, we’re confronted with a choice, aren’t we? We see the choice that some were making and we’re challenged by the fact that this was not making the best choice.
1 Cor. 6. 1- 8- Paul begins with very strong language- in a sense he’s saying ‘how dare you make this choice?’ Or, ‘how can you make this choice when there’s the correct alternative right before your eyes?’ Paul clarifies very quickly. This is all about how we feel about our spiritual family, first of all, and, secondly, how we treat our brothers and sisters, and it’s interesting that it seems we can, and will, do almost anything to avoid face-to-face confrontation. The very idea of taking a brother to court speaks of this- can’t they just get together and talk it out and negotiate an agreeable conclusion? Well, life doesn’t always go like that.
A few years ago- approximately 20- there was an interesting situation in my family, between two brothers. These men were above 60 at the time. One had an agreement to be able to borrow a farm truck from the other when he needed it and one time he did. But the other brother found that the shed door was open and some of his tools were missing, in addition to the truck. So, what was the first thing he did? He called his brother, of course!? No, he called the RCMP and reported that his brother had stolen some of his tools from his shed. Well, you can imagine the grief this caused within the family. We ended up with two brothers who wouldn’t speak to each other for nearly two years. In the midst of this time, their mother, aged over 90, died. This situation presented tensions into which everyone in the family entered, and it wasn’t pleasant being around these brothers during that time. The borrowing brother was clear that he didn’t take the tools, and that he had shut the door properly, as he always did. But do you think the other brother would believe that? No! So, rather than discuss the situation and hear each other out, they simply didn’t speak for many, many months- actually, for close to two years! (Ideally, this shouldn’t happen, but practically, it did, and does, in families and in the body of Christ.)
In face-to-face discussions, or confrontations, there’s always the ‘fear factor’. The ‘fear factor’ is really a matter of pride. This is the fear of being wrong and being shown to be wrong. Because of this, people will often follow some courses that don’t make a lot of sense and which seem easier, but, really, are not easier for anyone involved.
God tells us how to handle offenses.
Matt. 18. 15ff- Please remember that this is referring to offenses. This passage is not speaking of the fact that you simply don’t like someone because his or her personality is different from yours, or the way he/she handles something is different than the way you handle something, or he/she comes across differently than you might like. We’re not meant to abuse this and apply it just because we don’t like the way someone looks or anything so superficial. This is speaking about how to handle an offense. Jesus told the Corinthian Christians how to handle their situation, long before it arose. Jesus did not say to use the courts, but directed a course of action that works! This course will work within, even, work situations, if you use employer instead of minister, for instance. In other words, we have to be willing to talk it out first, then to bring it to the ‘big guns’. Too often, we take it to the authorities, first, and sometimes authorities jump in too soon; I’ve been guilty of this and try hard, now, to be more careful in this kind of area. This is one of those principles that, if applied, would lead to lessening of all sorts of difficulties between people. In any church, there are people who haven’t followed this, and who have difficulties with someone where there has been an offense, and this can go on for years. It shouldn’t and you, and I, have a mandate, from Jesus, Himself, to obey! This is part of the ‘law of Christ’, which, historically, refers to His declaration to ‘love your neighbour as yourself’! This is part of doing that!
v. 7- is very powerful! The idea of ‘it’s better to be wronged than to drag Christ through the dirt’, is very strong. Why drag Christ through the courts? Imagine the headlines that are really appropriate. In Northern Ireland: “Christ fights Christ- 3 people killed”; “Christ hates Christ”- a headline to describe some of the feelings between some evangelical Christians and Roman Catholic Christians. Those are headlines that don’t make a lot of sense. But they are really the headlines that are playing every day somewhere in the world. Don’t think that these aren’t the headlines in the “Hell Gazette” or the “Standard-Freeholder of Hell”! You can be sure they are! They might even be the headlines in the “Heavenly Times”, too, as the angels look down and are saddened by what they see happening here.
“Why do you not rather take wrong?” How willing are you to take wrong, rather than insisting on being right? You can be right… and be wrong, you know. Paul declares this, here. People taking each other to court, where it was avoidable, need to consider this. I remember this in a church area some years ago, where two Christian brothers had entered business together and things hadn’t gone as expected; one of them made sure that the other ended up in jail, and I had to visit that one brother in jail on one occasion! No one would back down there. No one would take wrong, rather than further hurt the other. It was a sad time and rather stressful for this pastor, at least- one of the brothers was in my congregation, one was in a neighboring area. (Scripture, by the way, tells you that you’re not to give grief to your pastors! Some don’t work really hard at that.) There are times when courts are necessary, and they do fulfill the role of the ‘minister’ when there is not one- often in divorce situations, for instance- they do have their place.
How willing are you to take wrong rather than insisting on being right? Remember, that Paul continually directs our attention to “HIM”- to God, as in the first verses of this letter, and, for us, as long as “HIM” is around, then we’ll never lose… in the long & eternal term! Too often, we forget this simple reality!
1 Cor. 6. 9-11- this is great encouragement. God’s justice is supreme! You can’t avoid it! Maybe you can get a judgment in a court of law, but that doesn’t change what is really real, if what the court sees isn’t really real. I’d hate to be someone who lied in court. There is always God watching out in the situation. So, this follows on the heels of the discussion about the courts and declares how changed we are capable of being, in Christ. If we’re changed, and Paul is declaring how changed these people were supposed to be, then we can change how we treat one another and can change the channels we use for getting satisfaction in any situation. We can humble ourselves and do what’s right, rather than what’s easy. (Imagine, asking the RCMP to mediate a situation between brothers, rather than one brother going to the other and asking a simple question!) That’s not the way for Christian brother/sisters to act and treat each other. Maybe you can get a judgment in court, but if you’re still unrighteous, there’s no way for your to muscle your way into God’s Kingdom!
How do you treat your brothers and sisters? How do you treat any others? Consider Phil. 4.2, which declares our need to ‘esteem others as better than ourselves.’ This is an important idea!
v. 12- maybe you CAN use courts of law, for instance, but is that really the right way to go. (Don’t take this too far. Paul isn’t making a declaration about anything at all. There IS a context here, and it has to do with some important subjects, including handling disputes between brothers/sisters, food, and use of sex.) The key idea, in this entire chapter passage, is in verse 20- you aren’t the boss of you anymore, if you’re a Christian- God is the boss of you!
v. 13- The physical that we’ve been given has a very important purpose, and we have to be careful not to look too low, as we can so easily be guilty of doing. There are things we can ‘get away with’ and millions of people seem to do just that. However, you can’t wrest what’s REALLY true, even if you can ‘get away with it’. The ‘getting away with’ doesn’t change having to deal with God and His judgment in the end, and with facing the real ‘why?’ of so much. Was the physical body created just to please itself? Millions believe so. However, here, we’re told something that we need to trumpet to the world! The body is a vehicle for carrying God to the world! Did you know that? Do you act like you know that? How do you treat your body? Are you properly careful? Do you take care in your health of the body, for instance? We dare not become of the type of people who separate physical and spiritual as if they are separate. There’s nothing we do that’s not in the spiritual realm! There is no separation between physical and spiritual! The physical is a tool and a vehicle for the work of God! Remember that! The Corinthians were not and thought they were OK with God in the spiritual realm and free to do pretty much what they wanted in the physical. Some of their ancient philosophical ideas were carrying through, and this was one of them.
v. 14- gives us a tremendous promise, and it’s happening in our lives every day. We’ve just focused on the Resurrection, last weekend. Resurrection is NOT just something for the future, as we understand it. Resurrection happens right from the time someone comes up from the waters of baptism and happens every day and in all sorts of situations every day! Going forward with God challenges us, in every thing we do, think, and say, to go with God!
Again, we see this in the next verse (v.15) that challenges us to remember that we belong to Christ, not to self. We are not to simply give in to selfish desires or the easy way. We’re here to do God’s Work, and there’s nothing we do that’s not part of that Work. We might bring credit to God’s work. We might bring discredit to God’s work. But we are in that work all the time- from the time we accept Christ and enter the family and the family business when we’re baptized! So, in the end, we always have to deal with God and answer to God for whatever we’ve done.
v. 16, 17- remember what you are NOW! This is for NOW! This isn’t for some nebulous time in the future. You are joined to God, now! This was new truth for some of the Corinthians! They didn’t understand this. Union with their gods was not something for here and now. It’s the same for so many other religions, where they look forward to being with God in nirvana or some such future place. Too much, we’ve put too much emphasis on the future being with God. Christians can be guilty of focusing on ‘heaven’, or ‘the kingdom’, or ‘the wonderful world tomorrow’, and forget TODAY! Let me tell you something: You are living with God right now! You’d better be living the way He wants you to live, right now! Don’t wait for the future. Live it now! Don’t put off living for and with God for some distant future date! Do it NOW! Remember what you are NOW! And let that change your life NOW!
v. 18, 19, 20- we are capable of responding to so many situations differently than God designed for us to do. This is where animals and inanimate parts of creation have it so easily; they always act in total compatibility with what they were created to do and, in that, they bring worship to the perfect God. Our dog smells good food and begs at the table- that’s natural. A lion chases a gazelle and eats it- that’s natural and worships God.
However, we can make choices, not always about what swirls around inside us and that stirs temptation in us, but in what we’ll do with that temptation. All of us have it- all day long! And that’s where we do fight ‘spiritual forces in high places’, as Eph. 6 tells us. However, we, Christians, are restrained by remembering that we represent God NOW. We don’t belong to ourselves anymore. That’s hard truth sometimes- as hard for any one of us as for any other. Being tempted is NOT sin. Sin enters when we do something that we ought not with that temptation. That’s why the instruction and command to ‘flee fornication’ or any other inappropriate expression in the human, yet spiritual, realm. We have a choice! Sometimes, it can be incredibly difficult to make the correct choice, and we can even wish we’d made the incorrect choice. BUT it’s important to make the right choice, nonetheless.
Verse 20 is so clear in telling us that we are bought with a price. Again, we have focused on that price so clearly in messages over the Easter season! That is so very important to remember, not just then but each week, all year long! We carry the Holy Spirit NOW! We’re temples of God NOW! And we make choices in how we live as temples of God NOW!
This is what Paul wants us to learn. This is what God intends for you and me to remember today. You are a creation capable of making choices that baser animals cannot make. How you and I function as decision makers or choice makers is significant. Whether we’re facing a dispute with someone or an opportunity to do something that all society might accept, but God might not, or an opportunity to sin, we make decisions. In those decisions, we glorify God and advance His work, or discredit God and bring reproach to our witness and to the work of God.
I didn’t understand all this, as a thread, from 1 Corinthians 6 until fairly recently. It’s exciting to learn new things from God, even after 30 years of walking with Him! This is an important thread. You and I need to be excellent choice makers!
Do you remember that you belong to God? Do! Keep that before you and ask Him for His guidance in every situation and at all times. Keep God conscious! It will make all the difference in how you live your life and in how you advance the Work of God through your life!
