SUNDAY January 22, 2023

Sin in the Church

Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then
take the members of Christ and make them members
of a harlot? Certainly not!
1 Corinthians 6:15

Paul the Apostle wrote to the church of Corinth because of their carnality and sin. The Greeks among them worshiped many different idols. There was a Temple for the goddess Aphrodite––the goddess of love and fertility. There were 1000 temple prostitutes who would come down to be among the men of the city. Some of the men in the church of Corinth were tempted to commit sexual sin.

Ananias and Sapphira’s sin of hypocrisy hindered the work of God in Acts 5, and once again, sin had entered the Corinthian church. Paul even heard a report that there is sexual immorality among you, and such sexual immorality as is not even named among the Gentiles—that a man has his father’s wife! (1 Corinthians 5:1).

The Apostle wrote a letter of rebuke back to the church. Why had the senior pastor not instilled church discipline? There needed to be repentance, otherwise, if they chose not to repent, they should be asked to leave the church. Paul instructed that no one should even eat lunch with a person living in willful sin (1 Corinthians 5:11), as eating with them was a sign of acceptance and fellowship in those days.

I believe, even though God is still working, many Christians are living like those in the Corinthian church. They want to worship God and see His divine miracles and wonders, but they are allowing sin to dominate their lives. Have you heard the phrase, a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Leaven is a type of sin. Paul used this analogy to warn Christians that their sin would destroy the church (1 Corinthians 5:6).

God desires a holy Church. He wants to do miracles and wonders––to save people’s souls. Sin hinders His work. Is there leaven––sin––in your life? If so, repent and ask God to purify your life. Make things right before Him so He can use your life.

The Bible says there is a certain pleasure in sin.
However, it is short-lived and fatal.
~Billy Graham~

For more from Raul Ries, please visit SomebodyLovesYou.com!