I Cor. 6:9-11 - The Church As a Haven of Hope

- we're studying the book of I Corinthians and tonight we're
going to be looking at chapter 6 verses 9-11
- if you've been with us in our last couple of studies you
know that the first half of chapter 6 deals with believers
taking other believers in the church to court
- Paul says that we ought not to do that - and he's given
several reasons why that's true

- now in these next verses - Paul is going to give us the
positive side of that argument
- he's already given the negative side - here's what you
shouldn't do and here's why you shouldn't do it
- but now he's going to flip the coin over and say - if you
don't do those kinds of things for the reasons I've stated,
here's what the church can be like
- here's God's desire for the church

- that should have been so important to the Corinthians
- we said in the very first message in this series that the
Lord had placed the Corinthians in a very strategic place
for ministry
- the sad thing was they weren't capitalizing on the great
opportunities the Lord had given because they weren't
nearly as concerned about becoming the kind of church God
wanted them to be as they should have been

- I'm sure you've noticed this, but we have had a tremendous
amount of newer individuals visiting our church
- many of those folks have moved here from a different area
where they had a good church back home and have a lot of
things in place
- but there's a lot of others who are coming who would
readily say - "we're hurting - we're here because we need
some help - and we need it now"
- and if you love people - your heart goes out to folks in
that kind of situation -
- and we also say, "Lord help us - help us to be all
that you want us to be as a church so that we can
minister most effectively to those You bring our way"

- that's why verses like I Cor. 6:9-11 are so important -
because they give us additional important information on
what God wants the church to be like

- I'd like to push that idea one step further before we read
the verses.
- Last week we had the privilege of hearing Warren Wiersbe
speak and one of the things he said was - the mind of man
is not a debating ground - it's a picture gallery
- the point is - God often communicates truth to us through
pictures or stories

- That’s especially true when the Lord tells us about what the
church is to be like.
- INPUT - Can you think of some pictures the Lord uses? The
church is like a ___________ (army, flock, body)

- tonight I'd like to present to you that these verses give
us another way of looking at the church - and that is that
it's a "Haven of Hope"
- Paul is giving us in verses 9-11, 3 truths about the church
that if believed and practiced, will make the church a
place of hope...
- a place of hope for believers who are trying to grow
and change and handle life in a way that pleases the
Lord
- and a place of hope for unbelievers who are looking
for answers to the most important questions of life

- let's read verses 9-11 and look for three ways we can be a
haven of hope

- read 9-11
- (while reading - stop at "effeminate and abusers of
selves with mankind)
- by the way, this is one of the many clear verses in
the Word of God that teach that homosexuality is sin
before God.
- one of the unique things about this passage is that
it mentions both the passive partner (the one who's
effeminate) and the aggressive partner (the one
who's an abuser of mankind)
- it doesn't matter how much the world wants to
say that that’s just an alternate lifestyle - God
says its wicked before Him
- (keep reading)

- the first way we can be a "Haven of Hope" is:

I. By Being Distinct Corporately And Individually

- under this point, I'd like us to think about the
question, "Why did Paul write what he did?"
- here's why that's so important
- ultimately, as we study the Scriptures, what are we
looking for? What do we want to leave with?
(application - white board - Bible - contemporary
application)

- one of the things that keep our applications on track
is dealing with the question - "How did the writer want
this truth to impact his original audience?"
- or ****** "How does this fit in with the overall
argument of the chapter or book?

- INPUT - how would you answer that question?
- Why did Paul write what he did in verses 9-10 and
how does it fit in with everything else that's
been said?

1) Fits in with the lawsuit issue. The Corinthians
weren't focusing on the differences between
believers and unbelievers in terms of their
ability to judge.

2) They also weren't focusing on how their taking
another believer to court might affect an
unbeliever.

- we talked about that last week
- a good name is rather to be chosen than
great riches

3) Fits in with the issue of the world's wisdom and
the wisdom of God from earlier chapters.
- they were so concerned about being thought of
as wise by unbelievers
- that proved they didn't recognize the
important of being different

- we have mentioned this several times because it's come up
several times in these chapters

- what I'd like to point out here is that failing to be
distinct corporately and individually was robbing
themselves and others of hope

- Paul brings it up again in a positive way to say - "this is
how I want you to think"
- "This is how I want you to behave as a result of right
thinking...

- unrighteous individuals won't inherit the kingdom of
God
- you've been hauling other believers before
unrighteous judges in court
- you've been wanting unrighteous people to think
you're wise

- you need to know something different, think something
different
- the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God

- you need to believe that and do all you can to be
distinct individually and corporately

- letter to Ann Landers

- do you hear the air of hopelessness in that letter?
- wouldn't it have been great if a Christian young person
would have gotten to know this girl, and showed her by a
lifestyle that sought to please God that you don't have
to go along with the crowd on sexual issues?
- wouldn't it have been great if this young girl could have
learned this lesson positively by the testimony of a
believer instead of negatively through the pain of sin?

- I wonder how many young people who go to that school are
Christians?
- I wonder how many of them are living for the Lord?
- I wonder how many of them want to have the kind of life
and the kind of church that dares to believe what Paul is
teaching in these verses and live accordingly?

- perhaps if they were doing a better job, this letter
wouldn't have had to be written. Perhaps a young woman
today would have some hope.

- Let's think for a minute about how we can do this
corporately, as a church body.

- Let's say that a person enters our building, and he/she
is really wrestling with some things. (that happens every
Sunday)
- what can we do in an attempt to be distinct corporately?

1) friendliness (results of last 2 visits)
2) genuine caring
3) calls during the week
4) enthusiastic worship (if you can't get excited about
singing when Doug Morrison or Pastor Lopez is leading
singing - there's something wrong with you!)

- let's push this one step further - In order to emphasize
this point - why is it important to have newer folks in
our homes for meals and times of fellowship.
- to demonstrate that God's Word affects the way we
handle life at home.

- point is this - Paul says - "Don't you know?"
- the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God
- you ought not to be doing what you're doing, thinking
what you're thinking, wanting what you're wanting
- Instead, as a result of truly believing verses 9 and
10, look for ways to be distinct both corporately and
individually
- it will give you and it will give others hope

- this fits in well with what Pastor was preaching on Sunday
night from Eph. 1
- Paul is praying for us, that we might know the hope of his
calling
- and we could add from these verses - praying that
our lives might help others know the hope of his
calling as well

- one question we need to ask is - What impact does your life
have on others when it comes to the issue of hope?
- do folks at church, home, work, have more hope that God
can help an individual to change, grow and handle life
- do they more hope or less hope in God as a result of
knowing and observing you

- Paul moves on in verse 11 and says, you can be a haven of
hope:

II. By Having The Right Perspective on the Past

- verse 11 has great words of encouragement - "such were some
of you"
- one of the greatest reasons why people today don't have
hope is because of some unbiblical things that are being
said about your past
- sad thing is - some of these things are being taught in
Christian books, magazines, and from the pulpits of well-
known preachers

- let's think about:

A. 2 popular teachings today

1. once you're an addict, you're an addict for life

- I'm an addict, and I'll always be an addict
- now I'm sure those groups do a lot of good things, I'm sure
there are a lot of dedicated people in the groups
- We can also be glad that unbelievers are trying to do
something to curb their drunkenness and other sinful habits
because it makes our community a safer place to live
- Our first choice is that they'd be saved, but if they're
not going to do that, the fact that they're trying to curb
some of these sinful habits is better than nothing

- but we've always got to think biblically and it's not right
for a person to go around the rest of their days saying,
I'm an alcoholic, I'm a sexual addict, I'm a junk food
addict
- people are taught to say "I've been that and I will always
be that"
- what's especially alarming about this is that many
Christian organizations are modeling the way they help
people with the ten step approach, and what we're talking
about is foundational to the approach
- we'll talk more about that one in a minute

- another popular teaching about your past is:

2. What you are today is primarily determined by your
past (which is buried in your unconscious mind),
especially the way others mistreated you

- there was a contemporary example of this in the
paper this week
- Roseann Barr

- point is - many today, even Christians, are saying - Your
past controls you - you can never get away from it, you
are your past

- we need to ask:

B. What does the Bible say?

1. you have been forgiven of your past

Psalm 103:12 - "As far as the east is from the
west, so far hath he removed our transgressions
from us."

2. you have been freed from your past

"Such were some of you..."

- Rom. 6:11 - Reckon yourselves to be dead unto
sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ
our Lord

- now let's put some balance on that
- there's nothing wrong with a believer saying - I used
to be caught up in that particular sin and now I have
to be extremely cautious in that area

- great difference between talking about being especially
cautious because of something in my past as opposed to
saying "I've got it, and I've got it forever"
- for example - If my neighbors got together and had a
summertime cookout, and then someone showed up with a
beer in his hand, we wouldn't stomp away
- we'd be sure that whatever we drank was in the kind of
container so everyone would know we weren't drinking
alcohol as well
- but Kris or I wouldn't be tempted to go behind
the person's garage and sneak a beer ourselves
- that’s not something we've struggled with

- but some folks who are believers might say - I'd
wrestle with that one
- I need to get some more time between me and that
habit
- I need to put some additional safeguards up
- I want to be sure I'm cautiously guarding the
commands

- that’s vastly different than attaching a label to a person
for life
- Labels rob people of hope

- Jr. high - misbehaving on the bus - got called into the
office with my parents, the principle, and the bus driver
- he's the "ringleader"
- I spent the rest of the year trying to live up to
my label

- putting labels on people robs them of hope

- that’s why Paul says - "such were some of you"
- guilty of the worst sins imaginable
- but you don't have to be that way any more

- see, you can have hope by having the right perspective on
the past
- You're not a slave to it
- you're not hopelessly bound to be a certain way or behave a
certain way

- now, we're not saying a person's past has no bearing on
their present behavior
- I think it'd be good to ask at this point:

C. What should I do with my past?

1. be sure you've confessed known sin

- Psalm 66:18 - "If I regard iniquity in my heart,
the Lord will not hear me."

- Prov. 28:13 - "He that covers his sin..."

- point is - our past can affect us dramatically if
we have sin we knowingly have not dealt with

2. exercise faith in God's forgiveness

- now we're not saying "forgive yourself"
- the Bible never tells us to do that
- we forgive others, God forgives us

- but when it comes to sins in the past, once I
have confessed them, I have no right to go over
and over

- to do so is to minimize the effect of the blood of
Christ
- such were some of you - but you are washed

3. use past as an opportunity to discern habits

- there are times when it's appropriate to think
back to instances when someone else wronged
you, or someone else was abusive to you
- but from this vantage point
- "What sinful habits did I develop as a
result of not handling that trial
biblically that are still being manifested
today?"

- it very well may be that a person struggling with
authority could think back to a time when a teacher,
parent, had been sinful to them - and that they had
responded to that treatment in a sinful way
- and that those habits of wrong thinking, speaking,
behaving towards authority continued and continued
to develop
- in that sense, thinking back to the past could be
very profitable, not to blame it on someone else,
but to gain additional insight into how to change
and grow

- the overall point we're making is this: - Having the right
perspective on the past gives hope

- let's talk about how:

D. How this gives hope

- when I think of this point, I think of a couple I
worked with from another city who had had marriage
difficulties and were actually separated and had
filed for divorce
- when they came, they didn't have any hope
- their past was riddled with problems and unresolved
issues

- what complicated this case was that this fellow
was a body builder who had problems with his temper

- but I can remember sharing some of these concepts
with them and that big mountain of a man tearing up
- realizing, that God is a God of hope

- see, the church ought to be a haven of hope, and we
must look for opportunities to help individuals
get the right perspective on their pasts

- such were some of you - you don't have to be that
way the rest of your days

- let's talk about how we can do this
- hypothetical situation - you have a couple (cf.
Pt I) and they comment that your kids are well
behaved, and wonder how you do it

- Before immediately moving in and sharing some child
raising principles, what could you share about your
child-raising that goes along with this point that
could be a real encouragement?

(we've struggled too - but thank the Lord - such
were some of you - God's helped us to change)

III. By Understanding And Appreciating All That God Has Done
In Salvation

A. You are washed

- Psalm 119:9 - "Wherewithall shall a young man
cleanse his way - by taking heed thereto according
to thy word."

B. You are sanctified

- God has set us apart for a special purpose

C. You are justified