Terry Storch

Writing about life, leadership, faith, and anything else I find interesting.

A land mine

 

We have come to the land mine chapter in 1 Corinthians...chapter 6. It does cover lawsuits among believers and condemning this behavior. Inside this topic, it also includes something that makes absolutely no sense to me. 

“If any of you has a dispute with another, do you dare to take it before the ungodly for judgment instead of before the Lord’s people? Or do you not know that the Lord’s people will judge the world? And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases? Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life!” - ‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭6:1-3‬ ‭NIV‬‬

We will judge angels? Seriously? How on earth will this work, and what does that mean? I think this is a perfect example of the need to read something in the Bible and say, yeah, I have no idea what that means. 

But that’s not the land mine. The land mine is homosexuality. I am not going to step on this land mine today, but I am going to ask a few questions and share a few things I was processing this morning. Let’s dive into the verses:

“Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.” -‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭6:9-10‬ ‭NIV‬‬‬‬

Out of the gate, we read here Paul drawing a line in the sand...inheriting or not inheriting the kingdom of God. These verses tend to draw a lot of attention because of homosexuality, but I think we can miss the other topics Paul lists as well. 

  • sexually immoral:: as we read this, I am wondering and thinking who would this be? Jesus said anyone who looks lustfully has committed adultery.

  • Idolaters:: who would this be? Anyone who puts anything above God? 

  • adulterers:: this on the surface is a little easier, I suppose, but what about someone who remarries after divorce? Oh, that might create a few complications. 

  • men who have sex with men:: ok, there is our land mine.

  • greedy:: whoa, that's a broad topic. A line in the sand on greedy?

  • drunkards:: ok, does this mean alcoholic, or one who has been drunk or drunk a few times a month? 

  • slanderers:: where does office gossip fall with slandering?

  • swindlers:: I think I might have made my point, but I could go on with this as well. 

Wow, that is a list. I am thankful that Paul didn't stop at verse 10...this list is pretty all-encompassing - and I believe we all would fall into one of these categories, if not many of these categories. Paul added this important verse next: 

“And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” - ‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭6:11‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Transformation, this is what Paul is saying. You (the Corinthians) were on the list, and now you are sanctified and justified in the name of Jesus. Saved by grace through faith, not works, or being worthy. 

Then, the bomb that leads to a powerful reminder and close:

“I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything,”—but I will not be mastered by anything.” - ‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭6:12‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Paul then takes the Corinthians on a ride about sexual immorality. That yes, they have been saved by grace, but that is not a free ticket to act any way they desire. We need to remember the context in which this is written, and the Corinthians had significant issues with morality and sex. It was a free for all, and entirely out of control in the culture. 

“Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body. Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.” - ‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭6:18-20‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Paul raises the bar and stresses why sexual immorality has a different weight to it. Sexual immorality is a bullet point on the list, and he drills into this one. Our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit!  I am left with the continual desire to honor God with my body!  

And judging angels...I am just going to wait for my time come, and figure that one out when I pass from this human body. 

other writing
John 20 - The Gospel

John 20 - The Gospel

The Gospel, the Good News! Jesus, Son of God, was born of Mary, lived as the Son of Man, died, and rose to life to rescue the world and bring about a new life. The central message of the gospel. Jesus, the centerpiece! John 19 & 20 cover the brutal death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.

In this scene, I can not imagine how the disciples felt. John describes them as overjoyed...but those words just fall short of what I can imagine this moment was like.

John 19 - The Magnitude of the Cross

John 19 - The Magnitude of the Cross

The day of Jesus' crucifixion fulfilled 28 Old Testament prophecies. Scripture was fulfilled! Beyond that, trying to wrap my mind around what happened this day, on the cross, and fully grabbing the magnitude of the cross is mind-boggling.

Sure, we can dumb this down or simplify it to a place where I just don’t believe it is anywhere near accurate. We can get into penal substitution and argue over was God full of love or was God full of wrath and hate that he killed his son. To me, John 3:16 is pretty clear on the love part.

John 18 - Jesus levels an army

John 18 - Jesus levels an army

In John 18, we come to the great betrayal. Judas came with the soldiers, officials, and chief priest and Pharisees. We know the scene. But this morning, I saw something I don’t remember reading and surly don’t remember learning about.

“So Judas came to the garden, guiding a detachment of soldiers and some officials from the chief priests and the Pharisees. They were carrying torches, lanterns and weapons. Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him, went out and asked them, “Who is it you want?” “Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “I am he,” Jesus said. (And Judas the traitor was standing there with them.) When Jesus said, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground.” - ‭‭John‬ ‭18:3-6‬ ‭NIV‬‬

John 17 - The Lords Prayer

John 17 - The Lords Prayer

John 17 is Jesus looking heavenward and praying to God the Father. So much beauty and mystery in this prayer. One thing that jumps out to me is that Jesus, fully God, and fully man prayed. Jesus is God fully. Why did he need to pray, He was One with the Father, He was God...and yet he prayed. This is so powerful;

“And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.” - ‭‭John‬ ‭17:5‬ ‭NIV‬‬

John 16 - What does it take to believe?

John 16 - What does it take to believe?

By the end of John 16, Jesus had done countless miracles, preached some amazing sermons, transformed so many lives, and developed a close and personal relationship with his disciples. So, when reading these verses, I am just utterly confused on so many levels.

“I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.” Then Jesus’ disciples said, “Now you are speaking clearly and without figures of speech. Now we can see that you know all things and that you do not even need to have anyone ask you questions. This makes us believe that you came from God.” “Do you now believe?” Jesus replied.” - ‭‭John‬ ‭16:28-31‬ ‭NIV‬‬

John 16 - Undervaluing God in Spirit

John 16 - Undervaluing God in Spirit

Jesus’ time on earth is quickly coming to a close, and he finishes up his last sermon or teaching to his disciples as they walk to Gethsemane. This final teaching was a heavy one that no doubt left his disciples with a heavy heart. Jesus said it this way;

“...None of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ Rather, you are filled with grief because I have said these things.” - ‭‭John‬ ‭16:5-6‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Jesus goes on to say;

John 15 - Constant Growth

John 15 - Constant Growth

We were built for growth, constant growth. From birth, all the way until our death, we were designed by God for constant growth. The problem is, we often can find ourselves stuck in a belief, a phase, or a part of life where we stop growing.

One of the most brilliant investors embodies this understanding. Charlie Munger, at 96 years old, is still learning and growing as a person. I love this quote:

“Knowing what you don’t know is more useful than being brilliant.”
- Charlie Munger

John 14 - The Gift of Peace

John 14 - The Gift of Peace

John 14 opens with Jesus, saying, Don’t let your hearts be troubled. And the chapter closed down with Jesus saying Don’t be troubled or afraid.

A message that needs to resonate with our spirit and our inner self. This was such a good reminder, reading through John 14 over and over. This passage lifted off the screen.

“But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you. “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart…

John 14 - Troubled Hearts

John 14 - Troubled Hearts

The world today seems so volatile and chaotic. Everywhere you look, whatever we read and see on TV just seems to be troubling. Last night, I noticed my lovely wife Tweeted this;

“I can’t be the only one who watches the news and is simply embarrassed right now, right? (Dear Jesus, we tap out. Come on back.)”

I find this first humorous, but then I also find it sad. It’s true, watching the news as a Christ-follower is pretty embarrassing. In John 14, we see Jesus…

John 13 - Unselfish Concern

John 13 - Unselfish Concern

Summarizing John, chapter 13, looks like this. The Lords Supper takes place. Jesus washes the disciple's feet. Jesus calls out Judas, and Satan enters him. Night comes, Judas leaves, and Jesus says he must go, and where I am going, you can not come. To cap it all off, Jesus also calls out Simon Peter and tells him that he will deny and completely disown Jesus three times. Whoa, a really full chapter, and historical day.

Nestled in the wrap up of the day is the parting message Jesus leaves his disciples, a message Jesus is sharing with us right now.

 
thoughtsTerry Storch