Thursday 4 September 2014

Slave of Christ: You were brought at a price

Turn with me to 1 Corinthians 6:
When one of you has a grievance against another, does he dare go to law before the unrighteous instead of the saints? Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases? Do you not know that we are to judge angels? How much more, then, matters pertaining to this life! So if you have such cases,why do you lay them before those who have no standing in the church?I say this to your shame. Can it be that there is no one among you wise enough to settle a dispute between the brothers, but brother goes to law against brother, and that before unbelievers? To have lawsuits at all with one another is already a defeat for you. Why not rather suffer wrong? Why not rather be defrauded? But you yourselves wrong and defraud—even your own brothers![a]
Or do you not know that the unrighteous[b] will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practise homosexuality,[c] 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you. 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.

Flee Sexual Immorality

12 “All things are lawful for me”, but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful for me”, but I will not be enslaved by anything. 13 “Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food”—and God will destroy both one and the other. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. 14 And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power. 15 Do you not know thatyour bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! 16 Or do you not know that he who is joined[d] to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For, as it is written, “The two will become one flesh.” 17 But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him. 18 Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin[e]a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body.19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

In the context, Paul is exhorting the Corinthians to live holy and pure lives because they now belong to Jesus.

The Corinthians were guilty of many sins, such as taking brothers in Christ to unbelieving judges and suing them, engaging in lustful and sexual immorality and other sins of the flesh that cut on off from God.

Paul makes it abundantly clear that man is a slave of Christ due to the phrase "you were brought at a price", giving us the implication that one is subject to Christ in all his life and that we are to live to him and die to sin and live for righteousness.

Being a slave of Christ doesn't mean that we are partakers of apartheid and subject to it, but we have our will to be inexorably bound to his (His way or the highway to put it bluntly).

This is why Jesus tells us to deny ourselves, take up the cross and follow him, it is his will that is to be accomplished, not mans.

By all means see if it is the Lords Will for you to do something and if there isn't a direct command, do what should please him, which includes listening to your conscience if you feel uncertain about a particular activity, movie, what you can read etc.

Let us give ourselves to the cause of Christ with no hesitation.

 Answering Judaism.

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