Today's reading from the Chronological OT/NT Reading Plan is 1 Chronicles 1-3; 1 Corinthians 6.
So sorry I'm late. I have no excuse; I simply forgot to get this done yesterday.
Today's reading is a tough one to post about. First we have three chapters of genealogies in 1 Chronicles. I had a couple of thoughts there...
#1 - there were 10 generations from Adam to Noah, and in 10 generations the world had become so depraved that God couldn't stand it anymore. How many generations have there been since? Is the world any less depraved today than it was then? I doubt it. And yet, God has honoured his promise not to destroy the earth with a flood. Amazing self-control, I'd say.
#2 - basically all the nations that Isreal had to defeat in order to live in the promised land were descended from Ham. I imagine this was more geographical than anything else - the descendants of a certain person would likely have all lived in the same general area, but I still found it interesting.
#3 - if I read correctly, Ishmael had 12 sons just like Jacob did. Minor point of interest for me.
#4 - they list 19 sons for David and then they say that doesn't count the sons by his concubines, nor does it mention the daughters other than Tamar. How many kids did he have?!?!
Moving on to the New Testament chapter, I found a couple of sermons or studies on www.bible.org by Bob Deffinbaugh relating to this chapter, which seems to be divided into two parts when it comes to studies - part 1 being lawsuits and part 2 being sexual immorality. (I also came across an interesting study called Homosexual Theology if this is of interest to you or something you feel you know too little about and would like a Biblical viewpoint on the subject.)
Courting Sin covers the first 11 verses. The Relationship Between Spirituality and Sexual Morality covers verses 12-20. If you have the desire and the time, I highly recommend both of these studies to you, but I will just take an excerpt from the conclusion of Courting Sin for this post.
Let us be clear on what Paul says here. Paul rebukes the Corinthian saints for failing (or refusing) to resolve their disputes with one another within the church. Paul wants his readers to see the folly of taking spiritual matters before unbelievers, who can have no grasp of the real issues. Paul knows, as the Corinthians should, that the legal system deals with the protection of men’s rights and the seeking of one’s self-interest, while the gospel is about the surrender of one’s rights and the seeking of the best interests of others. If the dispute cannot be resolved within the church, Paul advocates that the offended party suffer the loss, for the sake of the gospel. In no case should any Christian think that breaking the laws of man or God is something a person can continue after coming to faith in Christ, as though this doesn’t matter. Crooks do not go to heaven; saints do.
Is the Christian never to go to court under any circumstances? Does this apply to civil proceedings or to criminal proceedings as well? Should a Christian ever “press charges” against a fellow-believer? These are very difficult questions, for which there are not always black and white answers.
I must admit that in the past I would have said that Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 6 are to be applied to civil cases, and not to criminal matters. The list of offenses Paul gives us in verses 9 and 10 include those matters which are morally wrong (adultery, covetousness) and those which are criminally wrong (e.g. swindlers, thieves). There may be times when the Christian chooses not to press criminal charges against a fellow-believer. There may also be times when this is done for the good of that believer and for the good of society. Violent physical abuse may be an occasion where pressing charges is in order, especially after church discipline has been carried out. There are no nice and neat answers to such troublesome matters, but we do have spiritual principles to guide us. In the final analysis, we should act in a way that we believe takes God’s Word seriously, which promotes the gospel, and which brings glory to God.
Do not ever forget that the courts before which we may stand now are not the “court of final appeal.” God alone will bring justice to this earth. It is before God whom we must all stand. If we are wronged in this life, be assured that God will make things right in the next. The ultimate judgment is the one which we should regard as the final judgment.
One more thing which is very important must be said. The Corinthian Christians end up in the civil courts because their conflicts were not dealt with in their early stages. Conflicts are like cancer: the sooner we get after them, the sooner we will be healed, and the more likely it is that the consequences will not be devastating. (all emphases mine)
Happy Thursday! Hope you have a great weekend.
Tomorrow's passage: 1 Chronicles 4-6; 1 Corinthians 7:1-19.
2 comments:
One thing I found interesting in the genealogies is that Solomon is the 4th son born to Bathsheba, not the first.
Paul would not be popular in most churches these day I think. No one wants to hold anyone accountable - often using the excuse that gossip (etc) is a sin just like adultery so if we kick the adulterer out we'd have to kick everyone out of the church (which is nonsense IMHO). Everyone's so afraid of being labelled judgmental, that we no longer support each other. Which means we can no longer nip things in the bud before they grow out of control, like Miriam's quote said.
I think that's partly due to the attitude in society today (which is sad that the church has adopted a similar attitude), but I'm convinced is largely due to the fact that Christians, as a whole, have lost the passion for God's holiness that the early church had.
Interesting observations on the genealogies. I often wonder too if the world today is much worse than before the flood and if God regrets his promise.
This verse stood out for me:
"Do you not know that your body is a temple 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 body."
I think this applies to all parts of our body. Honouring God with our eyes by what we watch, by our tongues by what we say, by our ears by what kinds of music we listen to.
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