In writing to the Corinthians the Apostle
Paul was speaking of sins that these Christians should repent of, and he wrote
in Second Corinthians 12:21, And
lest, when I come again, my God will humble me among you, and that I shall
bewail many which have sinned already, and have not repented of the uncleanness
and fornication and lasciviousness which they have committed. These three sins that Paul mentions are
sexual sins. Uncleanness refers to impurity. Sex was designed by God for the
survival of the species and for the culmination of love in the union of a man
and a woman in marriage. You should not have sex before you are married, and
once you are married you should only have sex with your spouse. That is one of
the things that is implied when the Bible says that a man should leave his father and mother
and cleave unto his wife.
Anything less than that standard is called uncleanness: sexual impurity.
Fornication is any sex outside of the marriage union. Adultery is
a type of fornication. Homosexuality is a type of fornication. The word
pornography comes from the Greek word that is here translated as fornication. Any kind of sexual pleasure or
gratification outside of the marriage union is fornication. The naked body is a
beautiful thing. God designed it. But there are certain things of the human
body that should be viewed only by husband and wife. God put clothes on Adam
and Eve once they left the Garden of Eden, even when they were the only people
on the earth: probably preparing them for when others would be with them on the
earth.
Uncleanness and fornication refer to the individual acts of sexual
sin. Lasciviousness refers to an entire life-style of living
in sexual lust: in wantonness, and profligacy, and loose living. There is
nothing wrong with sexual desires. They are God-given, but they must be
fulfilled only in marriage. That is one of the purposes of marriage for some
people. The Bible says in First Corinthians 7:9, But if they cannot contain, let them
marry: for it is better to marry than to burn. Do not believe the lies of the world. Impurity,
fornication, and lasciviousness will destroy you. Think about it. The world
would be a much better place if more human beings followed Gods plan for
relationships between men and women. The issue of abortion would practically
disappear because there would be few unwanted pregnancies. There would be no
venereal disease, and no one would have aids. Countless marriages have been
ruined by infidelity. That would not happen if human beings avoided impurity,
fornication, and lasciviousness.
Why is it and how is that Christians could be involved in such
sins? Of course, it can be a part of natural human selfishness. If you really
care about someone, then you will want the best to happen to them, and
committing adultery is far from the best. Unless Christians learn very well the
principle of separation from the world and its human-centered philosophies, the
Christians will become overly influenced by the pagan society around them. That
certainly was the case of the Corinthians.
The same thing is happening in our society today. Increased nudity
and sexual license in
Paul wrote in Second Corinthians 13:1-3, This is the third time I am coming to
you. In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established. I
told you before, and foretell you, as if I were present, the second time; and
being absent now I write to them which heretofore have sinned, and to all
other, that, if I come again, I will not spare: Since you seek a proof of
Christ speaking in me, which to you-ward is not weak, but is mighty in you. Paul continues to warn the Corinthians
in a polite way, yet very clearly, that he will deal with those who have not
repented. That is why he says here that he is writing to those who heretofore have sinned. And that is why Paul said, if I come again, I will not spare. In a way we could say that Paul was
going to set up court and he was going to be the judge. His advice to the
Corinthians was that they had better repent of their sins before he got there,
or they would be facing something that they would not want to face.
It is interesting to note that Paul said, In the mouth of two or three witnesses
shall every word be established.
This is a good principle to remember if you ever have jury duty. One witness is
not enough. There should at least be two or three. Some humans make mistakes,
and they did not see what they thought they saw. Other humans are deceitful,
and they will say that they saw something when they really did not. One thing
that Paul was making clear: once the truth of a matter was established, he was
going to deal with it.
The Bible says in Second Corinthians 13:4, For though he was crucified through
weakness, yet he lives by the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but we
shall live with him by the power of God toward you. Paul returns once again to this theme
of weakness, and how his weakness became the source of his strength. This time
he compares it to Christ and His death by crucifixion. The Roman government and
the Roman soldiers were strong. Those who got in their way were crushed. Those
crucified on crosses were weak and defeated, or so it appeared. But Jesus rose
from the dead. His life after death is what made the difference. We can
manifest the power of the life of Christ, but only if we also suffer the death
to self-will that Jesus suffered.
In Second Corinthians 13:5-7 Paul wrote, Examine yourselves, whether you be in
the faith; prove your own selves. Know you not your own selves, how that Jesus
Christ is in you, except you be reprobates? But I trust that you shall know
that we are not reprobates. Now I pray to God that you do no evil; not that we
should appear approved, but that you should do that which is honest, though we be
as reprobates. How do you
know who is saved and who is not saved? How do you know who is a real
Christian? That is the question that Paul is bringing up. The answer is that
the only one you can be sure about is yourself. Each person should look into their
own heart and find out if they are a true believer or not. That is why Paul
said, Examine yourselves, prove your own selves, and know
your own selves.
You either have Jesus Christ within you, or you are a reprobate.
The word reprobate comes from the same word that is
translated prove in these verses. A reprobate is someone who is not approved.
In this context Paul is speaking of approved in regards to salvation. If you
are in the faith, then you have Jesus Christ within you, and you are approved
as far as salvation is concerned.
Once you are saved through faith and have Christ within you, the
will of God is that you do the right thing from there on out. Do right until
the stars fall. Some Christians have their eyes too much upon man: upon other
believers that they respect or trust. Paul told these believers that they
should do the right thing and the honest thing no matter even if he and others
with him should appear as
reprobates. It does not
matter what other people do, and it does not matter what other people think.
What matters is: what does God want you to do?
In Second Corinthians 13:8-13 the Bible says, For we can do nothing against the truth,
but for the truth. For we are glad when we are weak, and you are strong: and
this also we wish, even your perfection. Therefore I write these things being
absent, lest being present I should use sharpness, according to the power which
the Lord has given me to edification, and not to destruction. Finally,
brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in
peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you. Greet one another with
a holy kiss. All the saints salute you. Once you become saved, God wants you to do the right thing. That
is what Paul was talking about when he said that he was concerned about their perfection. That is what he meant when he said, Be perfect. Concerning the age-old disagreements between Calvinists
and Armenians, one thing is for sure: nowhere in the Bible is doing the wrong
thing permitted. The will of God is that you get saved, and then you start
doing the right thing. There is no middle ground. There is no other option.
There is nothing else permitted for someone who calls himself a Christian. Let those who name the name of Christ
depart from iniquity.
Christianity is the highest of all callings, and it gives the
greatest of all standards. It is a great challenge to be a Christian. If and when
you fail, yes, you can be forgiven. But there is no excuse for the failure. Do not
ever say that you are only human and therefore it does not matter. Do not ever
make excuses, and do not ever blame anyone for your failures. You ought to do
the right thing. You ought to be complete and perfect. If you fail, then you
have sinned; and you must repent of that sin and thus stay in fellowship with
the Lord Jesus.
In several of the concluding remarks that Paul makes to the
Corinthians he is emphasizing and encouraging Christian unity. When Paul said,
Be of one mind, he was talking about Christian unity.
When Paul said, Live in
peace, he was talking
primarily about the Christians being at peace with one another. There is very
little unity in the world. That is why there is war and dissention and conflict
everywhere. Of all the people in the world, the Christians should at least be
at peace. Jesus said, Blessed
are the peacemakers. And
Jesus said to His believers, My
peace I give unto you. The
only way to find true peace and to be at peace with others is to get peace from
God. Jesus is the Prince of Peace. The Bible says here in Second Corinthians
13:11, The God of love and
peace shall be with you. Why
are there not more people at peace: because they are not rightly related to
God. If there would be more repentance of sin and more turning to Christ, then
there would be more peace. There
is no peace, saith the Lord, to the wicked.
One of the great benedictions of the Bible is found in the last
verse of Second Corinthians. If you want to wish the best for someone, do not
wish them money or fame or power. Instead wish for them exactly what is said in
Second Corinthians 13:14. It says, The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the
communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen. All three persons of the trinity are
mentioned here. When we think of the Lord Jesus Christ, we think of grace.
Every human being whether they realize it or not is dependent upon the grace of
God. How wonderful it is that we have a God of grace. If you have experienced
the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, then your salvation is secure, and your
eternal destiny of happiness awaits you. Grace comes through Christ because
Christ paid it all on the cross of
One of the greatest needs of mankind is to know that one is loved.
You need to be loved. You will never be satisfied with your life until you are
assured that you are loved. No one will ever love you as much as God. The love
of Jesus, what it is, only His loved ones know. If only you knew how much God
loves you, your faith would be increased without limit, and a peace and
strength would come over you that could not be explained. God is love. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son... God loves you more than you will ever
know. Spend time finding out more about the love of God.
And spend time finding out more about the communion of the Holy Spirit. You need companionship. Loneliness is
one of the great curses of the world. In a world where there are millions and
millions of people, there are millions who are lonely. You can be lonely when
there are people all around you. But if you know Jesus as Savior, you never
have to be lonely again. God is with us in the person of His Spirit. Get to
know the Spirit. He will comfort you, He will guide you, He will enlighten you.
Through Christ we will be given eternity: we will reign with Him. But right now
we are given the Spirit.
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Copyright; 2003 by Charles
F. (Rick) Creech
All Rights Reserved