Daily Archives: January 25, 2020

A Special Place with Special People

Sunday Evening Sermons

A Special Place with Special People

Pastor Don Carpenter / General

Growing Pains: The Struggle of a Culturally Relevant Church / Church: Nature / 1 Corinthians 1:1–3

1500 Illustrations for Biblical Preaching Church, Attending

Many believers don’t see the importance of regular church attendance. Members of Northend Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Seattle received a special announcement in the mail, listing the many things that would be done for them at church on the following “no-excuse-to-stay-home Sunday.”
According to the pastor, cots would be available for those who say Sunday is their only day to sleep. Eye drops would be supplied for those who have red eyes from watching late Saturday-night TV shows. There would be steel helmets for those who say the roof would cave in if they ever went to church, blankets for persons who think the church is too cold, fans for those who say it is too hot, scorecards for those wishing to list all the hypocrites present, TV dinners for those who can’t go to church and also cook dinner. Finally, the sanctuary would be decorated with Christmas poinsettias and Easter lilies for those who have never seen the church without them.169

Tonight we begin a study through the Book of 1 Corinthians. This letter from Paul has a lot of rebukes to be sure, but it also contains very pointed instruction and critique to a growing church that was desperately trying to be culturally relevant and reach those around them.

In the greeting of the letter we find some nuggets of truth regarding the very special people who belonged to the Church of God in Corinth.

This Letter is for the Church.

1 Corinthians 1:1–3 KJV
PAUL, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother,

Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:

Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

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Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words Assembly
ekklesia (????????, 1577), from ek, “out of,” and klesis, “a calling” (kaleo, “to call”), was used among the Greeks of a body of citizens “gathered” to discuss the affairs of state, Acts 19:39. In the Sept. it is used to designate the “gathering” of Israel, summoned for any definite purpose, or a “gathering” regarded as representative of the whole nation. In Acts 7:38 it is used of Israel; in 19:32, 41, of a riotous mob. It has two applications to companies of Christians, (a) to the whole company of the redeemed throughout the present era, the company of which Christ said, “I will build My Church,” Matt. 16:18, and which is further described as “the Church which is His Body,” Eph. 1:22; 5:23, (b) in the singular number (e.g., Matt. 18:17, RV marg., “congregation”), to a company consisting of professed believers, e.g., Acts 20:28; 1 Cor. 1:2; Gal. 1:13; 1 Thess. 1:1;2 Thess. 1:1; 1 Tim. 3:5, and in the plural, with reference to churches in a district.

Matthew 16:18 KJV
And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Ephesians 1:22 KJV
And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church,

Ephesians 5:23 KJV
For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.

This is God’s Church

This is a Local Church

This Letter is to the Sanctified In Christ Jesus.

1 Corinthians 1:2 KJV
Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:

Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words Hallow
hagiazo (??????, 37), “to make holy” (from hagios, “holy”), signifies to set apart for God, to sanctify, to make a person or thing the opposite of koinos, “common”; it is translated “Hallowed,” with reference to the name of God the Father in the Lord’s Prayer, Matt. 6:9; Luke 11:2. See SANCTIFY.

Hebrews 12:14 KJV
Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:

This Letter is to the Saints

1 Corinthians 1:2 KJV
Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:

Not Only Set Apart for Holiness But Called Holy Ones!

All Who Call on the Name of The Lord Are Saints!

Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words Holiness, Holy, Holily

  1. hagios (?????, 40), akin to A, Nos. 1 and 2, which are from the same root as hagnos (found in hazo, “to venerate”), fundamentally signifies “separated” (among the Greeks, dedicated to the gods), and hence, in Scripture in its moral and spiritual significance, separated from sin and therefore consecrated to God, sacred.
    (a) It is predicated of God (as the absolutely “Holy” One, in His purity, majesty and glory): of the Father, e.g., Luke 1:49; John 17:11; 1 Pet. 1:15, 16; Rev. 4:8; 6:10; of the Son, e.g., Luke 1:35; Acts 3:14; 4:27, 30; 1 John 2:20; of the Spirit, e.g., Matt. 1:18 and frequently in all the Gospels, Acts, Romans, 1 and 2 Cor., Eph., 1 Thess.; also in 2 Tim. 1:14; Titus 3:5; 1 Pet. 1:12; 2 Pet. 1:21; Jude 20.
    (b) It is used of men and things (see below) in so far as they are devoted to God. Indeed the quality, as attributed to God, is often presented in a way which involves divine demands upon the conduct of believers. These are called hagioi, “saints,” i.e., “sanctified” or “holy” ones.
    This sainthood is not an attainment, it is a state into which God in grace calls men; yet believers are called to sanctify themselves (consistently with their calling, 2 Tim. 1:9), cleansing themselves from all defilement, forsaking sin, living a “holy” manner of life, 1 Pet. 1:15; 2 Pet. 3:11, and experiencing fellowship with God in His holiness. The saints are thus figuratively spoken of as “a holy temple”, 1 Cor. 3:17 (a local church); Eph. 2:21 (the whole Church), cp. 5:27; “a holy priesthood,” 1 Pet. 2:5; “a holy nation,” 2:9.

Whatever struggles the Church at Corinth had, they were a very special group. These folks were a physical manifestation of the Body of Christ, they were set apart for Holiness By Christ, they were called the Holy Ones of Christ. Though they struggled, they like us, were a very special place with special people.

Exported from Logos Bible Software, 9:20 PM January 25, 2020.

The War Against Your Soul

Sunday Morning Sermons

Pastor Don Carpenter / General

Inside Out: The Pursuit of Genuine Christianity / Adultery; Lust; Faithless; Fornication / Matthew 5:27–32

Returning from Sunday school, where the Ten Commandments had been the topic of the day, a young boy asked his father, “Daddy, what does it mean when it says, ‘Thou shalt not commit agriculture’?” There was hardly a beat between the question and the father’s reply: “Son, that just means that you’re not supposed to plow the other man’s field,” an answer satisfactory to both of them.1

1 Michael P. Green, 1500 Illustrations for Biblical Preaching (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2000), 17.

As we continue our series “inside Out: The Pursuit of Genuine Christianity” we are going to be talking about a subject that often makes us feel a bit awkward and a bit uneasy.  It is one, however, that is part of the very fabric of our culture.

1 Peter 2:11 KJV

Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;

 As Jesus builds on the truth that our righteousness needs to exceed the righteousness of the Scribes and the Pharisees, he moves to the area of adultery, lust and sexual immorality.  This morning we will find that purity depends not only on external behavioral compliance, but also on an internal surrender to the controlling boundaries of the will of God.

Adultery Wars Against The Soul.

Matthew 5:27 KJV

Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery:

moichos (??????, 3432) denotes one “who has unlawful intercourse with the spouse of another

(Translation Wheel)

Hebrews 13:4 KJV

Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.

Lust, the Secret Adultery, Wars Against the Soul

Matthew 5:28 KJV

But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.

Lust is the craving for salt of a man who is dying of thirst.8161

(Lust wheel slide)

1 Michael P. Green, 1500 Illustrations for Biblical Preaching (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2000), 229.

epithumeo (????????, 1937), “to fix the desire upon” (epi, “upon,” used intensively, thumos, “passion”), whether things good or bad; hence, “to long for, lust after, covet,” is used with the meaning “to covet evilly” in Acts 20:33, of “coveting money and apparel”; so in Rom. 7:7; 13:9. See desire, fain, lust.1

1 W. E. Vine, Merrill F. Unger, and William White Jr., Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words (Nashville, TN: T. Nelson, 1996), 136.

(Louw Nida Slide)

It is important to note that this verse does not just refer to noticing a woman as attractive, or even to a brief recognition that she is sexually appealing. It refers instead to actually contemplating having sex with her, that is, to having the intention of doing so. Thus, for looks … lustfully translators can say “wants to sleep with her,” “wants sex with her,” or “looks at her with the intention of sleeping with her.”1

1 Barclay Moon Newman and Philip C. Stine, A Handbook on the Gospel of Matthew, UBS Handbook Series (New York: United Bible Societies, 1992), 137–138.

2 Timothy 2:22 KJV

Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.

1 Peter 1:14 KJV

As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance:

Jesus uses shocking speech to illustrate how dangerous this lust really is.

Matthew 5:29–30 KJV

And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.

And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.

  Radio personality Paul Harvey tells the story of how an Eskimo kills a wolf. The account is grisly, yet it offers fresh insight into the consuming, self-destructive nature of sin:

         First, the Eskimo coats his knife blade with animal blood and allows it to freeze. Then he adds another layer of blood, and another, until the blade is completely concealed by frozen blood.

         Next, the hunter fixes his knife in the ground with the blade up. When a wolf follows his sensitive nose to the source of the scent and discovers the bait, he licks it, tasting the fresh frozen blood. He begins to lick faster, more and more vigorously, lapping the blade until the keen edge is bare. Feverishly now, harder and harder the wolf licks the blade in the arctic night. So great becomes his craving for blood that the wolf does not notice the razor-sharp sting of the naked blade on his own tongue, nor does he recognize the instant at which his insatiable thirst is being satisfied by his “own” warm blood. His carnivorous appetite just craves more—until the dawn finds him dead in the snow!

         It is a fearful thing that people can be “consumed by their own lusts.”1

Fornication, the End Product of Lust, Wars against the Soul and the Marriage.

Matthew 5:31–32 KJV

It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement:

But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.

1. porneia (???????, 4202) is used (a) of “illicit sexual intercourse,” in John 8:41; Acts 15:20, 29; 21:25; 1 Cor. 5:1; 6:13, 18; 2 Cor. 12:21; Gal. 5:19; Eph. 5:3; Col. 3:5; 1 Thess. 4:3; Rev. 2:21; 9:21; in the plural in 1 Cor. 7:2; in Matt. 5:32 and 19:9 it stands for, or includes, adultery; it is distinguished from it in 15:19 and Mark 7:211

1 W. E. Vine, Merrill F. Unger, and William White Jr., Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words (Nashville, TN: T. Nelson, 1996), 252.

(Fornication Wheel)

  A study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute confirmed what God has always known. Adultery is bad for you. One of the many ways it harms people is by increasing a woman’s risk of cervical cancer.

         According to the Associated Press, the study found that women are five to eleven times more likely to develop cervical cancer if they or their husbands have numerous sexual partners. Cervical cancer is directly linked to HPV, a virus commonly spread by sexual intercourse.

         “Male behavior is the important thing in this cancer,” said Dr. Keerti Shah, a professor at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and the coauthor of the study. “In effect, the husband takes cancer home to his wife.” Dr. Shah explains that men who have many sexual partners are very likely to carry HPV home and that up to 97 percent of cervical cancers are infected with that virus.

         In the study group, wives whose husbands had twenty-one or more sexual partners were eleven times more likely to develop cervical cancer. Wives whose husbands frequented prostitutes were eight times more likely to develop cervical cancer.

         As always, God commands what is moral because he is looking out for our welfare. Nothing is more healthful than righteousness.

Health, Immorality, Righteousness, Sex, Ten Commandments, Unfaithfulness

Exod. 20:141

1 Craig Brian Larson, 750 Engaging Illustrations for Preachers, Teachers & Writers (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2002), 14–15.

1 Corinthians 6:18–20 KJV

Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.

What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?

For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.

It is easy to appear pure to those who can see the polished external manifestations of our beings.  But God the Holy Spirit is searching those filthy hidden corners of the heart and wants to clean house.  Confess to God, surrender to His will, make the changes you must and with God’s help you can win the War Against Your Soul.