FIRST CORINTHIANS How to Live in a Pagan World

1 st Corinthians 9: For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more; 20and to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews; to those who are under the law, as under the law, that I might win those who are under the law; 21 to those who are without law, as without law (not being without law toward God, but under law toward Christ), that I might win those who are without law;

22 to the weak I became as weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. 23 Now this I do for the gospel’s sake, that I may be partaker of it with you. New King James Version

Two Mega-Themes In 1 st Corinthians Living as Christians in a pagan world. Being the Church in a pagan world.

Two Mega-Themes In 1 st Corinthians Living as Christians in a pagan world.Living as Christians in a pagan world. Being the Church in a pagan world.

Living as Christians in a Pagan World 1.God’s People: Living as a Minority Group 1:18-2:16 2.Living as God’s People in a Litigious Society 6:1-8 3.Living as God’s People in a Sexually Immoral Climate 6: Living as God’s People in a Culture of Divorce 7: Living as Free People with a Cause 8:1-9:23 6.Living as God’s People in an Idolatrous Age 9:24-10:33 7.Living Steadfast, Knowing How It Turns Out 15

Living as Christians in a Pagan World 1.God’s People: Living as a Minority Group 1:18-2:16 2.Living as God’s People in a Litigious Society 6:1-8 3.Living as God’s People in a Sexually Immoral Climate 6: Living as God’s People in a Culture of Divorce 7: Living as Free People with a Cause 8:1-9:23 6.Living as God’s People in an Idolatrous Age 9:24-10:33 7.Living Steadfast, Knowing How It Turns Out 15

We are Free People What do you mean free ? Vs. 23 “All things are lawful for me…” Romans 10:4 “For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.” Romans 10:4, NLT “For Christ has accomplished the whole purpose of the law. All who believe in him are made right with God.”

We are Free People So what about the Law? I myself am not under the law9:20, NRSV “To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though I myself am not under the law)” you also have become dead to the lawRomans 7:4 “Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ…” we have been released from the lawRomans 7:6, NIV “But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.”

We are Free People So are we lawless? 9:21, NRSV “To those outside the law I became as one outside the law ( though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law)…”

We are Free People But there are new forces at work! loveGalatians 5:13-14 “For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” theSpiritGalatians 5:16,18 “I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh… But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.”

Living as Free People with a Cause 8:1-9:23, 10:23-33 My freedom to eat meat offered to idols and not hindering my weaker brotherMy freedom to eat meat offered to idols and not hindering my weaker brother 8:1-13 My freedom to full time support and not hindering the spread of the gospelMy freedom to full time support and not hindering the spread of the gospel 9:1-18 My freedom and winning all the lost people I canMy freedom and winning all the lost people I can 9:19-23

Testing My Choices on Non-Biblical Issues 10:23-33

1. Is it Helpful and Edifying? 10:23 Vs. 23 “All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful; all things are lawful for me, but not all things edify.” Vs. 23, Amplified “All things are legitimate [permissible--and we are free to do anything we please], but not all things are helpful (expedient, profitable, and wholesome). All things are legitimate, but not all things are constructive [to character] and edifying [to spiritual life].”

2. Does it Advance the Well- Being of Others? 10:24, 33 Vs. 24 “Let no one seek his own, but each one the other’s well - being.” Vs. 33, NLT “That is the plan I follow, too. I try to please everyone in everything I do. I don’t just do what I like or what is best for me…”

…Or, Will it Wound Another’s Conscience? 10:27-29; 8:7, :10-11, NLT “You see, this is what can happen: Weak Christians who think it is wrong to eat this food will see you eating in the temple of an idol. You know there’s nothing wrong with it, but they will be encouraged to violate their conscience by eating food that has been dedicated to the idol. So because of your superior knowledge, a weak Christian, for whom Christ died, will be destroyed.”

3. Can I Do it to the Glory of God 10:31 10:31 “Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”

4. Will it Advance the Cause of Evangelism? 10:33 Amplified: “Just as I myself strive to please [to accommodate myself to the opinions, desires, and interests of others, adapting myself to] all men in everything I do, not aiming at or considering my own profit and advantage, but that of the many in order that they may be saved.”

Translations That May Have Been Used: Abbreviations & Copyright Info AMP or Amplified: © Copyright 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation ESV: The Holy Bible, English Standard Version © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. HCSB: Holman Christian Standard Bible © 2001, Broadman & Holman Publishers, LifeWay Christian Resources 127 Ninth Avenue North, Nashville, TN JPS: The Holy Scriptures (Old Testament) By the Jewish Publication Society All rights reserved MSG or Message: The Message © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson NAS: Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NAS) are from THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE. Copyright 1960, 1988, by The Lockman Foundation, California. All rights reserved. NAS95: Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NAS95) are from THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE. Copyright 1960, 1995, by The Lockman Foundation, California. All rights reserved. NET: The NET Bible, New English Translation (NET) Copyright © 1996, 1997, 1998 By Biblical Studies Press, LLC. All Rights Reserved The Holy Bible: The NET Bible(r) Copyright © 1998 By Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. All rights reserved NIV: Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NIV) are from THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by The International Bible Society. All rights reserved. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. Scripture quoted by permission. NJKV: Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NKJV) are from THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW KING JAMES VERSION. Copyright (c) 1982 by Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved. NLT: Quotations designated (NLT) are from THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW LIVING TRANSLATION Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois, All rights reserved. New Living, NLT, and the New Living Translation logo are registered trademarks of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. NRSV: Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NRSV) are from THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW REVISED STANDARD VERSION. Copyrighted 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America, and are used by permission. All rights reserved. RSV: Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (RSV) are from THE HOLY BIBLE: REVISED STANDARD VERSION. Copyright 1946, 1952, 1973 by National Council of Churches of Christ. All rights reserved. Weymouth: WEYMOUTH NEW TESTAMENT: NEW TESTAMENT IN MODERN SPEECH by Richard F. Weymouth 3rd Edition (1912)-- Revised & edited E. Hampden-Cooke YLT: Young's Literal Translation of the Holy Bible by J.N. Young, 1862, 1898 (Author of the Young's Analytical Concordance)