This week we’re coming to another one of those passages I’d rather not preach on, the second half of 1 Corinthians 6.  It turns out that Paul isn’t finished addressing the issue of sexual immorality.  And in this case, some of the people in Corinth have claimed that it’s okay because it’s both legal and meaningless.  And so Paul responds by not only challenging those views, but by confronting them with a number of questions about doctrinal truth.  And he ends up where he has so often in 1st Corinthians — “You need to live in accordance with what you believe.”

When we started this series I told you two things.  First, these new Christians found themselves struggling to learn the truths of the faith, apply them to everyday life, and live that faith out in front of others who simply hated how they lived and what they represented.  All you have to do is pick up the paper, turn on the TV, go to any news or culture web site, and you will see that this issue of human sexuality is the dominant issue of our day.  And if you don’t favor its free reign in our society, in our institutions, and in each of our lives, then you will find out how much  others will hate what you say, hate how you live, and hate what they think you represent.  To be a Christian in 1st Century Corinth was a lot like being a Christian in 21st Century America.  The similarities between the Corinth of the Apostle Paul’s time and the America of our time is an important indication that there’s much for us to learn from Paul’s remarkable letter to this small church in Corinth, known to us as 1st Corinthians.

Second, as with every other problem in the church in Corinth, the answer involves refocusing everyone on Jesus.  You see, the problem of approving of sexual immorality is only solved with the Gospel of Christ.  Paul, being wise and gracious, deals with the problems revealed by their acceptance of immorality by appealing to the person and work of Jesus Christ — His life, His death, His resurrection, and the promise of His presence.  Most of all, Paul reminds them of their redemption, earned by Christ on the Cross.  And since I’ve entitled this series “Cross Words,” this week’s key word is “Flee.”  But it might be helpful to remember that we not only “Flee from sin,” we also “Flee to Christ.”  And when we do that, we’ll discover that what sounds like bad news … will lead us to the good news.  And that’s a good place to be.  See you Sunday, Dr. Dave