Churches of the New Testament: What God Condemns I. Introduction A. Ephesians 5:7-12 B. Previous examinations 1. Churches of the New Testament 2. Attempting to gain the larger picture of God's intentions for the NT church 3. Examined what God approved C. Let us continue by analyzing that which God condemned in the NT church II. Sin A. In short, God condemns sin in the NT church 1. Romans 14:23 2. 1 John 3:4-6 3. No room for such sin in NT church (Ephesians 5:22-33) B. "Sin" itself a general category 1. NT provides many lists of such sins 2. Galatians 5:19-21 a good example C. Sin: individual and the church 1. Most sin an issue of the individual Christian 2. Nevertheless, an individual's sin can impact the church 3. Much of what was written to NT churches involved conduct of individuals 4. Sin could occur in individual's life or in assembly D. Let us consider these sins, especially as they relate to NT church III. Sexual Sin A. First three "works of the flesh" refer to sexual sin 1. Sexually deviant behavior (Greek porneia, "fornication", "sexual immorality") 2. Uncleanness 3. Lasciviousness B. Matters of sexual sin often found at the top of sin lists 1. Represents a major concern in the New Testament 2. Then as now, many induced to transgress sexual boundaries 3. Roman world around Christians more tolerant of many sexual misdeeds 4. Challenge was to have Gentile brethren especially turn from them (Acts 15:20; 29, 1 Corinthians 6:15-20, Ephesians 4:17-19, 1 Thessalonians 4:1-7) C. Sexually deviant behavior (porneia) 1. Most often used to describe sexual sin 2. Matthew 15:19/Mark 7:21, 1 Corinthians 6:9, Galatians 5:19, Ephesians 5:3, Colossians 3:5 3. Paul advised Christians to flee from it (1 Corinthians 6:18) 4. Recognition that it is easily rationalized as not "harming" others: Paul establishes that it is a sin against oneself (1 Corinthians 6:18-20) 5. Adultery-- sex with one other than one's spouse-- included (Matthew 19:9, Romans 13:9) a. the fruit of the doctrine of the Nicolaitans (Revelation 2:6; 2:15-16) b. If Jesus speaks literally regarding the sins of "Jezebel", represents one of the sins she performed and promoted (Revelation 2:20) 6. Visitation of prostitutes-- be it adultery or fornication-- included (1 Corinthians 6:15-17) 7. Incest or incest-like relations, as with the man in 1 Corinthians 5 8. Strict fornication-- sex before marriage-- included (1 Corinthians 7:2-3) 9. Homosexuality also (Romans 1:26-27, 1 Corinthians 6:9-10) 10. Bestiality and pedophilia also 11. Paul's concerns understandable! D. Uncleanness 1. While the word can and does refer to physical uncleanness, term most often has sexual connotations 2. Improper sex defiles a person in many senses of the term 3. Romans 1:24; 6:19, 2 Corinthians 12:21, Ephesians 5:3, Colossians 3:5, 1 Thessalonians 2:3; 4:7 E. Lasciviousness 1. It is not only sexual action that is condemned, but also lust and anything done to promote lust-- lasciviousness-- is also condemned! 2. Mark 7:22, Romans 13:13, 2 Corinthians 12:21, Galatians 5:19, Ephesians 4:13, 1 Peter 4:3, 2 Peter 2:7; 2:18, Jude 1:4; cf. Matthew 5:28 F. Sexual misconduct clearly condemned 1. Caused difficulty for many NT churches 2. Underscores need to hold marriage in honor, exhort brethren to keep sexuality within its bounds (1 Corinthians 7:1-5, Hebrews 13:4) IV. Idolatry and Sorcery A. Next works of the flesh involved trusting in powers other than God 1. Idolatry 2. Sorcery B. Idolatry, concretely, involved the creation of an image, belief that the image represented a deity, and veneration of that image 1. Christians were to recognize that no such thing really existed (1 Corinthians 8) 2. Nevertheless, often condemned (1 Corinthians 5:10-11; 6:9-10; 10:7; 10:14; 12;2, 2 Corinthians 6:16, Galatians 5:20, 1 Peter 4:3, 1 John 5:21) C. Idolatry more than just concrete images 1. Ephesians 5:3; 5, Colossians 3:5: covetousness as idolatry 2. Consistent with Matthew 6:24-- choice between God or money 3. Covetousness condemned in Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:17) 4. Also in the new covenant (Mark 7:22, Luke 12:15, Romans 1:29; 13:9, 1 Corinthians 5:10-11, James 4:2, 2 Peter 2:14) 5. Desire for riches root of all kinds of evil; men of God should flee from it (1 Timothy 6:9-11) 6. Consider example of Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1-11)! D. Sorcery as black arts-- necromancy, psychic powers, etc. E. Idolatry especially a concern in NT church 1. Many Gentiles had converted out of pagan idolatry 2. Concern present that some would return to it (1 Corinthians 8) 3. Need for exhortation to trust in the living God V. Interpersonal Relations A. Many of the "works of the flesh" involve misconduct in interpersonal relations and improper thoughts or perspectives of others 1. Enmity 2. Strife and rivalry 3. Jealousy and envy 4. Wrath B. Enmity represents hatred of others 1. John demonstrates that no one can love God but hate his brother (1 John 4:20) 2. No room for hatred within the Body (Galatians 5:20) C. Strife and rivalry 1. Similar words in Greek, represent similar difficulties 2. Contention, discord among members of a group, factionalism 3. Condemned: Romans 1:29; 2:8; 13:13, Philippians 2:13, 1 Timothy 6:4, Titus 3:9, James 3:14; 3:16 4. Diotrephes (3 John 1:9-10) has all the markings of a factious man 5. Corinth suffers from strife and factional spirits (1 Corinthians 1:10-16; 3:3; 11:16-34, 2 Corinthians 12:20) 6. A major difficulty in many NT churches D. Jealousy and envy 1. Similar concepts 2. Jealousy: possess something, zealously guard it 3. Envy: do not possess something, greatly desire it 4. Can involve a person, a station, a thing 5. Jealousy condemned: Romans 13:13, Galatians 5:20, James 3:14; 16 6. Envy condemned: Romans 1:29, Galatians 5:21, Philippians 1:15, 1 Timothy 6:4, Titus 3:3, 1 Peter 2:1 7. Jealousy also plagued Corinth, likely led to some of the strife (1 Corinthians 3:3, 2 Corinthians 12:20) 8. No room in the church for the internal suspicions generated by jealousy and envy, which tear down and do not build up E. Wrath (outbursts of anger) 1. Represents lack of self-control 2. One can be angry and not sin (Ephesians 4:26) 3. Out of control anger is to be put away (2 Corinthians 12:20, Galatians 5:20, Ephesians 4:31, Colossians 3:8) F. Other sins engender these breakdowns in interpersonal relations 1. NT churches especially plagued by some, especially widows, who were idle and busybodies 2. Such gossips are condemned in 2 Thessalonians 3:11, 1 Timothy 5:13 3. Such led many astray to Satan (1 Timothy 5:15) 4. Lying would pose a difficulty (Colossians 3:9-11) 5. Not a little difficulty caused by such things VI. Dissensions and Heresies: Fruit of False Teaching A. While many do not believe that what one believes or teaches matters, God in the NT accepts or establishes no such thing 1. Dissension and heresy as works of the flesh (Galatians 5:20) 2. Just as much as sexually deviant behavior and drunkenness! B. Results of false teaching manifest in the NT C. "Judaizers" 1. "Judaizing" controversy-- Gentiles as bound to Law-- began from Jerusalem in Antioch (Acts 15:1-3) 2. Later caused strife in Antioch (Galatians 2:11-14) 3. Attempted to lead Galatians astray, compelled Paul to chide them for accepting an accursed gospel, to warn them about falling from grace, and to desire the emasculation of those who taught these things (Galatians 1:6-9; 5:1-4; 5:12) 4. In Corinth, such persons turned brethren against Paul, precipitating 2 Corinthians and a personal visit (2 Corinthians 11-13) 5. Harsh words concerning such persons in Philippians 3:2-6 6. Warning to Colossians regarding observing Jewish scruples in Colossians 2:12-17 7. Philadelphia later dealing with similar problems (Revelation 3:9) 8. Jewish myths, genealogies, etc. cause Timothy problems in Ephesus (1 Timothy 1:3-8; 4:7) 9. All such matters led to contention, strife, and likely lost souls D. Incipient Gnosticism 1. Gnostics professed greater knowledge (Greek gnosis), denied that Jesus was God in the flesh, other doctrines 2. Paul warns Colossians regarding such worldly philosophies (Colossians 2:4-10) 3. Warns Timothy about such "knowledge", indicates some have fallen away (1 Timothy 6:20-21) 4. Hymenaeus and Philetus two such persons (2 Timothy 2:16-18)? 5. Gnostic concerns prevalent in John, who addresses issue and avoidance of those who teach such things (1 John 4:2, 2 John 1:7-10) 6. The "antichrists" of the day (1 John 2:18-23) E. False teachers, false teaching, immorality 1. Often tied together-- follow each other 2. 1 Timothy 6:3-8, 2 Timothy 4:3-4, 2 Peter 2, Jude 1:4-19 3. All indicate the ties between false teaching and immorality F. Upcoming apostasy 1. Warned often 2. Acts 20:29-30, 2 Thessalonians 2:3, 1 Timothy 4:1-3, 2 Timothy 4:3-4 G. False teaching a plague in churches of NT 1. Immorality and false teaching as "leavening" lump (1 Corinthians 5:6, Galatians 5:9) 2. Need to be on guard for not just immorality, but false thoughts, beliefs, and teachings (2 Corinthians 10:5) VII. Excess and Riot A. Other works of the flesh involve excess and riot 1. Drunkenness and revelry 2. Drunkenness-- intoxication by alcohol-- often condemned (Luke 21:34, Romans 13:13, Galatians 5:21) 3. Contrary to sobriety, an essential element for Christians (1 Peter 4:7) 4. So also revelry, the party life-- things of Gentiles, not Christians (Romans 13:13, Galatians 5:21, 1 Peter 4:3) B. "Things like" the works of the flesh also condemned 1. Even if something not actually listed, if it concords with the works of the flesh and is against the fruit of the Spirit, it is just as condemned 2. Christians ought not "toe the line" of sin, but stay far away from it (cf. 1 Corinthians 6:18) VIII. Good Things Used Sinfully A. Sin, in NT, not limited only to that which is intrinsically wrong 1. If a legitimate liberty abused, it could lead to sin 2. Seen in Romans 14 and 1 Corinthians 8 B. Romans 14 1. Paul writes regarding dispute in Rome 2. Some hold to eating meat and not observing days; others do not eat meat and observe days (Romans 14:2-5) 3. Paul establishes that such liberties not of concern to God-- Romans 14:17 4. Nothing unclean of itself, but is unclean to him who believes it unclean-- Romans 14:14 5. Not to put a stumbling block in brother's way (Romans 14:13) 6. Good to not be evil spoken of (Romans 14:16) 7. Not to destroy with food him for whom Christ died (Romans 14:15) 8. Matters of liberty are not to be sources of contentiousness or division C. 1 Corinthians 8 1. Stronger Christians eat meat sacrificed to idols, knowing that there is no such thing as an idol (1 Corinthians 8:1-6) 2. Others did not have this knowledge, could be led to believe that one could eat meat sacrificed to idol in honor of idol (1 Corinthians 8:7) 3. Brethren to exhibit love, sacrifice liberty to not cause offense (1 Corinthians 8:8-13) 4. "Weak" should not perish by their "knowledge" (1 Corinthians 8:11) 5. To cause them to stumble is sin against them and Christ (1 Corinthians 8:12) 6. Mature knowledge is no excuse to cause a weaker Christian to stumble D. Christians must exhibit care even in matters of liberty IX. New Testament Churches' Response to Sin A. We have seen the types of sin in the NT churches 1. Mostly of a personal nature 2. Yet required collective attention B. Sin and Association 1. Unrepentant sin leads to condemnation (Hebrews 10:26-31) 2. Christians as continually confessing, repenting of sin (1 John 1:8-9) 3. Unrepentant sin becomes problem in the church, even if the sin is only regarding an individual 4. Church must be cleansed with Christ's blood, without any stain (Ephesians 5:26-27) 5. Association in Christ dependent on shared walk with Christ in the light (1 John 1:6-7) 6. If one not walking in the light, Christians have no basis of association with them! C. Individual sin, therefore, can involve same difficulties for the church as sins in the assembly D. Matthew 18:15-18: way to handle matters of sin E. New Testament instruction: false teachers 1. Romans 16:16-17: avoidance of those who cause quarrels, contention 2. 1 Timothy 6:3-11: Timothy to avoid those teaching error 3. 2 John 1:10-11: not to show hospitality or even to greet such ones F. New Testament instruction: immorality 1. 1 Corinthians 5: delivery to Satan, disassociation 2. 2 Thessalonians 3:14-15: avoidance, admonish as brother G. Served two purposes 1. Indicate to the one in sin that their conduct unacceptable, separation to hopefully compel person to repent 2. Indicate to other Christians that sin is intolerable, lump must not be leavened (1 Corinthians 5:6, Galatians 5:9) H. Sin is serious; let us avoid that which God condemns! I. Invitation/songbook