Saturday · Jul 18
Sin in the Church
Our brains are much the same as sponges. Sponges soak up water very easily. In the same way, what we put in our minds stays there, the same as water in a sponge. Maybe we don’t remember everything that enters our minds. (If we did, we’d have trouble thinking!) But everything we see, hear, smell, taste, or touch is all there in our minds. These things can change what we think, feel, and do.
So, we must be careful. As Christians, we must not let the bad things around us change us for the worse. Sad to say, the Christian church in Corinth had this problem from the start.
Paul warned the church not to separate into groups (1 Corinthians 1–4). Paul also talked about sex sins; going to court against other members; selling sex for pay; marriage; and staying single. Church members often acted the same way that non-Christians did. The separations that Paul talked about in 1 Corinthians 1–4 caused the problems that Paul warned against in later chapters. How does Paul solve the sin problems in the church? What lessons can we learn from his experience?