INHERITING THE KINGDOM OF GOD

Jeremy Lundgren Flagstaff Christian Fellowship 123 S. Beaver St. Flagstaff, Arizona 86001 www.fcfonline.org INHERITING THE KINGDOM OF GOD 1 Corinthia...
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Jeremy Lundgren Flagstaff Christian Fellowship 123 S. Beaver St. Flagstaff, Arizona 86001 www.fcfonline.org

INHERITING THE KINGDOM OF GOD 1 Corinthians 6:9-11

By

Jeremy M. Lundgren

August 8, 2010

For access to previous sermons or to subscribe to weekly sermons via email go to: www.fcfonline.org/sermons Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation

August 8, 2010 Inheriting the Kingdom of God 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 God makes unrighteous people righteous so they can have a share in His kingdom. Adolf Hitler had a kingdom. He ruled Germany from 1933-1945. I recently had a peek into some of the inner workings of his kingdom (or Reich) while reading a new biography of the German pastor and theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer1. Bonhoeffer was part of an underground resistance against Hitler and his regime, and during World War II he was arrested and then executed for his role in a failed plot to assassinate Hitler. Hitler established a kingdom that he hoped would last for a thousand years. It would be a kingdom of power, glory, and ethnic purity, but it would not be a kingdom of justice and morality. The forces in society that demanded justice, the forces that pulled people towards mercy and compassion for those weaker than them, the forces within society that restrained immoral behavior were either manipulated by Hitler and his regime to get there way or discarded when they stood between Hitler and what he wanted to do. For example, when Hitler came into power, he changed the military oath so that the soldiers no longer swore loyalty to their people and their nation, but they swore obedience to Hitler, personally. As this book pointed out, it was not that for Hitler a promise made was a promise kept. He constantly lied to get what he wanted. However, Hitler knew that within the culture of the military at that time a sworn oath was taken very seriously, so when he quickly changed the words of the oath and had the men swear by the new wording, Hitler was taking advantage of their morality, which he considered a weakness, to accomplish his own agenda. Another example was given of Dr. Edmund Rascher who performed experiments for the German air force. He performed experiments at the Dachau concentration camp to study the effects of low atmospheric pressure and cold temperatures on 180-200 prisoners, about 75 of whom were killed. While there is a sense of justice that says that human beings, even prisoners, have dignity and are not to be so casually used just to help a scientist do his research, Dr. Rascher didn‟t see it that way. When justice stood between him and his research, he simply discarded justice. 1

Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy by Eric Metaxas.

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There have been other kingdoms, other attempts to rule through some ideology, where the ideology must be served with no regard to justice or goodness. While we could easily compose a list of villains and their ideologies, we need to recognize our own inclination to become a dictator. Every time we act rude or uncivilized to a person, every time we sin against someone else, we are abandoning righteousness to simply get what we want at the moment. All of those kingdoms have fallen or will fall (Prov. 24:16). I. God has a Kingdom that we are invited to share in God also has a kingdom. When God told Adam and Eve to have dominion over the earth, He was inviting them to share in His kingdom (Gen. 1:28). When God told the Israelites that they would be to Him a kingdom of priests, He was inviting them to share in His kingdom (Ex. 19:6). When Jesus taught us to pray to our Heavenly Father, “Your kingdom come, your will be done…”, when He spoke of how blessed it is to be persecuted for righteousness‟ sake (Matt. 5:10), when He commanded us to go and make disciples of all nations (Matt. 28:18), He was inviting us to share in His kingdom. When the Apostle John tells us of those who will come to life and reign with Christ for a thousand years (Rev. 20:4), when he describes the new heaven and the new earth and says that the servants of the Lamb will reign forever and ever (Rev. 22:5), God is, once again, inviting us to have a share in His kingdom. II. The Unrighteous will not inherit God’s Kingdom. While God invites us to share His kingdom with Him, in verse 9 of our text, there is an enormous barbed wire fence and a “No Trespassing” sign. The unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God. Paul then goes on to list 10 different types of unrighteous people who will not inherit the kingdom of God: fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, effeminate, homosexuals, thieves, the covetous, drunkards, revilers, and swindlers. A. Unrighteousness is not culturally defined. It is a perversion of the character of God, the plan of God and the image of God. As we work our way through this vice list, it is important to understand why such people are unrighteous. These behaviors were not arbitrarily chosen. There are many lists of right and wrong in this world that are chosen arbitrarily by someone based on their own personal preferences and position of power. When Samuel, my 5 year old, makes up a game to play or a battle 2

to fight with Evan, my 3 year old, the rules of right and wrong, winners and losers that he comes up with tend to lean in his favor. However, the biblical standard of righteousness is not simply the preferences of one culture imposed onto a weaker culture. The authority comes from the nature and the attributes of God. Each one of these behaviors is unrighteous because it violates or perverts the character of God, the plan of God, and the image of God as it is to be displayed in humans. 1. Fornicators will not inherit the kingdom of God This first word, fornicators, is used generally to refer to sexual immorality, but in light of the other words on this list related to sexual behavior, the primary focus is probably on unmarried people who are engaging in sexual activity with each other. Here in Flagstaff, 2010, just like Corinth, 55AD, there are very few barriers to this behavior. In fact, it is often encouraged and expected of young people. But it is a clear violation of the plan of God for our sexual desires to be satisfied in the context of a loving marriage, and it is a violation of the image of God in you and in the other person when you use them in such a selfish way. In this area of sexual purity, the church has often demanded perfection of young people from the very start without acknowledging that maturity and godliness in this area of our lives is something we must grow into. It is as if sexual purity is some fragile ornament, and if it is even slightly bumped it will shatter into a million tiny pieces. I‟m not saying that fornication is not a sin or that it shouldn‟t be taken seriously. I‟m not saying that young people should not fight to resist temptation and maintain their sexual purity. I‟m not denying the uniqueness of sexual sin that is described later on in this chapter as sin that is done against our own bodies. What I am saying, however, is that the road to godliness in our sexuality (just like every other area of our lives) might be a long road with some failures along the way, and that regardless of your past, nothing has been shattered that Christ can‟t put back together. Nothing has been destroyed that Christ can‟t redeem. 2. Idolaters will not inherit the kingdom of God In some cultures, it is common to find temples literally filled with idols representing different gods and a little shrine in households with its own little idols. The thought of going into such a temple, having a shrine in your own house, and literally bowing down and praying to another god might seem like a stretch to some of you, something so strange and remote that 3

you would never participate in it. For others of you, though, you may have participated in something like that. But idolatry isn‟t always something so far away and exotic. In fact, a few years ago when we were looking for a place to live, we walked through a house, and most of the house was a dump. But the back bedroom was nice and clean. The room was thoughtfully decorated and the bed was made. There was a table at the foot of the bed neatly set up as a shrine with the family idol sitting there in a very prominent position. It was a big, shiny television, and it was obvious that this was the most sacred area of the house. Whether it is the TV or the computer, many of us constantly give these things our time and our attention, expecting them to have answers to all of our questions, to satisfy our deepest longings, and to just help us make sense of the world around us. For others of us though, we have different idols. Earlier this summer we watched as thousands of acres of our forest burned in the Schultz Fire, and we are still dealing with the consequences of it with the flooding east of town. While it was a damaging and costly fire, it may be possible, if you got more worked up about the dishonor done to the forest than you do for dishonor done to the name of God, that Coconino National Forest and Little Bear Trail are idols in your life. Idolatry perverts the character of God when we give false gods or some created thing honor that belongs to Him. 3. Adulterers will not inherit the kingdom of God Marriage is a sacred institution which can reflect the character, plan, and image of God in some unique and powerful ways. The husband and wife are called to be lovingly committed to each other and to sacrificially serve the needs of the other, just as God has been lovingly committed to His people regardless of how often we are unfaithful to Him, just as Christ sacrificially gave up Himself for His bride, the Church. God‟s plan for marriage is that you should rejoice in the wife of our youth (Prov. 5:18). When a husband or a wife is unfaithful to their spouse they mar a powerful picture of the loyal love of God for His chosen people, they pervert God‟s plan for marriage to be a lifelong commitment to one person, and they violate others who bear the image of God. Again, though, nothing has been shattered that Christ can‟t put back together. Nothing has been destroyed that Christ can‟t redeem. 4. The effeminate & homosexuals will not inherit the kingdom of God The word „effeminate‟ is used to refer to the passive partner in homosexual behavior. The next word, translated „homosexual‟ refers to the active 4

partner in homosexual behavior. Homosexuality was widespread throughout Greek culture and the Roman Empire. As you may have heard, it was very common for older men to take teenage boys as their apprentices to train them up in their profession or trade, and they were often involved in homosexual relationships with each other. While those types of homosexual relationships were generally more stable and accepted within the culture, there was also some deviant and more promiscuous homosexual behavior. Today in our culture, the debate over the validity of homosexuality as an accepted lifestyle is being fought on a variety of different fronts. Some theologians and leaders have attempted to argue that God approves of homosexual behavior and that it should be welcomed into the church. One of the tactics used to argue that homosexuality is legitimate within Christianity is to say that this verse is not condemning all homosexuality. It is only condemning the more deviant and promiscuous homosexual behaviors. Others try to redefine these words to refer to something other than homosexual behavior. I also read an argument that the reason homosexuality was forbidden in Leviticus (18:22, 20:13) was because Israel was a young nation, so at that point in their history, it was important for them to multiply and have lots of children2. In all of these interpretations, though, the point is missed or ignored that homosexual behavior itself is what God condemns, not the circumstance that surround it. It is the same with any sin. Homosexuality is unrighteous because it perverts the plan of God for a man and a woman to be united to each other as one flesh and through that union to multiply and fill the earth, and it perverts the image of God when the natural purposes of our bodies are misused to satisfy sexual appetites. 5. Thieves will not inherit the kingdom of God When you steal something, you proclaim through your actions that you don‟t trust God to provide for your needs. You trample His name and His character in the dirt. You pervert His plan that the resources of this planet are given to us, and as we work and use those resources, the earth will provide an increase for us to use and live off of. When you steal, you circumvent God‟s plan that you should find joy in the labor of your hands (Eccl. 2:24). You also violate the image of God in the person you have stolen from. God created them and gave them dominion over their own little slice of the world. When you take the fruit of their labor for your own 2

Jesus, the Bible, and Homosexuality by Jack Rogers

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benefit, you show very low regard for their dignity and worth as a person created in the image of God. 6. The covetous will not inherit the kingdom of God A covetous or greedy person is someone who desires to have more than is due them. I can tell you when I‟m covetous. Every time I go next door to get a slice of pizza. They don‟t always cut the pizza perfectly even, so as I‟m watching them grab my slice, I‟m always cheering for the slightly bigger one. A covetous person is someone who is constantly lusting for what they don‟t have, for what someone else has a proper right to, whether it is money, a woman, a car, a house, or a mountain bike. It is a sign of an unrighteous heart. It is a heart that does not trust God or seek to be satisfied by Him. 7. Drunkards will not inherit the kingdom of God The plan of God is that we, as His children would be united with Him, in communion with Him. He is a good and powerful God who will interact with us on a deep and personal level. Through the Holy Spirit we can be guided, comforted, and strengthened to live righteously. But instead, the drunkard looks to alcohol or some other chemical substance to fill them and control them (Eph. 5:18). They look foolishly for guidance, comfort, and strength in something that betrays them every time. Nothing has been shattered, though, that Christ can‟t put back together. Nothing has been destroyed that Christ can‟t redeem. 8. Revilers will not inherit the kingdom of God A reviler, or slanderer as some versions translate this word, is a person who beats other people up with their words. Words are powerful. As humans created in God‟s image, we have a unique capacity to communicate with language unlike any other creature. God uses His Word to speak truth, to exhort, and to build up. A reviler, though, assaults the image of God in another person. They use their words to tear down and destroy the other person as they unleash their verbal tirade. Whether you do this to your spouse, your children, your employees, your parents, your pillow, or your online acquaintances, it is a perversion of the plan of God that our words would bring truth, hope, and life to others (Prov. 18:21). 9. Swindlers will not inherit the kingdom of God

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Finally, we have the swindlers. This word literally means vicious, ferocious, or ravenous like a wolf. It describes someone who is violently greedy and can also be translated as „robber‟. The thief looks for an opportune time to secretly steal something from another person, but this person wants what someone else has so badly that they won‟t even let the other person get in their way. They will lie to the person, trick them, threaten them, or even use violence against them to get what they want. B. Do not be deceived! There is an essential and eternal divide between righteousness and unrighteousness. There is an invitation to join God in His kingdom, but there is also this barbed wire fence. The unrighteous may not enter. It is important to reiterate that this list of specific behaviors and attitudes is not an arbitrary list that the Apostle Paul or the early church came up with to suit their own preferences. It is not an expression of unrighteousness as they understood it at that time, while we today have a more evolved understanding of what unrighteousness really is. Each one of these behaviors is unrighteous today for the same reason it was unrighteous 2,000 years ago, because it is a perversion of the character of God, the plan of God, and the image of God. That is why the warning in verse 9 is so important. With regards to unrighteousness and the kingdom of God, we are emphatically told, “Do not be deceived.” Don‟t be led astray. The deception that we are being warned about, I believe, is fundamentally a failure to see the essential, eternal divide between good and evil. It is a failure to recognize that you are on one side of the wedge or the other. As God‟s Kingdom comes and spreads throughout this world, he is driving an impenetrable wedge between righteousness and unrighteousness, impenetrable to anything but faith in the cross of Christ. As that wedge is being driven in, the world is being deceived. We underestimate God‟s righteousness and overestimate our own. We think unrighteousness can exist in God‟s kingdom. “Come on! God has to be realistic about these things, right?” Those who are unbelieving and unrighteous think they really are pretty good after all and that God will let them into His kingdom, but our passage is clear. The unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God. The saints are also deceived at times. Those who have been washed, sanctified, and justified think the world has some righteousness of its own that we can fellowship with. We are deceived into thinking God won‟t do 7

anything about the unrighteousness that remains in their lives. But He will. He promised to complete the good work that He has begun in us (Phil. 1:6). He will pry the unrighteousness out of us. It is a painful process that won‟t be completed until we receive glorified bodies, but out of His love for us He will do it. C. Such were some of us As we review this list and look at our lives, each one of us falls into at least one of these categories, so we are left asking Jesus the same question his disciples asked (Mark 10:26), “Who then can be saved?” Verses 9 and 10 alone would present Christianity as a religion of works. Those who have indulged in these particular behaviors will not go to heaven, and so those who have not, those who have been good enough will be let through the door. But with verse 11 we see that Christianity is not a religion of works. It is a relationship with God based on a rebirth. Paul said “Such were some of you,” but a change had taken place. III. The Righteous will inherit God’s Kingdom At the core of the passage, at that transition from “Such were some of you” to “but you have been washed” we see the gospel, the good news. God doesn‟t invite people into His kingdom because they are righteous. Instead, He makes unrighteous people righteous so they can have a share in His kingdom. A. Righteousness comes to those who call on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. At the beginning of this letter (1 Cor. 1:2) were all told that all people, no matter who they are or where they are, are saints or holy people if they call on the name of Jesus. That is how we can become righteous. If you recognize that you are in a helpless state, that you are unrighteous and have no share in the kingdom of God, call out to Jesus. 1. They will be washed of their guilt and sin. 2. They will be sanctified. They are declared holy by God and set apart for a special purpose within His kingdom.

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3. They will be justified. They are declared officially righteous before the throne of God. The saints in the Corinthian church were not perfect. There was still some unrighteousness left in them, as there is in us. When they called on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, though, their hearts and their consciences were washed clean of the guilt and the sin that they had. When they called on the name of Jesus they were sanctified, which means they were declared holy and set apart by God for a special purpose in His kingdom, and when they called on the name of Jesus, they were justified. This is from the same root used for the word “unrighteous” with the “un” taken off. They were declared righteous before the throne of God and welcomed into His kingdom. They were not righteous, but they were given the righteousness of Jesus when they called on His name. B. Call on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ! If you are sitting here today and you are aware of your own unrighteousness, but instead of being able to say that you were such things, if you were honest with yourself, you would have to say that you are such things, let me close by simply encouraging you to call on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and then you will be washed, you will be sanctified, and you will be justified. Through the name of Jesus, you can receive God‟s invitation to share His kingdom with Him.

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