The Cornerstone at White Rock: Sermon Audio

Today we take a look at one of the great phrases penned by Paul: you are not your own, for you were bought with a price. While Paul's appeal is for the Corinthians to use their bodies in God honoring ways, the principle of a blood-ransomed life is one that applies in every circumstance. With anything you do and anything you have, glorify God with it.

When word got around to Paul that members of the Corinthian church were taking one another to public civil court, he could hardly believe the news. In typical Pauline fashion, he gets to the answer by a question: wouldn't it be better for you, Corinthians, to take care of these issues in house? The answer is an obvious and rhetorical 'yes'. Through this passage, we learn that a me-first outlook can prove lethal to a church and rob it of it's credibility in the sight of the world. Appearances matter deeply when the reputation of Jesus and his church are on the line.

A church that looks too much like the world was never God's intent. So when the Corinthians bought into a worldly sexual ethic hook, line, and sinker, Paul scolded them for their laissez faire attitude toward known sin. He reminded them of their obligation to purge unrepentant sin. Like Paul, no church should relish or encroach lightly formalized church discipline. And in spite of its harsh nature, church discipline has always been intended for the restitution of the individual and the benefit of the church.

When God scattered the first Christians across the globe, churches sprang up wherever they landed. In a very short time, twelve became one hundred became thousands because of the multiplying effects of church planting. God stirs in His people a restlessness to make disciples and, as a result, start new churches.