The Legitimacy of the Local Church

John

Our Blueprint for a New Testament Church • Sermon • Submitted 3 years ago

1 Corinthians 6:9–11

New Testament Concepts Of The Church

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Introduction

Today our text is 1 Corinthians 6:9-11.

Last week, we were considering verses 1-8. In those verses, the Holy Spirit moved from the topic of morality to materialism. Chapter 5 dealt with immorality within the local church. Chapter 6 began by dealing with materialism in the local church. Just as immorality can work to destroy the cause of Christ so can infighting over material possession. This church at Corinth was not only involved in personal sin but also in public sin. All of which should never occur in a local church.

When we come to today’s text, the Holy Spirit uses these verses to remind us of our position in Christ. He has dealt with all this sinful stuff - immorality and materialism. Now, He once again brings us back to who we really are in our relationship to Christ.

Now, before I get into the heart of the text and the message this morning, I want to share a couple of thoughts that came to my mind as I was preparing the message by way of introduction.

The first is this.

A true legitimate local church is like no other entity in the world!

The is no doubt that there are many, many different kinds of local churches. In fact, I have come to realize that there are so many in our area that a person could conceivable visit a different church each week and never be in the same one over the course of an entire year, maybe several years. How then does a person know which local church is a legitimate local church according to the God’s standard? People are often confused about local churches. In fact, my belief, based on my study of Scripture, is that confusion is one of Satan’s greatest weapons. I will give you another example of what I am talking about - Bible versions. Literally, there are so many different versions of the Bible that people are confused so which one is the actual Word of God. And, with there being so many, people are able to chose whichever one they like instead of choosing the one that God inspired and preserved. Again, a ploy by Satan to confuse people so that they are not able to know the truth of God’s Word. It is the same ploy that Satan uses with local churches. There are so many that people can choose from. There are churches who are conservative in their dress and worship yet do not preach the truth of God’s Word. There are churches that boast of having a higher form of worship. There are churches who stress music over preaching. There are churches who have made helping the down and out the center of their ministries. There a big churches, medium sized churches, and small churches. All of these churches and how do we know the which of them is a legitimate local church?

I believe we will find the answer in our text today.

SIDE NOTE: You have to make sure you have the right version of God’s Word in your hand in order to know what God demands of a local church. If you have the wrong Bible, then you will have wrong doctrine. Personally, I am convinced that the King James Version of the Bible is the correct version of God’s Word by which He has divinely preserved His inspired Word in the English language. It is the version that we use in all of our teaching and preaching here at Calvary Baptist Church. That, however, is much larger subject for me to undertake this morning. If you would like to sit down with me and learn how I arrived at that conclusion, I would love to have that conversation. For now, let’s get back to the message at hand.

Remember I said there were a couple of things that came to my mind concerning today’s text. The first was how to know and understand if a local church is a legitimate local church according to God’s Word. That is why titled today’s message “The Legitimacy of the Local Church.” The second thought is the glorious grace of God.

Another fact that will be quite evident by our text today.

So let’s get right into it.

Take your Bibles (if you do not have a Bible there should be one in the pew close to you) turn to our text which is 1 Corinthians 6:9-11.

1 Corinthians 6:9–11 KJV 1900

Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.

The Holy Spirit begins with this question.

1 Corinthians 6:9 (KJV 1900)

Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,

One way to address questions is to turn them into statements. This question by the Holy Spirit can be turned into this statement.

Ye know that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God!

A fact that is quite often taught throughout the New Testament.

Galatians 5:21 KJV 1900

Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

Ephesians 5:5 KJV 1900

For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.

Christ told Nicodemus...

John 3:3 KJV 1900

Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

It is an unequivocal fact that unbelievers cannot be a part of the God’s kingdom unless they are born again. Thus, in our text, the Holy Spirit makes the distinction between unbeliever and true believers. Note the rest of verse 9 in our text as well as verse 10.

1 Corinthians 6:9–10 KJV 1900

Sinners sin. That is what sinners do. The Bible is also quite clear that men are born with a sinful nature and, thus, they sin because it is their nature to sin. Just a dog barks because it is a dog and cat meows because it is a cat, so sinful men sin.

Romans 3:10–18 KJV 1900

As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: Their feet are swift to shed blood: Destruction and misery are in their ways: And the way of peace have they not known: There is no fear of God before their eyes.

Thus, the conclusion is noted...

Romans 3:23 KJV 1900

For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

If you go back to our text, you will note that categories of sin given by the Holy Spirit.

1 Corinthians 6:9–10 (KJV 1900)

Note these sins as named.

Fornication speaks to sexual sins. (Choosing to go against God’s design of one man and one woman becoming one flesh)

Idolaters speaks to spiritual sins. (Choosing to worship anything other than Jehovah God)

Adulterers speaks to social sins. (Choosing to engage in sexual sin with another person other than your spouse)

Effeminate speaks to sins against God’s creation of men and women. (Male and female created He them; thus, a male is born a male and female is born a female; any change to that is a violation of God’s sovereignty)

Abusers of themselves speaks to sins against God’s intended natural process of sexual reproduction.

Today all these sins are being propagated as “alternative lifestyles.” Let’s be clear! Is it not an alternative lifestyle. It is choice to live in sin against a Holy God who created this universe including men and women. However, we should not be surprised by their choices. Sinful people commit sin. It is nothing new. The problem of today is that Personal Sin has now become Public Sin. What was once done in private is not done openly in defiance to God.

Sinful People Commit Public Sin

1 Corinthians 6:9–10 (KJV 1900)

The second group of sins listed by the Holy Spirit are more public in nature. The first group were, at one time, personal sins that society did not embrace or were not done openly. All that has changed today. Another indication that we are closer than we have ever been to the trumpet sounding and the Rapture taking place. This second group are sins that have always been more public and open. Note again this list...

Thieves - the outward act of stealing from someone.

Covetous - an inward attitude that often comes out publically in a person’s actions.

A thief takes what he wants by any means he can. One who covets is one driven to get more than they have.

Drunkards - someone who gives up control of their will (A drunkard is one who is habitually intoxicated. Again, the world has declared it a disease, God says it is a sin.)

Revilers - someone who has no control of their tongue (A reviler is one who uses their mouth and their words to abuse or rail others.)

Extortioners - someone who has no control of their ways (An extortioner is one who pillages, plunders, and robs. Essentially, they are out of total control)

Now, note again our text and verse 9.

1 Corinthians 6:9 (KJV 1900)

Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,

That phrase - “be not deceived” - literally means to STOP DECEIVING YOURSELVES! Now to put this into context we must remember that the local church at Corinth was experiencing some major problems. There as a problem with pride. There was problem with division resulting in competition between certain groups within the church. There was a problem of immorality. There was a problem of lawsuits among church members. Each of these things were results of sin. Pride is sin. Reviling is sin. Fornication is sin. Covetous is sin. Extortion is sin. All of these things were characteristics of unbelievers aka the unrighteous. Thus, the Holy Spirit is reminding them that they were acting like a bunch of unbelievers who were not going to inherit God’s kingdom. Therefore, He was warning them to quit deceiving themselves. They needed to stop acting like the world. Stop giving into sin.

I am reminded of the passage in Romans where the Holy Spirit wrote...

Romans 6:15–19 KJV 1900

What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness. I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness.

You see the believer has been changed. A believer is no longer under the bondage of sin. The unbeliever, however, has no choice. They live after the flesh because they remain in bondage to sin. The only way that bondage can be broken is by turning to the One Who obliterated the chains of sin.

SALVATION PLEA - You see Christ was the One who broke the chains of sin with His death, burial and resurrection. That is why He said that He was the way, the truth, and the life. No man can come unto the Father but by Him. If you are here this morning and you are bound by the chains of sin, may I say to you that Christ desires to set you free. In fact, Christ has already done everything needed for you to be free this morning. All it takes is for you to accept what He has already done. You must acknowledge you are sinner and in need of Savior. You must accept the fact that Christ as the Son of God died to set you free with His death, burial and resurrection. You must repent of your sin confessing that you are sinner and that He died for you. You must believe in your heart all that He has done. When you do, Scripture says “thou shalt be saved.” It is then that sin no longer has hold your life. The Bible teaches that if you will believe, God will change you. He will give you a new nature and you will be come a new creation. That change includes His Spirit coming into life and indwelling you. A change that will enable to overcome sin in your life living a life pleasing unto God.

In fact, that is what our text is all about. It is about that position believers have in Christ. Note the rest of text for today.

1 Corinthians 6:11 KJV 1900

And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.

Here is where learn the legitimacy of a local church. Here is where we find the answer to what is a true local church.

A Legit Local Church Consists of a Saved Membership!

Remember the Holy Spirit is writing this letter to local church of Corinth. You also must consider the fact that at the moment the Holy Spirit moves Paul to write these words local churches were brand new. At the time these words were penned, there were only a small handful of local churches in the entire world. Thus, there was no confusion about what was a true local church. A local church was a group of believers called out from this world through their faith in the finished work of Christ unified around the cause of Christ and the commission of the gospel. The one thing that separated them from the rest of the world was their new position in Christ. The Holy Spirit reminds them of this by saying “…such were some of you...” In other words, you WERE the unrighteous who did not stand a chance to inherit God’s kingdom. However, now, something has changed. You are no longer under the bondage of sin. No longer were they to serve sin. Instead, they had the freedom in Christ and through the Holy Spirit to serve God.

Their new position was...

They were WASHED!

Washed meaning that God has dealt with their status. Before salvation, they were unclean and undone before God. They lived unclean, sinful lives not by choice, but because they were under the bondage of sin. However, now, they were washed. They were cleansed. They were made holy and righteous before God.

They were SANCTIFIED!

The word “sanctified” means to “set apart.” Before salvation, they were just like the rest of the world. They lived like the rest of the world Going along with “the crowd” was the norm. They were sinful people living sinful lives just like the rest of this sinful world. However, now, they had been “set apart” by God. They were His. They were clean. They now had the ability within them to rise above the sin and wickedness of this world. They were different.

They were JUSTIFIED!

Justified has do with their relationship with God. It means to declare righteous. Before salvation, they were dead to God. They were dead because of their sin and their iniquity. In fact, they were not only dead spiritually, but physically they lived in constant enmity with God. However, now, they had been declared righteous (justified) before God. Their relationship with Him changed. Now they are able to communicate with Him. Now they were able to live righteously before Him.

Thus, as we have learned, a legitimate local church is a church full of people who understand their position before God as a result of their faith in what Christ, God’s Son, did for them on the Cross of Calvary. They are people who are washed, who are sanctified, and who are justified. They are people who fully understand that their new position and relationship before God has nothing to do with what they have done. Rather, they understand that is all because of Christ’s finished work on the cross and due to the fact that God’s Spirit now indwells them. Thus, it is because of God’s love, grace, and mercy.

Folks, I would remind you this morning that...

1 Corinthians 6:11 (KJV 1900)

And such were some of you...

Some of you were unrighteous before God. I was unrighteous before God. And, thus, we must remind ourselves who were without Christ. However, we must no deceive ourselves. We who have truly accepted all that Christ did for us on the cross are now changed. We are no longer under the woeful bondage of sin. Instead, we are now washed. We are cleansed by the precious blood shed by Christ on the cross of Calvary. We are sanctified. God has called us out of this world of sin to be set apart for His service. We are justified. Our relationship to Him is different. We are alive through Jesus Christ our Lord. We are no longer dead in our sin and trespasses. Therefore, we no longer should live according to the sinful practices of this world. We must rise above it utilizing this new position, the new relationship, and this new power we have through Jesus Christ our Lord and the Spirit of our God.

Conclusion

I began this message with two thoughts in my introduction. What makes a local church a legitimate local church according to God’s Word? It is a local church who full understands they are sinners saved by God’s grace who are now cleansed, set apart, and declared righteous before God and who seek to live their lives pleasing unto Him. There are many, many types of local churches. However, if they do not stand upon this one divinely given truth, then they are not a legitimate local church.

The second thought was “How glorious is the GRACE of God!” Grace has often been defined as UNMERITED FAVOR! If you are here this morning and you have accepted Christ as your personal Savior, you are experiencing the UNMERITED FAVOR of God. There is nothing any of us can do earn Heaven much less be righteous before God. Yet, God with great love, made a way for us all through His Son, Jesus Christ. Now, because of His grace, we through faith have a new relationship with God.

Thus, a true local church made of up of born again believers need to remember that they must not yield their members as instruments of unrighteousness. The unrighteous are sinful resulting in sinful action and words. A true local church will stand strong in their position before God and stand strong against sin.

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