Grace, Correction, and Community in Christ

Devotional

Day 1: Embracing Community as Christ Did

Engaging with our community is more than just organizing events; it is about embodying the love and service that Jesus exemplified. When we step out of our comfort zones to invite others, we are not merely hosting an event but creating opportunities for people to experience the love and community of Christ. Events like trunk or treat are not ends in themselves but means to serve and love our neighbors, reflecting Jesus' teachings. By valuing and loving people, we open doors for them to encounter the transformative power of Christ's love. [17:08]

"Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others." (Philippians 2:4, ESV)

Reflection: Who in your community can you reach out to this week to show Christ's love in a tangible way?

Day 2: Correction as a Path to Redemption

Correction within the church is often misunderstood as judgment, but it is, in fact, an act of love aimed at redemption and restoration. In 1 Corinthians 5, Paul addresses a specific case of immorality and the church's inappropriate pride in their tolerance of it. This highlights the necessity of addressing sin within the community to guide each other back to righteousness. Correction is not about punishment but about leading individuals back to salvation, ensuring that sin does not take root within the community. [28:21]

"Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted." (Galatians 6:1, ESV)

Reflection: Is there someone in your life who needs gentle correction? How can you approach them with love and humility this week?

Day 3: Grace as a Call to Holiness

Grace is often misunderstood as a license to sin, but it is truly an invitation to live a life free from sin's bondage. Paul reminds us that grace calls us to a higher standard of living that reflects the holiness of God. While we are to be in the world, we are not to be of it, meaning our lives should reflect God's righteousness rather than conforming to the sinful patterns of the world. Grace empowers us to live in freedom, pointing others to the hope and redemption found in Jesus. [39:34]

"For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age." (Titus 2:11-12, ESV)

Reflection: In what areas of your life do you need to embrace grace as a call to holiness rather than a permission to continue in sin?

Day 4: Living Distinctively in the World

As Christians, we are called to be in the world but not of it. This means engaging with the world while maintaining our distinctiveness as followers of Christ. Our role is to be a light in the darkness, pointing others to Jesus through our actions and words. By living lives that reflect God's righteousness, we fulfill our purpose of being salt and light, bringing out the God-flavors in the world and offering hope and redemption to those around us. [41:35]

"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." (Romans 12:2, ESV)

Reflection: How can you engage with the world this week while maintaining your distinctiveness as a follower of Christ?

Day 5: Balancing Engagement and Holiness

The church must avoid the extremes of ignoring sin or isolating itself from the world. Our mission is to engage with the world, offering the hope and redemption found in Christ while living lives that reflect His righteousness. This balance allows us to fulfill our calling to be salt and light, bringing out the God-flavors in the world. By maintaining this balance, we can effectively point others to the transformative power of the gospel. [43:30]

"You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet." (Matthew 5:13, ESV)

Reflection: What steps can you take to ensure that you are engaging with the world without compromising your commitment to holiness?

Sermon Summary

In today's message, we explored the profound teachings of Paul in his letter to the Corinthians, focusing on the importance of community, correction, and the true essence of grace. We began by discussing the significance of stepping out of our comfort zones to invite others to experience the love and community of Christ through events like our upcoming trunk or treat. This is not just about hosting an event but about serving our community in the way Jesus taught us—by loving and valuing people.

As we delved into 1 Corinthians 5, we confronted the challenging issue of sin within the church. Paul addresses a specific case of immorality and the church's inappropriate pride in their tolerance of it. This led us to reflect on the nature of correction within the Christian community. Correction, though uncomfortable, is an act of love aimed at redemption and restoration. Paul’s strong words about removing the sinful man from the church are not about punishment but about leading him back to salvation.

We also examined the tension between grace and correction. Grace is not a license to sin but a call to live a life free from the bondage of sin. Paul reminds us that while we are to be in the world, we are not to be of it. This means living a life that reflects the righteousness of God, not conforming to the sinful patterns of the world. Our role as Christians is to be a light in the darkness, pointing others to the hope and redemption found in Jesus.

Finally, we acknowledged the enemy's tactic of twisting grace into permissiveness, which can lead to a church that either ignores sin or isolates itself from the world. Our calling is to engage with the world while maintaining our distinctiveness as followers of Christ. This balance allows us to fulfill our purpose of being salt and light, bringing out the God-flavors in the world and pointing others to the transformative power of the gospel.

Key Takeaways

1. Community Engagement: Engaging with our community through events like trunk or treat is a reflection of Jesus' teaching to love and serve others. It's an opportunity to invite those who don't know Christ to experience His love through our actions. [17:08]
2. Correction as Love: Correction within the church is not about judgment but about love and redemption. It is a necessary act to guide each other back to righteousness and ensure that sin does not take root within the community. [28:21]
3. Understanding Grace: Grace is not a permission slip to sin but an invitation to live a life free from sin's bondage. It calls us to a higher standard of living that reflects the holiness of God. [39:34]
4. In the World, Not of It: As Christians, we are called to be in the world but not of it. This means engaging with the world while maintaining our distinctiveness, serving as a light that points others to Jesus. [41:35]
5. Avoiding Extremes: The church must avoid the extremes of ignoring sin or isolating itself from the world. Our mission is to engage with the world, offering the hope and redemption found in Christ while living lives that reflect His righteousness. [43:30]
** [43:30]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[17:08] - Community Engagement and Invitation
[18:35] - Serving with Purpose
[19:22] - Context of Paul's Letter
[20:30] - Addressing Sin in the Church
[21:29] - Arrogance and Pride
[22:30] - Paul's Strong Response
[23:23] - Balancing Love and Correction
[24:52] - Illustration of Standards
[28:21] - Correction as an Act of Love
[29:36] - Redemption as the Goal
[30:43] - Judging Inside the Church
[31:50] - Misplaced Judgment
[34:53] - The Enemy's Twisting of Grace
[36:24] - Boasting in Sin
[38:07] - True Meaning of Grace
[39:34] - Freedom from Sin
[41:35] - Living in the World, Not of It
[43:30] - Avoiding Extremes
[45:48] - Closing Prayer

Sermon Clips

1) "A huge value for us as a church is to serve our community, and this is a way that we do that. And we're not trying to bait and switch people with events like trunk or treat. But look, the reason we value serving our community isn't just because it's a nice thing to do. Like, the reason we value serving our community is because Jesus, who's our Lord and our savior, taught us what it looks like to love people in that way, to serve people in that way, to value people, to care about them. And so we want to serve that way. We want to love people." [17:08] (33 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)

2) "Correction amongst believers, for the sake of pointing each other back towards Jesus, for the sake of righteousness, correction isn't mean. It's love. It is love when we will step into those uncomfortable moments and correct other believers to help them follow Jesus. And in this case, it's like, but he's throwing him out of the church. But pay attention to what Paul said as he wrapped this up, right? He gives all this instructions, and then he says, so that his sinful nature will be destroyed and he himself will be saved on the day the Lord returns." [28:21] (44 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)

3) "Because we get correction and judgment so backwards, right? For a group of people that talk about how bad judging is, honestly, we, as followers of Jesus, and I'm guilty of this, too. Okay? We love to judge, but we love to judge the wrong people. Because Paul is really clear here. Correction, judgment. For people who are inside the church, it is important. It is something that. That we are called to, but we don't like to do that. Right? We love to judge those who are living far away." [31:50] (46 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)

4) "And this twisting is so dangerous in our lives. Check out what Paul writes back in verse six here, back to this church and their attitude towards this. He says, your boasting about this is terrible. Don't you realize that this sin is like a little yeast that spreads through the whole batch of dough? So this sin is infecting everyone. But your arrogance about this, your pride about this, your boasting about this is horrible. And we start to get this complete picture of what's going on in this church here, right? That not only is this sin happening within the church and no one is correcting it, they're bragging about it." [34:53] (50 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)

5) "And it's a total miss on this beautiful gift, because Jesus didn't come just to cleanse us from our sins, but to free us from the bond of sin. Yes, when Jesus poured out his blood for us on the cross, we were cleansed of our sins. We were forgiven. They were wiped away. And that is a beautiful gift. But Jesus Endgame wasn't there. It wasn't that we would just sin over and over and over again, that we would continue to be ruled by sin, and that it would just be okay because it had already been paid for. Jesus also wanted to free us from the bondage of our sinfulness nature, from being ruled by sin, from living this life where this destructive choices that hurt us and hurt other people continue to happen over and over again." [38:07] (55 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)

6) "Guys, the grace of Jesus is so much better. It's so much better than just a permission slip to do whatever we want. It is an invitation to walk in righteousness with him, to walk side by side in the goodness of our God. And we are called as the church. You've probably heard this said before, right? We are called as the church to, yes, live in this world, but to not be of this world. This quote that is often said right in the world but not of the world. It's really pulled, I think, primarily from this passage, this prayer. In John 17, Jesus is praying for his disciples. It's the night before he's going to go to the cross and he's praying for them." [40:17] (54 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)

7) "And the temptation of the church over the years has been to run to one of those extremes to just ignore sin and pretend it's all okay and that everybody can do whatever and it's fine. And to permit everything or to run away, to run and hide and separate ourselves from this world in every way that we can and to get to a place where we don't even know anyone who's not a Christian. And when we run to one of those extremes, we are missing out on our purpose as the church. We're missing out on this opportunity to be that light into the darkness, to be in this world while not being of this world. That's who we're called to be, to know our neighbors, but remain different, to remain set apart in it, not of it." [43:30] (64 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)

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