Sue Not, Lest Ye Be Sued
- Paul has some other advice. Don't take each other to court over every little thing. Somewhere, Judge Judy is cheering.
- Seriously, Corinthians. If you have issues with each other, take it to the church. Let the community help settle it. Sounds like a good idea.
- That's way better than going in front of a bunch of non-believers in Roman courts. Yuck.
- What would be even better was if Christians didn't sue each other at all, but Paul's not going to shoot for the moon here.
Kingdom of God Entrance Exam
- After all, Paul explains, terrible people are not going to inherit the kingdom of God. Not even a little bit.
- Fornicators? Idolaters? Adulterers? Male prostitutes? Sodomites? Thieves? Greedy folks? Drunks? Abusers? They're all out.
- Paul points out that some of the folks in the Christian church used to be guilty of this kind of stuff. Uh-oh…
- But, then they were baptized in Christ and it's all good. Whew. Let's just try to keep it that way, guys.
It Does a Body Good
- Because they've become new people through baptism, it seems the Corinthians think that they can do whatever they like.
- Not quite. Sure, they could go around having sex with loads of different people and eating whatever they want, but Paul doesn't really think this is a swell idea.
- They've got to treat their bodies right. After all, the Corinthians' bodies belong to God. They're his temples, remember?
- Besides, it's not like their bodies are going to get left behind in the end. Nope. God is going to raise them up… eventually.
- So that means if you have some sexy times with a prostitute, then you're becoming one with a prostitute and not with God.
- Look, Paul says, the point is, our bodies aren't our own. We can't just go around sleeping with whomever and think it's a-okay, because it is not. There goes the Corinthians' fun weekend plans.