Turn, if you will, please, to
1 Corinthians, chapter 15, verse 33. I don't usually preach a
textual sermon, but this is the introduction into the series,
and you'll see why I'm doing what I'm doing this morning.
My subject is entitled Christian Ethics. Christian Ethics. Here's the text. Be not deceived. Evil communications corrupt good
manners. I'm not going to break that text
down yet. I'll do that in conclusion this
morning. The Greek word for ethics is
ethos. It is used only one time in all
the scriptures and this is the place where it is used. 1 Corinthians 15, 33. Look at the text again. Evil
communications. We'll give what that means. Corrupt
good manners. I'm going to have to go ahead
and say something that will pave the way. The word is manners
here. Good manners. It can mean morals or character. That's the word ethos from which
we get the word ethics. Christian ethics. We see a manifestation
of little Christian ethics today. There are some things being taught
and preached that just ought not to be taught and preached
by persons who claim to be God's representatives. There is what
is known today as antinomianism, and we'll be dealing with that
point this morning. But Christian ethics, what all
is included in Christian ethics, We're talking about Christian
morals. We're talking about Christian
character. No one can deny that morality
is the fruit of regeneration and conversion. No one can expect to produce
any real morality apart from the grace of God. If persons
who have been seized by God's grace need no instruction in
morality, as some advocate today. Did you hear what I said? Inspired
instruction for Christians was a waste of time when they've
been given to us by the prophets and the apostles of old. Beloved, the Bible is filled
with instruction for Christians. Just because we are the recipients
of God's grace does not relieve us of the responsibility of being
subjected to the instruction the Holy Spirit has given to
you and me through holy men as they were inspired of God to
give us this instruction. You say, well, what's being taught?
Stay with me. We'll see. Surely no one will have the audacity
to say inspired information about morality is not needed by believers
today. Every believer stands in need
of instruction. He needs the commands that our
Lord has given, and I'm not just referring to the Ten Commandments,
the moral law, or I should say the moral aspect of the law. The law has three aspects. The
law has three parts, and I'm talking about the law of the
Old Testament. We have the ceremonial law. We have the judicial aspect
of the law. And we have the moral aspect
of the law. The moral aspect of the law is
just as important for you and me today as it was the day that
it was first given to Moses. Some strange fire in the area
of Christian ethics is proclaimed today. and believers must be
forewarned in order to be forearmed. Having said that, Christian ethics
is the subject that I have chosen to preface our study of 1 Corinthians
chapter 7. On marriage and celibacy, marriage
and separation, marriage and expediency, marriage and contentment,
marriage and remarriage. Now I've given you the divisions,
haven't I? Turn with me, if you will, please,
first of all to Romans 13, 10. Today, this statement in verse
10 is being taken by individuals, and they're saying, what ought
never to be said about the verse. Paul taught that love is the
fulfilling of the law. We'll look at more than just
that statement later on, but not now. Look at the statement
in the latter part of verse 10. Love is the fulfilling of the
law. Because this statement has been
greatly misunderstood, It must be properly interpreted. And I'm seeking this morning
by the grace of God to give it the proper interpretation in
the light of all the revelation of God's mind. Some think that love, in this
verse, means to abrogate the law. But there is a difference between
fulfilling And actually, that's not the word that should be used.
Fulfillment, it's a noun. It's not an action word that
is used here in the text. I'm talking about the Greek text.
So it's not the fulfilling, it's not an action word, it's a noun.
And the word that is used here by Paul is pleroma. However, some think that love
means to abrogate the law. But I stated there is a difference
between fulfillment and nullification. I said there is a difference
between fulfillment and nullification. The Greek word for fulfilling,
as I've already stated, is pleroma, a noun, is used with the descriptive
genitive namu, which means fulfillment of law. So it would be correct to say the
fulfillment of law. Love that has been poured out
in one's heart by the spirit of regeneration is devoted to
the negative commandments as much as he is devoted to the
positive commandments. What do you think the Apostle
John meant in the last verse of his first epistle? Beloved,
keep yourselves from idols. Beloved, I am as devoted as a
recipient of God's grace to that commandment as I am. Love the Lord with all your heart,
your soul, your mind, and your strength. Stay with me because we'll open
up some things that you may not be aware of that's being taught
today. Apart from love, And I'm talking
about agape love. I'm talking about the love of
God that has been shed abroad in your heart and mine, in regeneration, is meaningless. I said obedience,
apart from agape love, is meaningless. But in love, the Christian's
obedience is expressive. What do you mean by the believer's
obedience being expressive? Listen to this in Romans 8, when
Paul said that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled
in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. That's Romans 8, 4. Again, we
have in 1 John 5, 3, For this is the love of God, that we keep
his commandments. Notice the last part, for his
commandments are not grievous. Law to a righteous person is
not a burden. Beloved, it is the believer's
delight. Now let me ask you a question.
Is God's commandments your delight? Whether they be positive or negative? Are they your delight? You know
what David said in the 119th division of the Psalms? I love
thy law, O Lord. Later on in the same psalm, I
hate every evil way. So God's commandments are not
burdensome to us as Christians. God's commandments are our delight. And if God's commandments are
not our delight, then we don't have the grace of God. Agape love has never been shed
abroad in our hearts. We're being hypocritical about
what we claim to believe. Let's go another step. Modern
day antinomianism is the same old heresy expressed in a new
terminology. The question is often asked today,
can one be under law's obligation without being under its condemnation? How would you answer that? Can one be under the obligation
of the law without being under its condemnation? They say if
you're under the condemnation, you're under the obligation.
If you're under the obligation, you're under the condemnation. Then they turned that around.
But if you have been delivered by grace, you are free from both
the obligation and condemnation. That's where antinomianism was
born. Beloved, you better think with
me. So those who argue in favor of being free from the
law claim that since the believer
delights to do what is good, he does not need the law. Have you reached the place in
your Christian life where you feel that you do not need God's
commandments, God's law, God's instruction? Let's carry that line of logic
to its proper conclusion. Will you permit me to do that?
That line of logic would lead one to conclude that since faith
is the gift of God, He doesn't need the gospel that
he is to embrace. Are you with me? If I have been delivered by God's
grace from the responsibility of the law, therefore I do not
need the law, Then because God has given me
grace, I don't need the gospel, which I am to embrace. You see where that leads, do
you not? The goodness of the law is experienced
only, only as it is put to proper use, proper use. its improper
use becomes an unbearable burden which ultimately becomes a curse. Now what did Israel do? God gave
the law to a redeemed people. The law was not given to Israel
until after Israel's deliverance from Egyptian bondage. The law therefore came alongside
of, and that's the teaching of Galatians chapter three. Until
the seed should come to whom the promise was made. So the law was given to a redeemed
people. Now what did the Jews do? The
unsaved Jews. took that which was given as
a sequel to Israel's deliverance and made it a means of salvation. When the Jews took that which
was given as a sequel to her deliverance and made it a means
of her salvation She was mishandling the law. Beloved, that is the
legalist. When someone accuses you of legalism,
listen closely, I want you to be in a position to ask that
person, will you explain to me what legalism is? And you're
going to find out... A legalist is one who takes what
God has given as a sequel to salvation and makes it a means
of salvation. That's the legalist. That's the legalist. But beloved, I am not taking
what God has given to me as a sequel to my deliverance and making
it as a means of my salvation. I'm taking that which God has
given to me as a sequel to my salvation and using it as a guide
for my life as a Christian. See the difference? Quite a difference. Admittedly, the law cannot legislate
righteousness. You see the antinomian comes
along and he says, now wait a minute, the law cannot legislate righteousness. I'll be the first to admit that,
but I'll tell you what the law can do and what it does do. It
surely can restrain sin to some extent. You notice what I said? Now I'm
going to make this very practical. If you don't think the law restrains
sin to some extent, then you do not understand the meaning
of the law, but I'm going to prove to you that you're wrong
if you have that concept. How many of you, driving down
the highway, and you don't have your speed control on, and you see a highway patrol,
how many of you look at your speedometer? You ever look at it? Why do you
look at it? Why in the world do you take
time to look at your speedometer? You know why. What I'm showing
is, and I'm using a very crude illustration, but the reason
you look at your speedometer is because you want to know how
fast you're going. And if you're going too fast and you see him
pull somebody over, you know what you'll automatically do?
I know because I've done it. I slow down. I may not get back
to right 55. You say, well, you want your
speeds? No, I set my, if I'm going to Centerville, I usually
set my speedometer on somewhere and try to go with the flow of
the traffic. If the flow of the traffic is going about 58, I
just set my speed control on 58. I just go along with the flow of
the traffic. And they won't stop you. I don't drive 70 or 75, but I
go along with the flow of the traffic as a rule. But what I'm
showing is, Law does restrain disobedience to some extent. But you see, the antinomian comes
along and he says, we're not under law. After all, you can't
legislate righteousness. The Christian does not view the
law as a means of salvation, but as a sequel to his salvation. That's the difference in being
free and being a legalist. Listen to what our Lord says
in John 14, 15. And beloved, this is not legalism. This is
a manifestation of the Christian life. This is a manifestation
of grace. If you love me, keep my commandments. Christ said that to his disciples. Legalism, therefore, is the abuse
of the law by relying on keeping it for
salvation. Christ's perfect obedience to
the law for the elect's justification does not exempt God's elect from
obedience to it, not for salvation but for their progressive sanctification. I don't obey the law for my justification. My obedience to the law is for
my progressive sanctification. The moral law of God which grew
out of his nature cannot be changed. And the moral law grew out of
the very nature of the sovereign God. And that which grew out
of his nature can never be changed. Christ said in Matthew 22, 37-39,
Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with
all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great
commandment. And the second is like unto it,
he said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. Now go back
to Romans 13. Let's put verses 9 and 10 together
and see what the antinomian does with the latter part. Paul instructed
the Roman saints. Paul instructed those who had
already been made free by the grace of God. Thus he was giving the same instruction
to them as their sequel, the sequel to their salvation. Notice
what he says. Thou shall not commit adultery.
Thou shalt not commit adultery. We are living in a society that
is adulterous. We are living in an adulterous
society. And preachers are afraid to take
a stand. because they'll lose too many
church members. He also says, thou shalt not
kill. Notice now he's giving some of the commandments of Exodus
20. Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt
not bear false witness. Thou shalt not covet. And if
there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in
this saying, namely, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.
Notice this, love worketh no ill to his neighbor. Therefore,
love is the fulfilling and it should be the fulfillment of
the law. It's a noun, not an action word. Love for God and neighbors cannot
be changed. Furthermore, the moral law can
neither be abolished nor superseded. You can't abolish the moral law. You cannot supersede the moral
law. God cannot dispense with the
laws that are moral in themselves because they came from his very
character. However, the substance, Jesus
Christ, has filled the place of the shadows of the ceremonial
law, Romans 10.4. Christ is the end of the law
to everyone who believes. He's the end of the ceremonial
law, or the ceremonial aspect of the law. He's not the end
of the moral law. Furthermore, neither has God
annulled unto us the judicial law in some aspects of it, but
He has another judicial law in the aspects that pertain to the
nation of Israel. And we've been looking at some
of those in recent days, and I shouldn't have to point them
out. We don't stone people for adultery today. We don't stone
them to death. We don't stone fornicators, to name a few. Now I'd like you to turn with
me to Romans 7, 12. Romans 7 and verse 12. God's laws, unlike
man-made laws, are holy and just and good. Now this was written
by Paul after the deliverance of the Roman church members from the corruption
and condemnation of sin. Now if one could conceive of
all the laws of man incarnate in a judge sitting on his bench,
he would have some idea of the truth of every law of God finding
its source in the Holy One Himself. Now can you just visualize, just
pause for a moment, take first of all all the man-made laws
and you incorporate all of the man-made laws into the judge
who is sitting on the bench. If you can visualize that, then
think about all the laws of God that are holy and just and good
as coming from Him who is the very source of that which is
good and holy. Now let's make a comparison between
the judge sitting on the bench and God sitting on his throne
in heaven. If a judge who is supposed to
represent, that is, be a representative and to uphold the laws of men,
suppose some criminal has been brought before his court and
found guilty of a heinous crime and the jury is brought in and
the foreman of the jury stands and says, we have found so-and-so
guilty of this penis crime. Then the judge says, you have
been found guilty, but as the judge of this court, I pronounce
you free. You may go from this court a
free man. What do you think would happen
to that judge? he'd be impeached. Or he ought to be impeached for
not upholding the laws that he is supposed to be representing. Now God's laws are holy, they're
just, and they're good. And every man is a disobedient
individual to God's laws. There is not a person living
who has not transgressed God's laws. But I want you to know God in
grace, notice what I'm saying, in grace can pronounce you a
guilty sinner. And He can say to you, you may
go from my court as it were a free person. Go and sin no more. God cannot be impeached well what's the difference Oh
quite a difference God who made the law is sent forth His Son,
and what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the
instrumentality of sinful flesh, the Holy God has done for the
elect what they could not do for themselves. Therefore, Jesus
Christ has satisfied every requirement of that law for you and for me. And therefore, on the basis of
His finished work, God can say, you can go forth from my court,
free man go and sin no more and God cannot be impeached the God
who made the law condescended to fulfill the laws requirement
for the elect now a human judge cannot do that cannot do that
now let's go a step further man-made laws connected with morality. Even our man-made laws are connected
with morality. But there are different concepts
of morality. Not only among the nations of
the world, but among the same people within a given nation. Not everyone in the United States
of America has the same concept of morality. And the people of this nation
do not have the same concept of morality that they have in
Russia, or in India, or in the Far East. Stay with me. What's wrong? I want to show
you the difference between Christianity and humanism. Are you ready for
it? Christianity and humanism conflict
worldwide. Humanistic laws are giving society
today a new morality which cracks against biblical morality, and
that's why I'm disturbed. even by the antinomian teaching
to which many Christians are being subjected in our day. And I want you to know a lot
of Christians are just caving in. They're just caving in. But by God's grace, I'm not going
to cave in. So humanistic laws are giving
us a new morality which is contrary to biblical morality. I get so sick and tired of hearing
people say, well, but keep in mind, we're living in 1986. We
do things differently today than from the way our parents did
them 50 years ago. Yes, but it's 50 times worse. 50 times worse. You see, lawmakers, most of them are depraved people. Let's face it. Let's admit it.
But you know what the humanist lawmakers are saying today? They want to remake society,
in other words. They want to remake our society.
And I'm using a statement by one. We want to free people from
prejudice, from ignorance, from crime, and from war. Doesn't that sound good? Doesn't
that sound good? A lot of people are falling for
it. Stay with me. Humanism relies on democracy, which has its own
brand of authoritarianism. I'm getting sick and tired about
many politicians in this country wanting to use our democratic
form of government and try to impose it upon every nation in
the world. We're not setting a very good
example over here. And our humanistic lawmakers
are trying to build a society over here. That's a new society,
a new morality, which is contrary to biblical morality. Now, beloved, I shouldn't have
to illustrate this. I could just spend the rest of the time this
morning and an hour tonight just giving you one example after
the other of things to which we are subjected on the boob
tube. Just listen to the news today. Many think the voice of the people
is the voice of God. And there are a lot of folk today
in America who are so foolish that they think the voice of
the people or the voice of democracy is the voice of God himself. But I have news for you. Are
you listening? But like the Laodiceans, The people become the God of
democracy. What kind of laws are being passed
today? The kind of laws that the majority of the people in
America won't. So the people have become the God of democracy. That's why I long for the time,
beloved, when Jesus Christ comes and He reigns as King of kings
and Lord of lords because the only perfect form of government
is not a democracy. It's a theocracy. Government
under Jehovah God. All that I've said indicates
that nothing according to human democracy can stand in the way
of the people. All who hold the biblical concept
of morality today are looked upon as being social deviants. Did you know that? You're looked upon as being a
social deviant if you don't go along with a sexual revolution
And I heard a, no not a preacher, excuse me, a false prophet, say
this morning, and you see he only gave just part of the truth
of the case. He told about a young woman that
had had a baby, she had to have a blood transfusion, and as a
result of the blood transfusion, she contracted AIDS. and her
father had come to him asking for prayer for his daughter who
had AIDS. After having said that, because
he has the power of positive thinking, he said, I don't want
to hear anybody say that AIDS is God's judgment because of
the lifestyle of today. He is not even a wife. He is an idiot. If that doesn't get you stirred
up, what will? You see what he's doing? Now,
what he should have said was that what happened to this woman
is just a byproduct of God's judgment, of God's judgment upon
the lifestyle of the homosexuals. But he didn't say that. Brother, we better start listening,
we better start thinking, and our thinking better be in tune
with God's Word. Now let's go to our educational
systems. Educational systems today are creating restlessness
rather than promoting tranquility. You mean our educational systems?
That's what I said. Systems, plural. humanistic education
is designed to establish the will of man as the ultimate authority. And I challenge anybody to refute
that. Any philosophy that denies the
authority of scripture promotes subjectivity. It stresses human freedom to
be able to choose correctly and to create a subjectively meaningful
society. And I'm quoting them. I'm quoting
some of the higher educators. Such philosophy relies on existentialism
rather than biblical supernaturalism. You say, but what is existentialism?
Very simple definition. Existentialism is the human philosophy
that makes human experience the norm for judging reality. So the chaos that has been brought
about, even as a result of the educational systems of today,
cannot reverse the chaos that exists. So the system that has
brought it about cannot remedy the chaos that has been brought
about by the system. It's a humanistic philosophy.
Let's go a step further. Subjectivism is not the authority
for determining what is true. Although institutional churches
are filled with subjectivist And I hope this one isn't. Listen, because I want you to
make an application of what I'm going to say now. I don't believe in just
studying and teaching, and I'm preached to all week long by
God's Word. So I expect to preach to you,
not to please or to tickle your ears, but to preach to you as
the Word of God has preached to me all week. Therefore, subjectivism is not
the authority for determining what is true. And I said, although institutional
churches are filled with subjectivists, few are willing to admit it.
What if I were to tell you this morning that many of us are subjectivists,
but we're not willing to admit it? What would you say? Stay
with me for a moment. Why is no one willing to allow
subjectivism to operate in the sphere of mathematics? But he will permit it in the
sphere of biblical principles. Everyone has the right to believe
whatever he wants to believe. Whatever you believe, that's
all right. What if I told you that 2 plus
5 equals 3? Does everyone have a right to
believe that? I've tried to bring this to a
conclusion. Listen to this. So the subjectivist today who
will not tolerate it in one sphere will tolerate it when it comes
to what? The sphere of professing Christendom. And they don't want to say anything
to offend anybody. You just believe whatever you
want to believe. I'm not going to open my paper. I don't want
to make an enemy. Each businessman is not permitted
to subjectively form his own system of relationships. Is he? Why? Because commerce would collapse
and that would lead to social chaos. On the other hand, subjectivism
is unrestrained in spiritual things by religionists. They think they have the right
to express themselves about things of which they know little or
absolutely nothing. I'll tell you what I'm doing
now. I don't know when I'll preach it, but I'm already working.
I've got a message about how you prepare. You see, when I get into an area
and things come to my mind, I just start making notes and I start
dealing with it and then I lay it aside and later on I'll get
to it. I don't know how many would be willing to take this. I think that people in this church
could take it, I hope. There are not many church members
today who are qualified to interpret the scriptures. Will you think that one through
for a moment? I'll go further. There are a
lot of preachers who are not qualified. They don't even give time to
the study of the scriptures. Now I would like you to turn
with me to Galatians 5, 22 and 23. Let's look at another passage
that is used by antinomians. And those who are saying, we're
not under the law, we've been delivered from the condemnation,
the judgment of the law, therefore we're not under its responsibility.
Will you read with me? Beginning with verse 22. Here's another passage that must
be properly interpreted. But the fruit of the Spirit is
love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
meekness, temperance. Now here's the phrase, here's
the statement. Against such there is no law. How would you interpret that? against such there is no law.
What is Paul saying? There is no law against the virtues
of the Spirit mentioned by Paul. He is talking about virtues.
The apostle had been battling the legalizers who desired a
ceremonial law or a ceremonial mold. to regulate their religious
lives. Now I said legalizers. It was
these legalizers that he had been battling. Hence they preferred
an external law to the inward principle of grace. Go back to Galatians 4.21. Here's
another verse to study in connection with it. And it too is misinterpreted. Paul had previously asked Tell
me, you who want to be under the law, do you not listen to
the law? That's the New American Standard
Bible's translation of the verse. Those who desired to be under
the law were legalizers. Hence, they made what God had
given, as we've already stated, a sequel to the deliverance of
his people, the means of their deliverance. Now, let's go into this a little
bit. Contrary to the legalizers who live under the principle
of the law, or seek to, Christians live in the realm, in the realm
of the principle of the spirit of regeneration, which is the
spirit of grace. I'll give you two verses for
that, John 3, 8 and Hebrews 10, 29. Then look at verse 24 of
Galatians 5. Paul said, therefore, they that
are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and
lusts. Now let's put all this together.
Let's put verses 22 and 23 and 24 along with chapter 4 and verse
21, put them all together. What is Paul teaching? You and
I helped put Jesus Christ to death when he came the first
time. We were not here actually, but our sins helped nail Him
to the cross. He was actually nailed to the
cross by the hands of wicked men, but it was for our sins
that His soul was made a sacrifice. So through lawless men He was
slain, And this is an arias active indicative in Acts 2.23 of the
verb anareo, which means to put to death, kill or murder. They
killed him, they murdered him, but your sins and mine helped
put him on the tree. But let's not stop there. Then
when you turn to Galatians 5 and verse 24, Yes, it is true that we helped
nail Him to the cross, but now since the grace of God has come
into our hearts and lives, what do we do by the Spirit of grace? Here it is, verse 24. What do we do? We crucify the
flesh with its affections and lusts. And the verb here for
crucify is an aorist active indicative of storao, which means to crucify
or to mortify. So what do we do? We mortify the passions and lusts of the
flesh. Christ's objective work at Calvary
became a subjective experience in our hearts. Is that true?
So the objective work of the Lord Jesus has become a subjective
experience in our hearts, thus enabling us, by grace, to mortify. I'm talking about Christian ethics,
beloved. Therefore, the Christian is not
compelled to duty. I'm not compelled to duty. I've had church members through
the years say the preachery just expects too much of us. Beloved,
what a foolish statement. What I expect of you is not what
God expects of you. What I expect of myself is not
what God expects of me. I'm not compelled to duty. by
the energy of the flesh, but listen, I am impelled, I am impelled
by the internal grace of God to do what I ought to do as a
Christian to glorify the matchless name of my Savior. If you think you're being compelled,
you need to stop and analyze what you have. If you have grace,
you're impelled. You're impaled by the internal
grace of God to do something. You're not compelled by an external
force, but you're impaled by internal grace to live for Jesus
Christ. Now, warning must be given to
those who have been made free by grace. I wish I could say that all of
us have been made free by grace who are here this morning. True freedom becomes actualized
in submission. What do you mean? Listen to what
I said. True freedom, true freedom becomes
actualized in submission. The fact that we as Christians
are not our own does not cast a shadow over our freedom, but
enables us to manifest our freedom in joyful reality. I'm not my
own. I've been bought with a price.
Therefore, I glorify God in my body. Isn't that what Paul talks
about in the 6th chapter of 1 Corinthians before he gets to the 7th chapter?
The body is not made for fornication. It's the temple of the Holy Spirit.
What am I talking about? Christian ethics, Christian character,
Christian morals, if you please. So this is the freedom from something
lesser to something greater. This is the freedom from something
lesser to something greater. Turn to Romans 8, let's read
verses 2 and 3 together. Paul said, For the law, the spirit
of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of
sin and death. For what the law could not do
in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son
in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin condemned sin in
the flesh. True freedom is not the product
of human action, human action, but the unsolicited act of the
grace of the sovereign God. I'm free. Turn, if you will, please to
Romans 7, 1 Corinthians 7, 22. We'll be looking at this later,
but I have to use it this morning. So Christians are free in Christ. But you know, we're also slaves
of Christ. How in the world can I be free
and a slave at the same time? I don't expect you, if you're
lost, to understand that. The Christian is free from the
law, but he's a slave in Christ. The word is doulos. Paul said,
I'm a slave of Christ. I'm enslaved to Christ. Or I look at 1 Corinthians 7,
22. Paul said, for he that is called in the Lord being a servant
is the Lord's free man. Likewise, also he that is called,
being free, is Christ's servant, and the Greek word for servant
is doulos, which means a slave. I'm free, but I'm a slave. Therefore,
true freedom comes in submission to Jesus Christ as His slave. And that's the only place true
freedom is. Here's a person who says, I'm
free and I'm going to live as a free person. I'm going to do
what I please. If I want to live with a dozen
men or if I want to live with a dozen women, that's my business. I'm free. Oh, no, you're not. You're a slave of sin. And the
devil is your father. And you'll end up in hell. But
the person who has been made free by grace is a slave of Christ. And the only true freedom is
being a slave of Christ. Let's go further. As Christ's
slaves, self-expression. Now here's a very good point
I want to make. Self-expression apart from control. Self-expression apart from control
cannot be visibly permitted. Let me illustrate that. Objective
principles must be translated into subjective actions. I'm going to use a very simple
illustration. When a child gets old enough to go to public school, first of all, the child learns
the ABCs. And I assume they still learn
the multiplication table. It's as these things become a
part of the constitution of the child that the child begins to
know what freedom of education is. Beloved, it is only, listen to
me, it is only as the Word of God, the great doctrinal truths
of Holy Scripture, the objective revelation of the mind of God
becomes ours, and it becomes part of our Constitution,
so to speak, that we begin to enjoy and know what freedom is. What am I saying? I'm saying
the more of Holy Scripture we know, the objective truth is
translated into subjective actions. And only as objective truth is
translated into objective actions do we really know what true freedom
really is. And the more you know, And the
more in tune your actions are with the mind of God, the greater
freedom you enjoy. Now I close with this. Let's
go to our text again. That's 1 Corinthians 15, 32.
1 Corinthians 15, 33. Be not deceived. Now Paul was writing to the Christians
of Corinth, don't you be deceived, be not deceived. What does he
say? Evil communications corrupt good
manners. We're talking about Christian
ethics. The word ethics comes from the word ethos. And it's translated manners here
in first Corinthians 1533. He says, be not deceived, evil
communications. Communications here is the nominative
plural of homilia, which means companionship, intercourse, or
communion. So your companionship with the
wrong people will corrupt a good character. I'm talking about
Christian ethics. Then let's look at the word ethos.
It's the accusative plural of ethos that's used here, which
means custom, morals, or character. Now this is another way of saying,
be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers. 2 Corinthians 6.14. Inward separation
results from outward separation. separation. Beloved, if you're
not inwardly separated, you'll never be outwardly separated.
Just that simple. There can be no safety among
those in whose hearts there is no fear of God. And if you associate
and become companions with those in whose hearts there's no fear
of God, sooner or later, you or I will be corrupted in character. Keeping away from evil society
is much easier. I said keeping away from evil
society is much easier than being in its stream and trying to battle
against it. Let me use this illustration
in conclusion. Have you ever seen a river that's just raging
as a result of a flood, just the current is swift, and it's
a raging torrent. I remember back in 1942, I was
pastor up in Jackson, Missouri, and we had a radio broadcast
at Cave Girada, a little old station at Cave Girada. Came
a terrible flood in the spring, and the Mississippi River was
everywhere. Even got up into many businesses
in Cave Girada. It was a torrent. just a raging
torrent. I'll tell you what, I would rather
be on the shore looking at the raging torrent than to be out
there in it and having to battle against it. And every person who is saved
by the grace of God, there is inward separation. And
we cannot associate and have companions with people who have
no fear of God without our lives being contaminated, without us
being corrupted. The Lord alone could be in the
midst of people like that without ever being touched or influenced.
But you see, we still have the old nature. And you know as well
as I do, there's not a one of you sitting out there who has
not on the job or somewhere, you've been with people and you've
listened to them talk, and before you realized it, you might be
saying something or thinking about things. You might have
said something that you should never have said, and you might
be thinking about things you never should have thought. Why? Because, because a lack of separation. What am I talking about? Christian
ethics. Let's look at the verse again.
Paul said, be not deceived. Evil communications or evil companionship
will corrupt a good character or good morals. Was it necessary for Paul to
write what he wrote to the Corinthians? Yes, beloved, you and I need
the same warnings, the same instruction, the same commandments, both the
positive and the negative. Next Sunday morning, we'll begin
with verse 1 of 1 Corinthians chapter 7. Let's stand as we
stand.