1 Corinthians 5 NLT
I can hardly believe the report about the sexual immorality going on among you—something that even pagans don’t do. I am told that a man in your church is living in sin with his stepmother. You are so proud of yourselves, but you should be mourning in sorrow and shame. And you should remove this man from your fellowship. (1-2)
I am constantly amazed at the depravity, the unfaithfulness, and the repeated failures of mankind. It would be easy to point a finger at the world, but the people of God seem to be no better. In my bible reading today, I read from Exodus 33 and the sad story of the Israelites who had been delivered from Egypt only to be ashamed to be in God’s presence because of repeated idolatry. Were it not for the leadership and intercession of Moses they would have been completely separated from His presence, and as Moses said, “they were nothing without the presence of God.” Then next on my list was Nehemiah 13, and there I encountered the returned exiles who had showed so much promise and so much humility and repentance towards God. Yet, when Nehemiah goes away he comes back to find many of the reforms have been abandoned and he has to sort things out once more. How wretched we are that without a leader behind us and holding us accountable! People slip right back into their old sinful habits. Finally, on my list was 1 Corinthians 5 and the verses above. In case you are tempted to think that the church would do better than Israel, think again. Even in our churches today, we continually bring shame and dishonor to God. We have all heard stories about splits, fights, and immorality and it is enough to make one despair.
In my solitude time, I meditated on all these things and honestly felt quite hopeless. When I consider the repeated failure of man from the time of Adam, and when I look at my own life and the times I fall short, what hope is there of ever pleasing God? Then I remembered Jesus and the cross. It is not that He simply died to pay for my sins; He died to become my righteousness and to live His life through me. It is possible to please God—but it is not by your good works, it is by the person of Christ who lives in you. Behold, He makes all things new and He clothes us with His righteousness. We can never stand in the presence of the Lord and please Him on our own, no matter how hard we try. We will always fall short. Yet, the cross has made it possible for the Son of God to abide in us and He has imparted His righteousness to us—He never falls short. God is pleased with Christ in me, and in Christ alone, I can stand and do what is right and overcome the sin that would seek to dominate me. There is no need for despair, only hope because of the cross. In Christ, the Father is pleased with me!
