In the past, people spoke of situations that gave someone a "bum deal." Later people spoke of the same kind of situations by saying a person "did not receive a fair shake." Still later people spoke of situations that "stacked the deck" against someone. More recently people spoke of situations that forced someone "to play on an unlevel field." Each of these idiomatic expressions addressed similar situations: persons in those situations were treated unfairly.
In every age we notice people who are treated unfairly. Each age has its own way of sympathetically identifying individuals who, through no fault of their own, have unfair treatment forced on them. They are disadvantaged without cause.
God receives a "bum deal" that does not give Him "a fair shake." Too often today people "stack the deck" against Him by forcing Him "to play on an unlevel field." In many common theological perspectives, God is misunderstood and treated unfairly.
Commonly accepted misunderstandings about God result in God being treated unfairly. Inaccurate human opinions about God and misrepresentations of God often result in God being viewed from inaccurate, unfavorable perspectives.
As an example, contrast the way many of us view God with the way we look at Jesus. Jesus is compassionate and understanding. God is judgmental and demanding. Jesus relates to us. God thinks we are weak. Jesus forgives. God evaluates. Jesus intercedes. God takes vengeance. When many Christians consider divine kindness, we think about Jesus. If we think about strict absolutes, we think about God. We readily affirm that God and Jesus are "one," but our thinking often focuses on what we consider to be their differences.
Call the class' attention to this common situation. Christians talk and sing lovingly and warmly of the Jesus who died for us. But we often forget that it was God Who sent Jesus to die for us and permitted the death. If we are not careful we create the impression that God had little or no favorable part in Jesus' life and death.
John quoted Jesus when he wrote God's love sent Jesus to save, not to condemn (John 3:16-21). Jesus declared he could say or do nothing unless God first told him what to say or do (John 5:19, 30; 6:38; 8:28; 12:49,50; 14:10). God was the reason Jesus did everything he did and said everything he said. Jesus perfectly reflected God. Jesus was and is everything God intended him to be. Every characteristic we associate with Jesus we can and should associate with God: kindness, compassion, mercy, helpfulness, understanding, grace, forgiveness, mercy, etc.
Note the extraordinary emphasis Jesus placed on God. Jesus came to accomplish God's objectives. What Jesus said and did was not self determined. For the survival of a Christian's faith in difficult moments and failures, that Christian must realize and accept God's patience. Those who view God as a super critical being will not turn to God trustingly for help.
It is absolutely, unquestionably true that we must never consciously abuse God's love, kindness, grace, and mercy. It is equally true that we must never doubt God's patience. God did not send Jesus to destroy us. He sent Jesus to save us. In His objective to provide us salvation in Jesus Christ, God was and is very patient. God's patience often exceeds our comprehension.
We do not accept God's patience in order to justify our failures or to exploit God. We accept His patience to rely on His help in our weakest moments. Read Hebrews 4:14-16 and note the words "confidence," "mercy," and "grace" and the phrase "time of need." Take note of "when" a Christian confidently or boldly goes before the throne of grace. Note the Christian approaches that throne to receive mercy.
Paul's letter to Christians in Corinth [we know as 1 Corinthians] testified eloquently to God's patience. Most of today's Christians would not address any congregation experiencing so many ungodly problems as Paul addressed the congregation at Corinth: "To the church of God which is at Corinth" (1 Corinthians 1:2). In this congregation there was division (1:10); incest (5:1); differences settled in pagan courts (6:1); Christians who engaged in sexual acts with prostitutes (6:15-17); Christians who struggled with marital problems (7); Christians who struggled with idolatry (8); Christians who abused spiritual gifts (12); Christians who competed in assemblies (14:26-33); and Christians who denied the resurrection (15). God's church in Corinth? God's church anywhere?
1 Corinthians verifies that Christians in Corinth struggled with many problems in the church. Paul still addressed them as the church of God.
Note Paul's statements in 1 Corinthians 6:15-17. Stay aware of the context. Many Christians in Corinth were converted from idolatrous lives. In Corinth idolatrous lifestyles often included sexually activity outside of marriage. Some of the converts came from families that for generations were sexually active outside of marriage. Such conduct expressed religious devotion in some forms of idolatry. For many, faith in the gods and sexual intercourse outside of marriage were not in conflict morally or ethically. [The man in the congregation at Corinth practiced a form of incest even the idolatrous people rejected.]
The context: converted idol worshippers continued going to prostitutes. In their past idolatrous lifestyle, such behavior was morally and ethically acceptable. When a person obeys Jesus Christ, he or she begins Christian life with a lot of baggage from his or her life prior to conversion. This was some of their baggage.
Paul said, "Don't you Christians understand your [physical] bodies are members of Christ? You cannot take a physical body that belongs to Christ and unite it with a prostitute. Do you not understand what a Christian does when he is sexually active with a prostitute? In your spirit you were united with the Lord. A Christian cannot be united both with the Lord and a prostitute!"
Paul made it quite clear this practice could not continue. He did not say sexual intercourse with a prostitute was to be equated with marriage. Fornication and marriage are not interchangeable concepts. He told them the God-given significance of sexual intercourse must be founded on God's creative intent. That physical union was intended by God to be a unique bonding between two individuals. It had the unique power to bring another individual into existence. Sexual intercourse outside of marriage perverts God's intent. What God intended to be a powerful blessing becomes a curse. What was to be a unique means of the sharing of self becomes the means for becoming ultra selfish.
Clearly that was unacceptable conduct for any Christian. Clearly Paul declared it must be discontinued. Even if as idolaters they did not understand the unique, God-created significance of sexual union, as Christians they must come to this new understanding. This new understanding must reform and redirect their behavior.
When they were devotees to idolatry, such sexual intercourse may have been morally and ethically acceptable. In forms of idolatry, there may have been no conflict between their former god and sexual involvement with a prostitute. However, such sexual behavior was not morally or ethically acceptable to the living God. There was a fundamental conflict between such sexual behavior and devotion to the living God.
Note: (1) Paul addressed a situation that had occurred or was occurring. This was not a hypothetical situation! (2) Some Christians in Corinth were involved in sexual acts with prostitutes. (3) Though their behavior was evil and ungodly, Paul acknowledged them to be Christians, a part of God's church in Corinth. (4) Ignorantly being sexually involved with prostitutes did not automatically end their relationship with God through Christ.
Two awareness' must be accepted. (1) Some Christians at Corinth were actually sexually involved with prostitutes. These Christians thought this behavior was acceptable. (2) God did not automatically abandon them because they were sexually involved with a prostitute.
Could that situation continue? No. Were they responsible to improve their understanding of that situation? Yes. Did earlier occurrences of that evil conduct automatically end their relationship with Christ? No. However, it could not continue. These Christians chose the Lord! They must turn away from prostitutes! Yet, Paul instructed them as Christians who needed to grow in knowledge, change their understanding, and redirect their behavior. Because of their ignorance their actions were ungodly. Yet, God patiently waited for them to understand and change.
Paul did not condone the practice. It had to discontinue. However, the situation gives testimony to God's incredible, powerful acts in salvation. Spiritual growth and spiritual development must occur in each Christian's life. When he or she enters Christ, he or she begins where he or she is in his or her life at that moment. In every life [including ours], forgiveness must begin at that point. May any Christian remain at the spiritual level of his or her point of entry into Christ? No. Does forgiveness begin and continue at that point? Yes. We must learn. Behavior must change. God is patient as growth occurs.
Discussion questions:
Most struggles resulting from an understanding of God's patience seems to be related to a perceived conflict. The perceived conflict is between God's patience and encouraging evil. The person who reluctantly turns from evil and prefers to continue in evil can deceive himself or herself by saying, "God is patient; I can continue in this evil." But, to the person who loves God and seeks to escape from evil, God's patience is a source of hope.
When a struggle is common to human existence, we are comfortable with God's patience. When a struggle is "my" struggle, God is patient, and His patience is wonderful. When "I" consider a struggle spiritually beneath "me," God is not patient. When a struggle involves a form of evil "I" resent, God is not patient. If "I" regard a form of struggle as a significant attack on the church and its values, God is not patient with the rejected form of struggle. We tend to forget that evil in any form is an attack on God's kingdom and its values.
God's patience is inexhaustible for those in Christ who try. He can forgive far more times than the "70 times 7" in Matthew 18:21,22. His patience is never intended as an encouragement toward evil, but as an encouragement to those who do evil to repent.
Opposing evil must never destroy hope. We must always remember that what is simple for "me" may be a "life and death" struggle for someone else. God knows hearts. He knows when someone is trying. We never encourage the existence of evil, but we always encourage those who desire to escape evil.
Peter said God's patience is the primary reason that the end of time and judgment are delayed. Our patient God wishes to give people maximum opportunity to repent.
Link to Student Guide
Lesson 12