Dr. Robert Jeffress

Robert Jeffress - Straight Answers To Tough Questions (Part 1)

April 22, 2025 | S25:E192

Pathway to Victory offers a practical application of God’s Word to everyday life through the clear, biblical teaching of Pastor Jeffress.

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Dr. Robert Jeffress | Robert Jeffress - Straight Answers To Tough Questions (Part 1) | April 22, 2025

♪ music ♪
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[announcer] from the pulpit
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Of the first baptist church of dallas, texas,
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This is pathway to victory with dr. robert jeffress.
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Hi, i'm robert jeffress,
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And welcome again to pathway to victory.
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Have you ever been asked a question about your faith
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That you didn't know the answer to?
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Well, it happens to everyone, including me.
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Today we're beginning a teaching series
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In the book of 1 corinthians
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That will help bring clarity
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To the seemingly gray and confusing topics in the bible.
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My message is titled straight answers to tough questions
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On today's edition of pathway to victory.
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♪ music ♪
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[announcer] think about a child in your life
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Who needs to put their faith in jesus.
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How do you explain the gospel to them
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In a way they can understand?
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In "the gift: the gospel for children,"
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Dr. robert jeffress presents the gospel message
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In a way that's clear and engaging.
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The book also includes a salvation prayer
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For you to pray with your child or grandchild.
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Give your child
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The most important gift they'll ever receive,
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The opportunity to begin a relationship with jesus christ.
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Request your copy of "the gift" at ptv.org.
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♪ music ♪
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George gallup regularly surveys
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The attitudes and actions of americans
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And the even christian americans,
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And gallup decided to do a survey
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To see what the difference was
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In the behavior of churched and unchurched people.
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Specifically, was there any difference
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In the incidence of people
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Who reported sick when they weren't
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In order to get out of going to work?
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Was there any difference in the number of people
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Who inflated their resumes
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Between christians and non-christians?
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What about cheating on your income tax?
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Was there any measurable difference
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Between those who cheated on their tax who were christians
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And those who were not?
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His finding, he said, quote,
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"there is little difference
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In the ethical views and behavior
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Of the churched and the unchurched."
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No wonder that the world today views the church
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As increasingly irrelevant and impotent.
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The fact is people see no difference
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In the lives of christians and non-christians.
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Forget all of this talk
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About spiritual revival taking place in our country.
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Let me assure you,
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There is no revival happening in america today.
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You say, how can you make such a statement of that?
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I can say, without a doubt, the church of jesus christ
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Is making little or no impact on the society around us.
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Now, if you think that's an overly harsh statement to make,
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Let me encourage you to engage in your own experiment.
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Just open up your newspaper, turn on the television news,
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Walk up and down the hallways of your children's school
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And ask yourself the question,
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Are things better than they were 50 years ago?
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Or is our society worse than it was 50 years ago?
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I rest my case.
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The church of jesus christ
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Has had no impact on the society around us.
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Instead of our influencing the world,
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The world has influenced us.
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We're in danger of becoming what jesus talked about
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In matthew 5, when he said,
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"if the salt has become tasteless,
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How will it be made salty again?
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It is good for nothing anymore
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Except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men."
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What about you?
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Have you lost your distinctiveness?
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Have you lost your saltiness as a christian?
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Do you resemble the world
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Or has the world come to resemble you?
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Strip away all your religious talk.
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Forget what you do from nine to 12 on sunday morning, okay?
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Strip those things aside.
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Taking away your christian vocabulary
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And going to church on sunday, ask yourself this question.
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Is there any measurable difference between my values,
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That is what i'm really chasing after in life,
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Between my values and actions and attitudes.
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Is there any difference between me
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And the non-christians who surround me?
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Most of us would have to answer not.
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And because of that,
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We are making a little impact on the world for jesus christ.
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You know, we are in this time in our church life,
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We're talking about being lights
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In this dark and perverse generation.
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I've encouraged people this morning
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And i'm so grateful for the hundreds of you
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That have already signed up
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To become a part of the pastor's light force.
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We're trying to be a light in this increasingly dark world,
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But all of our efforts evangelistically as a church
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Are going to fail if we do not live distinctive lives
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From non-christians around us.
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If unbelievers in this community look at us
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And see that our marriages, our relationships,
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Our attitudes are no different than unbelievers around us,
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All of our evangelistic efforts will fall flat.
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The christians at corinth had forgotten that truth.
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They were a church that was a wealthy church.
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They were an influential church.
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They were a growing church,
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But they had lost their distinctiveness.
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They had allowed the world to shape them,
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And because of that,
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Their witness in the city of corinth
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Was about to be extinguished.
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Folks, we cannot allow the same thing
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To happen to our church.
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As we talk about building our new campus,
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As we talk about building up the body of christ
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By being a witness in this community,
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It is important that we concentrate on being a holy,
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A pure, a distinctive people,
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Not only individually, but together as a church.
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And that's why god has led me as pastor
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To lead us in this study this next coming year
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Over the book of 1 corinthians,
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Because 1 corinthians has as its theme
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How to maintain your distinctiveness as a christian
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In a darkening world.
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And that is going to be the subject of our study
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Over these next months.
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So if you have your bibles, i want you to take them
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And open them to the book of 1 corinthians.
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And tonight in the 31 minutes we have,
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We're going to do three things, okay,
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As we begin our study of 1 corinthians.
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First of all, we're going to look briefly
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At the background of 1 corinthians.
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You can't appreciate this book
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Unless you understand the context in which paul wrote it.
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Secondly, we're going to survey the contents of the book.
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I've given you a survey on your outline tonight.
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And then finally, in the final few moments,
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We're going to look at the first nine verses of this book
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That have a real message for each of us here tonight.
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First of all, let's look at the background of the book.
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You know, like most letters in paul's day,
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You found both the sender and the recipient of the book
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Mentioned at the beginning of the letter.
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Both the sender and the recipient are mentioned
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In verses one and two.
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The sender identifies himself as paul,
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An apostle of jesus christ.
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Now you remember who paul was.
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Formerly he was saul of tarsus.
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He was an ardent jew, he was a member of the sanhedrin,
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He was a persecutor of christians.
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He was present at the stoning
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Of the first christian martyr, stephen.
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But remember, on his way to damascus to persecute believers,
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The lord appeared to him.
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He not only saved him,
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But he selected him to be the apostle to the gentiles.
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And even though paul was not one of the original 12,
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Paul met the conditions of a true apostle.
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That is he had seen the risen lord,
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He saw him on the road to damascus,
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And secondly, he had been selected by the lord
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For a unique ministry.
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Now, later throughout this letter and all of paul's letters,
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He constantly reminds his readers
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That he was a true apostle.
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And the reason he did this was not to flaunt his authority,
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But to remind his readers
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That his message was truly a message from god.
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And by the way,
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That's a truth we need to continue to hear today.
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I'm amazed at the number of christians
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Who really don't understand this basic truth,
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That the words of paul are scripture.
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They are just as authoritative
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As the words of jesus christ himself.
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I have to give confess a bias to you.
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I hate red letter editions of the bible, okay?
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And the reason i don't like red letter editions of the bible
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Is people somehow get the idea
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That those words that are in red
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Are somehow more important than other words in the bible.
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No, the bible says all scripture is inspired by god.
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Every word, whether it is from jesus' lips or paul's lips
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Or john's lips or peter's lips,
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They all are originated from god, not with man.
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I remember being in the seminary years ago,
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And the study was about 1 timothy.
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It was one of my doctoral seminars,
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And we were studying paul's letter to,
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Paul's pastoral epistle, 1 timothy,
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And talking about the role of women in the church,
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And the professor said this.
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Said, "now remember, you can't take seriously
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What paul is saying here
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About the role of women in the church.
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Paul was a bitter old bachelor who hated women,
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And that's why he wrote what he did."
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Well, that is a low view of scripture.
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The bible says all scripture's inspired by god.
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You know what's interesting
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Is the apostle peter didn't always agree
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With the apostle paul on everything.
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They had their moments of disagreement,
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But in second peter chapter three, verses 15 and 16,
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Peter says something very interesting.
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He said, "the words of our brother paul
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Are sometimes difficult to understand,
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But they are scripture."
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In fact, he uses the term scripture
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To refer to the words the writings of the apostle paul.
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So when we talk about paul the apostle,
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We're talking about somebody who was selected by christ
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And whose words are authoritative.
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Now, the reason i mentioned that tonight at the outset
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Is when we get to some of these chapters
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About what paul says about the gift of tongues,
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Or when we talk about the role of women in the church,
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Or we talk about other controversial issues,
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Some of you are going to get mad,
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Some of you are going to threaten to leave the church.
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Remember, your argument is not with me.
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It's not even with paul.
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It's with god himself.
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These are the authoritative words of god
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That we're looking at.
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And secondly, let's look at the occasion of the letter,
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What caused the writing of what we call 1 corinthians.
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Hold your place here
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And turn over to acts chapter 18 for a moment.
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Paul founded the church at corinth
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On his second missionary journey.
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Many of us here tonight have had a chance
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To visit the city of corinth, the remains of corinth.
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They're visible, and we've retraced the steps of paul
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On this second missionary journey.
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When paul reached corinth on his second missionary journey,
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He was flat broke.
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He had zero denarii, okay, no money whatsoever,
00:11:29.278 --> 00:11:33.883
And so he had to go to work,
00:11:33.883 --> 00:11:35.818
And so he knew how to make tents
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And he was introduced to priscilla and aquila
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Who were also tent makers,
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And paul became a sanctified tent maker.
00:11:42.424 --> 00:11:45.928
And this was his schedule.
00:11:45.928 --> 00:11:47.463
He would work on making tents from sunday until friday,
00:11:47.463 --> 00:11:51.634
And then on saturday, the jewish sabbath,
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He would go to the local synagogue in corinth
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And there he would preach that jesus is the true messiah,
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And he did that for 18 months.
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May i stop and say a word
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That relates to just about every one of you here tonight,
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Or those of you listening by radio or television.
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Don't think because you do not get your paycheck
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From a church or from a mission organization,
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Don't ever fall into the trap of thinking
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That somehow you're less a servant of god
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Than a pastor or a missionary.
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Where your paycheck comes from does not determine
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Whether or not you're a full-time servant of christ.
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I like what one person said,
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When he was asked what he did for a living.
00:12:38.747 --> 00:12:41.050
He said, "i am an ordained plumber."
00:12:41.050 --> 00:12:44.954
He understood, i mean he made his money,
00:12:44.954 --> 00:12:48.157
His living by fixing pipes,
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But his real calling was as a servant of jesus christ.
00:12:50.259 --> 00:12:54.530
It doesn't matter that you spend the bulk of your time
00:12:54.530 --> 00:12:57.366
Every week trying to earn a living for your family.
00:12:57.366 --> 00:12:59.735
That's biblical.
00:12:59.735 --> 00:13:00.970
That's what god has called you to do,
00:13:00.970 --> 00:13:01.971
But there are many of you here
00:13:01.971 --> 00:13:03.706
Who invest hours serving in volunteer positions in church,
00:13:03.706 --> 00:13:07.576
Or you're working to be a witness for christ
00:13:07.576 --> 00:13:10.246
In your school or at your workplace.
00:13:10.246 --> 00:13:12.581
You are a full-time minister of the gospel of jesus christ,
00:13:12.581 --> 00:13:17.253
Just as the apostle paul was.
00:13:17.253 --> 00:13:19.688
Now, paul faced a great deal of opposition
00:13:19.688 --> 00:13:21.924
While he was in corinth,
00:13:21.924 --> 00:13:23.459
And finally after 18 months, he went to the city of ephesus,
00:13:23.459 --> 00:13:26.228
And while he was in ephesus,
00:13:26.228 --> 00:13:27.663
He got word that this church
00:13:27.663 --> 00:13:29.164
He had formed in corinth was having difficulty.
00:13:29.164 --> 00:13:32.034
So he wrote a letter,
00:13:32.034 --> 00:13:34.770
His first letter to the church at corinth,
00:13:34.770 --> 00:13:37.640
And that's the letter that we have here, right?
00:13:37.640 --> 00:13:40.576
Wrong.
00:13:40.576 --> 00:13:41.777
That letter got lost, okay,
00:13:41.777 --> 00:13:43.946
And we don't know what happened to it.
00:13:43.946 --> 00:13:45.381
It's called the lost letter to corinth.
00:13:45.381 --> 00:13:47.483
And so some of the members of the church at ephesus,
00:13:47.483 --> 00:13:51.387
Or church at corinth
00:13:51.387 --> 00:13:52.688
Went to ephesus to ask paul some questions
00:13:52.688 --> 00:13:54.657
About what was happening in their church,
00:13:54.657 --> 00:13:56.392
And in answer to the questions,
00:13:56.392 --> 00:13:57.860
Paul wrote the letter we call 1 corinthians.
00:13:57.860 --> 00:14:00.629
It was actually his second letter to the church at corinth.
00:14:00.629 --> 00:14:03.599
And this letter is a response to the questions
00:14:03.599 --> 00:14:07.569
These corinthian leaders had
00:14:07.569 --> 00:14:10.239
About every subject you can imagine under the sun,
00:14:10.239 --> 00:14:14.076
And that helps you understand the context of this letter.
00:14:14.076 --> 00:14:17.546
Now, let me say a third thing about the audience,
00:14:17.546 --> 00:14:19.882
The people to whom paul wrote.
00:14:19.882 --> 00:14:22.351
Corinth was a key city in ancient greece.
00:14:22.351 --> 00:14:24.787
It was destroyed by the romans in 146 bc
00:14:24.787 --> 00:14:28.590
But julius caesar rebuilt the city in 46 bc,
00:14:28.590 --> 00:14:32.461
And if you visited corinth, you know it is on an isthmus
00:14:32.461 --> 00:14:35.631
That is four miles wide and 10 miles long
00:14:35.631 --> 00:14:39.601
And is between the adriatic and the aegean sea.
00:14:39.601 --> 00:14:42.838
In paul's day, it was a great metropolis.
00:14:42.838 --> 00:14:45.708
It was a port city,
00:14:45.708 --> 00:14:46.976
Much like los angeles or new york would be today.
00:14:46.976 --> 00:14:50.546
It consisted of about 700,000 people,
00:14:50.546 --> 00:14:53.549
Two thirds of which were slaves.
00:14:53.549 --> 00:14:56.118
But perhaps the thing that the city was most known for
00:14:56.118 --> 00:14:58.954
Was its decadent, debauched lifestyle.
00:14:58.954 --> 00:15:02.458
There were a number of shrines and temples
00:15:02.458 --> 00:15:05.027
In the city of corinth, one to apollo and one to poseidon,
00:15:05.027 --> 00:15:09.465
The temple of aphrodite, one there and one in athens.
00:15:09.465 --> 00:15:13.102
There was a temporal of aphrodite, the goddess of love,
00:15:13.102 --> 00:15:16.572
On the top of the acrocorinthus,
00:15:16.572 --> 00:15:19.708
The 1,800-foot plateau that overlooked the city of corinth.
00:15:19.708 --> 00:15:25.047
By the time paul got there, that temple was in disrepair.
00:15:26.215 --> 00:15:29.852
There is some question about the thousand temple prostitutes
00:15:29.852 --> 00:15:33.489
That used to inhabit that temple of aphrodite.
00:15:33.489 --> 00:15:37.393
Some say that a new cult of temple prostitutes had arisen
00:15:37.393 --> 00:15:41.697
And they would come down into the city,
00:15:41.697 --> 00:15:43.699
And that that's the background of understanding
00:15:43.699 --> 00:15:45.934
What paul was saying about the role of women in the church.
00:15:45.934 --> 00:15:49.171
Whether or not that is true,
00:15:49.171 --> 00:15:50.773
What we do know is it was an immoral city.
00:15:50.773 --> 00:15:54.510
In fact, there was a greek term, korinthiazomai,
00:15:54.510 --> 00:15:59.148
Korinthiazomai, to act like a corinthian.
00:16:00.015 --> 00:16:03.852
It meant to act in a debauched way.
00:16:03.852 --> 00:16:07.189
In fact, when plato was trying to describe
00:16:07.189 --> 00:16:09.291
A prostitute in his writings,
00:16:09.291 --> 00:16:11.427
He referred to her as a corinthian girl.
00:16:11.427 --> 00:16:15.030
And so that is the city which paul preached in,
00:16:15.030 --> 00:16:19.435
And that is the city
00:16:19.435 --> 00:16:20.702
That these new converts started to arise out of.
00:16:20.702 --> 00:16:23.739
And what started happening was
00:16:23.739 --> 00:16:25.274
You had these brand new christians
00:16:25.274 --> 00:16:26.942
Who were coming out of this decadent lifestyle
00:16:26.942 --> 00:16:29.778
And they were struggling with their newfound faith in christ
00:16:29.778 --> 00:16:32.915
And they were being pulled back
00:16:32.915 --> 00:16:35.050
Into their old way of living.
00:16:35.050 --> 00:16:36.985
By the way, don't let anybody tell you
00:16:36.985 --> 00:16:38.754
That once you become a christian,
00:16:38.754 --> 00:16:40.055
All your struggles with sin are over.
00:16:40.055 --> 00:16:42.424
They're not.
00:16:42.424 --> 00:16:43.258
They're just beginning.
00:16:43.258 --> 00:16:44.526
Before you're a christian,
00:16:44.526 --> 00:16:45.627
You don't have any struggle at all,
00:16:45.627 --> 00:16:47.062
But once you have that new nature inside of you
00:16:47.062 --> 00:16:49.331
At war with the old nature,
00:16:49.331 --> 00:16:50.766
There is always going to be that struggle.
00:16:50.766 --> 00:16:53.635
And so some of these new converts
00:16:53.635 --> 00:16:55.904
Were going back into their old way of living.
00:16:55.904 --> 00:16:58.307
There were others in the church
00:16:58.307 --> 00:16:59.541
Who weren't believers at all,
00:16:59.541 --> 00:17:00.843
Who were influencing the church for evil.
00:17:00.843 --> 00:17:02.945
And against that backdrop,
00:17:02.945 --> 00:17:04.546
Paul wrote this letter of both instruction and rebuke.
00:17:04.546 --> 00:17:08.817
Now, let's look quickly at an overview of the book itself.
00:17:08.817 --> 00:17:11.954
In verses one to nine that we're going to look at in a moment
00:17:11.954 --> 00:17:14.423
You have the introduction,
00:17:14.423 --> 00:17:15.858
And then in chapters one through four,
00:17:15.858 --> 00:17:17.793
He talks about division in the church.
00:17:17.793 --> 00:17:21.263
Look at verses 11 and 12 of chapter one.
00:17:21.263 --> 00:17:24.233
"for i have been informed concerning you, my brethren,
00:17:24.233 --> 00:17:27.369
By chloe's people, that there are quarrels among you.
00:17:27.369 --> 00:17:31.306
Now, i mean this, that each one of you is saying,
00:17:31.306 --> 00:17:34.443
"i am of paul," others are saying, "i of apollos."
00:17:34.443 --> 00:17:39.114
Some are saying, "i am of cephas," that is peter,
00:17:39.114 --> 00:17:41.650
And some are saying, "i'm of christ."
00:17:41.650 --> 00:17:44.653
The people were dividing over their leaders.
00:17:44.653 --> 00:17:47.389
One sign of immaturity in a church
00:17:47.389 --> 00:17:49.758
Is that people divide over leaders in the church.
00:17:49.758 --> 00:17:53.929
They idolize their leaders,
00:17:53.929 --> 00:17:55.464
And then they enjoy tearing down their leaders.
00:17:55.464 --> 00:17:57.933
And there were those in the corinthian church
00:17:57.933 --> 00:18:00.068
Who divided according to their pastors.
00:18:00.068 --> 00:18:02.538
Some were saying, "well, i'm of paul,
00:18:02.538 --> 00:18:04.573
The founding pastor of the church."
00:18:04.573 --> 00:18:07.176
Others were saying,
00:18:07.176 --> 00:18:08.477
"nah, he really wasn't that great of a pastor.
00:18:08.477 --> 00:18:10.546
I like the new guy here.
00:18:10.546 --> 00:18:12.347
I like apollos.
00:18:12.347 --> 00:18:13.749
He's a better pastor than the last pastor was."
00:18:13.749 --> 00:18:16.251
Some are saying, "well, i like the original pastor
00:18:16.251 --> 00:18:18.587
Of the church in jerusalem, peter.
00:18:18.587 --> 00:18:20.389
I'm one of his followers."
00:18:20.389 --> 00:18:22.090
And then there were some in the church saying,
00:18:22.090 --> 00:18:23.725
"oh, i don't follow any man at all.
00:18:23.725 --> 00:18:25.761
I only follow jesus,"
00:18:25.761 --> 00:18:27.229
And they are the most dangerous of all
00:18:27.229 --> 00:18:28.931
Because they're the super spiritual,
00:18:28.931 --> 00:18:31.066
Pseudo spiritual people.
00:18:31.066 --> 00:18:32.734
It would be like people in our church
00:18:32.734 --> 00:18:34.670
Dividing up over pastors,
00:18:34.670 --> 00:18:36.605
Some saying, "oh, i'm a jeffress man.
00:18:36.605 --> 00:18:39.675
I like that pastor jeffress."
00:18:39.675 --> 00:18:41.843
Others saying, "oh, i liked pastor brunson.
00:18:41.843 --> 00:18:44.079
He was much better than pastor jeffress,"
00:18:44.079 --> 00:18:46.081
And others saying,
00:18:46.081 --> 00:18:47.649
"oh, i'll always be a kriswoll person until the day i die,"
00:18:47.649 --> 00:18:50.953
And then others saying, "oh no, i just follow jesus,"
00:18:50.953 --> 00:18:55.224
Dividing along the lines of leadership.
00:18:55.224 --> 00:18:58.093
That was what was happening in the corinthian church.
00:18:58.093 --> 00:19:01.296
In chapters five to six, you have disorders in the church.
00:19:01.296 --> 00:19:05.367
Paul is going to address several disorders
00:19:05.367 --> 00:19:08.070
That were occurring in the church.
00:19:08.070 --> 00:19:09.404
One was a man was living with a stepmother
00:19:09.404 --> 00:19:11.907
In flagrant immorality.
00:19:11.907 --> 00:19:15.010
Another problem was lawsuits,
00:19:15.010 --> 00:19:17.145
Christians suing other christians.
00:19:17.145 --> 00:19:19.214
We're going to talk about that.
00:19:19.214 --> 00:19:20.782
Should a christian ever take another christian to court?
00:19:20.782 --> 00:19:23.885
Fornication was taking place in the church,
00:19:23.885 --> 00:19:26.088
All types of sexual immorality.
00:19:26.088 --> 00:19:29.324
And then in chapter seven through 14,
00:19:29.324 --> 00:19:31.159
Paul talks about difficulties in the church.
00:19:31.159 --> 00:19:34.930
In chapter seven,
00:19:34.930 --> 00:19:36.431
He's going to address the topic of divorce and remarriage.
00:19:36.431 --> 00:19:39.434
Is there any occasion
00:19:39.434 --> 00:19:41.370
In which divorce and remarriage are permitted?
00:19:41.370 --> 00:19:44.306
And what about the case where one person becomes a christian
00:19:44.306 --> 00:19:48.110
And the other is a non-christian?
00:19:48.110 --> 00:19:50.145
We're going to look at that.
00:19:50.145 --> 00:19:51.480
And then chapters eight through 10,
00:19:51.480 --> 00:19:53.048
What about the gray areas of the christian life?
00:19:53.048 --> 00:19:55.484
What about those areas
00:19:55.484 --> 00:19:56.918
That the bible doesn't address specifically,
00:19:56.918 --> 00:19:59.621
Those questionable areas of behavior?
00:19:59.621 --> 00:20:02.024
In paul's day, the issue was meat,
00:20:02.024 --> 00:20:05.661
Eating meat that had been offered to idols.
00:20:05.661 --> 00:20:08.397
That's probably not on the list of your concerns right now
00:20:08.397 --> 00:20:11.667
Of things you wonder about.
00:20:11.667 --> 00:20:13.502
If i were going to draw a parallel to a situation today,
00:20:13.502 --> 00:20:16.672
I might use alcoholic consumption.
00:20:16.672 --> 00:20:19.508
Is it right for a christian to drink alcohol?
00:20:19.508 --> 00:20:22.411
Is there a verse in the bible that says
00:20:22.411 --> 00:20:23.912
No alcohol should ever touch your lips?
00:20:23.912 --> 00:20:26.515
And if there is no such law, why shouldn't we all drink?
00:20:26.515 --> 00:20:29.751
What's wrong with it?
00:20:29.751 --> 00:20:30.919
And paul's going to address that issue
00:20:30.919 --> 00:20:32.888
In chapters eight through 10.
00:20:32.888 --> 00:20:34.656
Chapter 11, i'm going to wear my flack jacket for this one,
00:20:34.656 --> 00:20:38.327
The role of women in the church, okay?
00:20:38.327 --> 00:20:41.229
Paul's going to talk about that in chapter 11.
00:20:41.229 --> 00:20:44.499
What are women permitted to do
00:20:44.499 --> 00:20:46.201
And not permitted to do in the church?
00:20:46.201 --> 00:20:48.470
And then chapters 12 through 14,
00:20:48.470 --> 00:20:50.505
He talks about spiritual gifts in the church,
00:20:50.505 --> 00:20:53.575
The gift of tongues.
00:20:53.575 --> 00:20:55.077
Is it a gift that's relevant today?
00:20:55.077 --> 00:20:56.878
Is it a gift we ought to strive after?
00:20:56.878 --> 00:20:58.814
Are there other spiritual gifts that we ought to seek?
00:20:58.814 --> 00:21:02.184
We're going to have a long discussion
00:21:02.184 --> 00:21:03.652
About the subject of spiritual gifts.
00:21:03.652 --> 00:21:05.787
And then in chapter 15,
00:21:05.787 --> 00:21:07.089
He addresses the subject of doctrine,
00:21:07.089 --> 00:21:09.257
Especially the doctrine of the resurrection.
00:21:09.257 --> 00:21:11.660
There was some false teaching in corinth
00:21:11.660 --> 00:21:14.029
About the whole issue of the resurrection,
00:21:14.029 --> 00:21:16.898
And in chapter 15,
00:21:16.898 --> 00:21:18.600
Paul is going to answer every question you can even imagine
00:21:18.600 --> 00:21:22.204
Having about the resurrection, and specifically,
00:21:22.204 --> 00:21:25.240
What is your new body going to be like in heaven?
00:21:25.240 --> 00:21:28.143
He answers that in chapter 15.
00:21:28.143 --> 00:21:30.212
And then finally in chapter 16,
00:21:30.212 --> 00:21:32.347
He gives direction to the church.
00:21:32.347 --> 00:21:35.250
I want you to notice in verse two,
00:21:35.250 --> 00:21:37.786
Paul says he writes this letter to the church of god
00:21:37.786 --> 00:21:41.623
Which is at corinth.
00:21:41.623 --> 00:21:43.358
Paul is reminding the corinthians,
00:21:43.358 --> 00:21:46.061
Just like he is reminding us,
00:21:46.061 --> 00:21:48.430
The church does not belong to us.
00:21:48.430 --> 00:21:50.966
We are not free to operate the church
00:21:50.966 --> 00:21:53.335
As we choose to operate it.
00:21:53.335 --> 00:21:55.170
This church, first baptist church dallas
00:21:55.170 --> 00:21:57.439
Belongs to jesus christ.
00:21:57.439 --> 00:21:59.508
It is his church, and because it is his church,
00:21:59.508 --> 00:22:02.577
We have an obligation to operate it
00:22:02.577 --> 00:22:05.313
According to his principles.
00:22:05.313 --> 00:22:07.449
The difficulty is god's principles
00:22:07.449 --> 00:22:09.851
Are always different than our principles,
00:22:09.851 --> 00:22:12.554
And over these months,
00:22:12.554 --> 00:22:13.889
We're going to try to discover god's wisdom
00:22:13.889 --> 00:22:16.091
For how to live our lives individually
00:22:16.091 --> 00:22:18.193
And together as a church.
00:22:18.193 --> 00:22:19.995
Now in these final few moments tonight,
00:22:19.995 --> 00:22:21.930
Let's look at the first nine verses
00:22:21.930 --> 00:22:24.232
Of 1 corinthians chapter one.
00:22:24.232 --> 00:22:26.368
Make sure you have your bibles open.
00:22:26.368 --> 00:22:28.470
First of all, notice in verses two and three,
00:22:28.470 --> 00:22:30.305
Paul is going to discuss our position in christ.
00:22:30.305 --> 00:22:33.842
He writes beginning in verse two,
00:22:33.842 --> 00:22:35.844
"to the church of god which is at corinth,
00:22:35.844 --> 00:22:38.313
To those who have been sanctified in christ jesus,
00:22:38.313 --> 00:22:41.249
Saints by calling, with all who in every place
00:22:41.249 --> 00:22:44.619
Call upon the name of our lord jesus christ,
00:22:44.619 --> 00:22:46.922
Their lord and ours:
00:22:46.922 --> 00:22:48.290
Grace to you and peace from god our father
00:22:48.290 --> 00:22:51.893
And the lord jesus christ."
00:22:51.893 --> 00:22:54.029
Now, had i been the apostle paul
00:22:54.029 --> 00:22:56.298
And i were writing this letter, i'll have to confess to you,
00:22:56.298 --> 00:22:59.401
I would have laid into those corinthians right away, okay?
00:22:59.401 --> 00:23:02.771
I would have let them have it.
00:23:02.771 --> 00:23:04.372
Just think, i mean, living in fornication,
00:23:04.372 --> 00:23:08.009
Somebody living with their stepmother,
00:23:08.009 --> 00:23:10.545
Getting drunk at the lord's table.
00:23:10.545 --> 00:23:13.048
Can you imagine such a thing?
00:23:13.048 --> 00:23:15.484
Many of you may not know this,
00:23:15.484 --> 00:23:16.785
But did you know we used to serve real wine
00:23:16.785 --> 00:23:18.820
At the lord's supper here?
00:23:18.820 --> 00:23:19.988
Many, many years ago,
00:23:19.988 --> 00:23:21.556
Real wine was served at the lord's supper.
00:23:21.556 --> 00:23:23.692
I read this in one of the accounts of the church.
00:23:23.692 --> 00:23:25.694
Mrs. truett put a stop to it
00:23:25.694 --> 00:23:28.029
When she saw one of the deacons
00:23:28.029 --> 00:23:29.631
Enjoying the lord's supper a little bit too much,
00:23:29.631 --> 00:23:32.234
-and she put a stop to it, -(congregation laughing)
00:23:32.234 --> 00:23:34.069
And after that, we started using grape juice here.
00:23:34.069 --> 00:23:37.072
Well, in paul's day, it wasn't just one deacon doing that,
00:23:37.072 --> 00:23:40.742
It was many at the church
00:23:40.742 --> 00:23:42.177
Were actually getting drunk at the lord's supper.
00:23:42.177 --> 00:23:44.579
Man, i would have rebuked them right away
00:23:44.579 --> 00:23:46.982
For doing such stuff.
00:23:46.982 --> 00:23:47.983
Not paul. he was much wiser.
00:23:47.983 --> 00:23:50.485
♪ music ♪
00:23:50.485 --> 00:23:54.489
We're just getting started in a new series
00:23:55.357 --> 00:23:58.326
Called straight answers to tough questions,
00:23:58.326 --> 00:24:01.329
And there's much more to learn
00:24:01.329 --> 00:24:02.631
From paul's first letter to the corinthians.
00:24:02.631 --> 00:24:05.433
So make plans to join us throughout this entire series.
00:24:05.433 --> 00:24:09.404
With our time drawing to a close today,
00:24:09.404 --> 00:24:11.907
I want to express my heartfelt gratitude
00:24:11.907 --> 00:24:14.309
To all who support pathway to victory.
00:24:14.309 --> 00:24:17.579
We regularly hear from viewers
00:24:17.579 --> 00:24:19.681
And listeners across the country
00:24:19.681 --> 00:24:21.716
Who share how this program has become their source
00:24:21.716 --> 00:24:24.619
Of biblical encouragement and spiritual growth.
00:24:24.619 --> 00:24:28.490
As god continues to open new opportunities
00:24:28.490 --> 00:24:30.926
For expanding our reach throughout america
00:24:30.926 --> 00:24:33.728
And around the world,
00:24:33.728 --> 00:24:35.196
Your faithful partnership makes it possible
00:24:35.196 --> 00:24:37.999
For us to move forward with confidence.
00:24:37.999 --> 00:24:41.236
Together we're piercing the darkness
00:24:41.236 --> 00:24:43.838
With the light of god's word,
00:24:43.838 --> 00:24:45.807
Bringing hope and truth
00:24:45.807 --> 00:24:47.242
To those who desperately need to hear it.
00:24:47.242 --> 00:24:50.478
Now, stay right there.
00:24:50.478 --> 00:24:51.746
I'll be back with more in just a moment.
00:24:51.746 --> 00:24:55.317
♪ music ♪
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The most important task a parent or grandparent has in life
00:24:56.851 --> 00:25:00.855
Is to lead their child or grandchild
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To faith in jesus christ,
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Yet many don't know where to begin.
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That's why i've written "the gift: the gospel for children,"
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A beautifully illustrated book
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Designed to help you share the gospel
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With the children you love.
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[announcer] "the gift" provides a clear presentation
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Of the gospel for your child or grandchild,
00:25:19.407 --> 00:25:21.810
And makes sharing the life-changing message of jesus simple.
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Plus, you'll receive
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An instructional dvd message from dr. jeffress
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That you can watch together with your child.
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You can give this book to your children or grandchildren
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To read on their own, or better yet, read it together
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To begin a rewarding spiritual journey
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That will shape their eternity.
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At the end of my book, i've included a prayer for salvation
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They can pray to trust in christ as their savior.
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[announcer] help your child or grandchild
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Make the decision to follow jesus christ.
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Request "the gift" when you give a generous gift
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To support the ministry of pathway to victory,
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And when your ministry gift is $75 or more,
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We'll also send you "straight answers to tough questions,"
00:26:03.652 --> 00:26:06.688
Chapters one through nine on both dvd and audio disc.
00:26:06.688 --> 00:26:10.592
Thank you for partnering with pathway to victory.
00:26:10.592 --> 00:26:13.161
Together we're preaching the gospel
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To as many people as possible,
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And equipping parents and grandparents
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To lead the children they love to faith in jesus christ.
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In this increasingly dark world,
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The letter of 1 corinthians offers some practical insights
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For how we can maintain our christian witness.
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Today we began by looking at
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The background of 1 corinthians,
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And next time, we're going to survey
00:26:37.752 --> 00:26:39.888
The contents of this new testament book
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And also glean an important lesson
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From the first nine verses of paul's letter.
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Stay tuned for a preview of what's coming up next
00:26:48.396 --> 00:26:50.965
In our series straight answers to tough questions.
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If you are a believer in jesus christ,
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You have been sanctified.
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That words means you have been set apart
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For a special purpose.
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You see, that's what a saint is in the bible,
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And if you are a christian tonight, you are a saint.
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[announcer] set your dv-r
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And join us next time for part two
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Of the message straight answers to tough questions
00:27:15.857 --> 00:27:18.993
Here on pathway to victory.
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♪ music ♪
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Robert Jeffress - Straight Answers To Tough Questions (Part 1)

April 22, 2025 | S25:E192

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