Correcting Improper Lifestyles

Our right of choice lays upon us moments of serious consequences. Often it is impossible to retrieve the outcomes of the choices we make. They are cast, as it were, in irretrievable molds. For that reason, we must weigh carefully every decision we make.

Every decision we make has moral consequences. We cannot operate in a moral vacuum. To put it another way, we cannot operate in a no-moral zone, commonly called “the gray zone.” We are either moral creatures all the time or we are moral creatures at no time. We cannot turn it on or off at will. We are what we are all the time.

The moral climate of the United States through the years has swung more and more to the no-moral zone. In the short run, it appeals to many of our fellow citizens, supposedly relieving them of responsibility, at least for the moment. The word of God teaches us in Romans 14:12 that “every one of us shall give account of himself to God.” That means we are personally accountable to God. From that, there is no escape.

Of course, this is not the first age or country when people planned to evade the judgment of God. The human family has a horrendous record of trying to run away from God and responsibility.

Recent decades have brought this into the public square with a new venom poisoning the minds of the multitudes to the belief that what God has said in His word can hardly be expected to apply in this enlightened near 21st century.

The anti-moral crowd has chopped away at the moral law of the Bible until they have caused many to not only ignore what the Bible teaches, but they have ridiculed its truth, replacing it with the empty philosophies of men.

The apostle Paul faced this same attitude in his day. He lived in the age of the Greek philosophers, men of keen minds. Their teachings penetrated all levels of society. In I Corinthians 15:29-34 the apostle wrestles with the results of several of these improper philosophies.

29 Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead?

30 And why stand we in jeopardy every hour?

31 I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.

32 If after the manner of men I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantageth it me, if the dead rise not? let us eat and drink; for tomorrow we die.

33 Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.

34 Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak [this]to your shame.

Here Paul teaches us how to avoid the INDULGENCES that lead to IMPROPER LIFESTYLES.

The first indulgence to avoid is:

29 Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead?

30 And why stand we in jeopardy every hour?

If there is no resurrection, the apostle says, “why be baptized for the dead?”

Let me point out immediately that the apostle Paul is not condoning the practice. He is showing how ridiculous it is. The argument is called ad absurdum, meaning “reduced to an absurdity.”

Well, you see Paul was standing there with those who said there was no resurrection and yet baptized for the dead, which practice refuted their basic position. He said that if there is no resurrection, then why be baptized for the dead.

In the inmost spirit of every person is the fact of death. We know we will not live here forever. The question is what about the hereafter?

The word of God clearly teaches us that death is a stalking reality. Hebrews 9:27 states, “It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.”

The Pulpit Commentary has these helpful words:

The interpretations of this verse are so numerous that it is not even possible to give a catalog of them. Many of them are not worth recording and are only worth alluding to at all as specimens of the willful bias which goes to Scripture, not to seek truth, but to support tradition. They are most futile and fantastic because they pervert the plain meaning of the plain words. It is a waste of time and space to give perpetuity to baseless fancy. . . . It has been very usual to represent it as we think it ought to have been, and not as it was. This disuse of this vicarious baptism among orthodox Christians may have been due to the discouragement of it by St. Paul when he went to Corinth, and “set in order” various erroneous customs (11:34).

Therefore Paul is correcting the indulgence I have called Fruitless Practices. To be baptized for the dead, if there is no resurrection, is clearly a contradiction. Paul reduced their practice to an absurdity.

The second indulgence to avoid is:

31 I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.

32 If after the manner of men I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantageth it me, if the dead rise not? let us eat and drink; for tomorrow we die.

The apostle states a solid truth. He says, “I die daily.” For Paul life was expendable. The quality of life was more important than the quantity of life. So it didn’t make much difference how long but how well one lived. It is proper for us all to aspire to live to a ripe old age. But it is much more important for us to aspire to live a good life serving God.

Paul referred to his conflict in Ephesus as fighting with wild “beasts.” We consider this a figure of speech since no Roman citizen could be required to fight with animals in the arena. And we know that Paul was a Roman citizen. We also know that Paul had troublesome times in many cities. He then asked a withering question: “If there is not a resurrection, why fight?”

Grosheide, the Dutch writer, has these comments to make about this text:

First, it is almost impossible to fight with beasts and still escape with one’s life. Secondly, there is no reference to such a fight in Acts, although Paul’s stay at Ephesus is related very circumstantially. A rescue from the fight in the arena would have furthered the preaching of the gospel to such an extent that Luke, in keeping with the plan of his second book, could hardly have omitted reference to it. In II Cor. 11 where Paul speaks of his many experiences, he does not mention any such conflict. Finally, a Roman citizen could not be condemned to the arena. If the Ephesian magistrates had condemned the apostle in spite of this fact, Paul would not have failed to appeal to his citizenship. For these reasons, we take this fighting against beast to refer to an extreme kind of opposition from which Paul escaped.

Rather, adopt the philosophy of the fun lovers, called in his day the Epicureans. Scores of them are living today. The name has not come down, but the philosophy has. “Have Fun” echoes at the parting of friends at home, at the bus and railroad depots, and at the airports. “Have Fun!” Eat and drink for tomorrow we die! Indulge is the word. By the size of some who patronize the smorgasbords at restaurants, the idea has caught on! Have you noticed? They advertise “All you can eat.” Of course that makes the pockets of the health providers jingle as they do heart by-pass surgeries and prescribe medicines to control the bad cholesterol.

Paul corrects that Improper Indulgence that I have labeled Fleshly Pleasures.

The third indulgence to avoid is:

33 Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.

34 Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak [this] to your shame.

Watch your company! Paul says. Bad company corrupts good morals. Two biblical men come to my mind to illustrate this. The apostle Peter vowed to go with Jesus to death rather than to deny Him. But Peter was in the wrong crowd at the right time, at the trial of Jesus. He was there with the soldiers, warming his hands at the fire. Three times he denied Jesus. And the third time he denied Him with an oath. You know what, he was keeping the wrong company, and it corrupted him.

On the other hand, Daniel, in the Old Testament, was quite different. He would not defile himself with the king’s meat. He was an outstanding servant in the king’s court. King Nebuchadnezzar said he had no one like Daniel in his entire realm. Daniel didn’t keep bad company and his morals were not corrupted.

Paul instructs us to wake up and seek righteousness. Avoid sin. This corresponds with what Jesus said in Matthew 6:33: “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these other things will be add unto you.” Our day has its pitfalls. Avoid them.

Kistemaker in his commentary makes a comment about the final aspect of these indulgences that the apostle Paul made that I call to your attention.

Instead of being followers, the Corinthians should have been leaders in the church of Jesus Christ. They must know that ignorance of God and His word is a shame to anyone who bears the name Christian. Therefore, Paul shames his readers in the hope of seeing a complete reversal of their lethargy. He expects that a correct understanding of the resurrection and its meaning will cause them to abandon bad company and strive for reputable qualities that God approves.

The knowledge of God will be the protection you need. Seek company that builds up. Thus the third indulgence to avoid is The Filthy Principles.

Let me review for you the Improper Indulgences that ought to be avoided.

Being baptized for the dead

Have fun!

Keeping bad company

To this end, let us seek God’s help.