1 Corinthians 5; 1 Corinthians 6; 1 Corinthians 7; 1 Corinthians 8

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1 Corinthians 5

1 It is actually reported that there is sexual sin among you. I'm told that a man is living with his father's wife and is having sex with her. Even people who do not know God don't commit that sin.
2 And you are proud! Shouldn't you be filled with sadness instead? Shouldn't you have put the man who did that out of your church?
3 Even though I am not right there with you, I am with you in spirit. And I have already judged the one who did that, just as if I were there.
4 When you come together in the name of our Lord Jesus, I will be with you in spirit. The power of our Lord Jesus will also be with you.
5 When you come together like that, hand that man over to Satan. Then his sinful nature will be destroyed. His spirit will be saved on the day the Lord returns.
6 Your bragging is not good. It is like yeast. Don't you know that just a little yeast works its way through the whole batch of dough?
7 Get rid of the old yeast. Be like a new batch of dough without yeast. That is what you really are, because Christ has been offered up for us. He is our Passover lamb.
8 So let us keep the Feast, but not with the old yeast. I'm talking about yeast that is full of hatred and evil. Let us keep the Feast with bread made without yeast. Let us do it with bread that is honest and true.
9 I wrote a letter to you to tell you to stay away from people who commit sexual sins.
10 I didn't mean the people of this world who sin that way or who always want more and more. I didn't mean those who cheat or who worship statues of gods. In that case you would have to leave this world!
11 But here is what I am writing to you. You must stay away from anyone who claims to be a believer but who does those things. Stay away from anyone who commits sexual sins or who always wants more and more things. Stay away from a person who worships statues of gods or who tells lies about others. Stay away from anyone who gets drunk or who cheats. Don't even eat with a person like that.
12 Is it my business to judge those outside the church? Aren't you supposed to judge those inside the church?
13 God will judge those outside. Scripture says, "Get rid of that evil person!"(Deuteronomy 17:7; 19:19; 21:21; 22:21,24; 24:7)
Holy Bible, New International Reader's Version® Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998 by Biblica.   All rights reserved worldwide.

1 Corinthians 6

1 Suppose one of you wants to bring a charge against another believer. Should you take it to the ungodly to be judged? Why not take it to God's people?
2 Don't you know that God's people will judge the world? And if you are going to judge the world, aren't you able to judge small cases?
3 Don't you know that we will judge angels? Then we should be able to judge the things of this life even more!
4 So if you want to press charges in matters like that, appoint as judges members of the church who aren't very important!
5 I say this to shame you. Is it possible that no one among you is wise enough to judge matters between believers?
6 Instead, one believer goes to court against another. And this happens in front of unbelievers!
7 The very fact that you take another believer to court means you have lost the battle already. Why not be treated wrongly? Why not be cheated?
8 Instead, you yourselves cheat and do wrong. And you do it to your brothers and sisters.
9 Don't you know that evil people will not receive God's kingdom? Don't be fooled. Those who commit sexual sins will not receive the kingdom. Neither will those who worship statues of gods or commit adultery. Neither will men who are prostitutes or who commit homosexual acts.
10 Neither will thieves or those who always want more and more. Neither will those who are often drunk or tell lies or cheat. People who live like that will not receive God's kingdom.
11 Some of you used to do those things. But your sins were washed away. You were made holy. You were made right with God. All of that was done in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
12 Some of you say, "Everything is permitted for me." But not everything is good for me. Again some of you say, "Everything is permitted for me." But I will not be controlled by anything.
13 Some of you say, "Food is for the stomach. And the stomach is for food." But God will destroy both of them. The body is not meant for sexual sins. The body is meant for the Lord. And the Lord is meant for the body.
14 By his power God raised the Lord from the dead. He will also raise us up.
15 Don't you know that your bodies belong to the body of Christ? Should I take what belongs to Christ and join it to a prostitute? Never!
16 Don't you know that when you join yourself to a prostitute, you become one with her in body? Scripture says, "The two will become one."(Genesis 2:24)
17 But anyone who is joined to the Lord becomes one with him in spirit.
18 Keep far away from sexual sins. All the other sins a person commits are outside his body. But sexual sins are sins against one's own body.
19 Don't you know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit? The Spirit is in you. You have received him from God. You do not belong to yourselves.
20 Christ has paid the price for you. So use your bodies in a way that honors God.
Holy Bible, New International Reader's Version® Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998 by Biblica.   All rights reserved worldwide.

1 Corinthians 7

1 Now I want to deal with the things you wrote me about. Some of you say, "It is good for a man not to have sex with a woman."
2 But since there is so much sexual sin, each man should have his own wife. And each woman should have her own husband.
3 A husband should satisfy his wife's sexual needs. And a wife should satisfy her husband's sexual needs.
4 The wife's body does not belong only to her. It also belongs to her husband. In the same way, the husband's body does not belong only to him. It also belongs to his wife.
5 You shouldn't stop giving yourselves to each other except when you both agree to do so. And that should be only to give yourselves time to pray for a while. Then you should come together again. In that way, Satan will not tempt you when you can't control yourselves.
6 I say those things to you as my advice, not as a command.
7 I wish all of you were like me. But you each have your own gift from God. One has this gift. Another has that.
8 I speak to those who are not married. I also speak to widows. It is good for you to stay single like me.
9 But if you can't control yourselves, you should get married. It is better to get married than to burn with sexual longing.
10 I give a command to those who are married. It is a direct command from the Lord, not from me. A wife must not leave her husband.
11 But if she does, she must not get married again. Or she can go back to her husband. And a husband must not divorce his wife.
12 I also have something to say to everyone else. It is from me, not a direct command from the Lord. Suppose a brother has a wife who is not a believer. If she is willing to live with him, he must not divorce her.
13 And suppose a woman has a husband who is not a believer. If he is willing to live with her, she must not divorce him.
14 The unbelieving husband has been made holy through his wife. The unbelieving wife has been made holy through her believing husband. If that were not the case, your children would not be pure and clean. But as it is, they are holy.
15 If the unbeliever leaves, let that person go. In that case, a believing man or woman does not have to stay married. God wants us to live in peace.
16 Wife, how do you know if you can save your husband? Husband, how do you know if you can save your wife?
17 But each of you should remain in the place in life that the Lord has given you. Stay as you were when God chose you. That's the rule all the churches must follow.
18 Was a man already circumcised when God chose him? Then he should not become uncircumcised. Was he uncircumcised when God chose him? Then he should not be circumcised.
19 Being circumcised means nothing. Being uncircumcised means nothing. Doing what God commands is what counts.
20 Each of you should stay as you were when God chose you.
21 Were you a slave when God chose you? Don't let it trouble you. But if you can get your master to set you free, do it.
22 Those who were slaves when the Lord chose them are now the Lord's free people. Those who were free when God chose them are now slaves of Christ.
23 Christ has paid the price for you. Don't become slaves of human beings.
24 Brothers and sisters, you are accountable to God. So all of you should stay as you were when God chose you.
25 Now I want to say something about virgins. I have no direct command from the Lord. But I give my opinion. Because of the Lord's mercy, I give it as one who can be trusted.
26 Times are hard for you right now. So I think it's good for you to stay as you are.
27 Are you married? Then don't get a divorce. Are you single? Then don't look for a wife.
28 But if you get married, you have not sinned. And if a virgin gets married, she has not sinned. But those who get married will have many troubles in this life. I want to save you from that.
29 Brothers and sisters, what I mean is that the time is short. From now on, those who have a husband or wife should live as if they did not.
30 Those who are sad should live as if they were not. Those who are happy should live as if they were not. Those who buy something should live as if it were not theirs to keep.
31 Those who use the things of the world should not become all wrapped up in them. The world as it now exists is passing away.
32 I don't want you to have anything to worry about. A single man is concerned about the Lord's matters. He wants to know how he can please the Lord.
33 But a married man is concerned about the matters of this world. He wants to know how he can please his wife.
34 His concerns pull him in two directions. A single woman or a virgin is concerned about the Lord's matters. She wants to serve the Lord with both body and spirit. But a married woman is concerned about the matters of this world. She wants to know how she can please her husband.
35 I'm saying those things for your own good. I'm not trying to hold you back. I want you to be free to live in a way that is right. I want you to give yourselves completely to the Lord.
36 Suppose a man thinks he is not acting properly toward the virgin he has promised to marry. Suppose she is getting old, and he feels that he should marry her. He should do as he wants. He is not sinning. They should get married.
37 But suppose the man has decided not to marry the virgin. And suppose he has no compelling need to get married and can control himself. If he has made up his mind not to get married, he also does the right thing.
38 So then, the man who marries the virgin does the right thing. But the man who doesn't marry her does an even better thing.
39 A woman has to stay married to her husband as long as he lives. If he dies, she is free to marry anyone she wants to. But the one she marries must belong to the Lord.
40 In my opinion, she is happier if she stays single. And I also think that I am led by the Spirit of God in saying that.
Holy Bible, New International Reader's Version® Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998 by Biblica.   All rights reserved worldwide.

1 Corinthians 8

1 Now I want to deal with food offered to statues of gods. We know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge makes people proud. But love builds them up.
2 Those who think they know something still don't know as they should.
3 But those who love God are known by God.
4 So then, here is what I say about eating food that is offered to statues of gods. We know that a god made by human hands is really nothing at all in the world. We know there is only one God.
5 There may be so-called gods either in heaven or on earth. In fact, there are many "gods" and many "lords."
6 But for us there is only one God. He is the Father. All things came from him, and we live for him. And there is only one Lord. He is Jesus Christ. All things came because of him, and we live because of him.
7 But not everyone knows that. Some people still think that statues of gods are real gods. When they eat food that was offered to statues of gods, they think of it as food that was offered to real gods. And because they have a weak sense of what is right and wrong, they feel guilty.
8 But food doesn't bring us close to God. We are no worse if we don't eat. We are no better if we do eat.
9 But be careful how you use your freedom. Be sure it doesn't trip up someone who is weaker than you.
10 Suppose you who have that knowledge are eating in a temple of one of those gods. And suppose someone who has a weak sense of what is right and wrong sees you. Won't that person become bold and eat what has been offered to statues of gods?
11 If so, then your knowledge destroys that weak brother or sister for whom Christ died.
12 When you sin against other believers in that way, you harm their weak sense of what is right and wrong. By doing that you sin against Christ.
13 So what should I do if what I eat causes my brother or sister to fall into sin? I will never eat meat again. In that way, I will not cause them to fall.
Holy Bible, New International Reader's Version® Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998 by Biblica.   All rights reserved worldwide.