“For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God…”
God has used trials and tribulations both in the Old and New Testaments to sanctify, chasten and purge His people; and judgment must start with us, because we, as His New Covenant people, are the temple where God dwells. Therefore we are to be a holy people, set apart for His glory, declaring “the excellencies of Him who called us out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9). We are also the bride of Christ, whom He has redeemed by His precious blood and purposes to present to Himself “in splendor, without spot or wrinkle.. holy and without blemish” (Eph 5:27).
Sin undealt with, whether in our personal lives or in the church, will affect our fellowship, both with God and with one another. It will bring God’s chastisement on us personally, for individual sins, or on the congregation. As He stated in Rev 3:19, “Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent.”
We see an example of this in the church of Corinth, where there were factions, pride, and unrepented sin. The Lord brought judgment on the church so that many of them were “weak and ill, and some have died” (1 Cor 11:30). Another example is found in Acts 5, where the Lord exposed the hypocrisy of Ananias and Sapphira, and put them to death on the spot. God takes sin in the church seriously.
This past year has been a trying year for our congregation. There has been sickness, death, and members moving out of state. We cannot help but ask the question, is the Lord chastising us?
We will take time during the sermon to look at the sins of the Corinthian church, and possibly some of the sins of the 7 churches mentioned in Revelation, to see where we have fallen short and need to repent. Please pray that the Lord use this sermon in the life of our church to purify us and cause His face to shine upon us.