Live up to price Christ paid for eternal life
JOE MILLER JR.

1 Corinthians 6:12-20

We can just imagine the thinking in Corinth: "Free at last! Since I have been saved by the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ, then I can do whatever I want to do! His blood has washed away my sins, so I am free from the law of the Old Testament. If I sin again today, I can always get forgiveness tomorrow."

The people in the church of Corinth thought they had found a way to have their cake and eat it too; something that Dietrich Bonhoeffer called "cheap grace." Cheap grace is accepting the freely given grace from God through the work of Jesus Christ without responding to that grace through Christian living.

It is like accepting a gift and taking that gift for granted as if it were deserved. Paul's response to the Corinthian church is a model for a preacher who is trying to bring transformation to his or her church.

It is very instructional what Paul does not say. He does not threaten the congregation with the "flames of hell" because of their immoral, unChristian behavior; nor does he give them a new set of laws to live by.

Instead of these negative approaches, Paul reminds the individuals in the church of who they are. Through Christ's work, they have become part of the body of Christ. One who is part of the body of Christ cannot contaminate the rest of the body by immoral sexual behavior. He also reminds them that their bodies are temples for the Holy Spirit.

We no longer have physical temples in the Christian world, but they were common in the ancient world of Paul. The temple in Jerusalem was the site where God's presence existed. It was considered God's House.

The pagan culture surrounding the Jews had a number of temples, all dedicated to a large number of so-called gods. Today, the temple of God the Holy Spirit is within each one of us. What Paul was essentially saying was: "Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. Now try living that truth. Live into what Christ has made you rather than living like nothing really happened when Christ died for you."

We were bought for a price; a very dear price. Live as though we were worth the price paid. Email me at newtonumc@valornet.com with your thoughts.

Joe Miller Jr. is pastor of First United Methodist Church in Newton.