Tim’s Blog

A Translation of 1 Corinthians 6:9-20

January 12, 2013

⁹ Or do you not know that unrighteous ones will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor submitting homosexual partners, nor dominant homosexual partners, ¹⁰ nor thieves, nor covetous ones, nor drunkards, nor slanderers, nor swindlers—will inherit the kingdom of God.

¹¹And such were some of you: But you were washed, but you were set apart, but you were set right in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and in the Spirit of our God.

¹² “All things are lawful to me”—but not all things are beneficial. “All things are lawful to be”—but I will not be brought under the power of anything.

¹³ “Foods for the belly, and the belly for foods, but God will destroy both.” But the body is not for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body; ¹⁴ and God both raised up the Lord, and will raise us up through His power.

¹⁵ Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? So, taking the members of Christ, will I make them members of a prostitute? Inconceivable! ¹⁶ Or do you not know that the one united to a prostitute is one body [with her]? For, He says, “The two will be one flesh.” ¹⁷ But the one united to the Lord is one Spirit [with Him].

¹⁸ Flee sexual immorality! Whatever sin a man may do is outside the body: but the one committing sexual immorality sins against his own body. ¹⁹ Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, which you have from God, and you are not your own? ²⁰ For you were bought with a price; therefore, glorify God in your body [and in your Spirit, which is God’s].

Natural Law

January 1, 2013

But the covenant of creation is a covenant that was made with absolutely all mankind in Adam. The covenant of grace is made with those who are elect in the second Adam. These cannot be the same covenants because they are not made with the same people. The covenant of grace is made with a distinct subset of those with whom the covenant of creation was made. It must therefore be a distinct covenant. The question is this: there is a remainder left over after the covenant of grace is established? Are these people in the remainder under any covenantal obligations to God at all? The answer has to be yes.

I wonder if this is the best approach to this question. Because this way of framing it suggests that God has made a covenant with unbelievers. I don’t think the Bible implies that.

What seems to me to be the case, rather, is that at the creation, God created two believers, Adam and Eve. His covenant was with them, and the covenants that God makes are always with believers.

But it does not follow that the non-elect, non-believing world have zero obligations to God. We do not need a “natural law” theory to provide a foundation for such a thought. When men and women apostatize from God, they are guilty for the apostasy (covenant-breaking) and for every act of apostasy which they forthwith commit, just as a man who commits adultery has truly broken covenant, and is guilty on every subsequent point of unfaithfulness on that very ground.read more »