Selfishness. Back-biting. Greed. Living loose sexually. Gossip. Addictions to drugs or alcohol. As we look around us, it is not hard to be weighed down by the corruption that surrounds us (perhaps even in our own lives). Despite our boasts as a well advanced culture, our decay seems to be more apparent than ever. Just look at the evening news.
What then is our hope to real change? Like the Emperor with his invisible clothes, we have all tried on positive self-image (“Believe in yourself”), psychotherapy (“It’s not your fault; it’s a disease”), or self-discipline (“Just try harder”). All of these have been ineffective and have left us exposed.
Enter the Apostle Paul and the corrupt Corinthian church. This church had split allegiances to different church leaders (1 Cor 3), was boasting over a man sleeping with his mother-in-law (1 Cor 5), was suing their fellow believers (1 Cor 6), was getting drunk at the Lord’s Supper (1 Cor 11), and was gloating in their own gifts to serve one another (1 Cor 12). And you think your church had problems!
The only thing more amazing than the corruption in the Corinthian church was the counsel for lasting change given by the Apostle Paul. In chapter 15, he writes, “I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you...that Christ died for our sins...that he was buried, that he raised on the third day” (1 Cor 15:1,3-4, ESV).
The only clothes that can truly cover us and the only hope to real change is this: understanding and resting in the cross. Ironically, we do not need to hear what we must do; we need to hear what has been done. As we realize how much we are loved by Jesus, we will then be able to love others (1 John 4:11). As we grasp the depth of our own sinfulness, we will be tender-hearted to those who wrong us (Matthew 5:43-45). As we understand that our sin has been crucified with Christ on the cross, we can finally have freedom over our addictions to pornography or alcohol (Romans 6:1-4).
Let us stop putting our hope in moral commands and positive self-image. The answer for change is not in ourselves. The answer is only found in Jesus Christ, and him crucified.
