As we continued our tour through 1 Corinthians we came to a passage in chapter 6 that challenges our appetites.
Sometimes we allow our sins to "define" us. Paul is clear to the Corinthian Church that they are SAINTS! Did that mean perfect? Only in the way the God sees them!
Our sin and our appetites ought not define us, instead we ought to identify ourselves as one of God's Children. That is the true identity that we have. If I define myself as a liar, an alcoholic, a sinner, I've missed the greatest stuff of being a follower of Jesus. He made me a saint!
As Paul ends the chapter, he declares:
"All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything." His appetites were curbed and replaced with a pursuit of godliness. The appetites Paul speaks of are some of the strongest human desires: food and sex.
We together, as the church, are being built together not for our own selfish appetites, but into a temple that glorfies our God! That is our new appetite, our desire, our passion because we have been bought with a steep price.
