August 24

Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.” ~ 1 Corinthians 15:33

Job 12:1-15:35
1 Corinthians 15:29-58
Psalm 39:1-13
Proverbs 21:30-31

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New Testament: 1 Corinthians 15:29-58

Summary: The Resurrection of the Dead, The Resurrection Body, Mystery and Victory

Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.” Wake up from your drunken stupor, as is right, and do not go on sinning. For some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame. ~ 1 Corinthians 15:33-34

We have seen that the Christians in Corinth were doing many wrong things. Let us think about the cause of this wrong behaviour.

Clearly, the basic cause was wrong attitudes. Those Christians cared too much about their own desires, their own feelings, and their own gifts. That is, they cared too much about themselves. That was why they were not showing love towards each other. The result was that they were not obeying God.

Clearly, those wrong ideas did not come from their knowledge of God. The Bible did not teach them to do such things. There had to be another cause, and in 1 Corinthians 15:33, Paul mentions that cause. Those Christians had chosen friends who were evil.

We may ask whether Paul has mentioned this problem earlier. Perhaps he has. In 1 Corinthians 8:10, he said that they were joining people from evil religions, to eat together. In 1 Corinthians 1:18-23, he urged them not to care whether other people approved of them.

However, perhaps these wrong friends were other church members, who belonged to the powerful groups in their church (1:11-13). These groups were causing the Christians to argue fiercely, and even to take other Christians to the judges (3:3; 6:6).

The people who had no knowledge of God in 1 Corinthians 15:34 were church members. Otherwise, there would be no reason for the Christians to be ashamed. Perhaps those people knew about God, but they knew nothing about his character. They had not learned from him how they should live.

It is not wrong to have friends who do not know God (10:27). However, it is very wrong and foolish for a Christian to copy their evil behaviour.

From: usefulbible.com