by Ray Viola | Nov 29, 2015 | Corinthians
It appears that the vast majority of the Corinthian church was a congregation of people that pushed the limits of grace and liberty to the edge. They were divided over “favorite” teachers. They were flaunting how tolerant they were of sexual sin. They were bringing...
by Ray Viola | Sep 27, 2015 | Corinthians
Remember Paul wrote this chapter when the church at Corinth was facing an unspecified time of moral and social upheaval and instability.Due to the ascetic false teachings regarding sexuality on one hand and the pressures of caving in to the flesh pleasing and fallen...
by Ray Viola | Sep 6, 2015 | Communion Messages
In this section of the epistle to the Romans, the implications of justification by grace through faith in chapters 1-4 are now drawn out. The transition from wrath (Ro 1:18) to grace (Ro 3:21) transforms both the status and the experience of the believer. Instead of...
by Ray Viola | Aug 30, 2015 | Corinthians
The prevailing attitude in the city of Corinth, notorious for its moral permissiveness and tolerance had infiltrated into church life and given rise to an ugly situation which necessitated Paul to reiterate the basic Christian moral prescription: “flee from sexual...
by Ray Viola | Aug 23, 2015 | Corinthians
William Barclay tells us in his commentary “(The Greeks) were characteristically a litigious people. The law courts were one of their chief entertainments… In a Greek city, every man was more or less a lawyer, & spent a very great part of his time either...