Open The Word | Fungua Neno

⏱️ 6 minutes.

Greetings, people of God,

Today let’s examine a phrase Paul shares with the Corinthians about the effect of the company we keep on our morality:

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

This statement comes as Paul is defending the resurrection of the dead. Some among the Corinthians had raised concerns about the resurrection, specifically claiming that the dead are not raised.

This was a jab at the believer’s doctrine of the eternal state. As believers, it was clear that after falling asleep, the believer would be resurrected at the second coming of Christ.

In defending the doctrine of the resurrection, Paul reminds the Corinthians that if they indeed succumbed to this false teaching that the dead are not raised, then this would also mean that Christ Himself was never raised. If that’s the case, then we’re all still in egregious sin, and hence, Christ died for nothing.

For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins.
— 1 Corinthians 15:16-17

After establishing the severity of this error and correcting the errors of their ways, Paul then turns to address the issue of the Corinthian believers keeping company with people who would lead them to believe this error in the first place.

In this statement, Paul begins by saying to them: “Do not be deceived.” He says it this way as a matter of fact. This was to clearly present to the Corinthians that they had fallen under deception as many do.

The word that Paul uses here for “deceive” means “to cause to wander, lead astray.” This is what deception does. It takes one from the correct path and then drives them to a place of lost focus, wandering as though in the desert, busying themselves with matters that are completely insignificant. This is the same word that Jesus uses in the parable of the lost sheep:

“What do you think? If any man has one hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go and search for the one that is straying?
— Matthew 18:12

That wandering sheep, that sheep that has gone astray—our Lord uses this same word that Paul uses to warn the Corinthians not to be led to wander, not to be led astray, or not to be deceived.

Such was the case for the Corinthians. Paul was highlighting that they had been deceived into thinking that they could keep bad company and not be affected in their doctrine. And so, in the next statement, he says: “Bad company corrupts good morals.”

This bad company that this target audience was keeping had brought them to this very dangerous place of not realizing that their core doctrines were being attacked. This company had them questioning the resurrection of the dead, not realizing that if that be true, then the whole Christian faith comes crumbling down because it was the resurrection of Christ that made justification by faith possible. It was Christ being raised from the dead that confirmed the satisfaction of the sin offering that was offered. The resurrection of Jesus Christ meant that He was the first to be resurrected into eternity and that everyone who believes would follow suit at the second coming of Christ.

Because those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers;
— Romans 8:29

This is not unlike what we as Christians face today. We keep company that secretly attacks our core beliefs, and unbeknownst to us, we find ourselves questioning key doctrines of our faith.

Furthermore, being deceived, we prop ourselves up thinking that the company we keep is something we control and therefore we will not be affected by their beliefs, conduct, and worldview.

Sometimes we find ourselves updating our stance on certain cultural and social issues. We find ourselves being a bit more lenient on sin and giving approval to certain lifestyles, all in the name of acquaintance. We say, “I’m not the one sinning, I’m just not judging them by ignoring it,” forgetting what the scriptures say about giving approval to sin:

and although they know the righteous requirement of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.
— Romans 1:32

Finally, as a response to this, Paul offers a solution to take on bad company. In the next verse, he says:

Become righteously sober-minded, and stop sinning; for some have no knowledge of God. I speak this to your shame.
— 1 Corinthians 15:34

The question then comes down to, should we then completely isolate ourselves as believers from the world? Paul seems to suggest otherwise, especially in his earlier writings to the Corinthians in this same letter:

I wrote you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people; I did not at all mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the greedy and swindlers, or with idolaters, for then you would have to go out of the world.
— 1 Corinthians 5:9-10

So then Paul’s suggestion on how to live with outsiders is not necessarily to cut them off and have no affiliations with them completely. Rather, there’s an acceptable way by which we can live with the outside world.

Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, redeeming the time.
— Colossians 4:5

The prescription here is that we walk in wisdom towards outsiders. Bad company should not corrupt us; instead, we should be the ones influencing them. This influence is particular to showing them godliness and redemption in Jesus Christ.

This also means we should be mindful to notice each time when we’re being influenced by the world instead of the other way around. The best way to do this is to keep good company. And the best company to keep is that of believers, because they get to hold us accountable in our other relationships.

Let’s take some time to ponder about this:

• What kind of company do I keep?
• Is my company influencing me to change my views on key doctrinal issues?
• Am I walking in wisdom amongst unbelievers? Am I influencing them to see the glory of Christ in my life?

I pray this word brings clarity on the kind of company we are keeping and the company that we should keep.

May the Lord bless you and keep you,
Paul