In August, Mike Grimes talked about remembering God’s promises in his Post article titled, “Remember to Remember.”  Hope and Holiness, written by Jon Fonville, reinforces this same idea that we need to remember the gospel of Jesus Christ and remember who we are as new creations in Jesus Christ.  

This is not a long book; in just 165 total pages and nine chapters, Fonville explains how Paul reminds the Corinthian church of the importance of sexual purity. The book is divided into three parts – “Who are we?” 1 Corinthians 6:9-11; “What is the body” 1 Corinthians 6:12-20a; and, “Who is God?” 1 Corinthians 6:20b.      

Fonville’s central theme in the book is that Christians who struggle have forgotten who they are as new creations in Christ. He opens the book with a quote that we need to remember, “The aim of this book is to show that the gospel, not practical steps or more self-discipline, is God’s provision for the power to live a life of purity, and it is available to every Christian.” (pg.18)

Fonville explains in the book three reasons for falling into temptation with sexual sins: we forget who we are in Christ, we forget who Christ is, and we must remember the truth. 

He uses the “Do you not know?” questions in 1 Corinthians 6:9-20 to show us how Paul lays out the gospel that helps us understand our status as a new creation. As the gospel foundation is set as the indicative, he then lays out the imperatives that work out in our Christian lives.  

Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Fonville explains that only the adopted who were bought with the blood of Jesus will inherit the kingdom of God. Paul is reminding the Corinthians to remember who they are; they are the adopted sons. Since they have been adopted, they should not act like the world. Unfortunately, the Corinthians had a false view of freedom. 

Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Paul then reminds the church that as Christians, we are united with Christ. Since we are united with Christ we do not have freedom to sin as we want. 

Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? Paul is reminding them that the temple is from God and he is dwelling with us in our bodies by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit works in our hearts through the gospel. “The gospel is the ministry of the Holy Spirit (2 Cor 3:9). The Holy Spirit uses the gospel to motivate us to live holy lives by leading us in gospel love rather than driving us with legal fear. The law is the ministry of condemnation, but the gospel is the ministry of righteousness (2 Cor 3:9).” (pg. 128)

In summary, Fonville emphasizes that the gospel is where the true power is to overcome sin. As we remember we are a new creation with the power of the Holy Spirit to resist temptation, and we know we are members of the body of Christ, and our own body is a temple where the Holy Spirit dwells with us, we can resist temptation. 

When we focus on the beauty of our Savior, and let the power of temptation not take our focus away from Christ, we realize that we are free because the Truth has set us free.