Motives and Attitudes about Behavior

Observations about the behavior of various early Christians:

• The letters of the New Testament were written to Christians, not the general population.
• The verb tenses and logic surrounding the lists of bad behaviors suggest that
  • The faithful had not overcome these behaviors completely
    • 1 Corinthians 3:3
    • 1 Corinthians 5:1
    • 1 Corinthians 6:1
    • 2 Corinthians 7:1
    • Galatians 5:16
    • Ephesians 4:17
    • Ephesians 5:6
    • Colossians 3:5 – 9
    • James 4:1 – 6
    • James 5:1 – 6
  • Some were rationalizing that bad behavior as inevitable or excusable
    • 1 Corinthians 3:16 – 23
    • 1 Corinthians 5:2
    • 1 Corinthians 10:13
    • Philippians 4:18
    • 1 Thessalonians 4:6
    • 2 Timothy 3:1 – 7
    • James 1:13 – 22
    • 2 Peter 2:18 – 22
• The rationale for good behavior was not to avoid punishment but
  • Romans 3:19 – 26
  • Romans 6:11 – 18
  • Romans 12:1 – 2
  • Romans 13:1 – 7
  • 1 Corinthians 5:6 – 8
  • 1 Corinthians 6:11 – 20
  • 1 Corinthians 9:27
  • Galatians 5:22
  • Galatians 6:8
  • Ephesians 4:20 – 24
  • Ephesians 5:11 – 17
  • Colossians 3:1 – 2
  • 1 Thessalonians 1 – 8
  • Titus 3:1 – 8
  • Hebrews 2:14 – 15
  • James 1:21
  • James 3:13 – 18
  • 1 Peter 1:13 – 19
  • 1 Peter 2:1 – 5
  • 1 Peter 2:11 – 12
  • 2 Peter 2:9