Overview: I do not think there is a more needed message concerning practical Christian living and church life than this one today. At the very least this message would rank at the very top of the most needed in our church life. And I also think that this issue is an issue that is much misunderstood and overwhelming to modern American Christians. We simply just don’t know how to handle it in light of our modern American ecclesial sensibilities. The problem is varied, but it centers on a lack of understanding both the nature of the Christian life as it relates to our fellowship and responsibility with each other in the church, and it relates to our misunderstanding of sin and the nature and demands of sanctification in the context of the church. Hopefully we can help this some today in this passage.