Church Discipline 1 Corinthians 5:1-13

Introduction

If you’ve ever dealt with mold in your home, you know how dangerous it can be. You might not see it at first—just a little speck in the corner. But if it’s not addressed, it grows. It spreads into the walls, under the floors, and into the air you breathe. What started small becomes destructive. Sin in the church works the same way.

In 1 Corinthians 5, Paul writes to a church that was ignoring a serious spiritual problem—one so disturbing that even the unbelieving world was shocked by it. A man in the church was living in open, immoral sin, and instead of mourning, the church was boasting. They thought they were being gracious, tolerant, and open-minded. But Paul saw the truth: they were compromising holiness, and their pride was putting the whole church at risk.

Paul doesn’t pull punches. With strong words and clear direction, he teaches us a critical truth: Church discipline is not optional. It’s necessary. Necessary to preserve the purity of the church. Necessary to protect the witness of the church. And ultimately, necessary to restore the sinner to fellowship with Christ and His people.

In this chapter, we’re going to see three truths about dealing with sin in the body of Christ:

Blatant sin must not be ignored – it must be exposed and addressed.

Prideful tolerance brings judgment – sin spreads when left unchecked.

A purging of sin is necessary – for the good of the church and the restoration of the sinner.

This is not a comfortable topic—but it’s a biblical one. And when handled God’s way, church discipline doesn’t end in destruction. It ends in repentance, healing, and restoration. Let’s walk through this text together and learn how God calls His church to pursue purity in love.

Blatant sin exposed in the church vs. 1-2

Paul begins by reminding them that the world is watching the church

The sin that was in the church wasn’t hidden, but very public in nature

Paul told them “It is recorded commonly”

The sin exposed

There was someone in the church that was committing fornication with his fathers wife

This type of sin was condemned by the Old Testament law as well as the laws of the Gentile nations

Leviticus 18:6-8; 20:11

Paul told them that even the unsaved gentiles don’t practice this type of sin

That is a crazy idea that the sins of this church embarrassed the unsaved gentiles of their day

Ephesians 5:3 “3 But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints;”

The sins of the church can destroy the Lords testimony in a community as it did here

The churches response to sin

Davids response to his sin with Bathsheba

2 Samuel 12:1-7- Turn

Psalm 51:1–4 “1 Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: According unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, And cleanse me from my sin. 3 For I acknowledge my transgressions: And my sin is ever before me. 4 Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, And done this evil in thy sight: That thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, And be clear when thou judgest.”

Notice righteous anger and repentance are the response of David

Notice the response of the church at Corinth

They were puffed up, and they did not mourn over there sin

Instead of being repentant of their sin, they were puffed up in pride

One commentary said “They were boasting of the fact that their church was so “open-minded” that even fornicators could be members in good standing.”

The last phrase tells us that the fornicator was still a part of the church.

Application: When sin is exposed, we should repent of that sin. As a church, when someone is in blatant sin, we must practice church discipline (Galatians 6:1–2 “1 Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. 2 Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.” ), but remember the goal is not to cut them off, but rather restore them to the fold.

Pride brings judgement vs. 3-5

Paul starts by telling them, he’s not there and he is already judging the man for the sin he committed

Remember we aren’t supposed to judge another’s motives

Matthew 7:1–5 “1 Judge not, that ye be not judged. 2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. 3 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? 4 Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? 5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.”

And we are not to judge another’s ministry that is preaching the Gospel

1 Corinthians 4:5 “5 Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.”

We should be honest about each others conduct though

Remember Matthew 18 is where Jesus gave the procedures for church discipline

You go to the brother and show him his fault if he doesn’t listen or respond you bring two witnesses, and if he still doesn’t respond or repent, you bring him before the church, with the goal being restoration, but if he still doesn’t respond he is excluded from the church.

I don’t know anyone who enjoys church discipline, but it is given by God in the scriptures to keep his church pure and matter how uncomfortable it is for us, if it is necessary we must do it

The church was to gather together and expel the offender. Note the strong words that Paul used to instruct them: “taken away from among you” (1 Cor. 5:2), “deliver such an one unto Satan” (1 Cor. 5:5), “purge out” (1 Cor. 5:7), and “put away” (1 Cor. 5:13). Paul did not suggest that they handle the offender gently. Of course, we assume that first the spiritual leaders of the church sought to restore the man personally.

Paul tells them to deliver such a one unto Satan

What does it mean to deliver a Christian “unto Satan”? It does not mean to deprive him of salvation, since it is not the church that grants salvation to begin with.

Wiersbe describes it this way “When a Christian is in fellowship with the Lord and with the local church, he enjoys a special protection from Satan. But when he is out of fellowship with God and excommunicated from the local church, he is “fair game” for the enemy. God could permit Satan to attack the offender’s body so that the sinning believer would repent and return to the Lord.”

A purging of sin is necessary vs. 6-13

They were glorying in the wrong things

They were glorying as the most inclusive church, rather than seeing that as a sin

Paul reminds them that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump

He wrote the same thing to the church of Galatia

In verse 7 he brings them back to the old testament passover

Before the passover began the Israelites were instructed to remove all of the leaven from their house

Exodus 12:15 “15 Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread; even the first day ye shall put away leaven out of your houses: for whosoever eateth leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel.”

Jesus is the Lamb of God who shed His blood to deliver us from sin (John 1:29; 1 Peter 1:18–25). The Jews in Egypt were delivered from death by the application of the blood of the lamb. Following the application of the blood, the Jewish families ate the Passover supper. One of the requirements was that no yeast (leaven) be found anywhere in their dwellings. Even the bread at the feast was to be unleavened.

Leaven is a picture of sin. It is small but powerful; it works secretly; it “puffs up” the dough; it spreads. The sinning church member in Corinth was like a piece of yeast: He was defiling the entire loaf of bread (the congregation).

Paul had already written them another letter about this same thing, it seems from the wording of verse 9

He told them not to company with fornicators

He distinguishes it though

There is a difference between the world and the church when it comes to sin, we can’t expect sinners to act like saints, but we also shouldn’t allow saints to act as sinners

Christians are not to be isolated, but separated. We cannot avoid contact with sinners, but we can avoid contamination by sinners.

Notice in verse 11 he tells them not to keep company with a brother that is in habitual sin

If a professed Christian is guilty of the sins named here, the church must deal with him. Individual members are not to “company” with him (1 Cor. 5:9—“get mixed up with, associate intimately”). They are not to eat with him, which could refer to private hospitality or more likely the public observance of the Lord’s Supper (1 Cor. 11:23–34).

He ends by telling the church that if the Christian caught in sin doesn’t repent than they are to be put out of the church

2 Cor 2 tells us that this man did repent

"Paul’s goal was never punishment—it was purity. But the beautiful outcome is that this man did repent, and in 2 Corinthians 2, Paul tells the church to forgive and restore him. This is the full circle of church discipline: purity, accountability, and—by God’s grace—restoration."

Conclusion

Church discipline is never easy. It’s uncomfortable. It’s emotional. And if mishandled, it can be deeply damaging. But when done biblically—with truth, humility, and love—it reflects the very heart of God.

Paul wasn’t writing to crush the sinner or embarrass the church. He wrote to preserve the purity of Christ’s bride and to urge them toward something greater than tolerance: transformation. The goal was never punishment—it was repentance. And by God’s grace, it worked. In 2 Corinthians 2, Paul tells the church to welcome this man back, to forgive him, to comfort him, and to confirm their love toward him. That's the full picture of church discipline: correction that leads to restoration.

Let’s remember this: the church is not a museum for saints—it’s a hospital for sinners. But even a hospital has to keep its environment clean, or the very place meant for healing becomes a place of infection.

If we want the power of God in our churches, we must take holiness seriously—not harshly, but humbly. Not with pride, but with grief over sin and a deep desire to see one another walking in the truth.

So, what should we do?

If you’re a believer caught in sin: don’t hide it. Don’t justify it. Repent—and let the grace of God restore you.

If you’re aware of sin in someone else's life: go to them in love and truth. Not to shame them, but to win them back.

As a church: let’s be a place of grace and truth. A place where sin is not excused, but neither is the sinner abandoned.

Because church discipline, when done God’s way, protects the flock, purifies the church, and—most importantly—points us back to the gospel, where Jesus bore our sin to make us holy.

Let us be faithful to His Word, and let us love one another enough to say the hard things, for the sake of the purity of Christ’s church—and the joy of seeing sinners restored.