7. How NOT to be a Corinthian! 1 Corinthians 5

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Stand with me as we open our worship with scripture this morning. This is not the typical celebratory Psalm we usually read, but I will tie it into our sermon later. It is important to remember that God understands and responds to all our emotions. There are times we grieve, times we struggle with conviction, times when we are victorious and times when we are just plain fatigued. Today’s Psalm is a lament.

Psalm 88:1-9

Opening Scripture:

Psalm 88:1–9 NIV

1 Lord, you are the God who saves me; day and night I cry out to you. 2 May my prayer come before you; turn your ear to my cry. 3 I am overwhelmed with troubles and my life draws near to death. 4 I am counted among those who go down to the pit; I am like one without strength. 5 I am set apart with the dead, like the slain who lie in the grave, whom you remember no more, who are cut off from your care. 6 You have put me in the lowest pit, in the darkest depths. 7 Your wrath lies heavily on me; you have overwhelmed me with all your waves. 8 You have taken from me my closest friends and have made me repulsive to them. I am confined and cannot escape; 9 my eyes are dim with grief. I call to you, Lord, every day; I spread out my hands to you.

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Worship Through the Word:

How NOT to be a Corinthian!

10,000 Sermon Illustrations The Eagle

The Eagle

An American Indian tells about a brave who found an eagle’s egg and put it into the nest of a prairie chicken. The eaglet hatched with the brood of chicks and grew up with them.

All his life, the changeling eagle, thinking he was a prairie chicken, did what the prairie chickens did. He scratched in the dirt for seeds and insects to eat. He clucked and cackled. And he flew in a brief thrashing of wings and flurry of feathers no more than a few feet off the ground. After all, that’s how prairie chickens were supposed to fly.

Years passed. And the changeling eagle grew very old. One day, he saw a magnificent bird far above him in the cloudless sky. Hanging with graceful majesty on the powerful wind currents, it soared with scarcely a beat of its strong golden wings.

“What a beautiful bird!” said the changeling eagle to his neighbor. “What is it?”

“That’s an eagle—the chief of the birds,” the neighbor clucked. “But don’t give it a second thought. You could never be like him.”

So the changeling eagle never gave it another thought. And it died thinking it was a prairie chicken.

The Pursuit of Excellence, Ted W. Engstrom, 1982, Zondervan Corporation, pp. 15-16

When we are saved, we are called to live our lives by a higher calling. We are called to live as the children of God. We are the prince and princesses in God’s kingdom as that is what God has ordained us to be. However, when we continue to live by the standards of our old life, when we do not take up the new holy living He offers us, we are like eagles living like prairie chickens.

If in that tale someone had told that eagle that he was wrong and that he was actually born to be different, and then put him outside the camp, how might his life been different. Perhaps he would have had a chance to spread his wings and fly high above. The vast sky would have provided such freedom after his earthly existence.

The Corinthian Church was missing out on the blessings and freedom that God had for them because they were still living the old life. Unless someone was willing to confront them and help them to see it, they would never experience the better life they had been promised.

Last week, we wrapped up the first issue causing division in the church. It was a long and intense subject as Paul needed to put an end to their idolization of teachers and re-establish his own authority among them. However that was not the only issue causing division. Today we move to the second issue and we find that there is sin in the camp.

1 Corinthians 5 NIV

1 It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that even pagans do not tolerate: A man is sleeping with his father’s wife. 2 And you are proud! Shouldn’t you rather have gone into mourning and have put out of your fellowship the man who has been doing this? 3 For my part, even though I am not physically present, I am with you in spirit. As one who is present with you in this way, I have already passed judgment in the name of our Lord Jesus on the one who has been doing this. 4 So when you are assembled and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present, 5 hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord. 6 Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough? 7 Get rid of the old yeast, so that you may be a new unleavened batch—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. 8 Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old bread leavened with malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. 9 I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people—10 not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. 11 But now I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. Do not even eat with such people. 12 What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? 13 God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked person from among you.”

The Word of God for the people of God. Thanks be to God!

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I.  Dealing with Sin in the Church  1 Corinthians 5

Confrontation is difficult. No one enjoys it, not even those who handle it well. It is very uncomfortable. However, it is necessary if there is to be change. Paul didn’t like it anymore than anyone else does. When we do confront, we much prefer it to be in a gentle and soft way. Paul voices the desire to do the same.

1 Corinthians 4:21 NIV

21 What do you prefer? Shall I come to you with a rod of discipline, or shall I come in love and with a gentle spirit?

If you had more than one child, you probably understand what Paul is saying here. Some children are very gentle in nature. It is their desire to do right and when confronted, you can speak gentle words of reproof and they will cry and repent making every effort to change. However, there are others that no matter how you approach them, their backs stiffen and they dig in their heels for a fight. But if you love them, you continue to confront them for their own good because you know if they continue in the path they are on, they will only cause themselves great harm.

This is a lesson that the Corinthians needed to learn and it is a lesson we need to learn today as well. Today’s subject is a great bone of contention in our churches today. There are a lot of good things about our nation but there is one big stronghold for Satan to use against us. We love our independence! We are a proud people. That is not a totally bad thing but it often goes too far because it leads us to not appreciate any kind of correction. Especially in our day, people want to do what they want when they want, and they do not want anyone to tell them it is wrong! They completely miss that sometimes correction reveals just how much they are loved. And for others who refuse to give correction, they need to see that their arguments for not doing so, also hurt those they say they love.

As Paul changes gears from the previous issue over teachers, he now announces the second issue that has come to his attention. This one is even more shocking than the first.

A. Sin is Being Allowed in the Church. 1 Corinthians 5:1-2

1 Corinthians 5:1–2 NIV

1 It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that even pagans do not tolerate: A man is sleeping with his father’s wife. 2 And you are proud! Shouldn’t you rather have gone into mourning and have put out of your fellowship the man who has been doing this?

Paul is shocked that they have tolerated this. To show how bad this is he makes it clear that even those who aren’t Christians would find this behavior despicable, yet the Corinthians have turned a blind eye to it. Even today with our much looser morals, it is found intolerable for a son to have a sexual relationship with his father’s wife.

What even makes it worse is that the Corinthians are PROUD of their actions. This may be shocking but you would be surprised to find out that this same attitude exists in some churches today. What is their excuse? They call it love. They pour their love and attention on these people working hard to make them feel welcome and accepted. Then they pat themselves on the back for being willing to overlook their sin in the name of love.

However, that kind of love condemns people to hell. It is not love, it is refusal to accept that their are consequences to sin. This often comes from the same people who refuse to accept that God’s Word states there will be judgement. They often say, “Oh, I do not believe that a God of love would ever send anyone to hell.” They obviously do not believe God’s Word because the Bible if full of examples of God acting in judgement against sin as well as words of prophetic announcements of a coming judgement day.

If God is a God of love, how can He not judge. To not judge would condemn us all to live under the rule of sin and the pain it brings. Our hope is in God’s final judgement because we know all pain and suffering will then end.

When Paul addresses the issue with the Corinthians...

B. Paul Reveals the Fallacy of Their Response. 1 Corinthians 5:3-11

The first thing Paul reveals is that...

1. They are damaging the reputation of Christ and the church. 1 Corinthians 5:1, 3

1 Corinthians 5:1 NIV

1 It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that even pagans do not tolerate: A man is sleeping with his father’s wife.

1 Corinthians 5:3 NIV

3 For my part, even though I am not physically present, I am with you in spirit. As one who is present with you in this way, I have already passed judgment in the name of our Lord Jesus on the one who has been doing this.

The Church [God’s people] are a representation of Jesus Christ. When a church allows someone with such obvious sin to continue to associate among them, they bring condemnation upon Jesus and the greater Church at large. Christ gave His life to eradicate sin and yet they have opened their arms wide open to it. This is an insult to Christ and His Church.

Another issue is that...

2. It condemns the sinner to later judgement. 1 Corinthians 5:5

1 Corinthians 5:5 NIV

5 hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord.

As long as they receive this man as if he is doing no wrong, he has no reason to change. However, if he is put out from their congregation, he has to make a choice. Hopefully he will come to accept that his behavior is wrong and he will try to change it.

Think of it this way. When your child is little and wants to play in the street, you punish them when they disobey you because you want to prevent the natural consequence of them being hit by a car at some later time. You hope they will receive the punishment recognizing that you do it because you love them and are protecting them. However, if you are afraid they will get mad at you and you allow them to continue, sooner or later they will be hit by a car. It is better to have their wrath today and their love and understanding later.

The real truth is that...

3. Their tolerance isn’t love but selfishness. 1 Corinthians 5:6

1 Corinthians 5:6 NIV

6 Your boasting is not good...

They are more concerned with what they feel is their good works than they are what is best for the man. They say it is all in the name of love, but it is love of self, not love for the man.

If people doing the same thing today were truly honest with themselves, I believe they would find the same is true of them. There are two reasons why most reject confrontation.

Insecurity is one. They fear rejection, so they seek to please others at all costs.

Another reason is that confrontation makes them uncomfortable. It isn’t fun so they avoid it.

Both of those responses are actions of selfishness, not love for another person. But Paul then reveals that the sinful man will not suffer alone as Paul reveals the last fallacy of their behavior.

4. Eventually his sin will corrupt the whole church. 1 Corinthians 5:6-8

1 Corinthians 5:6–8 NIV

6 Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough? 7 Get rid of the old yeast, so that you may be a new unleavened batch—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. 8 Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old bread leavened with malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

Paul draws on the illustration of the Passover. Part of the Passover tradition was that they were to clear their houses of all yeast. This was even made into a game so the children were involved. The children would go all through the house with a small broom and pan. They would seek any yeast they could find (small quantities were always left behind for the children to find) and it was then swept it into the pan and thrown outdoors.

Yeast always represented sin. As you know, yeast quickly ferments. It is the fermentation that causes the bread to rise. It also eventually causes the bread to mold. Once the mold begins, it quickly spreads throughout the whole loaf. In fact, it can sour the taste even before it turns the whole loaf green. Sin does the same thing to our lives.

When Paul talks about the “old bread” he is talking about their old lives before they were Christians when they responded out of selfish and sinful desires. However, they have now begun a new life and are to be united in spirit, working out of sincerity and truth. Not for selfish reasons but out of love. The same love that Christ had when He willingly laid down His life for others.

With the problem revealed, Paul provides...

C. The Proper Response to Sin in the Church. 1 Corinthians 5:9-13

1 Corinthians 5:9–13 NIV

9 I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people—10 not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. 11 But now I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. Do not even eat with such people. 12 What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? 13 God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked person from among you.”

The instruction that Paul gives the Corinthians is just as appropriate for us today, though we rarely witness it. The first thing Paul teaches is that...

1. There is a difference between how we respond to those outside the church compared with those inside the church. 1 Corinthians 5:9-11

Paul is not calling us to be isolated from people that are not Christians. In fact, our mandate from Jesus (Matthew 28:18-20) is to go out and into ALL the world and share the good news of the gospel. The scriptures also reveal that God’s desire is for all men to be saved.

1 Timothy 2:3–4 NIV

3 This is good, and pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.

2 Peter 3:9 NIV

9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

This could never happen if we were not willing to associate with those who do not believe. We purposely build relationships with people around us with a hope to share the good news of salvation. We should do so out of love and a concern for their eternal disposition. We do not judge them for their sin as we understand that until they know Christ, they do not necessarily fully understand their sin.

However, within the church is a different story.

1 Corinthians 5:11 NIV

11 But now I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. Do not even eat with such people.

Now, this is where we need to get very cautious. First, not everyone who attends a church is a brother or sister. There are times when others come into the church to seek truth. They are seeking God but they have not yet professed any affinity with Christ. In this case, we welcome them providing an opportunity to hear the truth. We also need to be very clear of what that truth is. We are honest with what the Word of God says even when it is not popular.

Our culture doesn’t like hearing that sexual immorality (sex outside of marriage and outside God’s intended design and purpose) or various other things they may be doing are wrong. The reason they don’t like it is because it makes them feel uncomfortable. That uncomfortable feeling is called conviction. It is the Holy Spirit revealing to them the sin in their lives. However, it is that feeling that leads them to discover God! If we are unwilling to preach those things, we are not serving our purpose. They have no chance of repenting and finding God’s will for their lives and the freedom from sin that it brings.

However, when a person is in our midst professing to be saved, yet they are still committing blatant sin, we must take disciplinary action. Especially if this person is a member of the church. When someone joins the church in membership, they are covenanting with the church body to be faithful to the Word of God and doctrines of the church. This is important because as we saw earlier a person’s behavior affects the reputation Christ and the whole church body. If they are acting outside of church in ways that are damaging to our reputation, it can hinder us in our ability to be a light of God’s Word in our community.

If you join a church membership, it is important that you understand this. A church should be careful who they accept as members and they should expect members to act in ways accorded with God’s Word.

This is why church membership is a healthy thing. There are various churches today that do not actively push this or require it to be involved in ministry. However, it is a healthy practice for 3 reasons:

It gives you a chance to find out what the church believes and promotes. It helps you understand what is expected of you as a member of the congregation.

It affirms to the pastor and church leadership that you understand what is believed and expected. As leaders, it is expected that we be wise in who we allow to minister in various way in our church or with our church since in doing so, you represent Christ and the Church.

It sets the foundation for healthy accountability practices. How can you call someone to accountability if they didn’t understand the expectations?

As part of the Church, we are no longer an entity unto ourselves. We are part of a corporate body which brings us to Paul’s next point.

2. As part of the Church we become accountable to each other. 1 Corinthians 5:12-13

1 Corinthians 5:12–13 NIV

12 What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? 13 God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked person from among you.”

As I mentioned above, when we join the membership of a local church body, we are joining in covenant. A covenant is a type of agreement between two parties and as such we become accountable to each other for our actions. A marriage is a covenant relationship. Our relationship with God is a covenant relationship. If someone professes a covenant relationship with God, they are then technically in covenant with His Church at large.

Now we all need to be very cautious here. We all have areas of weakness that we are working on. We all struggle with something. One may be struggling with quitting smoking. Another may be struggling with overeating, and yet another with gossiping. We are aware of these and are working to overcome these issues. There are also many things not made real clear in the Bible. We call these discernable matters. One person may be convicted that they shouldn’t watch television while another has no such conviction. We do not want to judge each other on those kinds of things. However, there are very obvious sins and Paul names a few in verse 11; sexually immoral, greedy, idolater, slanderer, drunkard, or swindler. These must be judged and dealt with. The more public the sin, the more public the discipline.

The first step is always to...

a. Begin with prayer and perhaps even fasting.

Prayer always needs to be first. Seek God’s wisdom on who should be a part of the next step and ask for God’s direction for the words to be spoken.

b. Confront the person with love, concern and an opportunity repent.

When Paul rebuked the Corinthians for their “pride” in the situation, he said they should “mourn” or “grief” over the situation. The Greek word used here is the same as to “mourn the death of someone.” It truly is a death as sin leads to death. Our love for this person should cause us to grieve as we understand that they are obviously lost to sin.

c. Even if the person repents, some disciplinary action must be taken including removal from all ministry roles!

If the person repents, the leader(s) should take time to pray and provide a course of action; counseling, a period of time they are removed from any positions held and any other actions they deem necessary and corresponding with the type of offense. In some occasion, no return to ministry roles may be deem necessary. The church leadership should then meet once again and present the actions they feel are required. If the offender is truly repentant, they should accept the actions given.

If the offender does not agree with the disciplinary actions taken, doesn’t carry through with the actions, or they just plain refuse to repent, then Paul makes clear what must be done. He tells us that...

3. The sinner must be expelled from the congregation. 1 Corinthians 5:13

1 Corinthians 5:13 NIV

13 ...“Expel the wicked person from among you.”

In Corinth, this person had been blatantly carrying on for sometime. The opportunity to repent was behind them. It was time for drastic measures.

This type of action often makes people feel uncomfortable. We often see this portrayed on television as harsh and unfeeling. They show it being done in a self-righteous manner and in a way that completely isolates and ignores the person. However, there is another way to do so that is biblical. When it is done correctly, it can bring about a good ending.

a. Expelling someone from the church should always be conducted with love and gentleness. Galatians 6:1-2

When Paul wrote the church in Galatia, he wrote this...

Galatians 6:1–2 NIV

1 Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted. 2 Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

When a person is turned out of the church, it is with the hope of being able to see them restored to the fellowship at a later date. We do not ignore them, but nor do we socialize with them. They become to us like anyone else in the world who is lost and living in sin. We continue to pray and remain open to any counsel they may need or ask for.

b. Expelling them removes them from the protection they gain from the church and protects the church from the infection of sin. 1 Corinthians 5:5, 6

God’s hand is about His church providing protection. This can soften some of the consequences of the sin. It is often the consequences of sin that bring us back to God. When we remove the offender from our presence, they feel the full repercussions of their actions and are more inclined to make things right.

It also prevents the church from suffering more problems due to the sin that is among them. Sin is like yeast. It spreads. The church will suffer when sin is allowed to continue within its walls. God’s hand of protection will begin to be removed as well as the blessings that He gives when we are in tune with His will.

Remember that we are the dwelling place of God. God is holy and unable to look on or associate with sin. Therefore, if we allow sin to remain among us, God will begin to withdraw. The book of Exodus as well as other Old Testament events show us the repercussions of allowing sin to be in the presence of God. The camp was to be kept pure due to God’s dwelling within it. Now the Church is the camp of God. It is our responsibility to keep the camp clean of sin.

c. Be ready receive them back with forgiveness and comfort if they repent. 2 Corinthians 2:6-7

In Corinth that is exactly what happened as Paul shares in 2 Corinthians.

2 Corinthians 2:6–7 NIV

6 The punishment inflicted on him by the majority is sufficient. 7 Now instead, you ought to forgive and comfort him, so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow.

There still needs to be some time before they move back into old ministry roles to prove sincerity. However, they should feel welcomed, loved, and rejoiced over.

Conclusion:

This kind of discipline is not something we face very often, but when it occurs, we need to be quick to pray, be loving in our response, but also willing to carry forth the difficult tasks in as loving a manner as we possibly can.

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