A Holy People
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Introduction
I would like to invite you to look with me at 1 Corinthians chapter 5 this morning. We have taken a few weeks off from our study through this book as we considered the dangers of the message referred to as the prosperity gospel.
The first four chapters of which dealt with the problem of division, and the lack of unity in the church of Corinth, based upon polarizing ministry personalities.
Paul is writing to the assembly of God (the church) in Corinth, and he has been urging them to consider what God has done to bring them together in Christ, and to begin living like that was a reality.
In this passage, we switch gears slightly, as Paul deals with a different problem. A problem still stemming from their own pride. And a problem threatening the health and life of this young congregation.
It’s the problem of unchecked, public sin. This is a problem, because God’s called out ones whom He has gathered together, is “A Holy People.”
I was going to divide this chapter up into at least 2 sermons, but the more time I spent in it, the more I wanted to take it as a whole unit. So we’ll look at verses 1-13 this morning.
Let’s read our text...
1 It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans, for a man has his father’s wife.
2 And you are arrogant! Ought you not rather to mourn? Let him who has done this be removed from among you.
3 For though absent in body, I am present in spirit; and as if present, I have already pronounced judgment on the one who did such a thing.
4 When you are assembled in the name of the Lord Jesus and my spirit is present, with the power of our Lord Jesus,
5 you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.
6 Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?
7 Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.
8 Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, 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 sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world.
11 But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one.
12 For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge?
13 God judges those outside. “Purge the evil person from among you.”
1 It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans, for a man has his father’s wife.
2 And you are arrogant! Ought you not rather to mourn? Let him who has done this be removed from among you.
3 For though absent in body, I am present in spirit; and as if present, I have already pronounced judgment on the one who did such a thing.
4 When you are assembled in the name of the Lord Jesus and my spirit is present, with the power of our Lord Jesus,
5 you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.
6 Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?
7 Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.
8 Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, 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 sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world.
11 But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one.
12 For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge?
13 God judges those outside. “Purge the evil person from among you.”
Thursday marked the 502nd anniversary of Martin Luther nailing his 95 Theses to the door of the castle church in Wittenburg. His 95 arguments were against the corruption of the Roman Catholic church, which many believe truly started the Protestant Reformation. After God further opened Luther’s eyes, his arguments would eventually turn more towards the false gospel that Rome propagated, instead of merely the corrupt political system it had become.
But it was Luther who is credited for saying,““You are not only responsible for what you say, but also for what you do not say.”
That quote connects perfectly with the passage before us, because it was the silence of the Corinthians that was being rebuked.
In our day, individualism has crept into the church and has in many circles, all but taken over. It’s the idea that I have MY walk with God, and you have yours. I don’t judge you, you don’t judge me, and we’ll all just get along until the end.
Believers attending the same church can be deeply entrenched in sin, yet the response from others is something like, “It’s not my place to judge.”
Or worse, they use it as an advertisement to others to invite them by saying, “We don’t judge each other at our church.”
Luther led the charge, in danger of his own life, to see the church return to the Word of God it had so long abandoned. Yet we are far too often afraid to hold each other accountable, because it dangers our comfort.
The church in Corinth was riddled with individualism, leaving them divided and factionalized. Their own pride and boastfulness over their status led to a blase attitude towards sin within the congregation.
But Paul stresses here, that a local church is to be passionate about its purity, for the glory of God, even to the extent of judging persistent sinning members as unworthy of ongoing Christian fellowship.
And of course, that is what I hope you and I are able to see today as well.
WE HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY TO PRESERVE THE PURITY OF THE LOCAL CHURCH
Now, the way Paul goes about teaching this is threefold, and I want to give it to you in sentence form, and take it in 3 points, to help us remember.
Paul teaches us our responsibility to preserve the purity of the church this way:
Church Discipline, helps preserve Church Holiness, among Church Members, for God’s glory.
Now that last point, for God’s glory, will be considered in each of the other 3 points. So your 3 points this morning begins with...
1. Church Discipline
1. Church Discipline
Church
Church
1 It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans, for a man has his father’s wife.
1 It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans, for a man has his father’s wife.
1 It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans, for a man has his father’s wife.
1 Corinthians 5:
1 It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans, for a man has his father’s wife.
2 And you are arrogant! Ought you not rather to mourn? Let him who has done this be removed from among you.
So this is the sin…a man seems to be involved in a sexual way, with his stepmother
Remember the promiscuity and rampant sexual sins we said abounded in Corinth? Well, even Corinth didn’t approve of this
Both the Law of God, and the Roman Law, condemned this practice
Yet, here is a person listed as a member, as one belonging to the ekklesia, the assembly, the Church of God in Corinth, who is practicing such a thing
The issue Paul takes though, is not first of all with this individual....but with the church’s response to this sin
2 And you are arrogant! Ought you not rather to mourn? Let him who has done this be removed from among you.
2 And you are arrogant! Ought you not rather to mourn? Let him who has done this be removed from among you.
You have become arrogant. Shouldn’t you rather have mourned over this sin, so that the one who has done this would be REMOVED from you?
Well now we see Paul’s point clearly, this person must be removed from those who are members of this church.
The Corinthian believer’s fleshly way of living, has caused not only division in their ranks…but it has also caused them to remain puffed up and arrogant when gross and obvious sin is among them.
Notice then, what Paul says next....
3 For though absent in body, I am present in spirit; and as if present, I have already pronounced judgment on the one who did such a thing.
In his apostolic authority, Paul tells this young church in Corinth, that he has already passed a judgement upon him. And he will tell the Corinthian church what to do....but notice, that he doesn’t do it for them.
This local church, is responsible for its own discipline, by God’s grace and the enabling power of the presence of Jesus, or the Spirit of Christ, the Holy Spirit.
4 When you are assembled in the name of the Lord Jesus and my spirit is present, with the power of our Lord Jesus,
Paul is saying, “Although I’m not there physically, I’m with you spiritually. And remember this also, the Lord Jesus and His power is with you as well.”
What could he mean by that?
Well, he seems to certainly be drawing from some OT imagery for one
But to me, there is no clearer of a cross reference to what Paul is saying, outside of the words of Jesus Himself, in
15 “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother.
16 But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses.
17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.
18 Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
15 “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother.
16 But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses.
17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.
18 Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
19 Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.
20 For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”
Verses 18-20, is quoted and applied in many ways that often have nothing to do with church discipline. But Jesus is saying, when you gather as a church to excommune one....to send one out of the church....I’m with you.
You are not acting in your own name or authority, the Lord of the church rules and reigns upon the earth through the church, by His Word.
Paul is telling this young congregation the same thing. That when they are assembled, when the whole church comes together for the gathering, to make this tough decision about this professing Christian persisting in open sinfulness, they are to do so knowing that the Lord Jesus is with them. And then...
5 you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.
5 you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.
6 Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?
There are a few interpretations for this verse, but I think it’s most fitting with the context, especially the manner in which Paul has been using the term “flesh,” to see this as saying, “Excommunicate this sinning member, so that prayerfully, when he’s turned away from the church’s protection, and Satan has free reign upon him, that it will bring sense back to him, his fleshly nature will be destroyed, and he will come back in order to receive the salvation in “the day of the Lord.”
(Day of the Lord being the day when He returns to bring His judgement upon the earth)
This seems to be the way in which he is using this phrase in his letter to Timothy
1 Timothy 2:20
20 among whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme.
20 among whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme.
In other words, excommunication is not a way to punish....but a way to work towards reconciliation and restoration to the church.
So, Paul says to the Corinthians, you ought to be broken hearted over the sin in this congregation. And you ought to be removing the sinning member from your number.
Apply
What you and I must realize as well, is that we have the same responsibility here.
And…we must also realize, that church discipline doesn’t begin with, excommunication.
Church discipline is what is taking place when you call a brother to see why they missed church and ask if they’re ok.
Church discipline is what is taking place when you stay after service to talk with a sister who is struggling in her spiritual disciplines.
Church discipline is what is taking place when young people are being warned about the dangers of pornography and the wickedness abounding in the world they currently live.
But never forget dear Christian, that you are responsible to give....and receive, church discipline.
For those of you who are members of this church, let me remind you of this line in our church covenant with one another:
“We will be devoted to one another in brotherly love, with humility and gentleness we will patiently bear with each other, forgiving, encouraging and building one another up, exercising watchfulness over each other and admonishing one another when necessary.”
That is our Lord’s commands for His church…that’s what we must be. For the sake of His reputation in our area, for HIS glory…we must practice healthy church discipline.
2. Church Holiness
2. Church Holiness
2. Church Holiness
2. Church Holiness
Church discipline is not arbitrary and it’s not aimless. It’s not based upon traditions of men elevated to the status of the commands of God, whereby individuals become police officers for the church.
We are to practice church discipline, because the church belongs to a holy God, and we are to be a HOLY people.
6 Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?
6 Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?
7 Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.
8 Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
Leaven, is similar to yeast in its causing bread to rise. It is that which was rolled up and left to ferment so that it could be used in bread.
Feast of Unleavened Bread
Here, Paul begins to draw their attention back to the OT, and a festival known as the Feast of Unleavened Bread. A seven day feast connected with the Passover.
Paul is saying that was an illustration as to how sin needs to be removed from the church.
during which time Israel would eat unleavened bread only. All leaven would be removed from the house, the breads, etc.
The Passover Lamb was sacrificed, and then Israel would spend a week eating unleavened bread only. All leaven would be removed from the house, the breads, etc.
It was a reminder of their bitterness in Egypt, as well as the deliverance God worked when the destroyer (death Angel) passed over the places where the blood of the lamb was applied, yet killed the firstborn of every other home.
This illustration of a little leaven, spreading throughout the whole lump, or the whole loaf, making it now a “leavened lump,” is one that Paul uses elsewhere
9 A little leaven leavens the whole lump.
Jesus also tells His disciples to beware the leaven of the Pharisees, by which He meant their teaching.
Leaven is an illustration for sin or wickedness in general
Leaven was to be removed from the OT homes entirely during this feast....and Paul is saying that was an illustration as to how sin needs to be removed from the church, since the church (AND THIS POINT IS CRUCIAL AND BEAUTIFUL)...is in a perpetual state of celebrating the new and improved Feast of Unleavened Bread.... ever since our Passover Lamb has died.
He doesn’t die annually, as the old Feast of Unleavened Bread…But He has died once, and ushered us into a “Feast of Unleavened Bread,” that will never end.
Notice how he brings this out....
7 Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.
7 Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.
8 Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
7 Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.
8 Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
Cleanse out the old leaven (do away with this sinning member).
So Paul says, “you are new…you are unleavened.”
Why? Because you are a new lump, an unleavened lump....you’re not trying to become a new lump, you are one. And you are one, because Christ OUR Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.
So then, carry on your perpetual feast without malice and evil, but with sincerity and truth.
Holiness is not just a concept for the individuals present to be concerned about in their personal lives. Holiness is also something to be considered congregationaly.
Apply
It’s strange isn’t it? How when we hear the word “holiness,” or our responsibility to pursue holiness, we almost exclusively think of it in individualistic terms.
We begin to think about our own lives, how well we’re doing in our struggle against sin. And it’s certainly good and biblical to constantly examine ourselves as individuals.
But when our Lord, through the Apostle’s pen, is calling the church of Corinth to holiness....He is calling them to communal holiness.
That means, that not only are we concerned about our struggle with sin…but we’re concerned with every other person around us who has covenanted in membership together, and their struggle with sin.
Brothers and sisters, take your fellow church members’ sins personally. By God’s grace, may you and I be greatly moved by them, and moved to do something about them.
I’m not advocating for a spirit of fundamentalism that causes us to be haughty and police each others’ lives (how much time did you spend in prayer this week sir?)
But I am advocating for a zeal for God’s glory that will move us to action when sin is present…even if that action is crying out to God in secret to begin with.
Remember, the story of Achan in the OT?
The Children of Israel defeat Jericho, but are told NOT to take any treasures
Achan is tempted, and he takes
Israel goes up to fight a small nation’s army....and is defeated. They have to retreat
When Joshua cries out to God for the reason He didn’t come to help in battle, our Lord responds, “There is sin in the camp.” God didn’t go to battle for ISRAEL, because one family in Israel had rebelled.
You may say, “Well that’s the Old Testament, God doesn’t work with nations as a whole like that anymore.”
And to some degree, you’d be right. However, He does work that way, or at least similar, in local churches
This text is proof positive.
Paul is saying, you are to be offering up a pure feast before the Lord, since Christ, the Passover Lamb has died and made you an unleavened lump. It’s not as if Bill is celebrating in his own celebration over here in the corner, and Jill is over there in her corner....no you all, as a whole, as the ekklesia, as the church…are to celebrate without leaven…which is what you are.
Communal holiness, is a BIG DEAL. In the OT, God brought swift judgement on His people for violating these commands…it is similar in the NT as well. We are ONE in our gathering.
That is the reason here, when you hear people leading in prayer during the service, they won’t be saying, “I,” they will be saying, “we.” Because WE are offering it up together.
That’s why the prayer of confession is offered, it’s offered with “We are failing you in this area.” Not because we believe every member here is definitely failing in this area, but because we believe if ONE of those who are members here are sinning in this area, then COVENANT COMMUNITY CHURCH is sinning in that area, and we confess it before God and ask for His grace so that we would have repentance.
WE HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY TO PRESERVE THE PURITY OF THE LOCAL CHURCH.
Church discipline, helps preserve Church Holiness....among, our third point....
3. Church Members
3. Church Members
3. Church Members
9 I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people—
10 not at all meaning the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world.
This is a key negative statement he makes in verse 10
9 I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people—
10 not at all meaning the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world.
11 But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one.
12 For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge?
13 God judges those outside. “Purge the evil person from among you.”
He has written some letter to them prior to this, telling them to not associate with sexually immoral people
But he clarifies by saying, he wasn’t talking about the sexually immoral people of the world…or others of the world carrying different descriptions.
If they were to cease all associations with immoral people NOT in the church, then they would need to leave earth to do so.
So what was he referring to?
11 But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one.
12 For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge?
13 God judges those outside. “Purge the evil person from among you.”
1 Corinthians 5:
Verse 13, that “purge the evil person from among you,” is language once again tied to the OT. IT comes from . And it tells us something about our passage, that seems to be lacking in much of Christianity today.
Both in the OT and in the NT, those who were in the Covenant Community and those who were not, were able to be clearly identified.
There was a clear list of “insiders,” that were easily distinguished from “outsiders.” It’s not just, “whoever attends regularly to the services,” no it’s, “whoever puts themselves under the authority of that particular local church, submitting to the elders and participating together in the sacraments…in other words, for our day, it’s the idea of church membership.
In fact, it’s really impossible to practice church discipline, unless you know with certainty, a list of those who is to receive it, or from whom you are to receive it.
Those within the church, are those who “bear the name of brother,” as Paul said in verse 11. And if one of those is living in the manner listed there, then Paul says, “Do not associate with them…in fact, don’t even eat with them.”
What does Paul here mean?
He means, that those who are clearly marked off as members of your local church, who are involved in those public, blatant, sinful practices…who refuse to heed the rebuke of the church and are expelled from membership (primarily barring them from partaking of the Lord’s Supper with the church....barring them from being a participant in the perpetual Feast of Unleavened Bread), they cannot be any longer treated as if they are a brother.
You cannot simply maintain fellowship with them, as if all is well
No, as our Lord said in , we treat them as an unbeliever
That doesn’t mean cut off all contact…but it does mean our contact will be different.
Paul makes clear again, the distinction between those outside the church, and those inside the church.
Now, we have churches on every corner it seems. So this line of thinking immediately raises 2 questions that should probably be answered.
1)How does this apply to me and my family/coworkers/friends who claim to be Christian, live contrary to that claim, but do not go to the same church as me?
The short answer is, I don’t really know.
What I do know is this....it probably at least gives you the parameters for a conversation to be had with them when the time is right
“What do you mean when you say you’re a Christian, since so many seem to have a different meaning for that today?”
And then, you can say, “I’m certainly not perfect, but I’ve noticed you’ve been talking a lot about relationships you are having with individuals, and you are not yet married, and I’m just encouraging you as a brother in Christ, to stop this. Look at this verse with me.”
It may even afford you the opportunity to call their pastor
It DEFINITELY provides the Scriptural reasons as to why you cannot openly affirm them as your brother or sister in Christ.
The second question that immediately comes to mind…or at least I hope it does for those not INSIDE the church:
2)How does one get INSIDE the church?
If you’re here, and you’re not a Christian, let me say, I’m so glad you’re here
And we want you to come back every week. But please understand me…we have no problem telling you we’re hoping you become a true Christian
All of us are sinners; all of us deserve hell. But God has saved US by His grace. That’s why we’re here celebrating in His work on our behalf.
He did so, by sending Jesus, who lived perfectly, yet suffered a death as if He was guilty of every sin.
He suffered that way, because in God’s mysterious plan, He took our sins and placed them upon Jesus and allowed Him to take our punishment for us.
He then died, He was buried, and God proved that the sacrifice of Jesus’ life in our place was successful by raising Jesus bodily from the dead on the 3rd day.
Now…RIGHT NOW....if you would just turn from your sin and trust fully that He did all that for YOU…God will save you!
You will be INSIDE the church. You will be IN the body of Christ…you will be one with Christ, at peace with God, and have hope of eternal life in glory. Do so today dear sinner…repent and believe the gospel.
But that’s not where it stops
18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
For all those who repent and trust in Christ, what you do then is baptism.
Baptism is an act of obedience on your part. It is a public profession of your faith in Christ to the rest of the world. It is also God’s visible sign to you concerning what took place within you when you were identified with Christ.
And I bring it up here, for this reason......It is also, your visible entrance into the visible church. The whole church is witness, and joins together to give God’s sign to the person being baptized to say, “You are in Christ. And you’re now with us.”
That is yet another reason why we stress so strongly the importance of church membership. Because a local church is a group of baptized individuals covenanting together as one, led by gifted elders, under the authority of the Word of God.
For how can you judge those “inside the church,” if you don’t know for sure WHO they are?
Church membership is far more than on which role your name appears. Church membership identifies the group of people for whom you will most give an account on how you fulfilled your role in their lives, and allowed them to fulfill their role in yours.
Conclusion
Corinth knew who belonged there, they were simply unwilling to fulfill their role in their lives. May we not be guilty of the same.
May you and I be clear on who it is we are responsible for, and who we’re not.
May you and I understand that we have a responsibility for personal holiness.
May you and I understand that we have a responsibility for communal holiness. That we are called upon to preserve, by God’s grace, the purity of the local church.
We do so by Church Discipline, which helps protect Church Holiness, among Church members, for God’s glory!
As Paul said, after all, Christ our Passover Lamb has been sacrificed. Therefore, we should purge ourselves of sin in the camp, and celebrate an ongoing feast, celebrating the Lord who saved us from the wrath to come by sealing our pardon with His blood! Hallelujah! What a Savior!