1 CORINTHIANS 5

LAST WEEK

We finished .

Paul concludes his argument against division in the church

Hitting on various points that were causing the church to divide.

From people exalting certain leaders above others

To Christians being entertained by the greatest orators of the greek culture at the expense of the Word of God.

The Corinthian Church had a skewed perspective of what Church leadership should be like

They didn’t understand the headship of Christ, and subsequently, this bad theology messed this church up.

THIS WEEK

We are going to look at a subject that is seen as Taboo.

A lot of people say that we shouldn’t talk about certain subjects in the church.

You can’t talk about PMS . . . Politics, Money, or Sex

But I believe that we can

If all that pertains to life and godliness is included in this text, then I believe we should be able to talk about everything . . .

Today, we will look at the sexually immoral state of the church.

Honestly, I think the

We will see Paul confront some behaviors and give us clarity as to how we should deal with these issues.

QUESTION:

IF YOU WERE A LEADER IN THE CHURCH, HOW WOULD YOU HANDLE SEXUAL IMMORALITY?

TURN TO

1 Corinthians 5 NKJV

1 It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and such sexual immorality as is not even named among the Gentiles—that a man has his father’s wife! 2 And you are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he who has done this deed might be taken away from among you. 3 For I indeed, as absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged (as though I were present) him who has so done this deed. 4 In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together, along with my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, 5 deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. 6 Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? 7 Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. 8 Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. 9 I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people. 10 Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. 11 But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner—not even to eat with such a person. 12 For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside? 13 But those who are outside God judges. Therefore “put away from yourselves the evil person.”

PRAY

1 Corinthians 5:1–2 NKJV

1 It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and such sexual immorality as is not even named among the Gentiles—that a man has his father’s wife! 2 And you are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he who has done this deed might be taken away from among you.

1 CORINTHIANS 5:1-

DO YOU REMEMBER HOW PAUL ENDED CHAPTER 4?

LET US BE REMINDED:

1 Corinthians 4:21 NKJV

21 What do you want? Shall I come to you with a rod, or in love and a spirit of gentleness?

I believe this chapter break compromises Paul’s thought process

:21

He begins to expose the thoughts of the prideful Christian

Some of them were confident that Paul didn’t care about their spiritual health

Paul is like, Yo, I’m on my way

Do you want me to come to you in love and a spirit of gentleness, or should I come with a rod?

WHAT WAS PAUL’S DEAL IN CHAPTER 4? WHY IS HE BEING SO STRICT ON THIS MATTER

IT HAD BEEN REPORTED TO HIM THAT SEXUAL IMMORALITY WAS EXCEPTED IN THE CHURCH

This wasn’t just any kind of sexual immorality

It was something that the unbelieving world saw as evil

Something that wasn’t excepted or seen as normal outside of the church, but something that the church accepted.

SPECIFICALLY, A MAN WAS SLEEPING WITH HIS MOTHER IN LAW

PAUL DOESN’T JUST CALL OUT THE ACTION

BUT HE REVEALS THE REACTION

He says:

Y’all are puffed up

Y’all are arrogant

Walkin’ around like nothing is wrong with this behavior

Instead, you should be mourning the sin of your brother/sister

Friends, one thing that I see wrong with the church today is that we are hurried in our healing process

When we sin

We don’t mourn our actions

We might feel sorry, we may ask for forgiveness

But we don’t mourn our sin

We don’t grieve the damage we’ve done

We want a quick fix without working on the preventative work

Man, I’m telling you, God does such a work in you when you allow the process to play out.

You come to hate that discipline enough to love obedience.

You come to hate that feeling in your gut so much, that you begin to make decisions based on obedience.

This is something that the Corinthian Church didn’t get

They didn’t cherish the growth of the discipline process

They rejected the work that God wanted to do within the bad decisions of their day

Instead they embraced sinful practices instead of removing them from their culture.

SO WHAT SHOULD WE DO WITH ONE WHO IS IN UNREPENTANT SEXUAL SIN?

WHAT DOES THE PROCESS LOOK LIKE IN THIS CASE?

1 Corinthians 5:3–5 NKJV

3 For I indeed, as absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged (as though I were present) him who has so done this deed. 4 In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together, along with my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, 5 deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.

:3-

PAUL GOES OFF

HE SAYS:

THOUGH I MAY BE ABSENT IN THE BODY

I AM PRESENT IN SPIRIT

I HAVE ALREADY JUDGED THIS PERSON WHO HAS DONE THIS DEED, IN THE NAME OF JESUS

BUT I’M GONNA WAIT FOR YOU

TO BE GATHERED WITH ME IN SPIRIT REGARDING THIS MATTER

WHEN YOU KNOW HIS POWER, NOT JUST IN WORD, BUT IN DEED

YOU WILL KNOW THAT IT IS RIGHT FOR YOU TO DELIVER SUCH A ONE TO SATAN FOR THE DESTRUCTION OF THE FLESH

FOR YOU TO DELIVER SUCH A ONE TO SATAN FOR THE DESTRUCTION OF THE FLESH

What does Paul mean?

Is God ok with this?

One of the most complex things in the Bible is the allowance God grants to Satan for our faith to grow . . .

Remember Job?

Job 1:8–12 NKJV

8 Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?” 9 So Satan answered the Lord and said, “Does Job fear God for nothing? 10 Have You not made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. 11 But now, stretch out Your hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face!” 12 And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on his person.” So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.

Job 1:

Remember Peter?

Luke 22:31–34 NKJV

31 And the Lord said, “Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. 32 But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.” 33 But he said to Him, “Lord, I am ready to go with You, both to prison and to death.” 34 Then He said, “I tell you, Peter, the rooster shall not crow this day before you will deny three times that you know Me.”

Luke 22:31-

PAUL, KNOWS SOMETHING THAT WE MAY NOT KNOW YET

PAUL, IN DEALING WITH THIS TYPE OF SITUATION, DOES NOT MESS AROUND

HE SAYS:

LET SUCH A ONE DEPART FROM YOU

DO NOT ASSOCIATE WITH HIM

THAT THE SPIRIT WOULD DO A WORK IN HIM IN SUCH A WAY THAT HE REPENTS.

ALLOW HIM TO GO REAP TO HIS OWN DESTRUCTIVE WAYS

THAT MAYBE HE WILL REALIZE HOW FAR OFF HE’S GONE

THAT MAYBE HE WILL COME TO HIS SENSES AND COME BACK TO THE LORD

WHY IS THIS NECESSARY?

1 Corinthians 5:6–8 NKJV

6 Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? 7 Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. 8 Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

BECAUSE WITHOUT THE REMOVAL OF THIS MAN

THEY WOULD CONTINUE TO GLORY IN HIS SIN

PAUL SAYS: “YOUR GLORYING IS NOT GOOD”

DO YOU NOT KNOW THAT WHAT YOU ARE ALLOWING TO EXIST IN CHURCH CULTURE IS EFFECTING EVERYONE’S WALK?

FRIENDS WHAT WE ALLOW BECOMES OUR CULTURE

When we allow you to remain in sin, we do a disservice to you

If we allow leaven to do its work within the church, it will effect everyone

But we also do a disservice to the Church

DO YOU NOT KNOW THAT A LITTLE LEAVEN, LEAVENS THE WHOLE LUMP

THEREFORE WE MUST PURGE OUT THE LEAVEN

THAT YOU MAY BE A NEW LUMP

AN UNLEAVENED WORK

JUST LIKE JESUS

THE ULTIMATE PASSOVER WHO WENT TO THE CROSS UNLEAVENED

SACRIFICED FOR US, THAT WE MAY LIVE IN THE NEWNESS OF LIFE, UNLEAVENED BY THE WORLD

PAUL SAYS

THEREFORE LET US KEEP THE FEAST

NOT WITH THE OLD LEAVEN

NOR WITH THE LEAVEN OF MALICE AND WICKEDNESS

BUT WITH THE UNLEAVENED BREAD OF SINCERITY AND TRUTH

FRIENDS, THE WORK THAT GOD WANTS TO DO IS A WORK CENTERED AROUND SINCERITY AND TRUTH

WE MUST BE SINCERE ABOUT OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH THE LORD

WE MUST BE TRUTHFUL TO OURSELVES ABOUT WHERE WE ARE AT

IF WE DON’T CONFESS WE WILL BE A MESS

IF WE DON’T CONFESS OUR SINS, WE WON’T EXPERIENCE HOW FAITHFUL AND JUST HE IS, TO FORGIVE US.

IF WE DON’T COME TO GRIPS WITH THE REALITY OF OUR SIN, WE WILL NEVER EXPERIENCE THE FREEDOM THAT THE GOSPEL BRINGS

PAUL IS SO SERIOUS ABOUT THIS ISSUE

WHY SEXUAL IMMORALITY THOUGH?

WHY THE SEX THING?

1 Corinthians 5:9–11 NKJV

9 I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people. 10 Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. 11 But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner—not even to eat with such a person.

1 COR 5:9

PAUL HAD ALREADY INSTRUCTED THEM ON THIS ISSUE

HE HAD ALREADY CONFRONTED THEM ON THIS PARTICULAR ISSUE

HE ASKED THEM NOT TO KEEP COMPANY WITH SEXUALLY IMMORAL PEOPLE

YOU MAY BE ASKING YOURSELF, “WAIT HOW ARE THEY SUPPOSED TO HEAR ABOUT JESUS”

PAUL IS NOT SPEAKING ABOUT THOSE WHO HAVE NOT COME TO FAITH YET

We are called to be Salt and Light to them

We are called to be witnesses to everyone

Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the world

PAUL IN THIS TEXT, AND THROUGHOUT THIS EPISTLE, IS SPEAKING TO THE CHURCH

TO THE CHRISTIAN

HE SAYS, IF THERE IS ANYONE AMONG YOU, WHO IS CALLED A BROTHER/SISTER

WHO IS SEXUALLY IMMORAL, OR COVETOUS, OR AN IDOLATER, A REVILER, A DRUNKARD, EXTORTIONER

DO NOT EVEN EAT WITH SUCH A PERSON

WHY IS PAUL SO HARSH REGARDING THIS?

WHY IS EATING WITH SUCH A ONE PROHIBITED?

FRIENDS WHEN SOMEONE WHO KNOWS THE LORD IS IN UNREPENTANT SIN, IT IS GOING TO BE REALLY HARD FOR BOTH OF YOU TO BE IN COMMUNION TOGETHER

ON ONE HAND, THE ONE IN UNREPENTANT SIN WILL FEEL JUDGED FOR ANYTHING YOU SAY

ON THE OTHER HAND, THE ONE LIVING IN REPENTANCE, WILL FEEL BURDENED FOR THE OTHER.

IN THIS CULTURE, EATING WITH SOMEONE, WAS ONE OF THE MOST INTIMATE THINGS YOU COULD DO

IT SHOWED YOUR ALLEGIANCE TO ONE ANOTHER

IT SHOWED THAT YOU WERE FOR THEM

IT SHOWED THAT YOU WERE ON THE SAME TEAM

EATING WITH ONE WOULD BE THE CLOSING ACT OF AN AGREEMENT.

PAUL IS LIKE,

IF SOMEONE IS IN UNREPENTANT SIN, DON’T EAT WITH THEM.

THIS IS A HARD ONE TO SWALLOW WHEN YOU HAVE A HEART FOR SINNERS

AGREEING WITH THIS MUST COME WITH TEARS

WE SHOULDN’T SAY AMEN TO THIS WITHOUT MOURNING THEIR DEPARTURE.

FRIENDS WHEN WE ARE GIVEN EVERYTHING PERTAINING TO LIFE AND GODLINESS

WHEN WE KNOW WHAT IS RIGHT, AND WE DON’T DO IT, WE CREATE DE

1 Corinthians 5:12–13 NKJV

12 For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside? 13 But those who are outside God judges. Therefore “put away from yourselves the evil person.”