Local Church Discipline: Dealing with Matters of Morality Part 2

Introduction

I hope that you enjoyed that short video about honor. There is no doubt that we are facing some troublesome times in our nation. The ideas of honor, freedom, and patriotism are fading fast. I know that I have a habit of quoting 2 Timothy 3 (the passage on perilous times), but as I look around our world today I see the first 9 verses coming to fruition. Honoring has been replaced with despising that which is good. Freedom has been replaced with traitors who are heady and highminded. Patriotism and love of God as well as country has been replaced with those who only love themselves and are unthankful.

In fact, America of today in many ways reminds of Israel in the Old Testament. You see there only two nations in the world and throughout history that were founded upon Biblical principles. Israel as we already know was God’s chosen and covenant people. God through the faith of Abraham raised up the great nation of Israel as His people. It was through that great nation that He fulfilled His promise to all mankind of a Savior Who come to redeem sinful men. Praise God that He did! Our nation, on the other hand, was established by men and women who understood the importance what God did through Israel in giving His Son, Jesus Christ.

Not everyone who had a hand in our nation’s beginning was a believer. However, if you go back and study the REAL history of our nation, not the FAKE history, you find that a majority of the men who contributed to the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were men of faith. One little known fact is that a great many of those men were graduates of Bible colleges and seminaries of their day. These men knew the Word of God and were determined to found our nation upon its principles. For example, our system of government is founded upon Isaiah 33:22 which says...

Isaiah 33:22 (KJV 1900)

For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, The Lord is our king; he will save us.

They used this verse to establish the three branches of our government.

The Lord is our judge - the judicial branch

The Lord is our lawgiver - the legislative branch

The Lord is our king - the executive branch

Yet, today as we celebrate this 4th of July, we are no longer a nation who trusts in God. In fact, we are just the opposite. We are a now a nation who rejects God.

How did this happen? Well, it happened the same way that it happened with the nation of Israel. We abandoned our commitment to Him.

Early in the formative years of Israel as a nation, God told them something very simple yet quite profound. He said to Israel...

Deuteronomy 11:26–28 (KJV 1900)

Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse; A blessing, if ye obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you this day: And a curse, if ye will not obey the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside out of the way which I command you this day, to go after other gods, which ye have not known.

As we know, Israel’s relationship has been quite tumultuous. A study of the Old and New Testament shows there were times of obedience followed by blessing and times of disobedience followed by God’s judgment. One of Israel’s greatest problems was their constant desire to worship other false gods instead of worshipping Jehovah God. God knew that this would be a problem for them. And, again, early God demanded that the deal harshly with any sin especially the sin of idolatry that was found in their midst. Note some of God’s instructions to them as they entered Canaan...

Deuteronomy 7:1–6 (KJV 1900)

When the Lord thy God shall bring thee into the land whither thou goest to possess it, and hath cast out many nations before thee, the Hittites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than thou; And when the Lord thy God shall deliver them before thee; thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor shew mercy unto them: Neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son. For they will turn away thy son from following me, that they may serve other gods: so will the anger of the Lord be kindled against you, and destroy thee suddenly. But thus shall ye deal with them; ye shall destroy their altars, and break down their images, and cut down their groves, and burn their graven images with fire. For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God: the Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth.

Note further in that same chapter that God says...

Deuteronomy 7:25–26 KJV 1900

The graven images of their gods shall ye burn with fire: thou shalt not desire the silver or gold that is on them, nor take it unto thee, lest thou be snared therein: for it is an abomination to the Lord thy God. Neither shalt thou bring an abomination into thine house, lest thou be a cursed thing like it: but thou shalt utterly detest it, and thou shalt utterly abhor it; for it is a cursed thing.

My point is that God instructed Israel to deal harshly with anyone who allowed sin into the nation. Why? Look again at Deuteronomy 7:6.

Deuteronomy 7:6 (KJV 1900)

For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God: the Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth.

They were God’s people. They were holy people. They were chosen by Him to be His people. They were to be above all people. However, we know, Israel did not need God’s command. Repeatedly, they pursued other gods and committed great sins. And, God has dealt harshly with them and continues to do so.

I say all that to say this! America has abandoned God. We have turned our back on Him and we, as a nation, no longer honor Him. A nation that no longer honors God is a nation destined to fall especially a nation that knows better. American is not Israel. We are not God’s chosen people. We have no everlasting covenant with God as He does with Israel. Yet, we were blessed to have founding fathers who understood the importance of God’s Word and were committed to following God’s Word. However, our founding fathers also knew that we only remain a nation of freedom and liberty as long as we stayed faithful to God.

John Adams, signer of the Declaration of Independence and our 2nd president, said this...

[I]t is religion and morality alone which can establish the principles upon which freedom can securely stand. The only foundation of a free constitution is pure virtue.

He later said...

[W]e have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. . . . Our constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.

And then he followed up that up with this...

The moment the idea is admitted into society, that property is not as sacred as the laws of God, and that there is not a force of law and public justice to protect it, anarchy and tyranny commence. If “Thou shalt not covet,” and “Thou shalt not steal,” were not commandments of Heaven, they must be made inviolable precepts in every society, before it can be civilized or made free.

And, here we stand 245 years later watching our nation crumble around us. You see, over time, we lost sight our beginning. We dropped our guard against sin and against immorality. Now, as a nation, we are seeing the beginning of our demise.

Please don’t get me wrong, I love my nation just as you do. I hate seeing the corruption and erosion of what has alway been good about America. And, I too long to see it return to its roots. However, I also know as a student of God’s Word that the only path back to blessing is through obedience to God’s Word. And, unfortunately, we no longer have the political leadership that will take a stand against sin and immorality. The rot of sin, wickedness, and selfishness has made our entire nation corrupt. The only way to rid the rot is to cut it out and get rid of it. Unfortunately, I am afraid that day has past for America. However, there is still hope in the midst of all the decay of American society. That hope is the local church!

I say the local church because the local church is God’s ordained institution of which He has commissioned to preach the glorious gospel of Christ. And, no matter how bad things may be or may become in our nation, it is local churches that stand as beacons of truth and hope. That is the whole point of 1 Corinthians. If you remember, the Holy Spirit told them...

1 Corinthians 1:2 (KJV 1900)

Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:

Remember this church, this ekklesia, this group of called believers, were living in a time of great wickedness and moral decay. The Roman Empire was filled with all kinds of immorality and sin. Yet, the Holy Spirit reminded them that they were different. They were sanctified in Christ Jesus. They were called to be saints. In other words, they were the beacon reflecting the true Light of the World. And, as such, we too as a local church are to be that same beacon in our nation, our town, and in our community. We are to be saints committed to obedience and service to our Lord Jesus Christ.

However, we too must heed the Holy Spirit’s warning! A warning that we began talking about last week. Just as God expected Israel to be on guard against sin coming into the nation. God expects each local assembly to do the same. And, just as God expected Israel to deal harshly with those who committed sin so God expects each local church to do the same.

Remember now the problem within this church. There was brother in Christ, a believer, who was committing an great act of immorality. He was involved in fornication. He was having a sexual and intimate relationship with his step-mother. An act that even the Gentiles of that day would not even so name among themselves. It was openly know that this was happening. The Holy Spirit had revealed to Paul and had also revealed to Paul how commonly it was reported. The believers inside the church knew and the unbelievers outside the church knew. Yet, this group of believers were doing nothing. Thus the Holy Spirit instructed them to act. They were to gather together and they were turn this brother over to Satan. In doing so, God would allow Satan to bring destruction to the flesh. Yet, this believers spirit would be saved unto the day of Christ’s return.

As we come to our text this morning, we see the..

IMPORTANCE of DEALING with MATTERS of IMMORALITY within the LOCAL CHURCH

Look with me at 1 Corinthians 5:6-8.

1 Corinthians 5:6–8 KJV 1900

Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

Note first the...

DISCLAIMER

of verse 6.

1 Corinthians 5:6 (KJV 1900)

Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?

The Holy Spirit brings our attention again to their pride issues. In fact, their pride is the source of all their problems. It was the LEAVEN that was leavening the whole lump. The word “glorying” means “boasting or the grounds for boasting.” Note He says their glorying or boasting was “NOT GOOD!” That phrase can also be understood as DISHONORABLE. They had become dishonorable to the name and cause of Christ. It is much like our nation today. Our turn from God has made us, as a nation, dishonorable before the Lord. Along with that dishonor comes dishonor in the eyes of others. The church of Corinth was a proud church. They boasted in themselves. Their pride then resulted in disobedience to God and gave occasion for gross sin to be in their midst. Now, the Holy Spirit is exposing their dishonor before Him and others. Lord forbid that we ever becomes a church that dishonors the name of Christ. It is a great tragedy for a nation to do so. But, it is an even greater tragedy for a God’s local church to do so.

Note the Holy Spirit’s...

DECLARATION

in the latter part of verse 6.

1 Corinthians 5:6 (KJV 1900)

Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?

Leaven is important symbol throughout all of Scripture. It is always used to symbolize any type of insidious evil. If you don’t know already, leaven is yeast. If you add a small amount of yeast to dough, it permeates the dough. It only takes a very small amount of yeast. As it permeates the dough, it cause the dough to rise. Here is interesting fact. The activity of the yeast or the leaven is only arrested when it is place under intense heat. When you place dough with yeast into the oven and it is baked with intense heat, the heat stops the reaction of the yeast causing the loaf to no longer rise. In the same way, open sin within a church will always lead to the increase and spread of more sin and evil within the church. We are seeing that very thing happen before our eyes in our nation. The more sin is made legal; the more it grows; the more it grows the more wicked we become as a nation.

What is the remedy for stopping the spread?

Intense heat or fire is the remedy. We know that fire is a symbol for judgement in God’s Word. Thus they only way to stop the immorality is through swift judgment.

This then brings us to the Holy Spirit’s...

DEMAND

His demand is...

1 Corinthians 5:7 (KJV 1900)

Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:

The word “purge” has the idea of cleaning out or a thorough cleansing. It is the same type of cleansing of leaven that God required of the Jews during time of Passover. Note the instructions given in the book of Exodus...

Exodus 12:18–20 (KJV 1900)

In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at even, ye shall eat unleavened bread, until the one and twentieth day of the month at even. Seven days shall there be no leaven found in your houses: for whosoever eateth that which is leavened, even that soul shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he be a stranger, or born in the land. Ye shall eat nothing leavened; in all your habitations shall ye eat unleavened bread.

Exodus 13:6–7 (KJV 1900)

Seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, and in the seventh day shall be a feast to the Lord. Unleavened bread shall be eaten seven days; and there shall no leavened bread be seen with thee, neither shall there be leaven seen with thee in all thy quarters.

In order for them to ensure their was no leaven found in their house, they had to do a deep cleansing of the entire house. Everything was cleaned and examined looking for any leaven. Any leaven found was cast out or purged from their homes.

Now go back to our text and verse 7 again noting this...

1 Corinthians 5:7 (KJV 1900)

Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:

This phrase speaks to a local church’s standing in Christ. Remember a local church is a called out group of believers who desire to follow the Lord and serve Him. Each believer then has a new life in Christ. Thus, following the logic, each true local church is all about new life in Christ. A life that is now free from the bondage of sin. A life that is now able to serve the Lord. And, for that reason, we are to “put off” the practices of the old man and we are to “put on” all that is holy and right before God. In fact, Ephesians 5:25 says...

Ephesians 5:25–27 (KJV 1900)

Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.

There is the reason we must deal harshly with any evil doctrine or immoral influences with our church. And, again, for the very reason, the Holy Spirit DEMANDS that we GET RID of that which would corrupt our church.

Let me give you one last thought concerning the Holy Spirits DEMAND and we are done.

Look at verse 8.

1 Corinthians 5:8 (KJV 1900)

Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

If a church heeds the Holy Spirit’s instruction, then there is wonderful RESULT that comes from doing so. The thought behind keeping the feast is that of getting rid of the old leaven. As we already noted, one of the main features of the Passover was removing any leaven which was a symbol of sin. During the Passover, a lamb was slain and its blood was to cover the doorposts of each home. Then, they were required to roast the meat of the lamb over fire and eat it with unleavened bread. All of this symbolized a coming Messiah who would redeem all of Israel. Since the it symbolized the coming Messiah, the lamb was to be without blemish and the house was to be cleansed of all leaven. Both actions represented the removal of sin’s corruption and evil. It is interesting to note that they were instructed to slay the Passover lamb between noon and sunset on the fourteenth day of Nisan.

Exodus 12:6 (KJV 1900)

And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening.

Deuteronomy 16:6 (KJV 1900)

But at the place which the Lord thy God shall choose to place his name in, there thou shalt sacrifice the passover at even, at the going down of the sun, at the season that thou camest forth out of Egypt.

Note that time of the Lord’s death according to gospel of John.

John 19:14 (KJV 1900)

And it was the preparation of the passover, and about the sixth hour: and he saith unto the Jews, Behold your King!

Later that same day, as Christ hung between heaven and earth, THE LAMB of God gave His life for our redemption.

Additionally, in the Old Testament, the Passover was followed by whole week of eating unleavened bread.

Exodus 23:15 KJV 1900

Thou shalt keep the feast of unleavened bread: (thou shalt eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded thee, in the time appointed of the month Abib; for in it thou camest out from Egypt: and none shall appear before me empty:)

The point it this. Leaven has always been a symbol of sin. Thus, Israel was commanded to get rid of the leaven. Then, they were to eat unleavened bread as a reminder of being holy before the Lord. Today, the Passover feast is no longer needed. Why? Christ, the Lamb of God, has been sacrificed, once and for all, as the real Passover Lamb. Our duty today as believers is to rid ourselves of anything and everything that leaven stands for! That is why the Holy Spirit goes on to say in verse 8 that we are rid ourselves of malice and wickedness. Instead, we are to go on living with sincerity and truth.

1 Corinthians 5:8 (KJV 1900)

Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

What is malice? Essentially, it is depravity speaking of the vicious disposition and desires of the human heart. What is wickedness? It is the outward actions that come from a heart of depravity/malice. Both are things that God hates. For that reason, the Holy Spirit DEMANDS that ACTION be taken immediately to remove the cancer of sin from a local church.

What is sincerity? The Greek word here has the idea of purity. Truth is, as we already know, the essence of God’s and His Word. Thus, we as a local church are to be a church of purity and truth. We are to put away evil and we are to live in obedience to God’s Word.

Conclusion

Dealing with sin can be quite an ugly thing at times. Sin preys upon the pride of man. Even in our personal lives, we struggle with sin simply because it appeals to our flesh. Yet, as God’s children, sin has not place in our lives or our church. When begins to creep in, we must address it and we must deal with it.

Individually, we are to go to God confessing our sins seeking His forgiveness.

Corporately as a local church, we are to be on guard against it. When we know a brother or sister is overtake in a fault, we are confront them seeking to restore them in a spirit of meekness. And, when there is open immorality and sin by which a believers is continually unrepentant, we are to purge our assembly by delivering such as one unto Satan.

The reason our nation is in the mess that is in is due to the fact that American has abandoned God and His Word. The rot of sin and wickedness is destroying what was once a great nation. Let this be a lesson for us as a church. If we begin ignoring sin in our midst and do not deal with it God’s Way, we too begin to rot from within. It is one thing for a nation to abandon God. It is quite another when it God’s own people. The one thing that America needs more than ever right now are churches and believers who are committed to living and following the Lord. It is the local church on its knees in prayer as well as on its feet proclaiming the gospel of Christ that changes a nation. However, if local churches are consumed with pride and filled with sin then they are of no used to the cause of Christ. As pastor of this local church, my desire more than anything is that we be a church on our knees and on our feet serving the Lord with all our heart, soul, and mind.