1Crinthians 5A (2013) Tday we mve int the secnd majr sectin f Paul s letter In the first fur chapters f his letter, Paul spke t the Crinthian church abut their pride, arrgance and spiritual immaturity He was addressing the underlying cause fr s much f their trubles and missteps Arrgance and pride are s dangerus in the lives f Christians because they becme excuse fr ding whatever we want and thinking urselves OK in the prcess Paul has disabused this ntin in chapters 1-4 They are nt wise; they are acting flishly They are nt pwerful and successful; they are living in their flesh like the spiritual infants they are Paul made this bservatins based n feedback he received frm Chle s delegatin But we ve yet t learn what Paul heard that prmpted this stern crrectin What did Chle reprt t Paul? The answer t that questin dminates the rest f the letter In this next sectin, we ll learn what Paul heard He will take each allegatin and address it in turn In each case, Paul issues an admnitin He will prvide teaching in cmbinatin with discipline r crrectin Generally, each issue is allcated ne r mre chapters, s the breaks in tpics will fllw chapter breaks This mrning, Paul addresses perhaps the mst serius sin f all he heard abut: tlerating serius sexual immrality within the church bdy Paul explains what he s heard in chapter 5 vs.1-2 2013 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
1Crinthians 5A (2013) 2 f 13 1Cr. 5:1 It is actually reprted that there is immrality amng yu, and immrality f such a kind as des nt exist even amng the Gentiles, that smene has his father s wife. 1Cr. 5:2 Yu have becme arrgant and have nt murned instead, s that the ne wh had dne this deed wuld be remved frm yur midst. Paul says it is actually reprted that there is immrality amng yu This reprt is Chle s reprt, as we said Paul says it was actually reprted... Paul uses the Greek wrd hls which means cmpletely The sense f that wrd in this cntext is ne f incredulity Paul can hardly believe his ears S Paul says I find this hard t believe, but I m tld yu are engaging in immrality, which is the Greek wrd prneia That wrd can have wide meaning, but it generally describes sexual activity prir t and utside the institutin f marriage Amng Hellenistic Jews, the wrd prneia referred t any kind f extramarital affair, including hmsexuality The NT letters rutinely warn against prneia precisely because it was such a cmmn behavir amng newly-cnverted Greek believers Paul names the specific sin invlved: a man wh has his father s wife Paul desn t say a man has his mther, but his father s wife And Paul uses a Greek verb meaning t have in the present tense When used in a sexual cntext, it refers t an nging relatinship, nt a single encunter S, putting all this tgether, it seems that a man was nw living with a wman wh used (r perhaps still was) his stepmther While divrce was cmmn in Greek sciety, bth Greeks and Rmans tk a dim view f incest and Rman law prhibited it 2013 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
1Crinthians 5A (2013) 3 f 13 S Paul says this kind f adulterus, immral behavir is nt even tlerated by the Greeks What kind f thinking must be present in the church f Gd fr men t think they have freedm t engage in behavir that even the unbelieving wrld rejects as t sinful? Paul names it in v.2 He says the church is shwing evidence f arrgance The wrd arrgance is hubris, thinking we are abve accuntability Which leads t utlandish behavir unrestrained by a fear f cnsequences This church was arrgant, withut fear f cnsequences fr immral behavir The prf f their arrgance was their willingness t tlerate this behavir within the church Presumably, this cuple were welcmed t church meetings, participating in the gathering withut cncern N ne said anything t them, n ne made any demands that they repent and turn t gdliness Paul says n ne murned what they saw The prper thing fr this church t d wuld be t set this cuple utside the fellwship f the church until they repented and crrected their behavir Paul is speaking f church discipline, the prcess f using the influence f the bdy t mtivate its members t put away sin and live hly and pleasing lives t the Lrd Frankly, the church has limited weapns in the battle against sin and crruptin in the bdy We admnish, we cunsel, we pray and when necessary, we set peple utside fellwship While the sin f this cuple is very significant, dn t verlk that Paul reserved the fcus f his critique fr the church bdy itself 2013 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
1Crinthians 5A (2013) 4 f 13 The church s failure t put this cuple ut f the church is Paul s principle cncern in this chapter Every church bdy will encunter bad behavir frm time t time amng its members And smetimes that behavir will be especially egregius, as it was in this case But in all cases, the test f maturity and sbriety in a church is hw the church bdy respnds t such things D we acknwledge it? D we cnfrnt it? D we address it? Hw did Paul expect this church t respnd t the circumstances at hand? He give is admnitin beginning in v.3 1Cr. 5:3 Fr I, n my part, thugh absent in bdy but present in spirit, have already judged him wh has s cmmitted this, as thugh I were present. 1Cr. 5:4 In the name f ur Lrd Jesus, when yu are assembled, and I with yu in spirit, with the pwer f ur Lrd Jesus, 1Cr. 5:5 I have decided t deliver such a ne t Satan fr the destructin f his flesh, s that his spirit may be saved in the day f the Lrd Jesus. This is a rare expressin f Paul s apstlic authrity Paul says he has executed a judgment upn this man frm a distance Paul was physically absent frm Crinth at the time he wrte this letter (i.e., absent in bdy ) But his apstlic pwers didn t depart frm Crinth when his bdy did S Paul says he has already made a determinatin r judgment f hw this cuple is t be disciplined and that judgment will nw take place Remember the apstles had pwers t execute earthly judgment n Christ s behalf fr the gd f the church 2013 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
1Crinthians 5A (2013) 5 f 13 As we saw with Peter putting Ananias and Sapphira t death ver their sin f lying This is Paul s Ananias & Sapphira mment S what exactly was Paul cmmanding t take place? First, ntice in v.3, Paul is disciplining nly the man in the situatin This was in keeping with the culture The wman was als guilty f sin, but wmen were presumed t be victims f male authrity in these circumstances Much the way a student assaulted by a teacher is nt held t accunt in the same way that the teacher will be S while the wman has engaged in sin, her sin is nt the fcus f the discipline Furthermre, her sin will end when the man is put ut f fellwship Secndly, Paul cmmands the church t assemble Paul is requiring that the prcess f putting the member utside fellwship take place when the entire church was gathered Presumably, the leaders f the church wuld explain the man s sin t the cngregatin Then the leaders wuld annunce that Paul had determined this man must be put utside fellwship Third, Paul says the man s persnal cnsequence fr this sin will be t see his flesh destryed at the hands f Satan yet his spirit saved Paul is describing excmmunicatin, that is the cutting ff f fellwship in the church In this vulnerable psitin, the man is left withut the supprt structure f the church And Paul says that the Lrd will permit Satan t attack this man in such a way that his earthly life will cme t a premature end We can imagine what that might lk like Disease, Rman persecutin, vilence 2013 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
1Crinthians 5A (2013) 6 f 13 But remember the stry f Ananias & Sapphira The man s ultimate end was likely smething supernatural His earthly life was cut shrt because Paul had judged him And in v.4 Paul says he des s by the pwer given t him by the Lrd as an apstle Yet Paul says there was a gd utcme in this judgment, that the man s spirit is saved What des saved mean in this cntext? The key t interpreting this statement is fund in the phrase in the day f the Lrd That day refers t the judgment day when the Lrd judges believers and assigns rewards That day is NOT the day we receive salvatin...s Paul isn t talking abut the man becming a believer The man IS a believer, s Paul is trying t preserve (i.e., save) his eternal reward, what little there remains f it The pint is that it wuld be better fr this man t see his earthly life cut shrt that t g n sinning in this way Everyday this man lives and cntinues in this terrible sin, his heavenly accunt balance is drpping Like a man spending his retirement savings, this Christian was in danger f lsing everything the Lrd had stred up fr him in the Kingdm S if this man wasn t ging t repent, then the next best pssible utcme was t die early t minimize the damage he might inflict upn himself and thers This is a sbering truth, isn t it? The Lrd is lving and generus, but He is als demanding and perfectly just in His judgments If we use the time He has given us t serve Him well, as Paul said in chapter 2 2013 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
1Crinthians 5A (2013) 7 f 13 1Cr. 2:9 but just as it is written, THINGS WHICH EYE HAS NOT SEEN AND EAR HAS NOT HEARD, AND which HAVE NOT ENTERED THE HEART OF MAN, ALL THAT GOD HAS PREPARED FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM. He has the pwer t reward us beynd anything we culd want r even imagine in this wrld A wnderful and glrius life awaits Gd s children in the Kingdm But the Lrd is als a true and righteus judge S He must als take int accunt ur rebellin, unhliness, and faithlessness He isn t hlding these sins against us fr the sake f righteusness We are declared righteus because we have been given Christ s righteusness But there still remains fr ur sins are frgiven and scripture says He remembers them n mre But that s speaking in terms f the penalty f sin, which is death But there is still an accunting fr ur service, and when we g n sinning we are setting urselves up fr great lss Peter warns us t remain mindful f this cming judgment, knwing the Lrd will deal with us in strict fairness 1Pet. 1:17 If yu address as Father the One wh impartially judges accrding t each ne s wrk, cnduct yurselves in fear during the time f yur stay n earth; Knwing that the Lrd is impartial and fair shuld mtivate us t live sber and upright lives, aware the times are shrt And having cncern fr hw that judgment will g fr each f us Cnsider sme f the warnings the apstles give us cncerning hw that day will g if we persist in disbedience 2013 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
1Crinthians 5A (2013) 8 f 13 Heb. 10:26 Fr if we g n sinning willfully after receiving the knwledge f the truth, there n lnger remains a sacrifice fr sins, Heb. 10:27 but a terrifying expectatin f judgment and THE FURY OF A FIRE WHICH WILL CONSUME THE ADVERSARIES. Heb. 10:30 Fr we knw Him wh said, VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY. And again, THE LORD WILL JUDGE HIS PEOPLE. Heb. 10:31 It is a terrifying thing t fall int the hands f the living Gd. Heb. 10:35 Therefre, d nt thrw away yur cnfidence, which has a great reward. Heb. 10:36 Fr yu have need f endurance, s that when yu have dne the will f Gd, yu may receive what was prmised. Heb. 10:37 FOR YET IN A VERY LITTLE WHILE, HE WHO IS COMING WILL COME, AND WILL NOT DELAY. Heb. 10:38 BUT MY RIGHTEOUS ONE SHALL LIVE BY FAITH; AND IF HE SHRINKS BACK, MY SOUL HAS NO PLEASURE IN HIM. Heb. 10:39 But we are nt f thse wh shrink back t destructin, but f thse wh have faith t the preserving f the sul. Paul delivered this man t Satan t end his life as a last-ditch effrt t rescue his sul frm the judgment he awaits Had that man been allwed t live anther decade r tw engaged in this sin, wh knws hw bad that judgment wuld have been fr him? He still had eternal life And salvatin was never in questin because he was saved by faith alne But dn t minimize the Lrd s judgment because yu have received grace The writer f the Hebrews says if thse wh disbeyed the Law f Mses suffered death f the bdy, hw much wrse will Gd s judgment be fr thse wh have disgraced the bld f Christ? It is a terrifying thing t fall int the hands f a living Gd S Paul directs three things: the man is t be set utside fellwship, the mment f discipline is t be public, and this earthly punishment is taken in the hpe f btaining a better spiritual judgment These three principles must guide all frms f church discipline 2013 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
1Crinthians 5A (2013) 9 f 13 First, we must address willful sinning within the bdy f Christ when we are cnfrnted by it Paul never suggests we are t frm squads f inspectrs t seek ut sin r investigate church members We shuld never want t pry r becme busybdies Our intent shuld als be lving and healthy But when immrality cmes t ur attentin, we must have enugh lve and curage t act n the news The NT gives us parameters fr hw t respnd in lve thrugh ur leaders The first steps are always dne in private with a hpe f encuraging repentance and self-crrectin S the secnd principle is that when ur private effrts t crrect sin in the bdy fail, the church must be willing t take the matter public, meaning t the church bdy Nt t the unbelieving wrld, but within the church Out hpe is that a public expsure f the matter might place additinal pressure n the individual t d the right thing At the very least, if the persn cntinues t resist the will f the Lrd and the church, then the rest f the church will have mtivatin t avid making the same mistake Since they will have witnessed this persn s public shame and cndemnatin fr their sin And they will be admnished nt t walk in their ftsteps Finally, we take these hard steps in lve in view f eternal cnsequences We practice this prcess with an understanding that thugh the shrt term effect may be negative in terms f relatinships and peace in the bdy But we are wrking tward eternal utcmes The persn being disciplined may react very negatively t ur effrts t crrect their sin 2013 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
1Crinthians 5A (2013) 10 f 13 But these risks are well-wrth the pssibility f imprving their eternal judgment Furthermre, we are wrking in the best interests f the bdy as a whle and the missin f representing Christ t the wrld I knw f a case when a church exercised this discipline prcess with great psitive utcme Tw teenagers active in the church engaged in immrality, premarital sex The result was a pregnancy, which meant the sin was brught t light bth t teenagers parents and t church leadership The leadership called the cuple t accunt befre the bdy They were instructed t speak publicly befre the entire church, cnfessing and repenting f their sin The teens were truly repentance, and s they agreed t submit t the church leadership and make the public cnfessin The result was prfund The church bdy was stunned but immediately after the news, they embraced the teens, wept with them, cmmitted t helping them get thrugh the experience The church lved n thse teens and they chse t put the baby up fr adptin Mre imprtant, the Lrd was glrified The teens were transparently restred in fellwship The bdy was reminded f the need t remain chaste and pure until marriage And the entire church witnessed the wisdm f Gd s wrd lived ut If we ignre sin amng ur members r excuse it r apprve it, then the church bdy is guilty f an ffense wrse than the sin we have apprved Paul explains the danger f tlerating sin in the bdy in vs. 6-8 2013 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
1Crinthians 5A (2013) 11 f 13 1Cr. 5:6 Yur basting is nt gd. D yu nt knw that a little leaven leavens the whle lump f dugh? 1Cr. 5:7 Clean ut the ld leaven s that yu may be a new lump, just as yu are in fact unleavened. Fr Christ ur Passver als has been sacrificed. 1Cr. 5:8 Therefre let us celebrate the feast, nt with ld leaven, nr with the leaven f malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread f sincerity and truth. Ntice again that Paul says this church is basting I dubt that Paul means this church is walking arund bragging abut a man sleeping with his stepmther The church was celebrating this immral relatinship in the sense they accepted it, perhaps thinking that grace makes such things pssible But when we apprve smene else sin - even if simply by nt acting t crrect it - then we are cndemned by ur apprval Rm. 14:22 The faith which yu have, have as yur wn cnvictin befre Gd. Happy is he wh des nt cndemn himself in what he apprves. There is a sin f apprving sin, that is t seem t give ur apprval t bad behavir But it s imprtant t nte this sin nly applies t fellwship believers We are nt called t criticize r attempt t discipline unbelievers Sinners sin, that s what sinners d We dn t slve the prblem f a sinner thrugh disciplining the behavir We address that prblem by preaching the Gspel s that they might becme a new persn in Christ But we must be careful abut turning a blind t sin in the bdy Paul says such behavir is a frm f arrgance and it leads t bigger prblems in the bdy He uses a familiar biblical metaphr t explain the danger: a little sin leavens the whle lump f dugh 2013 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
1Crinthians 5A (2013) 12 f 13 The metaphr draws a cmparisn t yeast causing dugh t rise We put nly a cmparably small amunt f yeast in a large lump f dugh And that small ingredient causes the entire lump f dugh t change Likewise, if we allw a single persn t live within the bdy f Christ with bvius, unrepentant sin, the entire bdy f Christi is plluted by their influence The rest f the bdy is likely t lk upn that persn and their sin and draw wrng cnclusins We might assume that the behavir is permissible We might assume that Christ r at least the church leaders dn t care abut ur behavir We might assume that sin desn t necessarily carry cnsequences We might assumes that ur persnal behavir and chices dn t matter t ur faith We might assume that there salvatin by grace thrugh faith means we have nthing t wrry abut when we sin All f these assumptins are terribly wrng, and a church that thinks this way is a church headed fr disaster If nt nw, certainly in their judgment day S when we allw sin t persist in ur midst, we are ptentially ding injury t ur wn day f judgment Yu might have verlked thers sin in the past thinking that it was their prblem Perhaps yu assumed that nly they std t suffer fr their mistakes But what if I tld yu that if yu allw that sin t persist unchecked, it has the ptential t rb yu f eternal reward? 2013 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
1Crinthians 5A (2013) 13 f 13 The pwer f sin is in its ability t reprduce itself, t spread t all men Paul says in Rmans Is that a chance yu are willing t take? Are yu willing t suffer eternal lss f yur reward s that a brther r sister may cntinue in sin? S the slutin is t cut ut the cancer befre it kills the entire bdy Paul extends his metaphr by rdering the church t cut ut the leaven s the lump becmes new Paul s referring t the Jewish feast f unleavened bread Interestingly, Paul is speaking t a Greek church that lacked a backgrund in Jewish feasts S he must have explained the spiritual meaning f the Exdus and the feast cmmemrating the Israelites flight frm Egypt A flight frm slavery is exactly the picture Paul has fr this church nw They are in bndage t arrgance and the sin it prduces in the bdy They need t cut thse chains Just as Israel was set free frm their chains in Egypt and ran frm Pharah S the church shuld cut themselves free f the sin f this individual (and all like him) s that they might walk withut sin as a peple Paul says we must nt celebrate and apprve sin, we must celebrate sincerity and truth Let s hld up values f hnesty and transparency Nt busybdiness but healthy cncern fr thers Let s reward sincerity and cnfessin and repentance Dn t cndne selfishness, immrality, rebellin, arrgance and unhliness Let s all seek fr a gd reward in the in the day f the Lrd 2013 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.