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The Church of Corinth was full of saints who were compromising with their sinful culture - a Beautiful Mess. This ancient text to this ancient culture will give us insight & correction on how we, individually and collectively - as God's Church, can grow in the purity and passion of Jesus.
TODAY'S STUDY
1 Corinthians 5 addresses 2 massive issues that are NOT acceptable for people called “God’s temple” - sexual impurity and spiritual pride. Christians can’t live for the sin that Jesus died to pay for anymore.
Paul now addresses 2 MASSIVE issues in this church - SEXUAL IMPURITY & SPIRITUAL PRIDE. Sins like these are NOT acceptable for those whom Paul had earlier called “God’s temple” (1 Cor 3:16-17).
Sexual Sin Among the Church
Sexual immorality - from the Greek term porneia - used to describe a wide range of prohibited sexual activities. A man in the Corinthian Church is sleeping with his father’s wife (likely referring to a step-mother). Men often married woman younger than themselves so it is likely that this grown son was closer to her age.
- The Old Testament says this is a wicked sin that should not be allowed among God’s people (Lev 18:8; Dt 22:30; 27:20).
- Roman law (established by Augustus between 18 and 16 BC) also banned such relationships.
- Jews and most pagans in the Roman Empire wouldn’t engage in this kind of sexual immorality, but the church IS allowing this to occur without any correction.
Applauding Instead of Appalled
These people were ‘loving’ this guy rather than judging him guilty. Maybe he was a wealthy member of the church, with much influence in Corinth. It’s much easier to give a pass to a wealthy and influential Corinthian rather than the less prestigious. Instead of being burdened by this man’s sin, the church was proud. Paul quickly surmises what the Church should have done - put out of your fellowship the man who has been doing this. They were to kick this guy out of the church membership & gatherings!
That sounds…JUDGMENTAL…does it not? Yep! Our pagan culture has impacted the contemporary church to think we should never judge. JUDGING is not a sin.
- We often rather put up with the sin rather than confront it, because we don’t want to be ‘judgmental’.
Judge Him & Kick Him Out!
That doesn’t sound like a very ‘Christian’ thing to do…does it? Actually, Paul is doing exactly what Jesus Christ had commanded. So YES, it is the Christian thing to do. Jesus taught His disciples to confront, correct, & comfort the one who turns from sin…but - if need be…kick out the ‘brother’ or ‘sister’ who refuses to repent of sin.
Disfellowship the Disobedient
To treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector meant to see them as ungodly people who cheated their own people, rather than treating that person like a brother or sister in your faith family.
- The context is clearly about disfellowshipping the disobedient person. According to WHO? Jesus!
The goal of discipline, according to Jesus, is to
1. Call the brother or sister back to right relationship with God and God’s people.
2. Make sure God’s people don’t put up with disobedience in their own lives.
› To bind and loose has nothing to do with demons, but discipline. This isn’t about praying against the devil or demons.
- To bind is to proclaim the person is still slave to their sin.
- To loose is to proclaim that the person has been set free from their sin.
› To agree about anything they ask for isn’t a blank check for every prayer to be answered the way they want.
- As believers agree about expelling one who disobeys and embracing the one who obeys, the decision is recognized in heaven.
› Where two or three gather in My Name, there am I with them.
- The Presence of Jesus is among those who follow Him and meet together, but this context is all about communicating the reality that it is Jesus who judges through His people.
We might pause and ask, “Who are WE to judge him/her? After all, we have sinned too!” The words of Jesus should remind us that…Jesus is WITH us and Jesus commands us to do this.
- If Jesus commands it and we don’t do it, then we are being disobedient .
Hand Him Over to Satan
Jesus is WITH them & working through them, to expel this disobedient man. To hand this man over to Satan means that he is no longer under the protection of the Church of Jesus. Paul uses this same language about 2 men he “handed over to Satan” (1 Tim 1:20) for continuously blaspheming God. The goal is this discipline is the destruction of the flesh - not referring to his physical body, but to his “sinful nature” (NLT).
- The Pillar Commentary: “When Paul contrasts flesh and spirit...flesh refers almost without exception to the corrupt, fallen, and rebellious condition of the human being.” See the many times Paul contrasts flesh to spirit - Rm 8:13, Gal 5:24, Col 3:5.
- And here’s the hope - that this discipline will lead him to repentance in the future so while his sinful nature will be destroyed, his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord.
- Craig Blomberg notes: “The whole point in disfellowshipping is to so shock the persons involved by the severity of the church’s disapproval that they are stimulated to change their behavior, after less radical action has left them unaffected.”
According to Paul’s next letter to Corinth, it seems that this IS the later result of this discipline - it this man returns and repents and is welcomed back (read 2 Cor 2:1-11)! But the church didn’t know what would result from kicking this man out. Many likely thought something similar to what many in our culture would think, “That's Unloving, Intolerant, & Judgmental!”
Get Rid of the Old Yeast
A little yeast from portion of a previous week’s batch of dough would be allowed to ferment and then added to the next batch, to make the bread rise. During Passover, families would get rid of the old yeast (aka leaven) in their homes and from the Temple. The Jews would eat unleavened bread all week, remembering the Exodus from Egypt.
- Yeast was imagery for sin, causing people to be puffed up and proud. When sin is not removed from the Church, it influences the rest of the Church, like a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough.
- The Church was to remove this man so that rather than be puffed up with malice and wickedness, they were to be like a new unleavened batch, full of sincerity and truth. After all, that’s why Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed - to make US clean by paying for our sin!
How we treat people of this world should be different than how we treat ‘Christians’ who refuse to follow Christ.
- Paul isn’t telling Christians to disassociate from non-Christians altogether. Paul isn’t telling mature believers to push away the believer who struggles with sin, but repents & seeks the help of other believers.
- Paul IS telling Christians how to treat anyone who claims to be a brother or sister who continues to live in sin and refuses to repent. Christians are not associate with them, not even to eat with such people.
- But Believers are NOT to communicate acceptance for one who claims Christ yet who is living in rebellion. This discipline is a challenge to change.
BIG TRUTH: We can’t LIVE for the sin that Jesus DIED to pay for.
- Stephen Um writes: “It’s discipline, it’s not supposed to be pleasant. We do ourselves a disservice if we defang the teeth of this passage too quickly.”
- Why is it that so many claim Christ but walk in disobedience to Him? Maybe it’s because Christians have hidden behind the language of ‘love’ and being ‘non-judgmental’, while we side-step the commands of our King!
Yes, Christians Should Judge
- Is it our job to judge those outside the church? NO. Don’t hold non-Christians accountable for not acting like Christ.
- Is it our job to judge those inside the church? YES. We ARE to hold Christians accountable for not acting like Christ. Judge WITH mercy and WITHOUT hypocrisy. Our goal is to win the brother/sister back.
Many of us have crossed the wires on this command.
- We are quick to judge non-Christians for not acting like Christ, when they are acting lost, because they ARE lost. Because of this, we can even isolate ourselves from non-Christians and thereby have NO IMPACT because we have NO RELATIONSHIP.
- Some of us spend time with people who claim Jesus but never address the fact they aren’t following Jesus.
- May God give us wisdom on how to help believers turn from sin to grow in unity & purity, while we go out to be salt and light to our Christ-less culture that needs Him so desperately.
Paul concludes this section quoting from multiple passages in Deuteronomy (Deut. 13:5; 17:7; 19:19; 21:21; 22:21, 24; 24:7) commanding banishment and capital punishment in the Old Testament. Here’s the phase: “Expel the wicked person from among you.”
- We aren’t responsible for the response. We are responsible for our obedience to our King.
May we be KNOWN for loving and obeying Jesus and pointing others to the One who can REALLY FORGIVE US for anything. May we be KNOWN for Ditching Disobedience and recognizing that...
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Take some time to discuss these questions with your family, friends, or group.
- What challenged or encouraged you most from today’s teaching? Explain your answer.
- Read 1 Cor 5:12-13. Based on this text, what would you tell the person who says, “Christians should never judge anyone.” Explain your answer. Have you ever had your wires crossed - judging non-Christians for not acting like Christ while giving a pass to Christians who aren’t acting like Christ? Explain your answer.
- Read Matthew 18:15-20. According to Jesus, what steps should you take in attempting to restore a brother or sister who is living in sin?
- Read 1 Cor 1:1-5. After reading the words of Paul and the promise from Jesus, what is the significance of “the power of the Lord Jesus is present” (1 Cor 1:4) and “where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them” (Mat 18:20) when it comes to bringing discipline on other Christians? What is the desired result of “handing this man over to Satan”?
- Read 2 Cor 2:1-11 to see the result of the discipline to this man. Share what intrigues you about this passage.
- Read 1 Cor 1:5:6-8. What’s the danger of allowing sin to stay among the Church (i.e. the people of God) rather than ditching disobedience?
- Read 1 Cor 5:9-11. What’s the difference in how we treat a Christian who is struggling with sin and wants help contrasted with the Christian who refuses to turn from sin? Why are American churches so unwilling to discipline disobedient believers?
- Read Matthew 7:1-6 and discuss what it means to judge rightly, according to Jesus. How would you want another Christian to confront you if you were living in sin, and how should that impact how you approach others who are living in sin?
- Share prayer needs and pray for one another. Continue to pray for our Supreme Court decision on Roe v Wade. Pray for Christians in Ukraine and Russia to carry the message of Jesus with them wherever they go.
