1st Corinthians 5:1-6: Removal From Fellowship Can Save
When you preach through books you have passages like this that are odd
God wrote the ‘Whole Bible’… all of it matters
Not your normal church situation…
It is a symptom of the greater illness befalling the church @ Corinth
The sickness of tolerating false converts rather than confronting unrepentant sin
I can hardly believe the report about the sexual immorality going on among you—something that even pagans don’t do. I am told that a man in your church is living in sin with his stepmother.
- Not a mistaken sin but a ‘Sin Lifestyle’
- This is a man who is a member of the church
You are so proud of yourselves, but you should be mourning in sorrow and shame. And you should remove this man from your fellowship.
- Perhaps this guys was a prominent man in Corinth
- They are tolerating or ignoring the sin because they don’t want to lose him
- They should be grieved and disgusted
- Paul calls for removal from the fellowship (church discipline / excommunication)
Even though I am not with you in person, I am with you in the Spirit. And as though I were there, I have already passed judgment on this man in the name of the Lord Jesus.
- This speaks to the true oneness we have as a body in the Spirit
- Based of the ‘Spiritual Connection’ and the shared values & standards
- We are called to judge within the body of Christ
- Jesus said: ‘don’t Judge if you don’t want to be judged’ (Paul was willing to be)
- Within the church Body we all are accountable to each other & Christ)
- Paul is doing this by Christ’s power (in his name)
You must call a meeting of the church. I will be present with you in spirit, and so will the power of our Lord Jesus.
- It is the gathered body that has the power of Christ
- Paul is part even though not there physically
Then you must throw this man out and hand him over to Satan so that his sinful nature will be destroyed and he himself will be saved on the day the Lord returns.
- The kindest thing they can do is to throw him out so he can face his sin
- It is designed to cause repentance
- The ultimate end is that this guy will surrender his life to Christ
Your boasting about this is terrible. Don’t you realize that this sin is like a little yeast that spreads through the whole batch of dough?
- Paul is deeply concerned with the attitude that church in this, ‘Boasting’
- They don’t realize what compromise does, and how it effects the whole church
- This is why we can’t waver from the principles of God’s Word
Application Questions:
What is the difference between a committing a sin and having a sin lifestyle?
Why does God want us to be accountable to each other and not just Him?
How can people who are sinners pass judgement on someone else?
What does ‘Hate the sin, Love the sinner’ call us to do within our membership?