The Apostle Paul held back no discipline in 1 Corinthians 5. The Corinthian Letters were not written for a pat on the church’s back, and this chapter is evidence of that. Paul wrote, “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!” (1 Corinthians 5:1)
Of course, Paul was upset that this man sinned in such an undignified manner; however, it appears he was more upset that the church was content with his sin. Paul continued, “And you are puffed up, and have not rather mourned …” This incident reminds me of Ezekiel 9. Ezekiel received a vision in which many people perished because they failed to mourn sin.
In the vision, God commanded an angel to put a mark on the forehead of every believer who grieved at the sin committed in the city. God then ordered six other angels to go throughout the city and destroy everyone whose forehead was left unmarked. So, every person who stood in support of sin, every person whose heart wasn’t grieved at wickedness as God’s heart was grieved, was destroyed.
We, as followers of Christ, need to be mindful. Not only should we be mindful of our own sins, but we should also be mindful of supporting others in their sins. We are to love one another and remain in unity if possible; however, if God does not support something that our family or friends are doing, then neither should we. We are to have the mind of Christ and support what he supports and oppose what he would oppose.
And so, since Christ would have been opposed to the sexual immorality this member of the church committed with his stepmother, Paul was opposed to it as well. Paul suggested that the Corinthians do the following to the man for his dishonorable ways: “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” (1 Corinthians 5:5).
Excommunication is an extreme measure regarding sin in the church. We are all sinners, and if everyone were thrown out of the church for their sin, then there would be no one in the church. However, this was no ordinary sin. Paul emphasized that this sin was not even found among the Gentiles. That says a lot about how vile this particular sin was, given that all sorts of debauchery and wickedness was found in the Gentile world.
So, if this sin wasn’t found among the unbelievers, it undoubtedly had no reason being amongst those in the church. It was the type of sin that could destroy the church from the inside out. Paul wrote, “Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?” to illustrate how sin worked.
Sin is like leaven or yeast … it only takes a small dosage of it to change its environment. A little bit of yeast mixed in with dough will cause the entire lump to rise—no part of the dough is left unaffected. Likewise, unchecked sin within the church leaves no member unaffected.
God has always been concerned with the holiness of his children. In the Old Testament, uncleanliness was not to be found among God’s people. Those who were deemed sinful or unclean were cast out of the camp until atonement was made for their unholiness. God made it known that he was holy, and he wanted his people holy as well. Paul knew that God’s standard for holiness had not changed—the way in which we achieve holiness may have changed, but the standard is the same.
So, Paul ordered the removal of this man from the congregation. He was restored to the church at a later date, as noted in 2 Corinthians 2. They were asked to forgive the man and restore him in love after his repentance. But in this chapter, the church was instructed to break their communion with him. 1 Corinthians 5:11 reads, “But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolator, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner—not even to eat with such a person.”
Paul stated that they shouldn’t even share a meal with the man. But one may ask, “Didn’t Jesus eat with sinners?” and “How can we save souls if we can’t commune with sinners?” Well, Paul made it clear that he was speaking of refraining from people who are within God’s Kingdom who willingly go against God’s Word—not worldly people. He said, “I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people. Yet, I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world.” (1 Corinthians 5:9,10).
We cannot expect worldly people to behave holy. They are not saved yet, and it would be wrong of us to judge them. If we are firm in our faith, we can commune with them in hopes of getting them to Christ. But we must be secure in our faith to sway them. Otherwise, they may sway us into the world, in which case we should keep our distance and allow stronger saints to convert if possible.
However, for those of us who belong to God and are his called, when one of us decides to continually walk in sin with no repentance, then we need to separate ourselves from that person. Fellowship with this type of person can eventually affect us all. A little leaven, a little yeast, a little unchecked sin can cause us all to rise in ungodly sin.
And so, based on Paul’s advice in this chapter, we’d all do well to check our table. Who do you commune with? Who do you fellowship with and dine with? Are they in Christ? If so, they should be doing what thus says the Lord. If not, try to restore them to the Lord. But if they will not hear sound advice, separate yourself. Their leaven/sin may ruin everything that the Lord is working through you.
If everyone you dine with refuses holiness in God, you very well may have to dine at a table with Jesus alone until he brings like-minded individuals to you. It is better to remain in the will of God than to remain in a circle of friends that may keep you away from God. So, check your table.
May God bless you and keep you.
Quin Arrington is the author of three nonfictional books (And Then You Shall Have Good Success, A Spacious Place, and Heirs of Glory) and one fictional book (According to the Power). Books are available on Amazon at www.amazon.com/author/quinarrington
Thank you for your time. God Bless!
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