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Grace Bible Church 4000 E. Collins
Rd. P.O. Box #3762 Gillette, WY 82717
(307) 686-1516 “Preaching the Living
Word through the Written Word (2Tim 4:2)” |
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BIBLICAL REPONSE TO A SINNING BELIEVER 1Co 5:1-13 (7/27/11) Grace Bible
Church, Gillette, Wyoming Pastor Daryl
Hilbert
A. [1Co 5:1] -
Obviously Paul had concluded with the problem of divisions and now has turned
to another grave problem. It had been reported to him, probably by “Chloe’s
people” (1Co 1:11), that there was not only immorality in the church but that
the Corinthians were openly tolerant of it. 1. “Immorality”
is the Greek word porneia and means
any and all types of sexual sin: fornication (Joh 8:41); adultery (Mat 5:32),
infidelity (Mat 19:9), and immorality in general (1Co 6:13). It would also
include casual sex, unmarried couples living together, addiction to
pornography (Eng. “pornography” come
from porneia) and homosexuality. All of these are in epidemic proportions
in our culture today. a) It is one of
the deeds of the flesh (Gal 5:19). b) It is
contrary to sanctification (1Th 4:3). c) It is an
addicting sin against one’s own body (1Co 6:18). d) It is
unbecoming of a believer (Eph 5:3). e) Its power has
been rendered inoperative (Col 3:5). 2. This
particular sin and use of porneia
in this context is in regard to incest. It was immorality between a son and
the father’s wife. Under the Old Testament Law it was punishable by death
(Lev 18:7, 8, 29; Deu 22:22, 30) and prohibited by Roman law. It was so lewd
a sin that Paul remarked that even the Gentiles (éthnos - non Jew, Eng. ethnic) did not
participate in this sin. 3. The fact that
the woman was not mentioned suggests that she was probably not a Christian.
A. [1Co 5:2] -
Paul was not just upset with the immoral Christian man in Corinth; he was
just as upset with the attitude of the Corinthian church. 1. They
themselves (emphatic use of humeís,
second person pronoun “you”) were arrogant. “Arrogance” (perfect participle of phusióō - to be puffed up) here would
suggest that they were proud of the fact that they accept anyone and everyone
into their church without any regard to sin. 2. Instead they
should have “mourned” (penthéō -
grieved over sin, Mat 5:4; Jam 4:9) over sin in their lives and over
the sin in the life of the immoral believer. 3. Their proper
attitude toward sin would have led them to first approach the man, and if he
did not repent, they would have “removed” (airō, take up or lift) and excommunicated him from the
fellowship. 4. Instead of a
proper attitude toward sin, the carnal Corinthian’s tolerance toward sin was
viewed as a Christian quality.
A. Paul’s
Apostolic Judgment 1. [1Co 5:3] -
Paul’s response toward the immoral brother and the Corinthian church was the
proper attitude. It did not take Paul long to act in light of the fact that
the Corinthians had done nothing. a) Though Paul
was not present with them, he personally had already judged (perfect indicative of krinō - “and
continued to judge” that is until he repented) the sinning man. b) At this point
Paul instructs and admonishes the Corinthians further with his apostolic
authority. B. Exercise
Excommunication 1. [1Co 5:4] -
Based upon Paul’s apostolic authority, he gave them an apostolic directive
when they were assembled. a) Paul’s
directive was “in the name of the Lord Jesus,” the name of the very One who
called him to be an apostle (Gal 1:1 cp. 1:12; 1Co 9:1-2). b) He also
directed them “with the power of our Lord Jesus” which asserted that it was
actually the divine directive of the Lord Jesus Christ. 2. [1Co 5:4] -
They were to exercise church discipline upon the sinning brother, which was
the same as delivering him over to Satan for the destruction of the body but
not the soul. a) The sinning
brother, being excommunicated from the protection and fellowship of the body
would be delivered over to Satan. The purpose would be so that all of the
consequences of sin would take their course (cp. 1Co 11:29-32; 1Jo 5:16; cp.
Ac 5:1-11) and prayerfully bring the sinning brother to repentance. b) Note that the
sinning believer does not lose his salvation from sin or poor service (1Co
3:15). Rather his spirit will be saved when the Lord returns for the church
at the Rapture. C. The Example
of Leaven 1. [1Co 5:6] -
He reproves them for their boasting and talks about the analogy of sin’s
influence like leaven. a) “Boasting” (kaúchêma - taking glory in something) implies
that they took glory in their tolerant position on sin. Paul had to tell
these carnal Christians that such glorying does not have the quality of moral
goodness (kalòn). b) Sin is never
stagnant but is like the active “leaven” (zúmê
- yeast) in a lump of dough. 2. [1Co 5:7] -
The only remedy for sin, just like leaven in a lump of dough, is to remove it
and start over. a) Even the
least bit of yeast will cause its active ingredient to affect the entire
lump. In the same way, a little sin left unchecked can affect an entire body
of believers. b) The Corinthian’s
position in Christ was that of unleavened through the sacrifice of Christ.
However, when they tolerated sin, they were willingly adding leaven to a pure
lump of dough. 3. [1Co 5:8] -
The Corinthians were to continually celebrate their position in Christ and
live their lives in accordance with it. But that cannot be done with sin in
their lives or the church. a) Typically,
like the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Ex 12:15-17), the absence of leaven was a
symbol for freedom from Egypt, here it was a picture of the believer’s
position of freedom from sin. b) Here Paul
used “malice and wickedness,” qualities that he probably was using in regard
to Corinthian character. Rather they were to be characterized with “sincerity
and truth.” D. The Principle
of Disassociation 1. [1Co 5:9] -
Paul wrote to the Corinthians previously warning them not to associate with
immoral and sinful people. a) If Paul wrote
to them before, it would reveal that this is actually his second letter.
However, God never intended for it to be preserved into canon. b) He wrote that
they were not to “associate” (sunanamignumi
- sun=with, ana=up, mignumi=mix), which meant don’t get mixed up
with immoral people. They were not to be influenced by their ways and
furthermore it would not give the appearance that they condoned their sin. 2.
[1Co 5:10] - Paul explains that he did not mean they were
not to rub shoulders with the immoral of the world, which included “covetous, swindlers, and idolaters.” God did not
remove the believer out of the world, but removed the world out of the
believer (cp. Joh 17:14-18). 3. [1Co 5:11] -
Paul meant they were not to associate or have fellowship (as if everything
was ok) with believers who continually and unrepentantly sinned. Paul calls
them “so-called” believers meaning that they were believers in name only (onomazō). They were not even to
eat with them unless they repented. 4. [1Co 5:12-13]
- Paul does not judge unbelievers because God will do that. However, he (and
other believers) judged believers. In a final admonition Paul quotes from Deu
17:7 (cp. 13:5; 21:21; 22:21) to show that church discipline was God’s divine
directives.
A. Believers are
not to tolerate sin but to mourn over sin in their own life and in the life
of others. B. Believers are
not to tolerate sin but are to remove sin from their lives and from the
church. C. Believers are
to accept the divine directive of church discipline to unrepentant believers. D. Believers are
to receive sinning believers who have repented from their sin (2Co 2:6-8). |
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