This Sunday we begin a short series on “Keeping the Body Holy”. How can we maintain church purity in a polluted culture? 1 Peter 1:14-16 As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. 15 But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16 for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”As Christians we belong to Christ, we were “bought at a price” (1 Corinthians 6:20; 7:23). Christ purchased us with His blood. 1 Corinthians 6:11 says that we were sanctified which means we have been set apart in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Individually, our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19), as a group, we make up the church which is the body of Christ (Ephesians 1:22-23). Therefore, it is important that we keep Christ’s Body holy. How do we protect church purity in a polluted culture?
In 1 Corinthians 5-6, the Apostle Paul, led by the Spirit and inspired by God, addresses three problems reported to him concerning the church in Corinth: sexual immorality (5:1-13); lawsuits (6:1-8); and prostitution (6:9-20). Over the next three weeks we will look at 1 Corinthians 5-6 and see what it means to Keep the Body Holy. This morning we will focus specifically on 1 Corinthians 5 which relates to church purity in a polluted culture.
To start with, Paul is dismayed that the Corinthian church tolerates gross sexual immorality within the community of believers. 1 Corinthians 5:1-2 It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that even pagans do not tolerate: A man is sleeping with his father’s wife. 2 And you are proud! Shouldn’t you rather have gone into mourning and have put out of your fellowship the man who has been doing this?
Paul says in verse 3 that he has already passed judgment on the one who has been doing this but he wants the church in Corinth to deal with the matter. Paul argues that the immoral brother should have been put out of the fellowship in verse 2 and repeats this idea in verse 13 telling them to “Expel the wicked person from among you.” As Paul points out in verse 1, few would approve of this type of behavior, not even pagans. The Corinthian church, however, is wrestling with how and why to withdraw fellowship. Paul says in verse 2 that they were proud. The Corinthians didn’t seem to think this was a big deal but you encourage what you tolerate and the church’s lack of action in this matter was enabling and encouraging the sin to continue.
When Paul refers to non-believers as “pagans” or “Gentiles” in verse 1, he implies that Christians constitute “Israel”, God’s holy, chosen people. From a Christian perspective, we are now God’s chosen and holy people (1 Peter 2:9). The pagans or Gentiles are those who are “outside” of the Body of Christ, they are those of the world. Paul wants the Corinthians to orient their behavior toward the Kingdom of God. Paul is explicit in his instruction that “outsiders” are treated differently than those who belong to the community of believers. 1 Corinthians 5:9-10 I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— 10 not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world.
1 Corinthians 5:4-5 So when you are assembled and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present, 5 hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord. When are we assembled (verse 4)? We traditionally interpret this to mean Sunday mornings in the church building. Jesus, however, stated in Matthew 18:20 that where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them. It is important to note that the first century church, in particular the church at Corinth, met in homes, not at a centralized building. Remember, the church is not the building it is a living Body of believers that come together at different times in different places.
Paul says in verse 5 that the community should deliver this man to Satan. This strong phrase has a parallel in 1Timothy 1:20: Among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan to be taught not to blaspheme. In the case of Hymenaeus and Alexander, they had been removed from the fellowship of the church. The same meaning applies to 1 Corinthians 5:5; the unrepentant sinner was to be excluded from the fellowship of believers. He was in essence, to be released back into the world. The hope is that this will lead the unrepentant sinner to Godly sorrow which leads to repentance (2 Corinthians 7:10). But of primary concern is protecting the community of believers, which Paul addresses in the next two verses.
1 Corinthians 5:6 Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough? Paul is addressing those who wanted to ignore the problem. They didn’t realize, didn’t want to admit, or just didn’t care that allowing unrepentant, willful, public sin to go unchecked within the congregation affects all members. Paul does not expect anyone to be sinless – everyone struggles with sin daily. Instead, he is speaking against those who deliberately sin, feel no guilt, and refuse to repent. Gross immorality cannot be tolerated within the body of Christ (Ephesians 5:3 But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality). Willful, unchecked, public sin affects the entire body and must not be tolerated.
Paul uses an analogy from the Passover to get his point across. 1 Corinthians 5:7 Get rid of the old yeast, so that you may be a new unleavened batch… Israelites were to remove every speck of yeast from the house at Passover (Exodus 12). Yeast symbolized sin and Paul, inspired by God, is telling the church at Corinth that just like the Israelites, Christians, should remove every speck of sin from their midst.
In verse 11 Paul, inspired by God, list the types of sins that cannot be tolerated within the community of believers. 1 Corinthians 5:11 But now I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. Do not even eat with such people. Christians must not knowingly associate with those claiming to be Christians that are openly living in defiance to God and the community of believers, in this case the Corinthian church, should purge the evil from among them. This is consistent with Old Testament and New Testament teaching, because God’s “ways that work” are eternal.
A common phrase is found throughout Deuteronomy: “Purge the evil person from among you” Deuteronomy 13:5; Deuteronomy 17:7; Deuteronomy 19:19; Deuteronomy 21:21; Deuteronomy 22:22; Deuteronomy 24:7. Likewise, the local body of believers must not allow such ongoing sin to remain unaddressed in the community. Doing so poisons the spiritual health of the congregation and invites slander from the unbelieving world.
There are several NT passages that address our relationships to those who are not walking in the light: 2 Corinthians 6:14 Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? 2 Thessalonians 3:14 Take special note of anyone who does not obey our instruction in this letter. Do not associate with them… Titus 3:10 Warn a divisive person once, and then warn them a second time. After that, have nothing to do with them. Hebrews 12:14-15 Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. 15See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.Perhaps the strongest passage that deals with this type of issue is found in Ephesians 5:1-7 (read).
Putting out of your fellowship (1 Corinthians 5:2) or expelling someone (1 Corinthians 5:13) is like an amputation that removes an infected body part to protect the body. This is a drastic measure and is a treatment of last resort but the primary goal is to protect the body. The secondary goal is that the person that is expelled will come to their senses and repent. Paul talks of an instance like this (though likely not the same one) in 2 Corinthians 2:5-11. Paul had apparently written the church about someone who had sinned and the church had disciplined this individual (2 Corinthians 5:6). Now, Paul indicates that the punishment is sufficient, and he encourages the church to forgive and comfort the offender and to reaffirm their love, noting that he also forgives him. 2 Corinthians 2:7-8 Now instead, you ought to forgive and comfort him, so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. 8 I urge you, therefore, to reaffirm your love for him.
Though 1 Corinthians 5 dealt with a specific sin within a specific congregation in the first century, the principles still remain. God’s ways that work are timeless and they are recorded for us as examples of how to deal with similar problems today. The church, at times, must exercise discipline toward members who deliberately keep on sinning. But this must be handled carefully, straightforwardly, and lovingly. Matthew 18:15-20 offers guidelines for dealing with sin within the community of believers. (1) Go to the person and show the fault to him or her in private; (2) If the person won’t listen, take one or two others along to establish the facts; (3) If the person still refuses tell it to the church; (4) if they still refuse to repent treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector. Pagans and tax collectors were excluded from the community. A faithful Judean would not associate with a pagan or a tax collector.
Notice what Matthew 18:17 does not say: it doesn’t say to announce that you will treat them as a pagan or a tax collector, or to order the church to treat them as a pagan or a tax collector; it simply says treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector. Too many people want to sit around and be told what to do but you don’t have to be told by anyone to do the right thing and the right thing in Matthew 18:17 is to withdraw from the unrepentant person.
Traditionally we have interpreted Matthew 18:17 to mean that at the end of Sunday morning Services the preacher or one of the elders steps up to the podium and publicly denounces the person involved in sin. It is important to note that nowhere in Matthew 18 or 1 Corinthians 5 are elders or the preacher mentioned, just the church or the body. It is also important to remember that on any given Sunday in any given congregation there are a certain percentage of people present who are not members of that congregation. There are seekers and visitors. Why would you want to air dirty laundry in front of seekers and visitors (1 Corinthians 6:1)?
Matthew 18:20 For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” This verse is often taken as a blanket comment on worship; yet, it pertains directly to church discipline (compare with 1 Corinthians 5:4). In the church’s response to the unrepentant sinner, the purpose of bringing other believers (the church) in on the process is to subject the matter to the testimony of multiple witnesses. Jesus’ statement to Peter in Matthew 18:18 that “whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven” means that God will ratify the community’s decision concerning the unrepentant person. Consequently, the promise of Christ’s presence whenever two or three come together (Matthew 18:20) is a promise that Christ is active in matters of church discipline.
A more appropriate application of Matthew 18:17 would be to get a plurality of members (brethren) who have relationship with the unrepentant sinner to go to that person. Galatians 6:1 says if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. If restoration is not achieved, if the sinner refuses to listen to the church, then fellowship must be withdrawn. In 1 Corinthians 5 Paul confronted the church in Corinth for failing to respond to a self-identified believer willfully engaging in sexual immorality. He insists they must remove the man from their community—to put him out of their fellowship (2), to expel him (13). As the faithful Israelite would do during Passover, they must remove the leaven of this man and his sin from among them, to prevent it from spreading to the entire church. Christian congregations must not associate with those who claim to be believers, yet flaunt their sin.
1 Corinthians 5:12-13 What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? 13 God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked person from among you.” Paul’s final word on the issue of Christians judging unbelievers for their sin is simple; it is not our responsibility. He states unequivocally that God judges those outside of the community of Christ.
On the other hand, Christians must accept our responsibility to judge each other when one who claims to be in Christ is participating in ongoing and unrepentant sin. The question is not “should the unrepentant person be expelled”, but rather, how it is handled.
When should elders get involved? When, if ever should it go public? Willful, unrepentant, public sin cannot be tolerated within the Lord’s church but we must apply Scripture correctly, for the right reasons and with the right heart. We can’t hide behind the elders or the preacher or letters or emails. Those with relationship must have the courage to go to the person and do what is right, even if that means telling the unrepentant person we cannot associate with you as long as you are continuing in your sin.