1 Corinthians 5

Posted on Jul 12, 2017 in Bible (NT) in a Year |

 Wednesday

 

So let us celebrate the festival, not with the old bread of wickedness and evil, but with the new bread of sincerity and truth. (Vs 8)

There is apparently a moral break down here that Paul is addressing. At first sight you are thinking that the problem is incest (and yes this is a terrible offense) but the real problem for the Corinthians is pride. They have this misconception that everything is now permissible and there is a freedom in Christianity that will allow them to do whatever they want. The sin was an individual offense, but the whole church was involved directly or indirectly. Not only did the church not object to such immoral behavior, they were actually praising their behavior. (vss 2, 6)

The obvious sin is talked about in Leviticus 18:6-8. It strictly forbids this type of relationship. But this situation is more about the reaction of the church… why were they not abhorred by it, as they should be.

Paul tells them specifically how to deal with this couple and in our world view it seems harsh. Would we condemn someone within our ranks of such a grievous moral failure and if they remain unrepentant – throw them out?

In Old Testament fashion, this couple wouldn’t have been thrown out of the church, they would have been stoned to death… even Roman law prohibited this type of relationship, so Paul’s approach to this situation, although harsh by our standards, is really filled with compassion. The ultimate goal is to have the couple repent of their sin and return to a right relationship with Christ. But if they are unrepentant, then it is necessary to cut them off. They will only infect the rest of the Church. A moral law has been broken and the church must act to protect itself, under the authority and power that was grand by Jesus Christ himself (Matthew 18:15-18). But punishment is meant to bring about redemption and as we have witnessed, tough love may be the only way to reach some people.

But what about the fact that the church seemed to be boasting about this situation. What is it about someone defying authority and law, that makes us want to encourage rebellion? When we see someone today standing up for gay rights and the world around them applaud their actions… is this any different than the situation in Corinth? When churches ordain those involved in homosexual relations and the rest of the church cheers them on? What have we succumbed to? Why have we been blinded by the sinfulness of this? There is no way that you can read scripture and defend the union of two people who are of the same sex. This is no different than those who chose to live together without being married.

Now for us comes the question of how do we deal with people (and I am speaking only of those who are people of faith – Christians) who are living lives that are defiant of our moral code, which was established by God?

So you may say, that all Christians are sinners, and this is true, but here comes the part that must be purged from our ranks… that is the willfulness and the boasting of our sins.

This is the sin that Paul is addressing to the entire Church. He likens it to yeast that affects the whole loaf of bread. The yeast represents evil and if left unchecked within the midst of the church, will grow and eventually destroy them. This “evil” needs to be purged, so that proper preparations can be made to celebrate the coming Passover as a memorial of Him who gave his life (as the Passover lamb) to deliver us from sin.

So you may ask again, didn’t Jesus associate with sinners and outcasts, didn’t he sit down to a meal with them? This is true, but Jesus was seeking to bring the lost into the sheepfold (the new community he was raising up) through repentance and transformed lives. He did not intend that once they accepted him, they would continue in their evil ways and even act like “wolves that destroy the flock.” Didn’t Jesus often warn against false prophets who “come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly they are ferocious wolves“ (Matthew 7:15)? Didn’t Jesus tell the woman caught in adultery “go and sin no more”? Jesus wanted followers who were dedicated to the elimination of evil from their lives and from the new community of believers.
 

It is for us to work with the people within our churches to help them understand what a transformed life looks like. But at the same time, we should do so in love. It is not up to any one individual to condemn someone from within the ranks of the church. There are proper ways… spelled out in scripture how these matters should be settled.

We often in our eagerness to right a situation, hurt a person who is seeking the truth.

To shun someone because they are part of the lgbt community is to miss the opportunity to show Christ’s love. If a person comes seeking Christ, it is for us to share the truth of scripture and let those Words work in their lives.

Grace and Peace

Pastor Kathy