Yes, Church Purity Is That Important

July 17, 2005 Preacher: Randy Smith Series: 1 Corinthians

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 5:1–8

Transcript

Yes, Church Purity Is That Important

1 Corinthians 5:1-8
Sunday, July 17, 2005
Pastor Randy Smith



I was a little hesitant to return to 1 Corinthians this morning. After three Sundays in Psalm 23 basking in the benevolent care of the Good Shepherd, we are confronted with the fifth chapter of 1 Corinthians, possibly one of the most abrasive sections of Scripture. Against some reservations, I decided to proceed, wanting the contrast to present to you a balanced view of our Creator. After further thought, I began to see a connection with the love of God and the severity of God. Possibly the Spirit will show you that connection as well.

We live in a culture today where probably one sin is running rampant more than any other. This rebellion against biblical standards has grown at unprecedented rates in the past 30 years. That which was once taboo even among the unbelieving segment of society is accepted as the norm and is flaunted in magazines, the airwaves, the Internet and general conversation. Even the church has been taken in whereby many of them live closer to the word's standards than God's standards. The sin I am speaking about is sexual immorality.

The pagan Corinthian culture was not unlike our culture today. Sexual impurity was so prevalent in the town of Corinth that they began to call these immoral actions "Corinthianizing."

But whether the church is in 1st century Corinth or 21st century America, God calls His people out of the domain of sin to practice holiness (1 Pet. 2:9). God expects His people to reject the standards of the world and increasingly conform to the standards of His Word, which means forsaking sexual immorality.

The Greek work that is often used in the Scriptures to sweep all illicit sexual behavior into one category is porneia. It is where we get our English word pornography. You see, marriage was created by God and used to symbolize Christ's relationship to His church (Eph. 5:32). It is a holy union. It is to be viewed as the acceptable boundary for sexual relationships. Therefore fornication, adultery and homosexuality violate the purposes of our Creator and are clearly condemned in the Scriptures.

So regardless of what the world calls a "personal choice" and "alternative lifestyle," God calls sin and commands His people to "put off" these ways and "put on" His ways. Reference after reference in the Bible is a call from God for church purity (Mt. 5:19; Ac. 15:20, 29; 1 Cor. 5:9-11, 6:9-10, 13-18; Gal. 5:19; Eph. 5:3-5; Col. 3:5; 1 Thes. 4:3; Heb. 12:16; 13:4; Rev. 21:8; 22:15). Consider Ephesians 5:3, "But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity…because these are improper for God's holy people (NIV)."

"Not even a hint of sexual immorality!" It is not permitted! But what do you do if someone claims to be a Christian and is identified with your church and yet continues to practice unrepentant sexual sin, bringing reproach upon the church and the name of Christ? The answer to that question will be revealed from the Scriptures this morning.

1. THE DIAGNOSIS (verses 1-2a)

Let's begin with the diagnosis. The beginning of verse 1, "It is actually reported that there is immorality among you."

We can't be sure how Paul was made aware of this information. Possibly it was in Chloe's report (1:11) or it was received from the delegation of three mentioned in chapter 16 (16:17). To Paul this made little difference. His point, based on the grammar of verse 1, was that everybody was aware of this specific situation. It was common information. This man's sin was a well-established and undeniable fact (since the woman is not mentioned we assume she was an unbeliever). Paul's beef - Everybody seemed to know about it and nobody was willing to do anything about it. You see, the church seemed to have no problem being identified for their sin and not their holiness.

Now this was not the first time these Corinthians heard about the need for a pure church. We know they were influenced by some remarkable teachers - Paul, Peter and Apollos (1:12). We know they were also reminded again in verse 9 when Paul said, "I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people." This comment obviously refers to a previous letter that is no longer with us. But the point the Apostle is trying to make: "I repeatedly expressed my concerns regarding your sexual immorality. You have no excuse. But it seems that my teaching has made very little impact!"

Furthermore, to add additional credence to his outrage, in verse 1 he said, "(This) immorality (is) of such a kind as does not exist even among the Gentiles" (cf. Eph. 4:17-19). Paul was not exaggerating. Even those who "corinthianized" in Corinth would not stoop as low as this one offender. The church was practicing and tolerating sin that even the pagan Gentiles were ashamed of!

Finally in verse 1, the sin is identified. Paul says, "That someone has his father's wife."

In Jewish circles this terminology meant one's stepmother. And according to the law, whether one had his mother or his stepmother was insignificant. Both were considered incest. Listen to the juxtaposition of both of these incestuous acts in Leviticus 18. "You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father, that is, the nakedness of your mother. She is your mother; you are not to uncover her nakedness. You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father's wife; it is your father's nakedness" (Lev. 18:7-8, emphasis added; cf. Lev. 20:11; Dt. 22:30, 27:20). The prescribed penalty for such a sin? "For whoever does any of these abominations, those persons who do so shall be cut off from among their people (that's significant!)" (Lev. 18:29). In other words, remove the person from your midst. Back then they did it by stoning!

But it was not just Jewish law that condemned incest. According to Cicero, Roman law did as well. Paul already said that even the Gentiles did not practice such a sin. Common grace has given every human with a soft conscience the knowledge that such an action is completely unacceptable.

Look at Paul's response at the top of verse 2. "You have become arrogant and have not mourned instead?"

I don't think, as some commentators suggest, that the church was proud of the man's sin in flaunting their Christian liberty or expressing their loving forbearance.

No, this was a divided church. How could they all come to the theological conviction that a sin as wicked as this, not even accepted by the pagans, could be approved by God? No, I believe the arrogance Paul speaks of in verse 2 was their attitude of superiority that we learned so much about in chapters 1-4. While they were running around saying, "We are 'filled,' we are 'rich,' we have become 'kings'" (1 Cor. 4:8), Paul is saying in verse 2, you guys should be mourning instead. I believe the problem was not that they applauded the sin, but rather that they ignored the sin because their heads were "puffed-up," buried in the sand of conceit. Caught up in petty issues of personal pride, they missed the issues that were most important. Paul says rather than being arrogant, they should have been grieved over this sin in their midst (cf. Mt. 5:4).

You can understand Paul's concerns! Imagine the dangers that this one couple posed to the cause of Christ - both to those outside the church, as they tolerate a sin the world condemns, and those inside the church, as this unchecked sin could spread like gangrene.

It seems Paul mourned over their failure to mourn. He knew something must be done to remedy the diagnosis! Therefore, he mentions the treatment in the following four verses.

2. THE TREATMENT (verse 2b-5)

Verse 2 in its entirety. "You have become arrogant and have not mourned instead, so that the one who had done this deed would be removed from your midst."

The Apostle is pulling no punches. In chapters 1-4 we learned how he was calling the church to unite, now in chapter 5 he is calling the church to divide. Separate this man from yourselves! Just as such a sinner would have been cut off from the people of Israel, God has called us at times to cut off people from the church as well. Though we obviously stop short of stoning, we are commanded to remove unrepentant sinners from our midst. Paul is calling for the church to expel the immoral brother. He is expecting the church to surgically remove the infected body part. Commonly we refer to this act as church discipline.

Paul continues to share his convictions. Verse 3, "For I, on my part, though absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged him who has so committed this, as though I were present."

Through the Spirit of Christ, all believers exist in one spiritual body and are mystically united and present with each other. Though Paul was currently over a hundred miles away in Ephesus, he was physically absent but spiritually present with them. He wasted no time to render his verdict.

But Paul was walking a fine line between exerting his apostolic authority and desiring the local church to act in accordance with God's will on their own accord. Though Paul nudged them on, his ultimate goal as their spiritual father (1 Cor. 4:15) was to see them respond rightly to sin by their own desire to obey. He wanted them to have a sense of responsibility for the actions in their church.

Verse 4, "In the name of our Lord Jesus, when you are assembled, and I with you in spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus."

When an Apostle speaks, he speaks with the authority of God Himself. God uniquely gifted these men for a short period of church history to reveal divine truth for the formation of Scripture and foundation of the church. In other words, their words carry the same weight as the words of Christ Jesus Himself. But just in case the Corinthians felt Paul contradicted Jesus Christ in his counsel or Paul's words were insignificant, Paul reinforces His teaching by reminding them of the teaching of Christ.

Please turn to Matthew 18. I believe this is a good time to interject the words of Jesus Christ Himself on this matter. Beginning in verse 15, "If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother. But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every fact may be confirmed. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector" (Mt. 18:15-17).

This four-step procedure off the lips of our Lord is very straightforward. If we are made aware of one's sin, in private we are to confront the individual (in love, gentleness and humility - Gal. 6:1), not with our own opinions, but with the words of Scripture. If the person repents, Jesus said, we have succeeded in winning our brother. If the individual refuses to repent, we are to return, taking one or two witnesses along. If the person still refuses to listen, the individual and his or her sin is to be told to the church. The goal here is not punishment, but rather restoration. The intention is for this offender to listen to the pleas of God's flock and for his own good and the good of God's reputation, forsake the sin. If the reproof from the whole church is disregarded, the person is to be excommunicated and treated as an unbeliever. Or in the words of Jesus, "Let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector" (Mt. 18:17).

Though Paul does not mention the early steps in his letter (we assume they have already occurred), his command to "remove the (immoral person) from (their) midst" is perfectly in line with the teaching of Jesus.

And there is much more in common. We can't miss this!

Look with me again at Matthew 18. Still in the context of church discipline, Jesus said, beginning in verse 18, "Truly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven. Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven. For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst" (Mt. 18:18-20).

Jesus is not teaching that heaven complies with all of our whims. Rather He is saying that when we gather in His name to follow His Word, regardless of the human disagreement, our decisions on earth are is bound in heaven. In other words, heaven is on our side.

He goes on to say, "For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst" (Mt. 18:20). This verse is not speaking about a prayer meeting. This verse, in the context of church discipline, is encouraging us that when the church is intent on following the Lord's commands, Jesus Christ Himself is present to affirm and support our verdict.

Let's take that thought back to 1 Corinthians 5. You can see in verse 4 that Paul talks about assembling "in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." He speaks of himself as a witness affirming their decision in spirit. And later in the verse he speaks about "the power of our Lord Jesus."

Paul is only affirming Matthew 18. He is saying that when you gather as a church, you are to gather in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. That means you should be intent on following His expectations. And when you follow His expectations, which include church discipline, He is in your midst. "The power of our Lord Jesus" as Paul said, affirms and empowers your decisions.

In conclusion, Paul says, "You should follow the authority of Christ as it is revealed in His Word. I am also with your decision in spirit (verses 3 and 4) as a witness. So as we gather together on this biblical decision, Jesus is in our midst. Therefore, verse 2 (and verse 13), expel the immoral brother!"

But Paul gets even more intense. Verse 5, "I have decided to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of his flesh" (Now if we stop right there Paul sounds rather cruel - we must allow him to continue his though and the purpose for such an action) "so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus."

Someone once said, "The church (is) an island of life in Christ, surrounded by a sea of death ruled by Satan" (Hurd, John, The Origin of 1 Corinthians, 285). When person is excommunicated from the church, he is removed from the sphere of God's protection. He is no longer in the household of God (3:9) whose doorposts have been sprinkled by Christ's blood for protection (if I can borrow some imagery from Exodus).

When the individual is placed in the world, he is placed in Satan's territory. Remember, Satan is the "god of this world" (2 Cor. 4:4). (Unfortunately many other churches will accept the unrepentant sinner today with no questions asked.) Thanks to his own unrepentant heart, he is now in the hands of Satan, fresh meat and fair game to do to him as he wishes. Frightening stuff!

But ironically, as Paul says in verse 5, the goal is to allow Satan's influence on him not to be a means of vengeful punishment, but rather to be a means of spiritual deliverance. In some way, Satan is to be used as God's agent in the destruction of his flesh. I believe that is the eradication of his sinful orientation. Like Paul's thorn in the flesh, a "messenger of Satan" (2 Cor. 12:7) or Job's afflictions (Job 1-2), though neither of these cases were church discipline, Satan is a tool in God's hands to accomplish God's sovereign purposes.

Whatever means Satan uses, which most likely could include physical affliction, God will bring forth humility in the hopes that the man will spiritually "wake up," "come to his senses" (Lk. 15:18) like the prodigal son, return to joyful obedience and be restored to the body of Christ (2 Cor. 2:6-8).

And as difficult as it is to place one in Satan's domain through excommunication, more difficult is it to see one not only destroy the church, but also shipwreck his own faith through unrepentant sin (see 1 Tim. 1:19-20). If it means, as Paul said, "(Seeing) his spirit…saved in the day of the Lord Jesus," placing one in temporary discomfort is an indication of the church's love. Satan's wrath while on this earth or God's wrath for an eternity in hell? Which would you rather see on another?

3. THE RATIONALE (verses 6-8)

Finally, as we move to the third point, let's look at the rationale in verses 6-8. For if any in the church of Corinth or the church of Lake Como still disagree with Paul and the teaching of Jesus Christ, these verses help support the need for such drastic actions.

Sin contaminates the church

First of all, sin contaminates the church. Verse 6, "Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough" (cf. Gal. 5:9)?

Leaven, a substance, we are not much familiar with today was common in antiquity. When bread was to be baked, a small piece of dough would be broken off and placed to the side. It would sit alone for several days until it began to ferment and turn sour. Once it reached this point, this piece (now called "leaven") would be placed into a sack of flour from which the next batch of bread would be made. This is what caused the bread to rise the next time it was baked (adapted from John Stevenson, 1 Corinthians, Internet).

Here is Paul's point: In the same way it only takes a little leaven to influence a whole loaf of bread, it only takes a little sin to influence a whole church. Sin has the destructive power to ferment, spread and corrupt. The more sin is left unchecked, the more it will spread. The more sin is tolerated, the more it will intensify itself in the individual and be duplicated in the lives of others. Just as a small spark can start a forest fire, a small sin can spread like wildfire to destroy a whole church. We must not take unrepentant sin lightly.

Holiness emulates our Lord

Second, holy behavior in the church emulates our Lord. Verse 7, "Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed."

Back in the Exodus you will recall the Israelites were commanded to depart from Egypt. As they baked bread in preparation for their journey they were told not to add any leaven. One, because they did not have time to let the bread rise (Ex. 12:33-34, 39), but moreover, leaven represented the old way of life. Therefore, all leaven was to be removed from their homes and not brought on their voyage.

Again, Paul is symbolically calling the church to "clean out the old leaven." We are to remove the sin from our former way of living. We are to discard our manner of actions indicative of the world. Why? Because as he says in verse 7, we are now unleavened. We are now pure, washed in the blood of the Lamb, and therefore our behavior should give evidence of this reality. As Israel was to make a total break from Egypt, the church is to make a total break from the world. None of the old life is to remain in the new!

Furthermore, this tradition of removing leaven from the homes was to continue in the life of Israel (Ex. 12:14-15, 19, 24-25; 13:3, 6-7, 10). Whenever the yearly Passover lambs were sacrificed (as a reminder of the ones that were shed during the exodus when their blood was smeared on the doorposts to be spared God's wrath in the angel of death - Ex. 12:7, 13, 22-23), leaven was to be removed from the homes.

Therefore, how much more should "leaven" (sin) be removed from the church, since, as verse 7 says, "Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed." And we don't remove our leaven only on certain occasions, we remove it in accordance to the sacrifice of Jesus: once as for all! For Jesus Christ (the true Passover Lamb to which all the others pointed - Jn. 1:29) has shed His blood to save us from the wrath of God. And just as Israel would consecrate themselves as holy after celebrating the Passover, the church should consecrate themselves as holy after receiving Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. We should demonstrate that we have received His sacrifice on our behalf by becoming like Him and removing sin from our personal lives and removing sin also from the household of God through church discipline.

Paul's conclusion to all this is found in verse 8. "Therefore let us celebrate the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth." This is the church assembly that honors the Lord.

Before we took a brief summer sabbatical to work through a few Psalms, we concluded 1 Corinthians chapter 4. In that chapter, Paul spoke often of their arrogance (4:6, 18, 19). He admonished them in verse 14. He exhorted them in verse 16. And he reminded them in verse 17. But what is to be done when arrogant people bent on their own sin still refuse to repent? Paul concluded chapter 4 by saying, "What do you desire? Shall I come to you with a rod, or with love and a spirit of gentleness" (4:21, emphasis added)?

Church discipline (as we saw today in chapter 5) is a final resort, but it is a necessary one to keep a church pure. Some may disagree with these tactics and they are welcome to go down the road and start their own church and hang their name over the door. But as for us here at the Grace Tabernacle, God's approval matters more than the world's. We cannot pick and choose from the Scriptures. God's wisdom is greater than ours. For the sake of His glory, we must be intent on following all the directives in His Word in love and humility.


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