1 Corinthians | Chapter 5

1 Corinthians 5:1-13

“The Beauty of His Holiness (part a)”

I. Intro

Two weeks ago, we dealt with the “How to’s” of correcting God’s children. For the sake of memory, I put them into four “C’s”:

• Convey – love while affirming the truth
• Copy – be their example, as well as explain the truth
• Confront – their action and attitude being careful to break but not destroy
• Give them a choice – to turn from pride and self to God

Judging by the number of tapes purchased, many of you got some solid information that you could use. Before us this morning is a very misunderstood subject, and one that many in the Church would prefer not to talk about: “What happens when you have tried to apply the four C’s and they didn’t respond?” The unpleasant subject of Church discipline is what Paul is addressing to the Church in Corinth. It is interesting to note that the failure of the Church to rightly handle this subject has led to its paralyzed condition in the world. The Church that is pure is the Church that is powerful, and the Church that is tolerant of sin within its walls is impotent. The chapter, for the sake of study, breaks apart by asking three questions about Church discipline:

• Vs. 1-5 What is proper church discipline?
• Vs. 6-8 Why must we do it?
• Vs. 9-13 What are its limitations?

Alan Redpath rightly observes that the only real weapons the Church has to influence the world are the Word of God and the Spirit of God. If, through compromise, the Holy Spirit is grieved by our tolerance of sin within our walls, then the effect of the Word of God in our lives will accomplish nothing in the world where we have been placed. Perhaps, then, there is no more important chapter for the Church to read than the one before us!

II. Vs. 1-5 What is proper church discipline?

Vs. 1: Paul now brings up a situation that was happening in the Church, but it is important to remember that the context of this passage is correcting the Church for its lack of correcting a sinning believer. In other words, the far more grievous problem in the Church was the tolerance the Church had towards sin and not the offending brother. All this fellow did by his sin was point out the problem the Church in Corinth had. So just what was his situation? Paul tells us it was “sexual immorality among you, and such sexual immorality as is not even named among the Gentiles; that a man has his father’s wife!” Several things need to be said in order to deal with what this chapter is about – the lack of Church discipline.

• Verse 9 makes it plain that Paul had indicated the truth concerning not allowing sexually immoral people into the fellowship. In other words, their situation was not out of ignorance but rather prideful defiance (verse 2). Yes, Paul was well aware of what the Corinthian society thought concerning sexual sin. Remember, right above the city was the temple to the sex goddess Aphrodite. Paul did not change the Word of God’s truth to fit the culture in which the Church was placed.
• Notice the phrase concerning this man, that “a man has his father’s wife!” It doesn’t say that he “had” his father’s wife, but that he still does! The sinful activity had been going on for some time and was still being practiced by this guy.
• Paul does not call this adultery. Instead, it is called “sexual immorality.” The word here is “porneia,” where we get our word “pornography,” and it refers to any illicit sexual activity such as “promiscuity, homosexuality, adultery, incest, or pedophilia.” Now we need not wonder what Paul was referring to when he used this word, as he tells us that the sin of sexual immorality was that of an incestuous relationship with his stepmother. The fact that Paul does not call this adultery tells us that this had already caused an end to the marriage. Family ruin had already taken place as a result of this prolonged behavior.
• Several verses here lead me to believe that the man was a professing believer, but the stepmother was not. So not only was this an immoral relationship, it was a relationship that had no grounds for ever being together.
• Finally, Paul says that this particular situation was “reported” to him. The word for reported means that it was common knowledge and everyone in the Church knew of it, and based on the phrase, “as is not even named among the Gentiles,” the unbelieving city was aware of it and thought it was wrong! Under Roman law, such incest was strictly forbidden, and yet the Church was allowing it to continue.

Allow me to put all these facts together for you concerning what the Church at Corinth knew about this situation:

• They had been told it was wrong by Paul.
• The relationship was ongoing, and they were doing nothing about it.
• It had already caused family destruction.
• There were no grounds at all for this relationship to be allowed to continue.
• Everyone was well aware of the situation, and even the sexually immoral society they lived among thought it was wrong.

It is in this context that Paul now gives us the proper basis of Church discipline, as he corrects the error in the Church of Corinth. You will notice he gives them four steps to deal with Church discipline:

1. Vs. 2 Right attitude: Right off the bat, Paul corrects the attitude of the Church towards the sinning professing believer. The Church must have the right attitude concerning sin within its walls. It seems to me that the Church often makes two mistakes in the area of attitude towards sin being practiced by its members.
• “Puffed up”: The first is found in the attitude in the Church at Corinth, as they had become “self-inflated” or arrogant in their tolerance of sin. Now, we are not told why they felt proud of their tolerance of such behavior, only that they were. Several possibilities exist:
  • Liberty: They had become preoccupied with their own importance and knowledge so that they could justify the tolerance of practiced sin among them. “He who is without sin cast the first stone” attitude!
  • Sloppy agape: They looked at their tolerance of sin as the expression of God’s love. The trouble is that love without truth is hypocrisy! Love that allows a child to continue to play in the street is abuse and neglect, not true biblical love!
• “Critical and harsh”: Though not addressed in this passage, a Church can have an uncaring, harsh, or judgmental attitude towards sin in the Church. Kind of the “turn or burn” or “get right or get left” attitude. As true as both of those statements are, without a heart of love, they are brutal and lack compassion as well as concern for the well-being of the sinning saint!
• “Grief and broken-heartedness”: Paul tells them what the right attitude is as he says “have not rather mourned.” The word used here for mourned is the word that is used to describe the loss of a loved one. There ought to have been a sadness in their heart as when one finds out that a spouse is dying of cancer and there is a possibility we will not see them any longer in this life. Now think of this a moment as it relates to the above two actions found in the Church concerning the sin in their midst. Would you tell your spouse that has a curable disease that, if left untreated, it will take them from you, “Hey, we all got to go sometime, might as well party hearty till you go!” Neither would you say, “Hey, stop being sick stupid, or I’m going to leave you!” Instead, you would be saddened by their illness but, at the same time, committed to seeing them get well.
2. Vs. 3-4a Right authority: In these two verses, Paul shares with the Corinthians the authority in which he was telling them to act by taking this man out of the Church. It is apparent here that Paul had already weighed the matter biblically, even though he was not present physically. How do Paul’s words square with Jesus’ words in Matthew 7:1-5 where He says, “Judge not, that you be not judged? For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged”? This is not that hard to understand, as Paul’s judgment of this person is not based upon their motives but rather upon what already has been judged by God’s word. Paul’s authority is not upon public opinion of what they should do but rather it was based upon two important things:
• “The name of our Lord Jesus Christ”: They knew what Jesus had to say on the matter. Whose body is it? Well, it is Jesus’ body. Therefore, we need to react towards the habitually sinning person in accordance with His word.
• “The power of our Lord Jesus Christ”: They were not to go in the power of the Church body but rather in the power of the Lord Jesus Christ. What they were to say to this sinning brother was God’s word and authority; thus, the sinning brother needed to understand that the gravity of disobeying His word is rejecting Jesus! 1 John 2:4 says, “He who says, ‘I know Him,’ and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.”

In order to refresh our memories, just how did Jesus tell us how to handle Church discipline? Well, Jesus tells us in Matthew 18:15-17:

• Vs. 15a “Moreover, if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother.” Step number one: If you see a brother or sister in Christ who is sinning, go to them privately. Don’t spread it around or ask for prayer—just go and tell that person that what they are doing is sin. It is not that you don’t like their shirt or something like that; it is an attitude or action in which they are involved that is against God’s word. You are not judging them; they are already judged by the Word of God. You are just making them aware that the attitude or action that they are doing is seen, and you are calling them to agree with God that such attitude or action is against God and His word. Thus, they need to have a change of heart, mind, and will in this area! If the person responds to this, end of the problem. Nobody needs to know anything about it. Did you notice Jesus’ words here, “you have gained your brother”? That’s very important because it reveals that as far as the Lord is concerned, the sinner, whether ignorant or willful, is lost to Jesus. You can’t gain something that you already had! You’re not kicking someone out; you are trying to gain them back, as they are already outside fellowship with God!
• Vs. 16 “But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that ‘by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.’” Step number two: Repeat the above step but with one or two others so that they may know that you are not just picking on them. Also, this is good in that there won’t be any “You never told me that” stuff. It will all be out in the open so that there will be no chance of miscommunication. Again, if the person agrees with the word of God on the matter and has a change of heart, mind, and will, then it is finished.
• Vs. 17a “And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church.” Step number three: So you’ve gone to the person, then one or two more came with you, and they still refuse to hear the word of God, then tell it to the Church. Interesting how Jesus uses the word “hear” as it indicates that the reaction of the sinning believer had to be more than lip service. It had to be action. They had to do more than just say, “Yeah, you’re right, God’s word does say this, and I’m going to change!” If they didn’t have a change of heart, mind, and will that was visible in their actions, then they didn’t hear! The proud heart that refuses to change from an attitude or action that is against the Word of God needs to know the whole Church body, of which they are a part, agrees that what they are doing is unacceptable. The responsibility towards this person has now become everybody’s duty to win them back to obedience to Jesus! Again, if they receive that, as seen in the change of heart, mind, and will, then all is made right. It’s over, end of story!
• Vs. 17b “But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector.” Step number four: There is a change of attitude towards that person. Instead of treating them as a believer, you start treating them in accordance with the way they are acting, as a nonbeliever. No matter what they may claim to be with their words, their actions and attitudes are saying that they are not born again. The question is, what is the Church to do with those who are not Christians? Well, Jesus told us to go into the world and make followers (disciples) of all nations “teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you.” So what do we do with them? Well, we again try to win them to Jesus. You don’t shun them or treat them poorly. Instead, you use every opportunity afforded to you to win them to Jesus! They are not being punished. There is no official ceremony of excommunication or condemnation. Instead, they are put into the category they have chosen because of disobedience to God’s Word. Most of the time, when it gets to this stage, the person withdraws from wanting to hang around the Church body, or they go to a church where they can continue to practice their sin and not feel convicted.

Time does not permit me to go further in this section, but we will take it up next week. I know that this is not pleasant to look at, and no one likes to have to discipline those in the body of Christ, but if left undone, we are demonstrating two things:

• That we ourselves are not submitted to Jesus Christ, and it is not about obeying God’s word, it’s about making people happy.
• That we are not a loving Church! What? You think addressing sinful behavior is loving? Yes, I do. The Bible tells me as well as practical experience. Hebrews 12:6 says, “For whom the LORD loves He chastens.”

1 Corinthians 5:1-5

“The Beauty of His Holiness (part b)”

I. Intro

Last week, we began a section that seeks to answer the questions many of us might have concerning Church discipline. What we have learned so far as Paul deals with a church that did not want to correct its sinning members is first:

• Vs. 2 Attitude: Not just of the offending believer but of the church that is called to correct them. In Corinth, the problem was that they were proud of their tolerance of sin.
  • We are not sure why, but perhaps they thought this was the way you showed God’s love.
  • There is another attitude that is equally wrong, though Paul does not address it here, and that is when we are harsh and uncaring towards the sinning believer.
  • Instead, Paul says that we ought to treat them as if they have a fatal affliction that, left untreated, will take their life.
• Vs. 3-4a Authority: Paul told them that their authority was both in the “name of the Lord” as well as in the “power of the Lord.” In other words, the Church that does not take sin seriously within its own walls cannot be taken seriously outside its walls.

Now we will continue with the other two points answering “What is church discipline,” finally taking up the questions of verses 6-8, “Why must we do it?” and verses 9-13, “What are its limitations?”

II. Vs. 1-5 What is proper church discipline?

A. Vs. 4b-5 Right action:

Three times in this section of scripture, Paul tells them the action they needed to take concerning this sinning professing believer:

• Vs. 2: “he who has done this deed might be taken away from among you.”
• Vs. 5: “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.”
• Vs. 13: “Put away from yourselves the evil person.”

What are we to make of these verses? Let me suggest several things:

1. Whatever the action is, Paul makes it understandable three separate times that this brother’s sin ought not to be “swept under the rug.” Doing nothing was not an option as far as Paul and the word of God are concerned.
2. The phrases, “taken away,” “deliver such a one,” and “put away from yourselves” indicate a change in position as did Jesus’ words in Matthew 18:17b “let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector.”
3. We are to act as Jesus would act if He were among them in dealing with the same issue. The Church has no right to do anything that Jesus Himself would or would not do!

So, clearly, there is a separation from a professing believer who refuses to submit to the word of God and the authority of the Lord in their lives. The greater question is not the action, but who has caused this separation and how is it to be seen in the Church body. In only one of those verses above does it sound as if the church body is doing anything as far as separation from the sinning believer?

• Verse 2: says “that he might be taken away.” The picture here is that someone or something has caused the removal.
• Verse 5: says “that he is delivered.” When you deliver a package to someone, the package is already theirs; it is just being sent on its way.
• Only verse 13 says to “put away” the evil person, but the reference to that is judging.

How are we to understand this? The Bible is clear that there are two kingdoms:

• Kingdom of this world: There is the kingdom in which every human is born into, and it is under the control of Satan (prince of this world, John 14:30). In this kingdom, the philosophy of this world is the “lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life,” and, as such, we are told that we all “once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.” How do you know if you are in this kingdom? Paul wrote to the Galatians that the “works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery (drugs), hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” Furthermore, Paul says to the Romans, “if you live according to the flesh, you will die,” and he said, “those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”
• Kingdom of God: You enter this kingdom by birth as well, but it is “new birth.” Paul said in Romans that those in this kingdom “are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.” It is this Kingdom that John says eternal life has been promised to: “God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.” Paul wrote to the Galatians that if we “live by the Spirit, you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.” How will we know if we are doing that? He went on to say, “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”

The truth is that Christians have dual citizenship. We have our physical address partly in the kingdom of the world, but our real address is the kingdom of God. Paul is saying, concerning the believer who is practicing sin, that they are not living in God’s kingdom but rather Satan’s. Fellow believers have gone to them, taken two or three, brought it before the Church, and still they persist to live in the kingdom of the world. So you let them know that they are living in the wrong kingdom and under its influence. So what has happened?

• Vs. 2: Practicing sin has “taken them away from the kingdom of God.”
• Vs. 5: They are living a life dominated by the flesh, “so you are letting them know that they are living in a kingdom that will destroy the flesh.” When we moved, we filed a “change of address” notification with the Post Office because we were no longer living where we used to. That’s the idea here. The protection afforded them in the kingdom of God is not theirs, as they have chosen to live in the kingdom of this world. So if they have chosen to “live according to the flesh, they will die.”
• The person living in the kingdom of the world, while saying that they are living in the kingdom of God, is in fact no longer living under the authority of God. By their actions, they are saying, “I don’t want the Lord and His Church in my life.” They have, in effect, moved! So the action of the Church is to let them go (put away from themselves the sinning person) with the full knowledge of what their action is saying. You can’t live in two worlds. Jesus said, “No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other.” The Church is simply granting the sinful professing believer the request of their actions so that they might get their fill of those things that feed the flesh and turn back toward the Lord.

B. Vs. 5b Right aim:

Paul tells the Church that the action can be right only inasmuch as it maintains the right aim. What is the right aim? Well, he tells us that “his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.” Do you see that? The aim of the action is not to punish a person or destroy them but rather to save them. Remember that, according to Scripture, that fellow was already outside of fellowship, already living a lifestyle that would destroy him. The action of the church is restoration, not destruction. It is geared to get the offending person to recognize that the lifestyle lived apart from obedience to God’s word is destroying them and that all they need to do to make it right with God is have a change of:

• What they think towards that sin
• What they feel towards that sin
• How they act towards that sin

Jesus gave the best illustration of this in Luke 15:11-32 in the story of the prodigal son. The context of the story is that tax collectors and sinners drew near to hear Jesus speak, and the Pharisees and scribes complained that he welcomed sinners. How did Jesus say we were to see a sinning, unrepentant, professing believer? Well, (Matthew 18:17b) says as a “heathen and a tax collector.” So, then, this story of the “prodigal son” becomes the perfect illustration of Church discipline. In the parable, Jesus said that the younger son wanted to have his inheritance and spend it living out in the world. Do you see that the younger son had been a part of the family? So he got his inheritance and left (to a far country, kingdom of this world) and wasted all that he had living a wasted lifestyle. A severe famine hit that land, and he began to go hungry. He went to a citizen of the kingdom of the world who put him to work feeding pigs. He was so down that what the pigs ate was better than what he had, and the people of the kingdom of the world didn’t care. Then he realized that what the poorest servants in his father’s house had was better than what he had. So he decided to go back to his father’s kingdom and say, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.” When he returned to the kingdom of his father, he found that his father had been waiting for him to return, as he saw him a good distance away and came to the “prodigal son.” The father lavished upon his returning child all his goodness. Listen, Christian, to the reason for the father’s reaction to the son’s return, “this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.” Do you see that? The son “was dead.” His living according to his flesh in the kingdom of the world had killed him. Furthermore, “he was lost.” The son’s living in the kingdom of the world had caused him to get lost, but his return caused him to become alive again and to be found!

Let me put this plainly. The Church’s action does not cause a person to become dead or lost; their sin has done that. Furthermore, we are not helping the unrepentant professing believer if we allow them to practice their sin living in two kingdoms. Why? Because they are, in fact, not living in two kingdoms; instead, they have become dead and lost. If we allow them to think that they are not dead and lost, then they will never come back to the Kingdom of God!

• Right attitude
• Right authority
• Right action
• Right aim

1 Corinthians 5:6-13

“The Beauty of His Holiness (part c)”

I. Intro

This morning, we come to the final 8 verses of this chapter in which Paul addresses what proper Church discipline is, why we must do it, and what are its limitations. So far, Paul gave the Church four things that make up right Church discipline:

• Right attitude
• Right authority
• Right action
• Right aim

Having spent two weeks looking at this, we now shift our focus to the second question!

II. Vs. 6-8 Why must we do it?

I suppose that in answering this question, all I need to say is that God’s word says so! But I like how Paul addresses this in verses 6-8, as he gives three reasons why the Church needs to deal with sin within its own walls.

1. Vs. 6 Purity:

The Church at Corinth was bragging about their spiritual health, and a part of this was based upon their thinking that the tolerance of sin was an indication of spiritual health. So Paul says that their assessment, based upon their tolerance of sin, was wrong (not good). Paul uses an illustration of the fermentation of bread dough called “leaven.” In scripture, leaven is always a symbol of sin. As yeast is put into the flour and water mixture, it begins to cause rot which lets up gas bubbles which cause the dough to rise. Those of you who are a bit older will remember that you take a “pinch” of that dough as a “starter” for the next batch of bread, and you do that each time. The longer you use a “starter,” the greater the danger of the pinch causing “food poisoning.” So, every so often, at least once a year, you purge the leaven from your house and start fresh. So what is Paul saying is the first reason to deal with sin within our walls? Well, because the lack of doing so will affect the rest of us! The tolerance of sin will cause others within the body of Christ to think lightly of their sin, and this will spread until the whole Church is affected. The Church needs to take action against one that is practicing sin so that it will not spread to others. Sin needs to again be seen as something that is rotten, instead of something that is in and cool! The body of Christ needs to view sin as they would SARS, or some other infectious disease, before it spreads throughout every person. Can you ever picture someone wanting to get that disease? They are coughing on you, spreading their germs around, and you would say, “Man, would you mind coughing on me?” I was reading an email from a Calvary pastor in Hong Kong who was saying that the fellowship there has taken some pretty severe precautions to protect each other from getting this disease. Normally, if a person came in coughing a bit, no one would say anything. But now, the pastor said if a person coughs once, all the heads turn to see who it was that coughed. It has become such a distraction that the fellowship has issued a policy that if you have a cough to stay at home until you are over it. Wouldn’t it be great if we had the same fear of practicing sin? “Hey, if you are going to practice sin, stay at home. I don’t want that!” Paul wrote to the Galatians that “if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted” (6:1). Our tolerance of sin within the Church has caused more and more folks to think it’s okay to have affairs, to get drunk, live with their spouse before they are married, etc. The Church has lost its purity because it has tolerated sin within its walls. God is not interested in a large Church, but He is interested in a “pure” one. Four times in scripture, God tells us to “be holy for God is holy.” The author of Hebrews tells us “to be holy; without holiness, no one will see the Lord.”

2. Vs. 7 Picture:

Staying on the same analogy of Passover and purging the leaven, Paul gives another reason for “Why the Church needs to exercise Church discipline.” The key to understanding this verse is in the words “new lump.” Jesus, our “Passover Lamb,” has come into our lives and by His blood purged out all the leaven, and we have become a “new lump” that is unleavened. Paul tells the Corinthian Church that they “truly are unleavened” (verse 7)! Notice that Paul encourages them to “purge out” the old leaven. The word used here means to thoroughly clean out every bit of leaven or sin. They were encouraged to remove every part of the old life so that it would not taint the new life. The world was getting the wrong idea of what the Church was as it saw the same infections that plagued them plaguing the Church. We Christians are telling the world that “Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us.” We tell them the truth that Jesus has died for their and our sins. Our penalty has been placed upon Jesus, but how will they believe us if they see us still under bondage to the kingdom of the world? Having discussed this with fellow believers quite a bit, it seems to us that folks want a Savior but not a Lord! The truth is if He is not your Lord, then He is not your Savior! Paul wrote to the Galatians (2:20), “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” Do you see that? Yes, Jesus was crucified for you, but when we asked Jesus into our hearts, we were crucified with Christ and the old you “no longer lives.” Instead, Christ lives in you, and the life in this old body of ours is lived trusting Jesus. In Romans 6:6, Paul says, “our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.” I’ve noticed in talking to folks lately that there are a lot of Fred Flintstones in the body of Christ. Fred’s favorite words were “Yaba-daba-do,” and I hear a lot “Yaba’s” or “Ya-buts.” The reason people say “Ya-buts” is to say that their situation or circumstance is outside the scope of their having to obey the Word of God. The truth is, in respect to the Word of God, “one size does fit all!”

3. Vs. 8 Party:

Lastly, Paul staying on the feast analogy gives the final reason for why the Church needs to exercise discipline, “so they can keep the feast with unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” What I find interesting is that Paul describes a crucified life as a “feast,” not just any feast, but the feast of “Passover.” You see, Passover was the biggest party of the year! Paul wrote to the Romans in 6:7-8, “he who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him.” The life that lives apart from sin is the life filled with joy. Now some folks have mixed up the words “happiness” and “joy.” Happiness is dependent upon right situations and right circumstances. Joy comes from a right relationship with the Lord. I found this little saying years ago, and it still speaks to my heart: “God does not create joy by new surroundings; He creates new surroundings by joy!” People are always looking for “new surroundings” so they can have joy. But godly joy is not dependent upon “new surroundings.” Instead, as we give our hearts over to Him and obey His word, we have joy, which changes our surroundings! I don’t have to get to a new place to experience the joy of the Lord. No, I can experience a new fresh amount of joy in the Lord the more I submit my life to His Word. I was talking to a person the other day who was telling me the reason they smoked was to calm their nerves as they were stressed out. So I just asked, wouldn’t it be easier, not to mention healthier, to change the way you are living? Hey, I don’t need to run anywhere and then to the Lord to find relief from my stress. Peter wrote in 1 Peter 5:7, “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about what happens to you.”

So not only do we have the proper way of Church discipline, we have three reasons why we must do it:

• Purity
• Picture
• Party

III. Vs. 9-13 What are its limitations?

Having told the Corinthian believers the right way of Church discipline and then the reasons to exercise it, He now needs to clarify the limitations of it.

Vs. 9-10

Here, we find out something very interesting as Paul writes, “I wrote to you in my epistle.” Wait a minute. I thought this was 1st Corinthians. But here it seems that Paul had already written them one letter, which would make this 2nd Corinthians. So why didn’t the Lord preserve the first letter to Corinth? Was it not inspired? Well, it was no doubt inspired to the Corinthians, as it is being referred to here, but God saw fit that it didn’t need to be preserved by the Holy Spirit for the Church of all time.

Paul wrote to them concerning getting mixed up (keeping company) with sexually immoral people, and apparently, they took that to mean nonbelievers, so he explains specifically what he meant. The word used here means “to keep intimate” company with. The words “sexually immoral people” is again “pornia” in the Greek. Remember, Corinth had the temple to Aphrodite, the love goddess, right above the city, and every night the temple prostitutes would come down into the city to sell their bodies to others. So Paul had told them, and now further clarifies, that they were not to keep intimate company with those who were professing believers but still in the sex business. So what is the limitation of Church discipline?

1. Vs. 9-10 It is to be applied to the Church and not to the world:

Peter wrote in 1 Peter 4:17 that “the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?” Paul explains just what he means with this by adding the words of verse 10, “Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world.” We Christians get real upset about our world not acting according to Biblical principles. We are all up in arms when some TV show we are watching puts in some scene that is offensive to us, but we never stop to ask ourselves why we are watching it to begin with. Paul’s point is that we can expect the world to act like the world, but we Christians who are in the world should not behave like those of the world. It is interesting here that Paul lists three classifications of sin that these Corinthian believers should not tolerate within the Church.

• Sexually immoral: Sins of the body! These are sins against one’s own body, so these are sins that are against self. So within the body of Christ, we ought to make sure that we are exercising the above discipline against those who are robbing themselves from what God has for them. There is not any sin that does not affect someone else, and so Paul says the Church needs to deal rightly with those professing believers who practice such behavior.
• Covetous or extortioners: Sins of the soul! These two words deal with the mind and the heart or the attitudes of a person. Literally, the word means “one who must have more” and those who “steal by use of violence.” These sins deal with what we do against our neighbor, don’t they?
• Idolaters: Sins of the spirit! These are the sins of worshipping anything on the throne of our heart except our Lord. Those who do this are sinning directly against God, but that’s not to say that all sin is first and foremost against God.

2. Vs 11 Judge the behavior of the person, not their words:

The words “named a brother” are literally “to bear the name of brother.” They identify themselves as born-again believers, but they are instead practicing the sin of having sex outside of marriage. Or, they are always after more, taking what belongs to others. They profess a love for Jesus, but they are, in fact, worshipping other things. They come to Church regularly. They are partying the way the world parties, getting drunk or high and then getting into trouble. What are we to do with a person who is a so-called believer and yet is practicing sins against himself, others, and God? Well, Paul says, “not to keep company with…even to eat with such a person.” We are not to hang out with a person who proclaims they are a Christian and yet practices sin. Why is the Church to not hang out socially with those who practice sin? Because we don’t want the world to think that we condone the sin. Does that mean we should not ever talk to a person who has so chosen the world over God? No, talk to them often about their need to repent and come back to Jesus!

3. Vs. 12-13 Keep our church pure by judging your own heart first.

We would not have any problems in the Church today if each of us sought to purify our heart before the Lord. We will see the wicked world change only as much as we live separate lives to the Lord. Hey, perhaps you’re here this morning and you are that wicked person. Why not die to that part of the old life and start living in sincerity and truth?

We don’t need to judge outsiders; we need to witness to them. This is what we Christians need to realize. We are witnesses of Jesus Christ right now in our lives; the only question is what kind we are? Is our life showing people freedom from sin, or is it showing them slavery to sin? Right now, Christian, the people of the world are watching you to see if your walk matches your talk. Next week, Paul starts dealing with the specific sins of the believers in Corinth.