God’s Plan for a Errant Church Member

1 Corinthians 5:1-13

[1] It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father’s wife. [2] And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you. [3] For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, concerning him that hath so done this deed, [4] In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, [5] To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. [6] Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? [7] Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: [8] Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. [9] I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators: [10] Yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world. [11] But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat. [12] For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within? [13] But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person. 

The church at Corinth had many problems that were related to the culture of the city, the past religious life of the people and a failure to understand and apply the principles taught in the Scriptures. It is a timely study for us, because of the similarities between their situation and ours today. This passage deals with a serious sin that was being practiced by one of the members there. The sin was of a sexual nature and was one that even the pagans would not condone or even understand. That the sin was accepted and not condemned was a problem of equal gravity. We are living in a culture that exhibits many of the same characteristics of Corinth. Let’s consider:

1. The PROBLEMS
   1. GRIEVOUS sin – The sin of fornication is terrible for several reasons.
      1. It is a sin of Terrible consequences – 1 Corinthians 6:18 [18] Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body. I have seen some statistics that are astounding and frightening about the prevalence of sexually transmitted diseases.  We often tend to focus on young people and the sin of fornication is certainly epidemic among our young people, but it’s not limited to the teen years or to young adults. Consider the following quote from the Home Helpers Community Blog by Debbie Humphrey on March 31, 2018. “In an article by Derrick Y. McDaniel, “Mr. Eldercare 101,” “STD transmission among the elderly is unfortunately a common and growing problem…”. It seems that age does not necessarily impart wisdom!  Even if one escapes the terrible consequences of an STD, there is the innate knowledge that the action is wrong and the guilty conscience takes a toll on the health. 
      2. It is a sin of Theft – 1 Corinthians 6:13 [13] Meats for the belly, and the belly for meats: but God shall destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord; and the Lord for the body. When the Christian uses his body for fornication it is a case of theft. 1 Corinthians 6:20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s. The price of our salvation is the death and shed blood of Jesus. Men have spent their lives searching for things such as money or fame.  All of the things of the Earth pale in comparison to the value that was paid for us!  Because we are bought we cannot use our bodies outside of the will of God without sinning. 
      3. It is Spiritual Adultery against God – Our allegiance and fidelity belong to God. When we disobey Him it is infidelity or put in other words it is adultery in a spiritual sense. Our bodies, our minds, all that we are and all that we have belong not to us but to God. We are His by right of creation and by right of purchase. If you are saved you have been purchased by the blood of the Lord Jesus. We will all answer for our lives. Those who have been saved will have to answer for our stewardship; that is what did we do with all that God put in our power.  We will answer for all, money, time, talents and other things. We will also answer for how we use our bodies. 
   2. GENERAL ACCEPTANCE – When the church as a whole accepts the sin of one of the members it creates a number of destructive problems. Consider:
      1. When sin is not clearly named and condemned, it encourages others to think that they can sin without consequence. 1 Timothy 5:20 [20] Them that sin rebuke before all, that others also may fear.  One of the motives for discipline is to teach that our actions have consequences. Good actions have good consequences and bad actions have bad ones. 
      2. The one who is committing the sin is not deterred and therefore has less reason to repent of his sin and seek the forgiveness of God.  Another motive for discipline is the recovery of the sinner. When a parent disciplines a child it should not be done as mere punishment but an attempt to correct the bad behavior through training that what was done was wrong in itself. Discipline and discipleship are two sides of the same coin. 
      3. The testimony of the church is brought in disrepute, this makes evangelism more difficult. People look for a reason to believe that they don’t need to confess and repent. If they can say that there is no difference between my way of life and those in the church or perhaps I’m living a better life that those hypocrites down at the church. To be a Christian is to be a follower of Christ, to take Him as our model and seek to live as He did. 
      4. God is robbed of the glory due Him. 1 Corinthians 10:31 [31] Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.  The goal of our lives should be to glorify God in all that we do.  Our lives should be a reflection of the Lord. Obedient children are a glory to their parents and Christian that obey are a glory to God. 
2. The PRESCRIPTION Notice:
   1. The PRIORITY – The spiritual is the priority. Our earthly lives should show that we are citizens of Heaven. While we lived in Peru, there was rarely any doubt that I was a ‘gringo’, not only by my complexion and my accent, but also by my actions.  In the market place I could often tell what country a person was from just from observing their speech and mannerisms. We should live by the precepts taught in the Word of God so that those without can see the new man. We see in this passage that Paul says it’s better for the flesh to be destroyed so that the spirit may be saved. The flesh is corrupt. It shall perish in the end. It’s much better that the flesh perish sooner in order that the spirit be saved. I have dealt with people who were facing death after a lifetime of dissipation they finally realize the waste and hopelessness they face some come to Christ.  This life is at best short and then there’s an eternity that one will spend either in Heaven or Hell.  
   2. The PROGRAM – Sin is a very serious matter and requires a serious response. Because of the harm to the church, to the individual who is in sin and to the work of the Gospel God has mandated a strong remedy. Let’s look at:
      1. The Separation – Among the  purposes of separation from the unrepentant brother are:
         1. To emphasize the seriousness of the transgression and its consequences. It’s incredibly easy to allow the flesh to convince us that whatever we are doing isn’t all that bad. It is often the reaction of people that we are close to that makes us realize the wrongness of our actions. Vengeance is not the object of church discipline, the recovery of the errant brother is the object. 
         2. To quarantine the problem to prevent the spread of the sin to others in the congregation. The condemnation of the sin and the separation of the wayward member is a caution to the other members of the church. In this way the purity of the church is maintained. 
         3. To glorify God by keeping the church pure. The world is watching. There is little that happens in the church that those outside are unaware of. People will criticize the church when disciplined, but they will respect that what is proclaimed is practiced. When I was a missionary, I had an appointment at a small country church. I was looking for the church, this was the days before GPS. I stopped at a country store to ask directions. There was a group of teenage boys outside the store. I asked if they could tell me where the church was, they all said they didn’t know. I then asked if they knew the preacher. One young man said “he’s a crazy old man”.  Another boy said, “he may be crazy, but he lives what he preaches” AMEN! What a testimony. I would be proud to have that on my tombstone. Whose opinion is more important to the church, that of the world or that of God?  Our actions tell the tale. 
      2. The Salvage of the erring brother – the best outcome is not the expulsion of a church member but that he comes to himself and returns to the fold. The story of the prodigal son has a happy ending because of the hardship that the prodigal underwent we see him say: Luke 15:17-18 [17] And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! [18] I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, The picture of the father joyfully receiving his son again is a picture of God rejoicing over His errant child coming back to Him. 

May God bless,

Pastor Mike Scott