I Corinthians 5 (Click scripture reference for audio access)
"Leaven Me No Choice!" • 9.30.12 •
Sunday Morning Service, Calvary Christian Fellowship
Intro.
- Today, we
begin a new section in the book of I Corinthians. Paul has discussed the
divisions that had plagued the church in Corinth.
- When a church
loses it's vision of the Cross and stops preaching the tenents of the doctrines
that are related to the cross, the inevitable result is what follows here:
Defilement
- The church of
God in Corinth, the first century church, the one with all of the power of the
Apostles, had corrupted themselves terribly.
- As a church,
how are we to respond to sinful situations? What are the appropriate actions to
take? Paul will begin to address these concerns and will do so in 4 sections
today.
I. The Rebuke (v.1,2)
II. The Release (v.3-5)
III. The Reason (v.6-8)
IV. The Restatement (v.9-13)
Text
I. The Rebuke (v.1,2)
• I
Corinthians 5:1 : "It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among
you, and such sexual immorality as is not even named among the Gentiles—that a
man has his father’s wife!" : These are
words of incredulity. It is actually reported or it is commonly repeated and is
common knowledge in the church.
- The spirit of what had happened here was not
due to a sin sniffing, private investigation. This was not discovered. It was
thoroughly covered! Everyone knew about this!
- You and I are not to seek out sin in another
person's life. However, when something is brought to our attention, we are called
to act lovingly and immediately! The Corinthians did not!
- The report was that there was sexual
immorality or "fornication" which comes from the Greek word
"porneia," where we get our English word "pornography"
from.
- This word is one of the widest applied words
in the Greek language. Initially, it was used regarding prostitution, but
became a catch all word, referring to any sexual activity outside marriage.
- Biblically, you need to know this: Anything
that is sexually arousing committed between two unmarried partners would be
considered "fornication!"
- This is especially interesting given the
environment that they were in. Corinth was a wicked city and was the
inspiration behind Romans 1:18-32.
- Yet, Paul does not expect anything less from
them. He doesn't excuse them. They knew that the church was to be different
from the world. It's incredibly sad that often that is not the case.
- Paul is beside himself. First, there is a
problem with this man. Second, there is a problem that his action was being
tolerated. Listen to Paul: "You have this happening AMONG you?"
- They were not dealing with it. Why? When a
church loses it's focus on the Cross, the next thing that becomes important is
acceptance, today, one might refer to numbers.
- When you have a church that is divided, full
of fleshly factions, you don't want to lose influence. You ascribe success to
the number of people that agree with you.
- Corinth was lightening it's standard on God's
Word! "We don't need to be taught anymore. We've heard it all! We've been
around the block a few times!"
- The ones who don't think they need the Word
of God are the very ones who need it most!
- They had fallen far enough from the Word that
this sort of sexual immorality, not even named among the unbelieving world was
named among them!!
- In the world, it was not even uttered. People
would be ashamed to speak of it!
- There was a recurring incestuous relationship
between a young man and his step-mother. That is how we would understand it.
This was his Father's wife!
- Leviticus
18:8, Deuteronomy 22:30 and 27:20 are all clear prohibitive
scriptures that were being completely ignored.
- This was not only unlawful biblically, but
even the Romans had a law against it as well!
• I
Corinthians 5:2 : "And you are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he who
has done this deed might be taken away from among you." : The Corinthian response was just as unbelieveable as the sin committed!
They were puffed up!
- They were proud of their ability to be gracious.
They were swelling in the progressiveness of their thinking. They were
celebrating but they should have been mourning as if one had died!
- At the first sign of the issue, they should
have torn their robes and cried out to God for the sin that was in their midst.
That is a right response!
- When you are a cross centered person, when
that message has transformed your life, you can never look at sin the same way!
It causes your heart to be grieved.
- If you are not grieved, something is very
wrong! When you come to Christ, God's Spirit comes to dwell inside of you,
effectively giving you His heart toward things.
- A Christian is grieved by that which grieves
the heart of the Lord! They were so carnal and so committed to their worldly
way of thinking, that they were proud of what should have brought shame!
- They should have known better and caused this
person to be removed from their midst.
- A person who is unrepentant regarding known
sin cannot remain in a congregation of God's people. They are to be removed
from their place.
- Paul leaves the woman out of this, which lets
us know that she was not likely a believer, a fact that will bear out as we
continue.
II. The Release (v.3-5)
• I
Corinthians 5:3-5 : "For I indeed, as absent in body but present in spirit, have
already judged (as though I were present) him who has so done this deed. In the name of our Lord Jesus
Christ, when you are gathered together, along with my spirit, with the power of
our Lord Jesus Christ, 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." : Paul wasn't there physically but he did not need to be. This
required immediate action.
- He commands them, as an Apostle could and
should, to do this in the name of Jesus. This is for the Lord's sake. This is
not Paul's private peeve. He's not simply displeased or disgusted.
- This action is to be done in the name of the
Highest Authority. This is the Lord's desire.
- The next time they gathered together, in
agreement with Paul and the power of the command of Christ, they were to take
the action of excommunicating this man.
- He was to be delivered, handed over to Satan.
Wow! This applied to any that were "such a one!" Let's step back and
take a little inventory.
- This was commonly acknowledged, repeated
behavior. It would have been offensive to the world and the world would have
cut him off!
- Where there is no struggle, no repentance,
then there can be no fellowship!
- Notice that they were to deliver him over to
Satan, to remove him from the fellowship, in order that his flesh would be
destroyed or brought to ruin.
- The flesh, the sinful nature that he was
catering to, was killing this man already, but the warmth of encouragement in
the church was keeping him alive, affirming him in his choices.
- Paul says, "Let him come to the end of
himself!" Let him see the ruinous nature of the things that he holds so
dearly. Let his love of the flesh reap it's right result!
- This man had frequently chosen his base,
fleshly nature and was determined to continue in it. However, Paul did not want
this man to be dedicated to destruction forever.
- He wanted this man's flesh to overwhelm him
so that he would rightly turn himself over to the Lord and be saved!
- There are some who must lose everything, but
if they gain Christ, they have it all!
III. The Reason (v.6-8 )
• I
Corinthians 5:6 : "Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven
leavens the whole lump?" : The Corinthians were
boasting together of their great tolerance and openness to all lifestyles.
- The second by-product of buying into worldly
philosophies often results in a soft attitude toward sin! Their glorying was
not good!
- Paul, what's the problem? The problem is that
their tolerance was opening the door to greater sin. "A little leaven
leavens the whole lump."
- Leaven in the ancient world was a piece of
bread from an old loaf, that was used as a starter for a new loaf. As it
fermented, the "yeast" would permeate the entire loaf.
- Just a little leaven is introduced, but it's
influence is widely seen. It permeates the entire loaf. This principle would
also take place in the church.
- A little toleration of sin here and a little
give there. Before long, it's gone through the whole!
• I
Corinthians 5:7,8 : "Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump,
since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed
for us. Therefore
let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and
wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth." : Because the influence of a single person was enough to spoil
the whole loaf, the Corinthians were to purge out the old leaven! This is a
command, not an option!
- They needed to cleanse themselves of this
wickedness, in order that they would be what they truly were. They were a new,
unleavened lump!
- Those in the church will recognize the
allusion to the events of the Passover feast of unleavened bread. On the night
of the Passover, the people were to bake bread without leaven.
- In time, when it happened historically, the
idea of the entire meal was one of haste. They would not have time to bake
their normal bread they way they would have otherwise.
- Later in history, when the feast of
unleavened bread took place, the people ceremonally searched their homes for
leaven, making sure that there was none in the house.
- Leaven represented something sinful,
something that was not appropriate for the holiness of the night before they
were to be freed.
- Paul ties it together. On that night of the
Exodus, the Passover lamb was killed and it's blood was over the post and on
the sides of the doors of the Hebrews and death passed over.
- Here, Jesus, the Lamb of God had been
sacrificed for the believers, the death of eternal conscious punishment now
being passed over because the blood of Christ is applied to them.
- Therefore, let us keep the feast! The feast
is a week long celebration of what God did that night for Israel, called the
feast of unleavened bread.
- They were to truly keep what the feast
pointed to, which was a life rescued from death leaving behind the permeating
leaven of the world!
- The things of malice and wickedness were now
out of place. The unleavened bread of sincerity and truth was appropriate for
their lives!
IV. The Restatement (v.9-13)
• I
Corinthians 5:9,10 : "I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually
immoral people. 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." : In the original 1st
Corinthians, Paul had admonished them not to keep company with the sexually
immoral.
- Don't mix together with or share in an open
way with them. How was that possible in Corinth?
- The Corinthians misinterpreted Paul's intent,
cutting off those who were of the world! They secluded themselves from the
outside world, but allowed it within the church.
- The Corinthians had it backward! The world is
full of those who engage in fornication. That is the norm for the world. You
should expect to find that.
- There are also those who are covetous or
greedy for their own personal gain, even at the expense of others people in
their lives.
- The world is full of extortioners, people who
cheat or swindle other people.
- In the world you will find idolators. You
won't find them bowing to a statue, but you will find them clearing their calendar
to put a ball in a hole or to watch such things!
- You will find them kneeling before their toy
of choice, spending money freely for that which they value most, neglecting
often what is most needful in their lives! Yes, idolatry lives on!
- If the Corinthians could not meet or even
have some form of relationship with these types of people, then they would have
to live on another planet!
- This world is built by people who fit some
part of this description, in many cases, all of these parts! Paul's concern was
not to keep the Corinthians from these people!
• I
Corinthians 5:11 : "But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone
named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a
reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner—not even to eat with such a person." : The issue is simple: If he calls himself a brother or if she
calls herself a sister, and they fit this bill, you are not to have anything to
do with them!
- Somebody who has named Christ as their Lord,
but maintains an active sexual life outside of the bonds of a heterosexual
marriage, is not to gain fellowship.
- Somebody who has named Christ as their Lord,
but lives their life for constant gain, greedy always for more, never content
with what they have, is to be shunned.
- Those with an idolatrous life or those who
live life to party, consistently giving into drunkenness, are to be asked to
leave!
- A swindler who is seeking to make merchandise
out of the people of God will not have the clientele that he desires in the
church!
- They were not to even eat with such a person,
referring likely to the weekly meal of fellowship or even a simple meal, which
would have signaled an agreement with their lifestyle.
• I
Corinthians 5:12,13 : "For what have I to do with judging
those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside? But those who are outside God
judges. Therefore 'put
away from yourselves the evil person.'" : For
somebody outside of Jesus Christ, the church carries no authority. This is why
the woman is not mentioned.
- If Jesus is not your Lord. If you have not
acknowledged His place, then the Bible is not for you! It's not a code book
that you are forced to keep, it's the Christian's heartbeat!
- If the world passes laws that allow people to
indulge in alternative lifestyles, we will all have to abide with them as
neighbors and recognize what they have been given as rights.
- In this world, they will have that freedom.
That changes however, when they come into the church! The church is governed by
a different code of conduct than that offered by the state!
- If somebody desires to be a member of the
Lord's church, then they must adhere to what scripture says, understanding that
God speaks directly and pointedly to their situation.
- In the world, men and women can act virtually
any way that they want to. If they have not acknowledged Christ as Lord and Savior,
then they are not bound by what we are bound by!
- In the body of Christ, matters are judged
based on God's Word. We are to open up the Bible and admonish one another with
scripture. We must encourage each other to do what is written!
- For those on the outside of the church walls,
God will be their judge!
- On that account, for that purpose, because
that is the case, put away the evil person!
- Paul is quoting here from Deuteronomy. The
phrase is one that is repeated often in that book and is the end phrase of
several points of excommunication.
- In Deuteronomy
7:17 the phrase is used for any who would bring a defective sacrifice or be
caught worshipping idols.
- In Deuteronomy
21:21, a rebellious son who acted like a drunken person was to be stoned,
thus putting away the evil from them.
- In Deuteronomy
22:21, a harlot was to be put to death, in verse 22, an adulterous pair was to be executed. These were realities in
a special way for Israel.
- Executions for people who broke God's
covenant was commonplace and that kept the people faithful. However, the church
is not the same institution as Israel.
- There will be no killing, but the principle
remains the same: Evil is not to be tolerated. It is to be removed for the
health and welfare of the whole!
Conclusion
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