1 Corinthians 5

There was at least a segment within the Corinthian church that had expressed some level of embarrassment concerning Paul, the unusual apostle who had planted this church. There are some who apparently want to make it clear that their primary association is with some other figure, like Apollos or Peter. While they were measuring the ministers against each other, deciding which ones were more or less acceptable, there were paying inadequate attention to their own sinful behavior. They were in great need of some forthright correction, and they received it in 1 Corinthians 5 from a man who some considered to be too weak.

Paul brings up one specific. There is a man who is involved in an intimate relationship with his stepmother. Somehow, some have mistakenly come to see this as part of the freedom they have in Christ. To be sure there is another segment that is horrified, and may have come to the conclusion that this is the inevitable result of too much grace, and not enough law.

The problem is not the gospel of the righteousness and death of Christ for even the worst repentant sinners; the problem is not true grace, but licentiousness masquerading as Christian freedom. There will always be people somewhere in the church who come to the conclusion that the Ten Commandments are not for the New Testament era; there will be some who see the rejection of all Law as an opportunity to call sin freedom. But we must not forget that there will be others within a divided church who will see this kind of messy situation as a good reason to abandon genuine Christian freedom, and to even abandon the truth that our salvation actually comes to us by grace alone and not by Law.

In such a volatile situation (which can easily happen in a church where God is blessing, and there are many people who are coming to faith from all kinds of backgrounds), it is imperative for leaders to be clear in their understanding of the faith and courageous in taking necessary action. There is a danger of growth in immorality brought about by inaction, but there is also the danger in the loss of the clarity of the gospel of Jesus Christ by unmeasured words and actions. The sin itself, now apparently very public, needs to be dealt with, lest an opportunity unwittingly be served up to the enemies of the gospel and their allies who suffer from doubt and confusion.

Arrogance is a big part of the problem in this church, and it shows up in more than one way. The licentious are arrogant when they insist that Christ died so that they can live in a way that even their pagan neighbors know is wrong. The law-oriented party can be arrogant in their insistence that there is just too much grace in this gospel, and that Paul and his weak message of Jesus covering all our sins has created this scandal. Let the elders in such a case examine everything decisively and carefully, and let them be willing to take appropriate action, first for the glory of God and the gospel, second for the continued health and life of the church, and finally for the good of the confused person who has been enticed into strange behavior that cannot be seen as consistent with the faith he professes.

This church needs some people to mourn over the sorry state of “Jerusalem” in Corinth, and to give up on all forms of arrogance. If necessary, the offender must be removed from the communing assembly of the Lord. This is the heavenly action to take, lest we be confused about what the pleasures of the eternal state are all about, and start writing sin large and calling that heaven as some false religions do.

We need a true heavenly mindset in order to judge earthly matters rightly. When a church court acts, it acts for the whole church of Jesus Christ in heaven and on earth. If elders do not feel that they can do that, if they are not sure that their actions are spiritual and heavenly, if they are not convinced that they are moving in accord with the Spirit of Christ, then perhaps they have not yet come to the right conclusion. Paul knew what to do here, and as an apostle, He tells the elders in Corinth to take action, with the hope that the goals of church discipline might be fully met.

It is painful to declare one of our loved ones as one who is now walking in the ways of Satan and the world rather than in Christ, but this may be a pain that needs to be felt by all involved. The Passover has come to us in the cross of Christ some time ago. It is well past the time for removing the leaven out of the house of God, His covenant community. The cross of Christ, the fulfillment of what Passover was all about, is not a reason to decide that sin is unimportant. It is a reason to follow up on this greatest of all deaths with the seriousness of endeavor after new obedience worthy of the fulfillment of all of what the Feast of Unleavened Bread was truly about. The church cannot tolerate sexual immorality within the number of believers.

We recognize that when people are brought to Christ, there are changes that need to be made. We cannot expect that the world will be without sin. As people are brought into the resurrection kingdom of the Body of Christ, they must first see the fullness of their guilt and of God’s grace through the blood of the Lamb. But then they must make true endeavors after the new life that is consistent with the power of the cross. Let those changes be made throughout the church, or we will all get used to sin as a way of life, and the body of Christ will be badly wounded.