Introduction
Paul now addresses specific problems among the Corinthian Christians
(read vs 1).
Christians adopted (and sometimes exceeded) secular culture's sexual
mores. It was common knowledge that there was no connection between
being a Corinthian Christian and sexual purity (vs 1a). Some who even
grossed out the pagan culture found a welcome home in the church (vs
1b: "has his father's wife").
But there is something worse (read vs 2). The church tolerated this
among its people and viewed itself as "spiritual" in spite/because
of this! They evidently saw no problem with this whatever, no reason
to stop their boast that they were a super-spiritual church.
How similar this is to American culture in the 1990's!
"PEOPLE ARE HURTING & DETERMINED BY SOCIETY/HEREDITY; THEY
NEED UNDERSTANDING & AFFIRMATION OF THEIR LIFESTYLES."
POLLS INDICATE NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CHRISTIANS & NON-CHRISTIANS
IN SEXUAL PRACTICES; FREQUENT SEXUAL SINS BY CHRISTIAN LEADERS.
How different Paul's reaction is! (read vs 2)
"You should be mourning over this—not boasting!"
The church should have a sensitive moral conscience so that it reacts
neither with tolerant complacency nor with self-righteous, impersonal
condemnation. Like loving parents who are deeply grieved when their
children get involved with drugs, Christians should be deeply grieved
when one among us chooses a moral course that is so antithetical to
God's way.
"You should remove this man—not welcome him!"
The church should not sit idly by, but should act decisively with one
another in situations like this, confronting the person, calling for
change, and bringing measured biblical pressure to bear—even to
the point of removing the person if necessary (see vs 11 for sins which
warrant this).
This passage is about church discipline. This is controversial
subject in a culture like ours. It is also a complex subject which
cannot be fully explored in the time we have. But through Paul's instruction
in this specific situation, we learn three crucial lessons pertaining
to this subject . . .
Its Basis (vs 3-5)
Read vs 3-5. Paul says that even though the Corinthian Christians have
"dropped the ball" by passively tolerating this scandal, he
has not. Even though he isn't there, he has decided the proper course
of action is to remove the man from the church (vs 5 is elaboration of
vs 2).
What is his basis for giving this command? Who does he think he is! Where
does he get off thinking he can tell someone they have to leave the church?
These kinds of objections are commonly raised today—sometimes by
the people being disciplined, sometimes by others—and many Christians
are unclear on how to respond to them. They highlight a crucial issue:
the authority basis for church discipline.
When Paul says in vs 4, "in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,"
he isn't reciting some religious slogan. He is reminding the Corinthian
Christians that church discipline is an act of obedience to Jesus. It
is Jesus who has told us how to deal with situations like this. God
doesn't give us the liberty to chart our own course on matters like
this, any more than he gives us the liberty to decide what doctrines
we will believe. The church is under the authority of Jesus, and this
authority is explained for us in his Word.
Paul is referring to Jesus' instructions on how to respond to immorality
in the church (Matt. 18:12-17). According to Jesus, church discipline
is:
Motivated by sacrificial love—not by lack of concern.
Just as the good shepherd is willing to take personally uncomfortable
measures to help errant sheep, so Christians should be willing to
take personally uncomfortable measures to help errant Christians:
PRIVATE CONFRONTATION, 2 OR 3, CORPORATE CENSURE, DISFELLOWSHIP.
Rooted in God's moral absolutes—not in human moral relativity.
It doesn't say, "if your brother does something that isn't right
for you." Obviously, if morality is relative to the individual,
there is no basis for church discipline. But it says, "if your
brother sins." Sin is defined for us in the Bible, and
1 Cor. 5:11 specifies the kinds of sins that are so serious that they
warrant potentially serious church discipline. These are not diseases
over which Christians have no control; they are sins for which we
are responsible and from which we can repent.
Is seeking restoration—not retribution. We don't do this
to get even—because we want to pay back Christians for offending
us. We do it to influence them to change their minds—to decide
to end their rebellion against Christ's loving authority and begin
to follow him again. This is why church discipline should end when
people repent (including excommunication).
Because this man's sin was a public matter in the Corinthian church,
and because he evidently knew the man was unwilling to change, he calls
in them to turn him out in the hope that this will help him to come to
his senses. Like the PRODIGAL SON in Luke 15, when this man repented Paul
urged them to reaffirm their love for him (2 Cor. 2:6-8).
We practice it here, too—and we have seen many people helped by
it (EXAMPLES)!
Its Benefits (vs 6-8)
Church discipline is not only potentially beneficial for the one being
disciplined—it is also beneficial for the church which exercises
it properly. He mentions two such benefits. Read vs 6-8.
It arrests the spread of moral laxness & promotes spiritual
zeal (vs 6,8). Leaven (yeast) spreads. In the same way, moral laxness
spreads in an environment which lacks discipline. When an athlete is
chronically late to practice and no disciplinary action is taken, how
do the other players react? When students disrupt the classroom the
teacher doesn't discipline it, what do the rest of the students do?
But if the coach or teacher makes an example of someone (if necessary),
the morale of the entire team or class usually improves.
In the same way, churches which are unwilling to discipline can expect
a growing complacency (SILENT CONSPIRACY OF LAXNESS & FAKERY).
The Corinthians had this in spades! But Paul says if they will make
an example of this man, they will see this spiritual lethargy halted,
and people will begin to appreciate what they have in Christ and pursue
him with seriousness and honesty. This changes the whole atmosphere.
It enables the church to demonstrate spiritual reality to a watching
world (vs 7). Because of Jesus' sacrifice, the church is cleansed
of all defilement in the sight of God. God's purpose for the church
is that it be Christ's presence on earth. It is to be a community which
exposes the lostness of the world's way and by positive contrast shows
the way to real life. It is to be a community which demonstrates the
way God designed life to be lived, and which inspires thirst in others
for that life. This demonstration will be ineffective unless the church
holds and practices a different way of life. People are drawn to Christ
when they see his followers expressing a commitment to him that involves
this kind of moral integrity and costly love.
Its Limits (vs 9-13)
Now, having explained the benefits of church discipline, Paul communicates
a warning about its limits. Read vs 9-13.
Church discipline is for Christians, not for non-Christians!
They stand in a different relationship to Christ, so we have a different
role to play with them.
Don't withdraw from non-Christians; you have been sent to them!
While we must be willing to withdraw from blatant hypocrite Christians,
this is not our role with non-Christians. As lax as the Corinthians
Christians were, and as immoral as their non-Christian neighbors were,
you would think Paul wouldn't worry about this possible over-reaction—but
he clearly did.
For good reason! Christians often get so obsessed with avoiding moral
contamination that they remove themselves from loving friendships
with non-Christians. They become like the Pharisees of Jesus' day
who communicated by their withdrawal that God was repulsed by them.
But Jesus associated so much with the moral outcasts of his society
that he was branded by the Pharisees as a "wine-bibber and a
glutton." He was called "the friend of sinners" because
they knew he loved them in spite of their sins. He knew that, for
many of them, their sinful habits were symptoms of trying to find
life without God (WOMAN AT THE WELL).
Therefore, we should not make changing their ethical lives a pre-condition
for relating to them and befriending them. Our primary role with non-Christians
is not to judge them, but to communicate God's love and forgiveness
and to invite them to receive new life from Christ by inviting them
into their lives. He is the One who fills our hearts with new life,
and empowers and motivates us to live a higher moral life.