“Immorality in the Church:
A Biblical Response—Part I”
(1 Corinthians 5:1-5)
Series: Chaos & Correction (1 Corinthians)
Rev. Todd A. Linn, PhD
Henderson’s First Baptist Church, Henderson
•Take your Bibles and join me in 1 Corinthians, chapter 5 (page 769; YouVersion).
If you are visiting with us we are preaching our way through the Book of 1 Corinthians, verse-by-blessed verse. This is what we do here, we preach through books of the Bible. Occasionally, we may take a break from Bible book exposition and bring a singular message or a short series of some kind or other, but the staple of our diet, the “bread & butter” of our ministry is verse-by-verse preaching, expository preaching, through books of the Bible.
One of the many benefits of this kind of preaching is that you avoid no teachings in Scripture. No one is left to wonder where we are going each week. We just pick up where we left off. And if this is a benefit of verse-by-verse preaching, that nothing is avoided, it may also be said that this benefit is, at the same time, one of the greater challenges of verse-by-verse preaching. In other words, it becomes impossible to avoid passages. I’m not sure chapter 5 is a passage that is often preached in churches today, but rather avoided, skipped over in the search for something less controversial.
If you are using the church Bible you will note a heading there at chapter 5 that reads, “Immorality in the Church Must be Judged.” That’s what chapter 5 is about, about Christians bringing correction to one another through the disciplining work of the church.
Those of you who were here last week know that Paul sets us up for this study at the end of chapter 4. In fact he concludes chapter 4 there in verse 21 with a question, “Shall I come to you with a rod, or in love and a spirit of gentleness?”
There was chaos in Corinth and Paul says he is coming to the church to deal with the chaos. The church will determine how Paul comes to them. If they are repentant, his coming to them will be as a parent in love and in a spirit of gentleness. If the church is not repentant, his coming to them will be as a loving parent who must use the rod, the corrective tool of discipline. Let’s read about what was wrong there at Corinth and how the church was told to respond in order to bring correction.
•Please stand in honor of the reading of God’s Word.
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!
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.
3 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.
4 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,
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.
•Pray.
Introduction:
I want to speak to you this morning on the topic, “Immorality in the Church and a Biblical Response.” We’re going to slow down our study of 1 Corinthians and take an extra week or two on chapter 5. Today is Part I and next week, Lord willing, will be Part II of our study in chapter 5. “Immorality in the Church and a Biblical Response.”
An alternative sermon title this morning could be, “When Intolerance is Biblical.” We mentioned last time that our culture today is awash with cries for tolerance. That’s the popular buzzword and talking point from news media, television, social media, talk shows and other venues of popular culture: “Be tolerant!” And the idea behind this call for tolerance is the idea that no one should judge another person, everyone is entitled to his or her opinion-who are we to say who is right or wrong-truth is relative, and so forth. Be tolerant. So tolerance is seen as an absolute must and any notion of intolerance is to be discouraged at every level.
Yet, if we just stop and think for a moment or two we will acknowledge that we live happily with many examples of intolerance every day of our lives. There are a host of examples of intolerant behavior with which we live with every day. For example:
If you are working in the kitchen and you have poison in the cupboard under the sink, you rightly practice intolerance by not letting your children get into that cupboard. You will not tolerate their getting anywhere near it.
If you go to the dentist, your dental hygienist practices intolerance by wearing gloves before messing around with your teeth.
If you go to the hospital, the hospital staff practices intolerance by keeping certain folks out of certain places and certain areas germ-free.
If you are playing football and your team has the ball and is trying to run it for a first down, the defensive players of the opposing team will not tolerate your team’s attempts to score a first down.
If you go to court, the judge practices intolerance by seeing that those who disobey the law are justly punished.
And if you are married then you know that a husband and wife practice intolerance by not allowing other men and women into the marital union.
There are many examples of intolerance with which we live happily every day of our lives. Intolerance is a way of life and so we must be careful to respond sensibly when our culture tells us that it is wrong to be intolerant. It is simply not so.
Tolerance is a wonderful virtue until the practice of tolerance brings harm upon ourselves or upon others. At that moment, we must become intolerant. This is a very important consideration for us this morning because our passage teaches the church’s responsibility to be intolerant of public sin in the church. As we studied last time, church members who love one another will correct one another. Church members who love one another will act to avoid harm brought upon oneself or brought upon others.
We mentioned in passing last week a popularly misquoted passage of Scripture and I think it would be helpful to turn to it for a moment to read it through carefully. I’m talking about Matthew chapter 7. Matthew 7 is often cited as the passage where Jesus says, “You’re not supposed to judge.” Little more is known about this passage except the fact that “Jesus says you’re not supposed to judge” and that this somehow means we are never once to render a judgment about another person’s behavior. Let’s turn to Matthew 7 and carefully read the actual words of Jesus. Matthew 7 is found on page 653 of the church Bible.
This passage comes near the end of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5-7 being that sermon. And in chapter 7, verses 1-5, Jesus says:
Matthew 7:1-5 (page 653).
1 “Judge not, that you be not judged.
2 For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.
3 And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?
4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye?
5 Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
Verse 1, Jesus says, “Judge not, that you be not judged.” Now here is a clear teaching from our Lord that warns if we judge another person we must also be prepared to be judged ourselves. It’s a general statement. The sense is, “Don’t be a judgmental person if you seek to avoid the judgment of others. Be careful when you set out to be critical of another person. You set yourself up for examination.” So it’s not so much,
“Jesus says you’re not supposed to judge” as though nothing else followed his opening two words, “Judge not.” It is more, “Jesus warns to be careful when you judge.”
Jesus explains in verse 2, “For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.” That is, you will be treated just as you treat others. If you are critical of others you can expect others to be critical of you.
Then, in verse 3 and following, Jesus calls for a kind of judgment that is necessary as we interact with other Christian brothers and sisters. He says in verses 3-5:
3 And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?
4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye?
5 Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
The point of verses 3-5 is to help a brother out, to help a sister out. If we see someone doing something that is morally wrong or harmful to themselves or others, then we should act in a loving way “to remove the speck from (our) brother’s eye.” But doing so requires clear sight on our part by the removing of our own faults and blinders.
Otherwise we are a hypocrite, talking to others about their speck of sawdust without first having removed our plank of wood. We should be like, “Hey, you’ve got a speck in your eye and I want to help you. I used to have one myself and it turned into a two-by-four!”
So Jesus says, “Before you talk to your brother or sister about his or her fault, remember that you are not without faults. Deal with your own faults and you will be in a better position to deal with your brother or sister’s faults. Remove the plank from your own eye and then you will see clearly to do some ‘loving eye surgery,’ to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”
So you see, Matthew 7 is not just, “Jesus says you’re not supposed to judge.” It is much more than that. It is a call for humility, love, and care in the sensitive matters of pointing out sin and working together for correction.
Now, let’s turn back to 1 Corinthians (page 769) and note three things together. Let’s consider three things going on in the church at Corinth. First:
I. Consider the Problem Reported in the Church (1)
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!
Which is to say that there was a church member there in Corinth who was presently sexually involved with his step-mother. This is the meaning of the phrase, “a man has his father’s wife.” Now we’ll look at that more fully in a moment, but first go back to the opening words there in verse one, “It is actually reported.”
“It is actually reported” translates an adverb that is probably better translated, “In short,” which better ties chapter 5 with what precedes it at the end of chapter 4. Paul is like, “Let me tell you why I may need to come like the disciplinarian, the pedagogue we studied last time, coming with a rod in my hand because, in short, there is sexual immorality among you.”
“Sexual immorality” translates the Greek word, pornei÷a (porneia), from which we get “porn” or “pornography.” The word is a flexible term that refers generally to any kind of sex except that which is permissible within the bonds of marriage. Sexual union is to be enjoyed between a married man and his married wife. Anything else is porneia, anything else is sexual immorality: adultery, fornication (which is sex before marriage), homosexuality, incest, and bestiality. Porneia.
Porneia would include popular behaviors today such as looking at sexual material either in print or on a screen, texting sexual words to persons to whom you are not married, popularly known as “sexting,” thinking lustful thoughts, and anything else other than sexual union in the bonds of marriage between one man and one woman. Everything else is sin and is covered by the general term porneia.
Now the specific sexual immorality Paul addresses in verse 1 is incest. He says at the end of verse 1, “a man has his father’s wife.” The phrasing here suggests that this is a man and his stepmother. That become even clearer when we read the prohibition against incest in the Old Testament book of Leviticus and chapter 18. I’ll just read to you two verses, Leviticus 18:7-8:
“7 “‘Do not dishonor your father by having sexual relations with your mother. She is your mother; do not have relations with her.
8 “‘Do not have sexual relations with your father’s wife; that would dishonor your father [(NIV); cf. Deuteronomy 22:30; Deuteronomy 27:20].”
So the Old Testament Law is clear in that both unions are wrong and both are considered incest. So if someone were to say, “Well, at least it wasn’t his natural mother,” the Bible condemns both as wrong. So while we don’t know anything else about the circumstances here—whether this woman’s husband had died, whether he was still living, etc.—bottom line: it is sinful behavior because it is incest.
Paul also says in verse one that this sin of incest is “not even named among the Gentiles,” that is, “even the pagans, the unbelievers in Corinth, the average Greek citizen who walked the streets of Corinth, the average guy who was not a Christian, even among them, this sin of incest was considered unspeakable and despicable.
Cicero, the Roman philosopher whose writings many of the Corinthians had read and knew well wrote of incest as being a deplorable act of indecency.
This is particularly striking given the sex-saturated culture of Corinth in the day Paul wrote this letter. Many of you will recall from our opening message in this series when we talked about the background of Corinth we learned that this city was located on an isthmus that connected northern Greece to southern Greece. It was a popular port town where folks engaged in all kinds of sexual frivolity. It was so well known for sex that the phrase “to Corinthianize” meant to have sexual relations. There had been a huge temple atop the mountain Acrocorinth where was located a temple built to Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love (better, “lust”). So there was a very permissive sexual culture at Corinth.
And yet, Paul says that the sexual immorality the Corinthian church permitted was something so bad, verse 1, it was, “not even named among the Gentiles (the pagans).” The idea of incest was so gross that even the pagan Corinthian citizens were like, “You guys do that?! That’s just wrong.”
Now you know the church is in trouble when even the pagans go, “Man, you guys are sick!” Right? The church has lost her influence when her behavior makes unbelievers queasy. That’s just a fact.
Listen to the words of one commentator:
“If the church tolerates sin that even pagan society condemns as deviant, it torpedoes its moral witness in the world. If its standards of sexual morality sink below those of unconverted society among them, something is badly amiss. Their conduct in the world should bring glory and honor to God and, at the very least, respect for their faith from outsiders.”—(David Garland)
One of the reasons biblical correction is so important, why church discipline is so important, is because of the church’s witness in the world. If the church tolerates heinous, public sin, she loses her effectiveness in drawing others to Christ and bringing glory to God.
Jesus says in Matthew 5:16, “Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”
Philippians 2:14-15, 14 Do all things without complaining and disputing, 15 that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,
Having considered the problem reported in the church, secondly:
II. Consider the Prideful Reaction of the Church (2)
Rather than dealing with this Corinthian Christian church-member who was living in sin, publicly sinning by living with his father’s wife, living in sexual union with his step-mother—rather than dealing with this church member in brokenness and shame, the church had become proud of their tolerating his evil deed. Verse 2:
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.
Rather than rebuking this church member and calling for his repentance, the church became proud of the fact that they were tolerating his behavior. And Paul says, “You should rather have mourned, that he who was done this deed might be taken away from among you,” that is, removed from the church fellowship.
Now incidentally, Paul doesn’t say what should be done with the woman, leading most commentators to conclude that she was not a believer. Paul will later say that it is not our business to judge those outside the church, but only those inside the church (1 Corinthians 5:12-13).
But why had the church done nothing? Why had they remained silent? Paul says in verse 2 that they were “puffed up,” which may suggest they had a sort of “false humility” about themselves. False humility is nothing less than pride. They were so proud of their tolerance, you know.
But we may wonder still why the church didn’t call this man out for his incestuous behavior. Some think the Corinthian church’s theology had been corrupted so that they believed this kind of thing was permissible. Well, the theology of the church was a bit off-base as we’ll see in future chapters, but Paul doesn’t seek to correct their theology here. It seems rather a “given” that this behavior was wrong, wrong among the pagans, and wrong at least to those church members who had reported this sin to Paul. Apparently with all the divisiveness and factions in the church, the church could not come together as one in agreement that this man’s sin should be addressed.
And it may be that the reason the church didn’t address the man’s sin was perhaps because of his influence or stature. Maybe he was a popular man in the city or a big giver in the church. In any case, they were wrong to be silent.
And Paul is more upset with the church than he is with the offending man! Why? Because it is the church’s responsibility to do something. The church is a family and the family is to care for one another, to look out for one another as a family should. It is the community of faith’s responsibility to look after the moral behavior of its members. Just like a biological family: If I love you I’ll warn you. If I love you, I’ll correct you.
So Paul provides us with the proper response by the church. We’ve considered the problem reported in the church, the prideful reaction of the church, and now thirdly:
III. Consider the Proper Response by the Church (3-5)
3 For I indeed, as absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged (note the word, ‘judged’) (as though I were present) him who has so done this deed.
4 In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together (and this refers to the church, when you all are gathered together), along with my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ,
5 (you all) 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.
Now we’re going to deal with this more fully next time, but for now note that the proper response by the church is to correct this sinful man by removing him from the church fellowship. That’s what Paul means by saying back in verse 2, “You should have mourned that he who has done this deed might be taken away from among you,” and now in verse 5, “Deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh.”
To “delivers such a one (note that, there may be others than this one man) to Satan” means that when the man is cast out of the church, or excommunicated, that he is no longer under the protective care of the Christian community, but outside the sphere of God’s protection, back in the old world, over which the prince of darkness reigns. He is no longer part of the realm of those who are being saved, but is back in the realm of those who are perishing (1 Corinthians 1:18).
Again, we’ll deal with this passage more fully next time as well as answering other questions about church discipline. I just really wanted to lay the foundation of our study this morning by introducing the topic and addressing some general matters. Before we conclude this morning, let me share a few important reminders.
First, church discipline is not for those who are struggling with sin and are working through it in biblical ways. People who are honest, repentant, and are actively working on their struggles—whatever they be— alcohol, drugs, pornography, marital issues, legal problems, and so forth. These people don’t need a “rod.” They need those who will embrace them as a parent embraces a child in love and in a spirit of gentleness.
If you’re child comes to you in tears because of a mistake he or she made, you’re not going to belt them across the back of the legs. Paul’s talking about disciplining proud, arrogant, self-righteous, critical, unrepentant Christians. These are the ones about whom he’s speaking when he says he will come with a “rod,” people like this man who was sinning publicly by living with his step-mother. He has continued in this unrepentant, incestuous sin. The phrase back in verse 1 is, “a man has his father’s wife.”
Church correction and church discipline is not administered to those who are working through their issues in biblical ways. Church correction and church discipline is for those who are unrepentant and living in open rebellion.
Secondly, no Christian is without sin. Every one of us has our issues, right? Every one of us has private battles. At the same time, however, our private battles become more grievous when they become public. When our sin becomes public it requires a more public confession. When our sin is known publicly we must confess it to those who know about it, those whom we have hurt. We confess it, we repent of it, and we work through matters of forgiveness and reconciliation. And when we confess our sin to those whom we have hurt, we are on the way to healing and church discipline is not required.
Thirdly, and let me say that if you remember nothing else, remember this (I’ll quiz you on it this week when I run into you at Sureway or Walmart!): the whole point of church discipline is not punishment, but reconciliation and restoration. Church discipline is more redemptive than it is punitive.
Finally, because of the Gospel, God forgives us when we confess our sin, turn from our sin, and turn to Christ. Jesus says, “Whoever comes to me I will never cast out (John 6:37). This is life, real life.
You can’t live the life until you have the life. Many people are trying to live the life. Well, you can’t. You can’t keep the moral law perfectly. You’re a sinner. You can’t live the life until you have the life. You receive the life by receiving Jesus Christ.
Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except by Me (John 14:6).” You’ve got to have the life before you can live the life. And even when you live the life, as a Christian, you’re still going to make mistakes. That’s why God sent Jesus Christ, to make a way for us to be accepted by Him forever, not on the basis of our performance, but on the basis of the infinitely perfect righteousness of Christ.
You’ve got to have the life to live the life. Receive Jesus Christ as Lord and have life.
•Stand for prayer.
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