I Corinthians 5:1

First Corinthians 5:1

In First Corinthians 5:1-5 the Bible says, "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. And you are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that has done this deed might be taken away from among you. For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, concerning him that has so done this deed, In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, To deliver such a one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ."

It is a shameful thing that sexual improprieties would be among the failures that even Christians would sometimes fall into. But there is a remedy and a way of dealing with this problem that is given very clearly by the apostle Paul. It is one thing to fall into temptation, but it is quite another to stay in a sinful life-style. To error is human, but to error and then to refuse to admit your error is wickedness.

The sinful life that was being lived by one of the members of the Corinthian church was very clear: a life-style of fornication. Of course, fornication is when you have sexual relationships with someone to whom you are not married. Sex itself is good, because it was created by God. But the misuse of sex: fornication; is a great failure and a great departure from the way that God meant human relationships to be. God said in the book of Genesis that it is good for a man to leave his father and mother, and then to cleave unto his wife. Any departure from that pattern of life in regards to sexuality will result in much harm. It will eventually harm the individuals involved and it will harm the community as a whole, because the family unit is thereby weakened, and no community will be any stronger than the families in it. If anyone on the earth understands this important foundational principle, it should be a congregation of believers who understand it.

Not only was fornication being lived in by one of the Christians in Corinth, but evidently there were some other Christians who accepted it and who allowed the one who was living in fornication to continue taking an active part in their worship services. The churches in the New Testament were very close-knit units. The people lived close together, and they knew everything that there was to know about each other. Of course, one of the great purposes that God has given for every local congregation is that the congregation would be a testimony in the community for what Jesus had done for them. Each individual Christian has a testimony, and each church congregation also has a testimony and a reputation in the community.

One of the reasons that the church in Corinth had not dealt with this problem was made clear by Paul when he said that they were puffed up. They were proud. They did not like the fact that others had pointed out their mistake. There is a real problem when a Christian cannot admit that he has made a mistake. What is a Christian, but a sinner saved by grace. You had to admit to God that you made mistakes in order to be saved and to become a true follower of Jesus, so surely you should be able to have a similar attitude to people and to admit a mistake when you make one. Confession is good for the soul, and you will not be able to become a better person unless you can admit it when you make a mistake.

Because we are social creatures, we are all affected by the attitudes of those around us. We learn about ourselves and we learn about life by the way that people respond to us, and by the ways that they react to our behavior. If we show approval and acceptance for bad behavior, then we are hurting someone by helping them to continue in their harmful ways. In another passage in the New Testament, it is made very clear that it takes a special humility and kindness to approach someone when you feel that they have failed and think that you should talk to them about it. You should not be judgmental and you should not be proud. Galatians 6:1 says, "Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, you which are spiritual, restore such a one in the spirit of meekness; considering yourself, unless you also be tempted."

To be judgmental or condemning is wrong, but to do nothing is also sometimes wrong. That certainly was the case with the Corinthians and the person who was living in fornication. Something had to be done. And Paul said that the thing to be done was for this person to not be allowed to participate in their services or in their gatherings together. The exact words of Paul were, "To deliver such a one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus Christ." One of the ways that we all learn is from living life in this world. Life is a teacher. Do not protect someone from the lessons that they need to learn. You are not helping, if you protect too much. Some parents make this mistake. There comes a day when they must face life and they must face the consequences of their actions just like everyone else. Life is often the best teacher. If they will not learn from your words; then let them learn from life.

In the life of believers there is a principle of separation from the world that should be practiced. According to this passage of scripture there is also a separation from other Christians who are openly engaging in certain kinds of sins. One of the reasons for this kind of separation is given in First Corinthians. 5:6-8. It says, "Your glorying is not good. Know you not that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Purge out therefore the old leaven, that you may be a new lump as you are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: 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."

The ideas and behavior of one human have an effect on others that he is around. Sinfulness that goes unrepented of and unconfessed will lead to a further corruption of the person involved, and it can also have a corrupting influence on the groups that the person is involved with. That is the meaning of leaven. A small amount of leaven in a large piece of dough will eventually permeate the entire piece of dough. Sin is like that. In our lifetimes we have seen how the onslaught of lower standards and immoral behavior has affected more and more people in our society. The lower standards and the immoral behavior started on a relatively small scale, but it has grown to the point that many things in our society now remind us of Sodom and Gomorrah. Why did it happen? Because the Bible is true: a little leaven leavens the whole lump.

There is a penalty to be paid for the commission of sins. We reap what we sow. We bear the consequences of our actions. For every action there is a reaction. Knowing this principle of life to be true because God who created all things made it like that, how much more we can appreciate the principle of forgiveness. It is a wonderful thing to be forgiven of sins, and it is a very great and compassionate God who created the forgiveness of sins through Jesus Christ. But you cannot be forgiven until you repent, and you will not repent until you realize the negative consequences of your sins that you may have to bear.

By sending the believer who is living in open sin back into the world, you will be helping such a person to eventually come to their senses. There is a time to separate from those who live in open sin, but there is also a time not to separate. Some Christians have joined with those with whom they ought not to have joined; but others have separated from those from whom they ought not to have separated. Paul addresses the issue of who you should separate from and who you should not separate from in First Corinthians 5:9-13. He said, "I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators; Yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must you go out of the world. 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 idolator, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat. For what have I to do to judge them that are without? Do not you judge them that are within? But them that are without God judges. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person."

Paul is saying that the principle of separation is different depending upon if you are talking about believers or unbelievers. Jesus came into the world to save sinners. How shall they believe except they hear, and how shall they hear except someone tell them, and how shall someone tell them if that someone separates from their company? The ultimate purpose of making friends with those who are outside of the faith is not to be influenced by their wrongdoing, but to influence them with the Gospel.

In the case of the Christians in Corinth the person from whom they were supposed to separate was a man who claimed to be a Christian, but who was living in open fornication. Paul said that there were other reasons for also separating from Christians who were in error. The other attributes mentioned here are: covetous, idolater, railer, drunkard, and extortioner. A railer is not talking about someone who works on the railroad. "Railer" is a word that refers to someone who abuses people by the way that he talks to them. He rails against them: he reviles them. In contrast to that, Christians should be gentle to all men. Notice that the failures that are mentioned in this list are major, outward failures that would be noticed by those in the community. Again, the idea is that God wants his congregation to be a witness in the community of lives that have been changed by Jesus. If someone wants to be a part of the community of believers and who has one of these negative attributes as a part of their life, they must learn to deal with their problem or they will harm not only themselves, but also the testimony of the church. The call of God is always a call to turn away from what you ought not to be doing, and to turn towards the service of a Holy God.

When a congregation determines that one of the believers must be dealt with in the manner described by the Apostle Paul in First Corinthians chapter 5, in a way, the congregation is performing a type of judgment. That is why Paul said that the believers should never treat unbelievers that way because God is the judge of the unbelievers. Leave the judgment of the unbelievers to God, but do not neglect the judgment of each other. Paul continues on the subject of Christians having the authority to judge each other in First Corinthians chapter 6.

The Bible says in First Corinthians 6:1-3, "Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unjust, and not before the saints? Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Know you not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?" We often find that the teachings of the Bible are no longer obeyed: not by the people of the world, and not even by those who call themselves the people of God. In this passage we are told that if Christians have any kind of legal dispute with one another that they should take their quarrels to other Christians to be resolved instead of going to court. There is no law that says you must sue someone who has wronged you. There are other ways to handle things. You might try trusting God, and you might try going to other Christians to settle the dispute. We live in a society where too many people are too quick to take someone to court. Evidently that was true in Corinth also, but Paul said that Christians have another option that they should try. They can go to the congregation of believers and take their disputes, and have the Christians make a decision about the matter.

Paul said that there are two reasons that Christians have the authority to judge one another in such matters. For one thing, Paul said that we will judge the world. In the end of time, at the great judgment when God shall judge the whole world for what they have done and how they have lived, Christians shall take part in the judgment of the world. There will be one great judge, but many smaller ones, you and me, participating with God in the final judgment. If we are going to be a part of that judgment, then surely we can judge other matters of lesser importance in this life. Not only will we one day judge the world, but the Bible says that we shall also judge angels. Evidently, this is talking about the evil angels who fell with Satan from heaven. We know very well some of the work that these evil angels have done in this world to tempt humans to fall further into sin, and to cause opposition and sorrows for believers. There are many evil angels and some of them have great power and authority. But do not worry. Everything will work out fine because one day you will judge them in the presence of God, if you are a follower of Jesus. "Eye has not seen, ear has not heard, neither has entered into the heart of man, what God has prepared for them that love Him."

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