Stopping the rot

Slices

Prepare

Invite the Holy Spirit to show you whether there are any specific situations, sins or attitudes that are making it hard for you to hear God at the moment.

Bible passage

1 Corinthians 5:1–13

Dealing with a case of incest

5 It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that even pagans do not tolerate: a man is sleeping with his father’s wife. And you are proud! Shouldn’t you rather have gone into mourning and have put out of your fellowship the man who has been doing this? For my part, even though I am not physically present, I am with you in spirit. As one who is present with you in this way, I have already passed judgment in the name of our Lord Jesus on the one who has been doing this. So when you are assembled and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present, hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord.

Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough? Get rid of the old yeast, so that you may be a new unleavened batch – as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old bread leavened with malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people – 10 not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. 11 But now I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. Do not even eat with such people.

12 What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? 13 God will judge those outside. ‘Expel the wicked person from among you.’

People worshipping

Explore

A serious report has reached Paul: a church member is in a continuing liaison with his father’s wife. Even the unshockable Greeks would be scandalised by such a sexual relationship (vs 1,2). Paul wants to know how it is that they’re not grieved by this. The unholiness must be removed from the church as old yeast from the dough (vs 6,7,13). The fact that they haven’t sensed God’s grief at this suggests they’re already becoming spiritually dulled. They must stop the rot. They have no reason for pride or boasting (vs 2,6).

Paul’s language in verses 3–5 is hard to grasp. Through their fellowship in the Spirit, Paul expects to exercise his authority in some present sense by the Spirit’s power even while absent. Perhaps what’s meant is that, as Paul’s judgement is read out as they’re gathered to worship, the power of the Lord Jesus will convince those present.

They need to redraw some boundaries (not just about sex). They’re to stop breaking bread with those claiming to be following Jesus if they won’t address persistent patterns of sinful behaviour. Just as with the first man (v 1), they’re to break fellowship with such people, intending to draw them back to God in penitence (vs 5,10,11).

Author
Mike Archer

Respond

Reflect on how you are drawing boundaries at the moment. In what ways might the Lord want you to redraw them?

Bible in a year

Read the Bible in a year: Numbers 28,29; Psalm 31

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