November 3, 2024
Please use the comment section on this page to share insights from today’s reading OR your own personal Bible reading.
Reading along with us in Numbers and 1 Corinthians? Here’s today’s reading:
1 Corinthians 5 (NIV)
Dealing With a Case of Incest
1 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. 2 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?……Continue Reading
The expectation of non-believers is not to immediately turn from sins but rather to be saved and then let God transform their lives. Our presentation of the Gospel is for the purpose of bringing God into their hearts and minds so He can do the work He has done in us as believers… the transforming work He is still doing in us.
When dealing with the sin of believers, the expectation is that their eyes have been opened to the sin in their lives and that they are working to root it out. For this we present truth in love and with the grace God shows them as He shows each of us that sin and ask for repentance. We still love, we still encourage, and we still support but never at the expense of the truth. It must always be clear when we see sin in someone’s life that needs to be removed and share with them the power available through God for them to do that, repent, and continue that transformation to a new person in Him.
1 Corinthians 5
Well said Kelly. This church was very immature, for Paul could only feed them with spiritual milk. They were very carnal yet knew Christ. But there was little fruit in their lives. 1 Cor. 3:1-2 {And I brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk, and not with meat for hitherto ye were not able to bear it; neither yet now are you able.} Apparently; the growth was so slow that a person not named was not repenting of their sin and had to be judged in the church. If left to fester, this person could affect the whole body of believers. This is why Paul says he has judged already and that this person should be delivered to Satan. 1 Cor. 5:3b, 5. {but present in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, concerning him that hath so done this deed. 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.} Sometimes the Lord will bring someone home earlier because of his refusal to repent even though he may be saved. This is because they may be bringing down other believers because of their sin. But let`s not assume that a person is taken early because of sin; for God has His own reasons and timing when He brings someone home to Heaven. We are only to counsel a fellow believer when they are struggling or are in sin. With much prayer lest we also fall. We are to make sure that we are standing firm in the Lord ourselves so that we can pull a brother up. We are all in different stages of our walk with the Lord and yet we are all still sinners; yet sinners saved by the grace of God. Our desire should be to know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death. Phil 3:10. We may never suffer and be persecuted for Him; but we should be willing to take up our cross and follow Him no matter what comes. God bless us as we follow Him.
Paul says that although the brother in Christ is engaging in wicked acts, he will still be saved in spirit. God will deliver on his promise that all who believe and have faith in Jesus will be saved. The Lord is merciful and gracious to all who believe. This is a solid example of how we are saved through faith, our salvation is not dependent on our actions of goodness or wickedness.
This is a clarifying verse to the “do not judge” verses of Matthew 7. We must judge ourselves first, removing logs and hypocrisy, then help your brother with the speck. I think this keeps one humble in a church discipline situation. Yes we are all repentant sinners in various states of sanctification, but there is a difference between warning a brother or sister in their sin-trap and spurring them on in obedience, and in tolerating or “glorying” in their sinful behavior and not addressing it.
We can assume that what Paul was dealing with here is unrepentant sin and here the Corinthians, most likely misunderstanding the concept of grace, were rejoicing that such sin was tolerated…even embraced? And yet the grace of God is to teach us to say no to ungodliness (Titus 2:11-12) and therefore unrepentant sin should be addressed in the church in line with Jesus’ instruction in Matthew 18. There should be opportunities for people to make things right. But if they remain set on a wrong course, then church discipline is necessary and appropriate. It is actually a role the church plays in believer’s lives and is one of God’s provisions for dealing with sin. The goal is naturally restoration, because the hope is that church discipline draws people to repentance. All churches should be ready to apply it when a situation calls for it.