Addressing Sin in the Church
introduction
Having established God to be the authority and judge of man's motives, Paul goes on to address the immoralities commonly known among the brethren at Corinth in 1 Cor 5.
addressing the text
Fornication (porneia) is condemned by God in every form. Their sin in this instance was particularly offensive because its type would not even be allowed by the Gentiles. The Jewish law forbade one being married to his step-mother in Lev. 18:7-8. The church had not only ignored this sin, but had also become arrogant about it. Paul judges the man and instructs them to remove the sinful from their midst.
Four things should be noted about Paul's instruction concerning discipline. (a) Action taken is authorized by Christ (v.4), (b) it should be taken when the church is gathered together, (c) the sinful are delivered to Satan, and (d) its purpose is the salvation of the spirit.
It's obvious that Paul had written to the people before concerning their association with sinful brethren as he clarifies their questions about the issue (v.9). Disfellowshipping from the sinful is the responsibility of the church toward members of the Lord's body that are involved in sin that the sinful may by it be saved and to keep the purity of the church.
thoughts about the text
The most commonly cited passage Jn. 3:16 has been replaced by Matt. 7:1, "Judge not, that ye be not judged." The world once esteemed salvation, yet now holds high the banner of ignorant, selfish tolerance. The new standard is self and none can be condemned thereby. Paul says much in 1 Cor. 4 and 5 concerning judging, much of which could be quickly misconstrued. In 4:5 he says, "Therefore do not go on passing judgment before the time", and many would use this as a defense that they should not be judged by any man. However, in 5:3 Paul says, "For I...have already judged him who has so committed this". How shall these statements be resolved. The judgments to which Paul refers in 4:5 are "the motives of men's hearts" and "the things hidden in the darkness." These things only God can and should judge. In 5:3 Paul's judgments are based on the man's actions in contrast with God's Word.
Furthermore in 5:12 he says, "For what have I to do with judging outsiders?" and in v.13, "those who are outside, God judges". And so it could appear as if it's okay for a Christian to judge a member of the Lord's body on this basis of his action, but this same judgment is not to be applied to "an outsider". In a sense, this is the case. The judgment spoken of here includes "the sentence" applied to the individual. For those in the Lord's body we invoke the sentence of removing the sinful from the church as we are commanded. However, the sinful man who is outside the body of Christ shall receive his sentence from the Lord. It is our obligation as Christians to try to teach the world the truth of God's word. This does not mean that we should abstain from pointing out sinful action in their life. I mean, what's the good of saying, "Hey, here's the Word of God that brings salvation to the sinful! (not that you've sinned or anything)"? In his letter to the Romans Paul addresses the fact that all have sinned and we would be remiss not to proclaim such wonderfully good news to the world.
Having established God to be the authority and judge of man's motives, Paul goes on to address the immoralities commonly known among the brethren at Corinth in 1 Cor 5.
addressing the text
Fornication (porneia) is condemned by God in every form. Their sin in this instance was particularly offensive because its type would not even be allowed by the Gentiles. The Jewish law forbade one being married to his step-mother in Lev. 18:7-8. The church had not only ignored this sin, but had also become arrogant about it. Paul judges the man and instructs them to remove the sinful from their midst.
Four things should be noted about Paul's instruction concerning discipline. (a) Action taken is authorized by Christ (v.4), (b) it should be taken when the church is gathered together, (c) the sinful are delivered to Satan, and (d) its purpose is the salvation of the spirit.
It's obvious that Paul had written to the people before concerning their association with sinful brethren as he clarifies their questions about the issue (v.9). Disfellowshipping from the sinful is the responsibility of the church toward members of the Lord's body that are involved in sin that the sinful may by it be saved and to keep the purity of the church.
thoughts about the text
The most commonly cited passage Jn. 3:16 has been replaced by Matt. 7:1, "Judge not, that ye be not judged." The world once esteemed salvation, yet now holds high the banner of ignorant, selfish tolerance. The new standard is self and none can be condemned thereby. Paul says much in 1 Cor. 4 and 5 concerning judging, much of which could be quickly misconstrued. In 4:5 he says, "Therefore do not go on passing judgment before the time", and many would use this as a defense that they should not be judged by any man. However, in 5:3 Paul says, "For I...have already judged him who has so committed this". How shall these statements be resolved. The judgments to which Paul refers in 4:5 are "the motives of men's hearts" and "the things hidden in the darkness." These things only God can and should judge. In 5:3 Paul's judgments are based on the man's actions in contrast with God's Word.
Furthermore in 5:12 he says, "For what have I to do with judging outsiders?" and in v.13, "those who are outside, God judges". And so it could appear as if it's okay for a Christian to judge a member of the Lord's body on this basis of his action, but this same judgment is not to be applied to "an outsider". In a sense, this is the case. The judgment spoken of here includes "the sentence" applied to the individual. For those in the Lord's body we invoke the sentence of removing the sinful from the church as we are commanded. However, the sinful man who is outside the body of Christ shall receive his sentence from the Lord. It is our obligation as Christians to try to teach the world the truth of God's word. This does not mean that we should abstain from pointing out sinful action in their life. I mean, what's the good of saying, "Hey, here's the Word of God that brings salvation to the sinful! (not that you've sinned or anything)"? In his letter to the Romans Paul addresses the fact that all have sinned and we would be remiss not to proclaim such wonderfully good news to the world.
posted by Xopey at
5:28 PM
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