Sin Accomodating Churches-4 Series

SIN ACCOMODATING CHURCHES-IV—1Cor. 5:1-13

Attention:

The Zika virus is a feared disease that is spread by mosquitoes. The insidious nature of the virus is heartbreaking. It’s damage is most notable in that the infants of infected pregnant women are born with microcephaly. It also causes other severe brain defects in unborn children & may also cause eye defects, hearing loss, & impaired growth.

Now across the street on the west side of the church, there is a city lot which is overgrown & has a building which is unused & in disrepair. Apart from the problem of the building there are some discarded tires in the lot. When it rains(if it ever rains again!) the tires hold water, which mosquitoes need & will use to breed.

Now...Suppose we allow the tires(breeding ground) to remain undisposed of. The Zika virus spreads. Children are deformed. The families of those of childbearing age suffer tremendously & needlessly. Why? Because individuals & the community did not see fit to do its part to remove a problem!

*Dance around rather than taking care of a problem.

Similarly, The Church proper is populated by Christians, all of the same heritage...they are brothers & sisters by the blood of Jesus. None of them are Christian sympathizers, they are actual Christians!

However, the sympathizers are readily invited to witness & be involved with the true Christian work but only to a limited extent...

...Because...

1)The church works so closely with the world, & that...

2)We cannot ultimately determine the reality of anyone’s salvation(only God can per 1Cor. 4-5) & that...

3)We minister with those who consider themselves ‘saved,’ the church can inadvertently & ignorantly become party to worldliness.

4)Our hearts can deceive us so that we think we are doing God service when in fact we are undermining the Kingdom(Jer. 17:9-10; Jn. 16:2-3)!

Such a hodge-podge can invite a label of ‘hypocrisy’ upon the Church among outsiders, who lump all so-called ‘Christians’ together, assuming everyone who claims the name ‘Christian’ is the ‘real-deal’...

Such a hodge-podge can also invite a label of ‘hypocrisy’ upon the Church from insiders, who impose legalism upon the Church in order to ‘weed out’ sympathizers from the ‘real deal’!

Regardless, neither the lost nor the church can afford to submit to such abuse.

Paul admonished(called out) the Corinthian church because they had allowed/accommodated heinous sin in their midst.

The church must not accommodate sin in their midst.

*How can the true church effectively act against sin in their midst?

When does a church accommodate sin?

9 deficiencies of sin accommodating churches.

We had previously visited the fact that,

Sin Accommodating Churches skirt/deny...

1. BASELINES(:1)

2. BROKENNESS(:2)

3. God’s PRESENCE(:3)

4. AVAILABLE ARSENAL/Weaponry(:4)

5—Sin Accommodating churches skirt/deny...

CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY(:5)—See #10 :13

Explanation:(:5)

: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.”

Paul has a specific purpose in seeking the Church’s corporate expulsion of the unrepentant sinner. His purpose is so the “spirit” of the offender would “be saved” when Christ returns for His own. Our “spirit” is the unique essence of who each of us is as a person, aside from our embodiment in flesh. Though everyone’s “flesh” is inseparably tied to his/her “spirit,” their “flesh’s” “destruction” may bring about a needed change in “spirit,” so that such a person’s “spirit” will not perish in an eternal hell.

See 1Pet. 2:12 regarding the significance of the Church’s witness for the sake of the lost...

1Pet. 2:11-12—“Beloved, I beg you as sojourners & pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation.”

Thus the church is commanded & exhorted to “deliver” the sexual offender “to Satan.” Thru “Satan’s” being given free rein over the the sinner’s “flesh,”(as Satan cannot touch the man’s soul since he is saved) said sinning “flesh” will absolutely suffer “destruction” seeing that “Satan” ever lives to destroy. The Church is thus to completely “deliver” over their so-called ‘brother’ to the devil’s desire(which is limited in Christ).

*Though this is a single historic incidence there is application for all other Christians(“such a one”).

“Paul certainly means expulsion from the church(verse 2) & regarding him as outside of the commonwealth of Israel(Eph 2:11f). But we are not to infer that expulsion from the local church means the damnation of the offender. The willful offenders have to be expelled & not regarded as enemies, but admonished as brothers(2Th 3:14f).”—RWP

Such a scenario may be difficult to envision today, especially for an American audience in the south, where there are many protestant churches within any given town. To turn out a member of one church only gains them entrance into another ‘down the street’ where he/she may receive ample comfort & acceptance of their sin &/or ample blame directed at the ‘hard-heartedness’ of the former church. In such a situation, devilish, satanic behaviors are placated for the sake of indulgence, numbers, & money.