A Letter Of Concern- Stand Your Ground Series

Series: Action [#77]

A LETTER OF CONCERN- STAND YOUR GROUND

1 Corinthians 5:1-13

Introduction:

On this Sunday before Veteran’s Day, I want to thank all of the Veterans for their service. We live in a free Nation because of them. We are living in a time when that freedom is in danger. What we must do is stand our ground. What does that mean? It means that you don’t compromise your Christian beliefs. This is what Paul was telling the Corinthian Church.

1 Corinthians 5:1-2

Stand your ground by…

1. Not condoning sin.

Paul could not believe the report that he had heard about 1 of the Church members. This man in the Church was sleeping with his Step-Mother- Something that not even the pagans would put up with; and to make it worse, the Church did not seem to care. My 1st thought is, “This guy was giving lots of money to the Church”. Now, I don’t know that to be true; but there had to be a reason that they would allow this to happen. Maybe, they did not want to upset anyone.

Christians, you are not supposed to condone sin. The statement, “Hate the sin; but love the sinner” is true. While this situation is about sexual immorality, it covers all sin. We must stop condoning sin.

1 Corinthians 5:3-5

Stand your ground by…

2. Responding against sin.

Not only should you not condone sin; but you need to respond against it. You may be thinking, “I am not supposed to judge”; but that is not what the Bible actually says. The Bible says that we are not to judge people who are not saved. When we deal with someone who is a Christian, we are to confront that sin- Not to shame them; but to change them. If they will not change, then let the devil deal with them. Satan has a way of showing us how bad life can get when we follow him instead of God.

1 Corinthians 5:6-8

Stand your ground by…

3. Getting rid of sin.

The statement about a little yeast ruins the dough is the same as, “One rotten apple will spoil the whole bunch.” You are to live a life of sincerity and truth. Do not allow sin to go unconfessed in your life.

1 Corinthians 5:9-13

Stand your ground by…

4. Avoiding Christians who are stuck in habitual sins.

Paul is telling them that they should not hang out with Christians who live in sin. This does not mean that Christians should avoid people who are not saved. This means that Christians should not be around Christians who live like they are not saved.

Conclusion:

This Sermon is a tough one to hear, because it is fitting to many Christians. Christians and Congregations allowing sinful things to happen without consequences is how we got to where we are today in this Country. Christians, stand your ground.