What Does the Bible Say About Sin
How Do We Respond to Sin?
Introduction:
Willie Nelson apparently at one time owned a golf course. He said the great
thing about owning a golf course was that he could decide what par for each
hole was. He pointed at one hole and said, “See that hole there? It’s a par
47. Yesterday I birdied it.”
Well, we cannot decide what par for the course is, we cannot decide right from wrong. God decides right from wrong, and when we do not measure up that is called sin.
Over the next few weeks I want to look at what the Bible has to say about sin. Obviously man’s sin is probably one of the most prominent issues in the Scriptures. In fact the whole reason Jesus came was because of sin. The word sin that we read about in the New Testament is the Greek word “amartia”, which was an archery term meaning “to miss the mark”, when we sin we literally miss the mark that God has set for us.
In our society over the past few years there are several mindsets that are very prevalent, and those mindsets have even seeped into the church, but I believe they are contrary to what God’s word teaches. Our society calls us to be open-minded towards all things. I do not have a problem being open-minded; I just do not want to call open-minded accepting things God forbids. By open-minded our culture means being open-minded to other beliefs and religions. This is the mindset that denies there is any absolute truth, but we know there are some absolutes in this world. This mindset has crept into the church to the point we do not address things like sin as sin, but tip-toe around the issue because are afraid of hurting feelings and appearing close-minded or intolerant, but there is some ground which we have to stand firmly on and there are some issues that may not be politically correct that need to be addressed. I believe if sin was addressed more, taught on more, and the consequences we highlighted more there would be less of a sin problem and more people would realize that sin is not okay. Our culture also tells us to be tolerant. We are expected in the society in which we live in to accept and be tolerant of the things others choose to do with their life. I do not have a problem being tolerant and patient, but again I do not think tolerance means that we allow sin and immorality to run rampant without speaking up for the truth. Third, we are flooded with the concept of privacy. We are taught that what I do is my business and no one else’s. I do not have a problem respecting someone’s privacy, but on the other hand the Bible teaches that we are a body and the idea of privacy has gone to an extreme to where we feel what we do is our business only. Well, the Scriptures make it clear that what we do is not just our business, it is also God’s business and it is also the church’s business to an extent.
Text: I Corinthians 5:1-13
I. The Sin Was a Bad Witness
I wonder how far the news of this sin had spread throughout the community. Paul said, that it is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you. How did Paul find out of this sin? Since the beginning of the church’s establishment people in the world have been trying to find fault with the church and with Christians. It almost seems if the world rejoices when a Christian person’s sin is made public knowledge. Why is it when Jimmy Baker and Jimmy Swaggert have moral dilemnas that it makes big time news, but when those same sins are committed countless times every day it does not make a difference to anyone? The reason why is because the world knows that they had a higher standard and that they compromised their integrity. Paul told the church in Corinth that the things that were going on there are things that the pagans do not even do.
It is assumed that as the letters that Paul and the Apostles wrote different churches arrived to them they would read them when they meet together for worship. The people would have loved the beginning and ends of Paul’s letters especially when he would greet certain people by name. Those people that were greeted had to feel a great sense of pride that they were personally greeted by an apostle. Here in the middle of this letter he greets someone personally, but this is not the type of greeting someone would want. Could you imagine how embarassed this man that was living in this particular sin must have been to be publically mentioned like this? Well, Paul took the mindset that the man’s sin was public knowledge so why not address it publically.
As if the church at Corinth did not have enough problems already, they now had this issue to deal with. They had divisions in the church, they were filing lawsuits among each other, they had some serious doctrinal troubles with issues like marriage, food sacrificed to idols, the Lord’s Supper, and the Resurrection, and on top of it all they have blatant sin taking place and they are proud of what was taking place. Contrast this man’s behavior from what Peter instructed Christians to do.
I Peter 2:11-12
This man’s sin was bad enough that it affected him, the other person involved, and the rest of his family, but the worst thing of all is that it affected the church. This left the community talking and wondering some things. They would have been able to pull the hypocrites in the church excuse; they would have seen some holes that just did not fit. They would have had the attitude that if that is how Christians live then why do I need to change. Sadly, the world sees the bad far more than they see the good. You can do everything right for a long period of time, even over a matter of years, and then one mess up and what will people remember about you?
I do not like to be misrepresented. When I was a child my parents told me that I was a representative of my family and the things I did would reflect on my whole family. They did not want me to misrepresent them. In College we were taught that everywhere we went in the community we were representative of the college and the things we did good or bad, would reflect on the whole college. It is the same in the church, when you are out in the community you are a reprentative of this church and more than that a representative of Christ. We need to be very careful in our actions not to misrperesent Him to the world and be a bad witness of what we stand for.
We all sin from time to time, and in fact we all probably wrestle and struggle with sin, and that is never acceptable, but his man was living in sin, and was unrepentant over his sin. It had to be dealt with because sin within the church is a bad witness to the world of what we truly stand for.
II. They Were Proud of Their Sin, But should Have Grieved
They should have grieved because a as I read this account of this sin taking place in the church it amazes me that the church could be proud over such an issue. This was not an issue where they were in gray area. God had spoken clearly that what took place was sin. Even the society in which they lived in saw this as wrong. Notice exactly what Paul says about their attitude and what it should have been.
I Corinthians 5:2
a. Brother Was Missing Out Now
The church should have grieved because the brother in that sin was missing out on something right now. He was not just in danger of missing out eternally, but he was missing the joy of being in Christ and was rather burdened and enslaved to sin. The Bible teaches plainly that those who try to live a Christian life and still enjoy sin and missing the point and are the one’s missing out on something right now. You cannot know the true joy of being a Christian with one foot in the world and one foot in the church. The church should have been grieved because a brother was facing consequences of that sin now. Separation from God is not something that just happens when we die if we are in sin, it also happens now. This man was hindered from truly knowing God because of his sin and they should have been burdened by that. We too, when a brother or sister in Christ is not living fully dedicated to Christ should grieve because they are missing out on some things as they live their lives, which is a consequences of their sin.
b. Grieved Because a Brother Was In Eternal Danger
More than that they should have been grieved because their brother was in eternal danger. We often do not take sin too seriously. Sin though is a big deal. We should not find people’s sins funny, comical or something to take pride in because those same sins are going to result in people spending eternity apart from God and that should break our hearts rather than be a place to take pride in. On tope of that those sins that we often overlook and not think much of are the very things that nailed Jesus to the cross. The church at Corinth should have been ashamed because they were proud of that sin. As they sat proud and yawned over a brother’s sin, he got deeper and deeper into it and further and further from God. As they sat proud a brother was lost and if he would have died would have no promise of eternal life because of his lifestyle of sin. It should grieve us to the deepest level to see brothers and sisters living in sin and unrepentant over their actions because of the eternal dangers there.
c. Grieved Because the Sin Hurts the Body
Our sin does not just affect us. There are many things that should come to mind to keep us from sinning. Things like: the fact that Jesus died for us, the hope of Heaven, the fear of Hell, the love we have for God, the consequences we face now, the sense of duty and obligation to obey, and also because our sin hurts other people and causes them to stumble as well. Jesus gave a great woe, to those that cause people to stumble. Our sin leads to causing other people to sin as well, but also to be discouraged. Nothing hurts and discourages me more than seeing sin inside the church or infaithfulness among Christians. I have faced spiritual anxiety and hurt in my heary because of people not doing right. That should not be the only thing to motivate you not to sin, but people hurt when we sin because sin hurts the body and the Church at Corinth should have been grieved knowing that there were people discouraged and tempted because of that man’s sin. We should grieve over people’s sins because sin affects the whole church.
III. They Should Have Put Him Out of the Fellowship
I Corinthians 5:2; 4-5
This idea of church discipline has by many been called the forgotten doctrine of the church and rightly so. We as a church fear the idea of disfellowshipping a believer because we are afraid that we may hurt their feelings, that they may leave the church, that they will leave and take their money with them. All I know is that no matter how much we try and how much we do not like it we cannot separate the sin from the sinner or divorce the personality from the person involved. Yes, when there is sin in the church feelings are going to be hurt and feathers are going to be ruffled, but where we have an example laid forth by the Apostle’s of how to deal with sin in the church neglecting that is sin of the church. I do not believe Paul’s purpose was to simply make a statement, to pursue some hidden agenda, or to be overly zealous against sin; his goal was for the person to repent and in the end be saved. We do not like to execute church discipline because we would rather make justification for sin rather than to deal with. Please understand that dealing with and confronting sin is not a lack of love, but rather is a display of love. If you love your children for example, you will discipline them when they do wrong. Hebrews 12 says God disciplines those he loves. As a church we are not showing love by tolerating sin within the body. This particular sin that we read about is the sin of sexual immorality. The man being talked about was in a relationship with his stepmother, though Paul tells them they need to deal with this sin, this is not the only sin to be dealt with in the church. I believe that there are certain sins and actions, which need to confronted and dealt with. Here is the purpose behind that:
a. To Show Disapproval
What if everytime a sin takes place in the church it is never spoken of or stood up to, but only brushed under the table? I will tell you: people will start to wonder if we disapprove of the action. One reason why Paul instructs the church to act this way is to show the world and the church that we disapprove of the sin taking place.
b. To Stop it From Spreading
In the Old Testament at times God gets rather mad at his people for their sin. On several occasions in fact he reacts and brings forth some form of judgment of the people sinning. You look at how God responded and you may be overhwelmed by his reaction. I believe one reason why God did this was to stop the sin from spreading. On one occasion a man named Korah lead a rebellion againt the leadership of Moses and God became angry. God told everyone to move away from the tents of those leading the rebellion and then the Earth opened and awallowed them up. The people still did not learn so they began to grumble some more, so God sent a plague that killed 14,700 people. You may think that doesn’t seem too fair, but God was trying to show his disapproval to stop the sin from spreading.
You may remember a story in the book of Acts about Ananias and Sapphira. This couple was members of the church and they decided to sell their land and give it to the Apostles. When they did that however, they witheld a portion of it and gave it to them telling them it was the whole sum they had received. In the end God struck them both dead because of their lie. When you read that you think, was that really that big of a deal? It was their money after all; couldn’t they do what they wanted with it? The problem was they lied and God was trying to show that lying would not be tolerated among his people.
UCLA sociologist, James Wilson, has observed an interesting fact about city life: The crime rate escalates on those streets where broken windows are not repaired. His study showed that the failure to replace windows makes an announcement to the public by saying the standards have been lowered and authority has been abandoned. Wilson sees such practices of disrepair as an invitation for further crime without the threat of adverse consequences. What is true on the street is also true in the church. If we allow sin and unscriptural practices to go unchecked, we are be inviting destruction into the Lord’s church.
I Corinthians 5:6-7
What would have happened if when this sin began in Corinth the leaders addressed it and showed their disapproval for it? I do not know how the man in the sin would have responded, but I know that the church never would have wondered whether sexual immorality was wrong or not. I would be willing to bet that this man was not the only one struggling with a lifestlye of sin in the church, because I would bet that the people saw that the leaders didn’t respond to the sin so maybe it wasn’t wrong. One reason Paul instructs the church to “hand this man over to Satan” was to make a statement to the church that sin in never accetable or justifiable.
c. To Bring About Repentance
Have you ever seen those invisible electric fences for dogs? Supposidly what you do is you bury this electrical fence in your yard and put this special collar on your dog and if the dog tries to go past where you set the line the dog will be shocked. I have heard that it does not take many times for the dog to learn their lesson, so you can cut the electricity off to the fence and the dog will not try to cross again.
I Corinthians 5:5
The purpose of church discipline here was not to hurt anyone’s feelings or to just be a bunch of dogmatic legalists, but rather was an action based in love, hoping that repentance would come about in the end. I find it ironic that this issue is never acted upon in the church and we call ourselves a New Testament Church. I find it ironic that people fear disciplining sin when we know that one day God will. I find it ironic that we neglect this call for discipline when we have a direct command for how to deal with sin in the church, in fact Paul says that you can do it not just under your authoirty, not just under an apostle’s authoirty, no under the elder’s or preacher’s authorty, but with the authoirty of Jesus himself.
The goal though is not separation, but rather is repentance. Removing someone from the fellowship is not an action that is easy to take or that we should enjoy taking on someone, but rather is one that hurts everyone involved because we care. Sometimes though caring and loving someone calls for doing what will be the best in the long run and not just what avoids a controversy and hurt feelings.
Perhaps to some people removing someone from the church would not matter that much, they can just find another church, can’t they? Well, it shouldn’t be that way. The church is a place where we identify with Christ, and when someone is remved from the fellowship, they are cut off from an essential component of their faith. Church discipline means something and has a specific goal, and that goal is for the person in sin to change for the better.
IV. They Should Have Been Careful of Sin
Barney Fife used to say, “nip it in the bud” and that is what the leaders of the church of Corinth should have done with that sin. We have already talked about how sin spreads and affects the church, but I want ro reemphasize the fact that we need to be careful with sin because sin is tempting and if we are not careful we can be carried away as well. He sin should have been dealt with, but Paul does not just stop there he tells the church that they shouldn’t even hang around this guy.
I Corinthians 5:9-11
The reason why goes back to what he said about a little bit of leaven going through the whole batch of dough. Sin is the same way, a little bit can do a lot of destruction. I have seen what people saw as “little” sins destroy churches and deeply hurt other Christians. We need to be careful about sin because sin is a big deal and God calls us to hnadle sin within the church.
II Corinthians 2:5-11
I do not know if this is talking about the same guy mentioned in I Corinthians 5, but I think it likely, and nevertheless the principle applies.
1. The Church became Grieved Over the Sin
I believe the church took Paul’s advice, they probably did as he said by removing him from the fellowship and it grieved them to do it…but look at the results.
2. There is a Time for restoration
3. The Sinner Needed Forgiveness and Comfort
