SIN ACCOMODATING CHURCHES-II—1Cor. 5:1-13
Attention:
Adding a screened-in porch to protect against wasps, without removing the wasp nest
Removing a beaver dam without removing the beavers, etc.
*To Dance around rather than approaching an object.
The true church 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 be witnesses of & be involved with the true Christian work, but only to a limited extent...
...Because...
1)The church ministers in the world & interacts with the world(Jn. 17:15)...
2)We cannot ultimately determine the reality of anyone’s salvation(only God can per 1Cor. 4-5)...
3)We minister to & with those who consider themselves ‘saved,’ the church can inadvertently & ignorantly become party to worldliness(Mat. 7:16-20).
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 invites a label of ‘hypocrisy’ upon the Church among outsiders, who assume the worldly ‘Christian’ sympathizers are the ‘real-deal!’
One of the horrible things about having so many denominations & even more so, to have many churches in the same area, is that there is no central church to which all Christians commit(as within Catholicism)!
Each church is instead built upon some aspect of preferentialism rather than an adherence to Jesus Christ! Thus those disappointed in a church or even disbanded from a church can ‘go down the street’ as it were, where they will be readily accepted & their unrepentant sin is disguised or tolerated.
Paul admonished 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 a sin accommodating church.
We had previously visited the fact that,
Sin Accommodating Churches skirt/deny...
1. BASELINES(:1)
2—Sin Accommodating Churches skirt/deny...
BROKENNESS(:2)
Explanation:(:2)Mourning/Grief over sin
:2—“And you are puffed up, & have not rather mourned, that he who has done this deed might be taken away from among you.”
“The very least that they could have done(mallon rather than be puffed up) was to mourn for shame(penyew, old verb for lamentation) as if for one dead.”—RWP
“They were so self-satisfied & self confident that they excused or rationalized the most wicked behavior in the congregation”—MNTC
The church must never cease to be shocked by sin & certainly should “mourn” over it’s presence.
The Church as ‘the body of Christ,’ should always consider whether Jesus Himself would be tolerant of her beliefs & actions. Witness the churches of Revelation:
Rev. 2:13-17; 2:19-23—--Pergamos--“I know your works, & where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is. And you hold fast to My name, & did not deny My faith even in the days in which Antipas was My faithful martyr, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells. But I have a few things against you, because you have there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, & to commit sexual immorality. Thus you also have those who hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate. ‘Repent, or else I will come to you quickly & will fight against them with the sword of My mouth. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone, & on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it.”’.....--Thyatira--“I know your works, love, service, faith, & your patience; & as for your works, the last are more than the first. Nevertheless I have a few things against you, because you allow that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach & seduce My servants to commit sexual immorality & eat things sacrificed to idols. And I gave her time to repent of her sexual immorality, & she did not repent. Indeed I will cast her into a sickbed, & those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of their deeds. I will kill her children with death, & all the churches shall know that I am He who searches the minds & hearts. And I will give to each one of you according to your works.”
“Either with the gifts, learning, & eloquence of their preachers, & particularly of this man, who, by some, is thought to be one of their teachers; & though he was guilty of so foul a crime, yet they still applauded him, & cried him up for a wonderful preacher...” “...or the other were puffed up with their lenity & forbearance, boasting of it as an act of humanity & good nature, & an instance of charity, showing that they were not severe upon one another, for mistakes in life: or else were puffed up & gloried in the thing itself, as an instance of Christian liberty, & their freedom from the law, through a sad mistake of it; & in which they might be strengthened by a notion of the Jews, that it was lawful for proselyted Gentiles to do such things, for so says Maimonides {b}...
“The sentence of the law is, that it is free for a Gentile, “to marry his mother”, or his sister that are made proselytes; but the wise men forbid this thing, that they may not say we are come from a holiness that is heavy, to one that is light.”—John Gill
‘Sin always takes you where you should not go & leaves you there longer than you thought possible.’
If we are not broken by sin, then we will always nurture it in our own lives & this will invite the same in all our relationships...including the church!
“Puffed up”(same used in 4:6, 18, 19)—fusiow—1) To make natural, to cause a thing to pass into nature; 2) To inflate, blow up, to cause to swell up—2a) To puff up, make proud, 2b) To be puffed up, to bear one's self loftily, be proud. Strong—in the primary sense of blowing; To inflate, i.e. figuratively--Make proud(haughty). Used 7X.
“Rather”—mallon—Adverb Comparative—1) More, to a greater degree, rather— 1a) Much, by far, 1b) Rather, sooner, 1c) More willingly, more readily, sooner. Strong—adverbially--More(in a greater degree) or Rather.
“Mourned”—penyew—1) To mourn; 2) To mourn for, lament one. Penyew means properly to lament for the dead. It is also applied to passionate lamentation of any kind, so great that it cannot be hid. Strong—To grieve(the feeling or the act). Used 10X.
“That”—ina—1) That, in order that, so that. Strong—In order that(denoting the purpose or the result).
“Done”—poiew—Conj.—1)To make; 2)To do. Poiew designates performance; merely productive action; points to the action result. Poiew refers more to the object & end of an act. Poiew means to accomplish, & often means to do a thing once for all.
“Deed”—ergon—1) Business, employment, that which any one is occupied—1a) That which one undertakes to do, enterprise, undertaking; 2) Any product whatever, any thing accomplished by hand, art, industry, or mind; 3) An act, deed, thing done: the idea of working is emphasized in opposition to that which is less than work. Strong—from a primary(but obsolete) ergw(to work); Toil(as an effort or occupation); by implication--An act.
“Taken/Removed”—exairw—1) To lift up or take away out of a place; 2) To remove. Used 2X.
“From”—ek—
“Among”—mesov—Adj.—1) Middle; 2) The midst; 3) In the midst of, amongst. Strong—Middle(as an adjective or [neuter] noun).
Argumentation:
Js. 4:7-10—“Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil & he will flee from you. Draw near to God & He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; & purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament & mourn & weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning & your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, & He will lift you up.”
Ps. 34:18-19”—The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart, And saves such as have a contrite spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the LORD delivers him out of them all.”
*Contrite—“feeling or expressing remorse or penitence; affected by guilt.” M-W—“feeling or showing sorrow & remorse for a sin or shortcoming.”
Ps. 38:1-9—--A Psalm of David. To bring to remembrance.-- O LORD, do not rebuke me in Your wrath, Nor chasten me in Your hot displeasure! For Your arrows pierce me deeply, And Your hand presses me down. There is no soundness in my flesh Because of Your anger, Nor any health in my bones Because of my sin. For my iniquities have gone over my head; Like a heavy burden they are too heavy for me. My wounds are foul & festering Because of my foolishness. I am troubled, I am bowed down greatly; I go mourning all the day long. For my loins are full of inflammation, And there is no soundness in my flesh. I am feeble & severely broken; I groan because of the turmoil of my heart. Lord, all my desire is before You; And my sighing is not hidden from You.”
Jer. 23:9-11—“My heart within me is broken Because of the prophets; All my bones shake. I am like a drunken man, And like a man whom wine has overcome, Because of the LORD, And because of His holy words. For the land is full of adulterers; For because of a curse the land mourns. The pleasant places of the wilderness are dried up. Their course of life is evil, And their might is not right. “For both prophet & priest are profane; Yes, in My house I have found their wickedness,” says the LORD.”
Lk. 4:16-21—“So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, & stood up to read. And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written: “The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.” Then He closed the book, & gave it back to the attendant & sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.””
**2Cor. 4:6-12—“For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God & not of us. We are hard pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed-- always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So then death is working in us, but life in you.”
Ps. 51:1-17—--To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David when Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.--—“Have mercy upon me, O God, According to Your lovingkindness; According to the multitude of Your tender mercies, Blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, And cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions, And my sin is always before me. Against You, You only, have I sinned, And done this evil in Your sight--That You may be found just when You speak, And blameless when You judge. Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me. Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, And in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom. Purge me with hyssop, & I shall be clean; Wash me, & I shall be whiter than snow. Make me hear joy & gladness, That the bones You have broken may rejoice. Hide Your face from my sins, And blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence, And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, And uphold me by Your generous Spirit. Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, And sinners shall be converted to You. Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, The God of my salvation, And my tongue shall sing aloud of Your righteousness. O Lord, open my lips, And my mouth shall show forth Your praise. For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it; You do not delight in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken & a contrite heart--These, O God, You will not despise.”
Ps. 147:3—”He heals the brokenhearted And binds up their wounds.”
**Mat. 5:3-16—“Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger & thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they revile & persecute you, & say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice & be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out & trampled underfoot by men. You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp & put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, & it gives light to all who are in the house. “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works & glorify your Father in heaven.
Illustration:
*A potted plant that is ‘root-bound’/It is both starving to death as well as becoming constricted to death!/It must be freed from the pot(broken) & lovingly placed outside of its own prison, where it will receive that which is necessary for its nurture/The roots must be cut & broken so they will seek that which nourishes it rather than remain in the constricting shape of the pot/BROKENNESS
At one of the churches I had pastored, A young lady approached me regarding being a teacher of our youth/She expressed ‘disappointment’ with the current teacher’s “ability,” fully believing that since the current teacher had been a Christian since a youngster, that she did not possess the needed ‘experience’ with sin of which the youth should be knowledgable/She assumed Brokenness required previous indulgence in rank open sin!/BROKENNESS
A video which graphically shows someone being hurt intentionally/BROKENNESS
Application:
?Does Your Church Skirt/Deny BROKENNESS?
?Does Your Church Accommodate Sin?
3—Sin Accommodating churches skirt/deny...
God’s PRESENCE(:3)
Explanation:(:3)Determinations of the spiritually mature
:3—“For I indeed, as absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged (as though I were present) him who has so done this deed.”
Though Paul is bodily “absent” from the Corinthians, he is nonetheless “present” with them “in spirit.”
No doubt he prays for them consistently, else he would not have written this epistle at all.
Upon hearing of the sinful relationship(:1) with its surrounding circumstances(acceptance by the church)(:2), Paul had “already” made official apostolic determinations(“judgments”) regarding the person involved.
Paul not only frowned upon the “deed” but he also “judged” it a “deed” of evil. There was no need to discuss or counsel with anyone regarding supposed ‘gray areas’ of their accommodating tolerance!
Paul should not have had to have been there bodily for the church to honor the Lord Jesus. They could & should have taken these matters in hand themselves(:9-13; 6:1-5), being well aware of God’s truth, which Paul had fully shared with them.
Paul had just related(4:18-20) that “some are puffed up, as though I were not coming to you” & that he “will know, not the word of those who are puffed up, but the power” & that “the kingdom of God is not in word but in power.”
Pagan idolatry plays into such a scenario, some mistakenly thinking that God is like pagan gods, being limited to certain areas, peoples or realms.
The Corinthian church’s faith was to faith in God & in His Message...NOT faith in the messenger!
Likewise your faith is to be saving faith in God & His message, but not in the messenger.
Regardless of Paul’s presence or not, rather than accommodating the sin, the church should have done what was necessary to dismantle it with its destructive influence, & rather accommodate the God they claimed!
Your pastor is NOT the Mediator between you & God in the same sense that Jesus is the Christ(1Tim.2:5). The pastor mediates the good news of Jesus’ to you in various ways—preaching, teaching, praying, counseling, worshiping, etc. But he is merely one among many whom God has called to remind you that the true Mediator is Christ Jesus! You are responsible for your faith regardless of how near or far your pastor is!
“Indeed”—men—Particle—1) Truly, certainly, surely, indeed. Strong—a primary particle; properly--Indicative of affirmation or concession(in fact); usually followed by a contrasted clause with de (this one, the former, etc).
“Absent”—apeimi—1) To go away, depart. Strong—To be away. Used 7X.
From—apo—a primary particle; “Off,” i.e. Away(from something near), in various senses (of place, time, or relation; literal or figurative)—&—eimi—the first person singular present indicative; a prolonged form of a primary & defective verb; I exist(used only when emphatic).
“Body”—swma—1) The body both of men or animals; 2) The bodies of planets & of stars (heavenly bodies); 3) Is used of a (large or small)number of men closely united into one society, or family as it were; a social, ethical, mystical body; 4) That which casts a shadow as distinguished from the shadow itself. Strong—The body(as a sound whole), used in a very wide application, literally or figuratively.
“Present”2X—pareimi—1) To be by, be at hand, to have arrived, to be present; 2) To be ready, in store, at command. Strong—To be near, i.e. At hand; neuter present participle(singular)--Time being, or (plural)--Property.
“Spirit”(See :4, 5)—pneuma—1) The third person of the triune God, the Holy Spirit, coequal, coeternal with the Father & the Son; 2) The spirit, i.e. the vital principal by which the body is animated—2a) The rational spirit, the power by which the human being feels, thinks, decides, 2b) The soul; 3) A spirit, i.e. A simple essence, devoid of all or at least all grosser matter, & possessed of the power of knowing, desiring, deciding, & acting; 4) The disposition or influence which fills & governs the soul of any one—4a) The efficient source of any power, affection, emotion, desire, etc.; 5) A movement of air(a gentle blast). Strong—A current of air, i.e. Breath(blast) or a breeze; by analogy or figuratively--A spirit, i.e. human--The rational soul, by implication--Vital principle, mental disposition, etc., or superhuman--An angel, demon, or divine--God, Christ's spirit, the Holy Spirit.
“Already”—hdh—Adverb—1) Now, already. “Now(already)", with a suggested reference to some other time or to some expectation, the subjective present. Strong—Even now.
“Judged”—krinw—1) To separate, put asunder, to pick out, select, choose; 2) To approve, esteem, to prefer; 3) To be of opinion, deem, think, to be of opinion; 4) To determine, resolve, decree; 5) To judge—5a) To pronounce an opinion concerning right & wrong, 5b) To pronounce judgment, to subject to censure; 6) To rule, govern; 7) To contend together, of warriors & combatants. Strong—properly--To distinguish, i.e. Decide(mentally or judicially); by implication--To try, condemn, punish.
“As though”—wv—Adverb—1) As, like, even as, etc.. Strong—Which how, i.e. In that manner (very variously used).
“Done”—katergazomai—1st Aorist Middle Deponent Participle—1) To perform, accomplish, achieve; 2) To work out i.e. To do that from which something results—2a) of things:--Bring about, result in; 3) To fashion i.e. Render one fit for a thing. Strong—Do work fully, i.e. Accomplish; by implication--To finish, fashion.
From—kata—a primary particle; prepositionally--Down(in place or time), in varied relations(according to the case [genitive case, dative case or accusative case] with which it is joined)—&—ergazomai—To toil (as a task, occupation, etc.), by implication--Effect, be engaged in or with, etc..
“This Deed”—touto—Pronoun—1) That(thing), this(thing).
Argumentation:
1Tim 2:5-6—“For there is one God & one Mediator between God & men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time,”
Rom. 1:11-12—“For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift, so that you may be established-- that is, that I may be encouraged together with you by the mutual faith both of you & me.”
Lk. 12:8-9—“Also I say to you, whoever confesses Me before men, him the Son of Man also will confess before the angels of God. But he who denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God.”
1Thess. 5:16-24—“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies. Test all things; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil. Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; & may your whole spirit, soul, & body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.”
Rom. 14:21-22—“It is good neither to eat meat nor drink wine nor do anything by which your brother stumbles or is offended or is made weak. Do you have faith? Have it to yourself before God. Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves.”
1Cor. 1:27-29—“But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, & God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; & the base things of the world & the things which are despised God has chosen, & the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence.”
1Cor. 2:9-12—“But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.”
1Tim. 5:19-21—“Do not receive an accusation against an elder except from two or three witnesses. Those who are sinning rebuke in the presence of all, that the rest also may fear. I charge you before God & the Lord Jesus Christ & the elect angels that you observe these things without prejudice, doing nothing with partiality.”
Mat. 18:15-20—“Moreover if your brother sins against you, go & tell him his fault between you & him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that ‘by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.’ “And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen & a tax collector. Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, & whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”
Illustration:
A person who would rob a person’s house/Such will wait patiently, maybe even endearing himself to the owner as an ‘acquaintance’/Looking for the owner’s absence so that the robber can then desecrate the household for his own ends/Supposing no one else is watching the house/Ignorant of the owner’s alarm system & the good neighbors who are looking out for him!/Skirting God’s PRESENCE
Application:
?Does Your Church Skirt//Deny God’s PRESENCE?
?Does Your Church Accommodate Sin?
CONCLUSION:
Visualization:
Screening in versus getting rid of a wasp nest.
Blowing up beaver dams versus getting rid of the beavers themselves.
Action:
Sin Accommodating Churches skirt/deny...
2. BROKENNESS(:2)
3. God’s PRESENCE(:3)
1. BASELINES(:1)
Pts. 2-3 Presented 04/10/2016pm to:
FBC Cbelle
206 Storrs Ave SE(Ave A)
Carrabelle, FL 32322
