SIN ACCOMODATING CHURCHES-VII—1Cor. 5:1-13
Attention:
Real Help—*To ‘dance around’ rather than approaching an object.
Jim Gardner goes to see his supervisor in the front office.
"Boss," he says, “We're doing some heavy house-cleaning at home tomorrow, & my wife needs me to help with the attic & the garage, moving & hauling stuff.”
“We're short-handed, Gardner,” the boss replies. “You know I can't give you the day off.”
“Thanks boss,” says Jim, “I knew I could count on you!”
—There are ways to handle difficult situations, But there are difficult situations that must to be handled!—
Many thousands(millions?) of people die every day. Many if not most of these die without Jesus. How many of them die in Franklin County without Jesus? How many of them die in Carrabelle without Jesus?
Have we made sure that they have heard the truth?...that truth is not muddled by the rank sin of the world & by our apathy, inattention, distractions?
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...
Such a conglomeration of people 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 ‘genuine article’...
Such a conglomeration can also invite a label of ‘hypocrisy’ upon the Church from insiders, who impose limiting religion upon the Church in order to ‘weed out’ sympathizers from the ‘genuine article’!
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.
We will ask the question, “When or Why does a church accommodate sin?”
& thru that are better able to determine...How the true church can effectively act against sin in their midst.
10 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. CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY(:5)—See #10 :13
6. DAMAGE POTENTIAL(:6)
7. RE-CREATION(:7-8)
8. INSTRUCTION(:9)
9. FELLOWSHIP(:10-11)
10—Sin Accommodating churches skirt/deny...
The CHURCH’s SINGULARITY(:12-13)
Explanation:(12-13)Distinctiveness/Separateness/Uniqueness/Necessity to God’s purpose
:12—“For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside?
Paul here “contrasts the judgment of “insiders” & “outsiders.””—NAC
The Church is neither intended nor responsible for making determinations of one’s standing before God among those unassociated with the Church. We must witness to them but we cannot rightly, formally, or officially take disciplinary action against them for their misbehavior(as it is accomplished without Christ). Such things lie outside of the scope of the Church’s purpose.
Seeing that God Himself deals with those “outside” the church(“outside” & unaccepting of His saving grace), not expecting the Church to “judge” them, then obviously any servant of God in Christ(such as Paul or any church member) will honor the same prerogatives, leaving them to God Himself, but never forsaking their witness to the lost.
The Church’s priority regarding purity encompasses those in open association with herself....Those who openly associate as believers(“inside”). The manner in which the Church presents herself to a lost world(& even a saved world) is telling & is thereby of great importance.
Thus Doctrine is of true/real value...Membership is of true/real value...Attitude is of true/real value...Behavior is of true/real value regarding the true Church.
Thereby “judgment” by the Church & within the Church is a very close(1Cor. 1:10; 2Cor. 13:11; Php. 2:1-2; 1Pet. 3:8-9) & continual process. Such affirmative action is a recipe for hurt feelings but it also makes a bold statement regarding the distinctiveness, decisiveness, & sanctity of the true Church of God in Christ.
“What”(See :11—“Anyone”)—tiv—Pronoun—probably emphatic of tiv; 1) Who, which, what. Strong—an interrogative pronoun--Who, which or what(in direct or indirect questions).
ti gar moi—“For what is it to me (dative)”—RWP
“Judging”2X(See :13)—krinw—Present Active Infinitive—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; 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.
“Outside”(See :13)—exw—Adverb—1) Without, out of doors. Strong—Out(-side, of doors), literally or figuratively.
“Inside”—esw—Adverb—1) To within, into; 2) Within—2a) The internal inner man, 2b) The soul, conscience. Strong—Inside(as preposition or adjective). Used 8X.
:13—“But those who are outside God judges. Therefore “put away from yourselves the evil person.””
God will sort out the lost—those “outside” or who have separated themselves from His Church. The lost are God’s business & He will deal with them decisively, holding them accountable in their lack of faith.
Do not get the idea that the Church is to have no dealings with “those who are outside”(:10). The Church is charged with continually offering to the world the viable & compelling witness of God’s greatness & goodness.
In distinction from the lost, the Church(collectively God’s people) is made answerable to God for its own constituency.
The Church is to actively take care of or remove those within her ranks that are true hypocrites(openly claiming allegiance while living otherwise) such as the man who has his father’s wife.”(:1). Apart from the Church’s attention to such ‘internal’ matters, there can be no authority of God within,...So...they cease to be the Church...They will be indistinguishable from the world.
Rev. 2:5—“Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent & do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly & remove your lampstand(the church’s witness) from its place--unless you repent.”
The Church is vested with God’s great & holy authority...Whatever the church ‘binds’ is likewise bound in heaven, & whatever the church ‘looses’ is loosed in heaven!
Mat. 16:18, 19—“And I also say to you that you are Peter, & on this rock I will build My church, & the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. “And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, & whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, & whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”
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.”.....
*Therefore Paul tells us by the Holy Spirit that “Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves.”
Rom. 14:14-23—“I know & am convinced by the Lord Jesus that there is nothing unclean of itself; but to him who considers anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean. Yet if your brother is grieved because of your food, you are no longer walking in love. Do not destroy with your food the one for whom Christ died. Therefore do not let your good be spoken of as evil; for the kingdom of God is not eating & drinking, but righteousness & peace & joy in the Holy Spirit. For he who serves Christ in these things is acceptable to God & approved by men. Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace & the things by which one may edify another. Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All things indeed are pure, but it is evil for the man who eats with offense. 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. But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not eat from faith; for whatever is not from faith is sin.”
Paul’s conclusion to “put away” here is possibly quoted from Deut. 13:5, where false prophets/dreamers of dreams were reprimanded & to be shunned among the children of Israel.
Deut.13:1-5—“If there arises among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, & he gives you a sign or a wonder, “& the sign or the wonder comes to pass, of which he spoke to you, saying, ‘Let us go after other gods’--which you have not known--‘& let us serve them,’ “you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams, for the LORD your God is testing you to know whether you love the LORD your God with all your heart & with all your soul. You shall walk after the LORD your God & fear Him, & keep His commandments & obey His voice, & you shall serve Him & hold fast to Him. But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has spoken in order to turn you away from the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt & redeemed you from the house of bondage, to entice you from the way in which the LORD your God commanded you to walk. So you shall put away the evil from your midst.
Though “Discipline is difficult, painful, & often heartrending.”.....“Our love to the offenders is not to be sentimental tolerance but correcting love.”—MNTC
“The effects of egregious public sin on both the individual & the corporate body are profound.”—NAC
Therefore, “There is a limit beyond which patience, toleration, & charity toward another’s sin ceases to be a virtue.”—NAC
“Expelling the man rids them of a moral cancer.”—ECNT
The goal of any shunning/disciplinary action—turning them over to Satan(:5)— is so that the perpetrator should be given every opportunity to repent, turning &/or returning to Christ.
It is evident that there was a problem among the Corinthian Christians(church) in their hesitating to employ active discipline. BUT it must be stressed(as Paul does) that the person is “evil”! & “evil” opposes the God’s church!
Thus the discussion of 6:1-11ff follows Paul’s unmasking the actual problem(5:1-8) as well as his unveiling of the need for immediate & decisive action(5:1-13).
“Outside”(See :12)—exw—
“Judges”(See :12)—krinw—
“Put away”—exairw—Future Active Indicative—1) To lift up or take away out of a place; 2) To remove. Strong—from ek or ex & airw[ To lift up; by implication--To take up or away; figuratively--To raise(the voice), keep in suspense(the mind), specially--To sail away(i.e. weigh anchor); by Hebraism [compare asn/hon]to expiate sin]; To remove. Used 2X.
“Evil”—ponhrov—Adj.—1) Full of labors, annoyances, hardships; 2) Bad, of a bad nature or condition—2a) in a physical sense: Diseased or blind, 2b) in an ethical sense: Evil wicked, bad. Ponhrov is a word at once stronger & more active[than kakov or faulov], it means mischief-making, delighting in injury, doing evil to others, dangerous, destructive. Strong—Hurtful, i.e. Evil(properly, in effect or influence, & thus differing from kakov, which refers rather to essential character, as well as from saprov, which indicates degeneracy from original virtue); figuratively--Calamitous; also (passively)--Ill, i.e. Diseased; but especially(morally)--Culpable, i.e. Derelict, vicious, facinorous; neuter(singular)--Mischief, malice, or (plural)--Guilt; masculine(singular)--The devil, or (plural)--Sinners.
Argumentation:
**1Cor. 11:16-22—“But if anyone seems to be contentious, we have no such custom, nor do the churches of God. Now in giving these instructions I do not praise you, since you come together not for the better but for the worse. For first of all, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you, & in part I believe it. For there must also be factions among you, that those who are approved may be recognized among you. Therefore when you come together in one place, it is not to eat the Lord’s Supper. For in eating, each one takes his own supper ahead of others; & one is hungry & another is drunk. What! Do you not have houses to eat & drink in? Or do you despise the church of God & shame those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you in this? I do not praise you.”
**Rom. 13:13-14—“Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry & drunkenness, not in lewdness & lust, not in strife & envy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, & make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.”
**Gal. 1:6--2:18—“I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, which is not another; but there are some who trouble you & want to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed. For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ. But I make known to you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ. For you have heard of my former conduct in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God beyond measure & tried to destroy it. And I advanced in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries in my own nation, being more exceedingly zealous for the traditions of my fathers. But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb & called me through His grace, to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately confer with flesh & blood, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me; but I went to Arabia, & returned again to Damascus. Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, & remained with him fifteen days. But I saw none of the other apostles except James, the Lord’s brother. (Now concerning the things which I write to you, indeed, before God, I do not lie.)Afterward I went into the regions of Syria & Cilicia. And I was unknown by face to the churches of Judea which were in Christ. But they were hearing only, “He who formerly persecuted us now preaches the faith which he once tried to destroy.” And they glorified God in me. Then after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, & also took Titus with me. And I went up by revelation, & communicated to them that gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but privately to those who were of reputation, lest by any means I might run, or had run, in vain. Yet not even Titus who was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised. And this occurred because of false brethren secretly brought in (who came in by stealth to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage), to whom we did not yield submission even for an hour, that the truth of the gospel might continue with you. But from those who seemed to be something--whatever they were, it makes no difference to me; God shows personal favoritism to no man--for those who seemed to be something added nothing to me. But on the contrary, when they saw that the gospel for the uncircumcised had been committed to me, as the gospel for the circumcised was to Peter (for He who worked effectively in Peter for the apostleship to the circumcised also worked effectively in me toward the Gentiles), & when James, Cephas, & John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that had been given to me, they gave me & Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, that we should go to the Gentiles & they to the circumcised. They desired only that we should remember the poor, the very thing which I also was eager to do. Now when Peter had come to Antioch, I withstood him to his face, because he was to be blamed; for before certain men came from James, he would eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he withdrew & separated himself, fearing those who were of the circumcision. And the rest of the Jews also played the hypocrite with him, so that even Barnabas was carried away with their hypocrisy. But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter before them all, “If you, being a Jew, live in the manner of Gentiles & not as the Jews, why do you compel Gentiles to live as Jews? We who are Jews by nature, & not sinners of the Gentiles, knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ & not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.” But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is Christ therefore a minister of sin? Certainly not! For if I build again those things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor.
**1Thess. 5:1-11—“But concerning the times & the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they say, “Peace & safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. You are all sons of light & sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch & be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, & those who get drunk are drunk at night. But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith & love, & as a helmet the hope of salvation. For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him. Therefore comfort each other & edify one another, just as you also are doing.”
Illustration:
Ethanol-based gasoline is the bane of small 2-cycle engines—gas-powered marine motors, lawnmowers, weed-eaters, leaf-blowers/‘Popular Mechanics’ says, It[ethanol-based fuel] causes rust & carbon deposits inside the engine, & causes certain non-metallic parts to decompose & wear out more quickly than does non-ethanol gasoline/The alcohol can cause the fuel to ignite at the wrong time in the combustion sequence, ruining parts in the process/The solution—These implements must not have their fuel tainted by ethanol!/That’s why the gas-station sells both ethanol & non-ethanol-based gasoline!/SINGULARITY
Likewise, God’s Church must not cave in to worldly thinking no matter its spiritual, religious, or pious appearance!
Application:
?Your Church Skirt the CHURCH’s SINGULARITY?
?Does Your Church Accommodate Sin?
CONCLUSION:
Visualization:
Real Help—“Thanks boss,” says Jim, “I knew I could count on you!”
But there are difficult situations which must to be handled!—
Action:
Sin Accommodating churches skirt/deny...
10. The CHURCH’s SINGULARITY(:12-13)
1. BASELINES(:1)
2. BROKENNESS(:2)
3. God’s PRESENCE(:3)
4. AVAILABLE ARSENAL/Weaponry(:4)
5. CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY(:5)
6. DAMAGE POTENTIAL(:6)
7. RE-CREATION(:7-8)
8. INSTRUCTION(:9)
9. FELLOWSHIP(:10-11)
Pt. 10 Presented 01/29/2017pm—END—to:
FBC Cbelle
206 Storrs Ave SE(Ave A)
Carrabelle, FL 32322
