INTRO:
ACTUAL TABLOID HEADLINES FROM “WEEKLY WORLD NEWS”
TIME-TRAVEL DOG FROM FUTURE HELD CAPTIVE! – WWN March 2006
MAN WITH LARGE FUZZY SLIPPERS CREATES ENOUGH ELECTRICITY TO HEAT HIS HOUSE — WWN February 2006
URBAN PLANNING NIGHTMARE: SELF-BUILDING STRIP MALLS INVADE U.S. — WWN February 2006
ELVIS WAX FIGURE CRIES REAL TEARS — WWN February 2006
THE WAY TO A MAN’S HEART IS NOT THROUGH HIS STOMACH! SURGEON’S LICENSE REVOKED — WWN January 2006
SURVEY REVEALS BEST THINGS IN LIFE COST AT LEAST $5,000 — WWN December 2005
CONGRESS PREPARES TO REPEAL THE LAW OF GRAVITY — WWN December 2005
CAVE PAINTINGS REVEAL EXISTENCE OF PREHISTORIC INSURANCE SALESMAN! — WWN December 2005
EVIL LIFE-FORMS OOZE FROM VIDEO ARCADE AS . . . DEMONIC ELECTRO-PLASM SLIME TERRORIZES TOWN! — WWN November 2005
It’s obvious that when the tabloids don’t have a story, they simply make one up – and still they make all sorts of money selling their trashy version of “news”.
But what if the headline read – “Christian leader caught sleeping with step-mom”? Or “Christian Church Cesspool of Sin”? That is in a sense what Paul had discovered about the church at Corinth.
In the fifth chapter of 1 Corinthians, we get a chance to read about how the church in Corinth was handling the situation, and how Paul instructed them to change their tactics toward the person who was involved in this immorality.
This is an important topic because at CTK one of our slogans is “Always A Place For You”. As we study Paul’s instructions to the Corinthian church regarding this situation, we’ll discover that there are certain types of people for whom this is true, and others for whom it cannot be upheld.
It is my desire that every person leave today understanding how the church is to deal with each of these types of people – and why it is so important.
1 Corinthians 5 (NIV)
1It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that does not occur even among pagans: A man has his father’s wife. 2And you are proud! Shouldn’t you rather have been filled with grief and have put out of your fellowship the man who did this? 3Even though I am not physically present, I am with you in spirit. And I have already passed judgment on the one who did this, just as if I were present. 4When you are assembled in the name of our Lord Jesus and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present, 5hand this man over to Satan, so that the sinful nature may be destroyed and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord.
6Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough? 7Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. 8Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with bread without yeast, the bread of sincerity and truth.
9I have written you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— 10not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. 11But now I am writing you that you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler. With such a man do not even eat.
12What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? 13God will judge those outside. "Expel the wicked man from among you."
1. At CTK there is always a place for you…
…if you are a non-believer. (1 Cor. 5:12-13)
CTK’s Mission Statement:
To create an authentic Christian community that effectively reaches out to unchurched people with the love, acceptance, and forgiveness so that they may experience the joy of salvation and a purposeful life of discipleship.
Unchurched, unbelieving people are not simply welcomed to our church - they are SOUGHT! We love to have the chance in our small groups and in our times of worship together to share the love, acceptance, and forgiveness of Christ with people who have always felt condemned and judged by the Church in the past.
People who are unbelievers are welcome to come and listen and receive friendship and love from us for as long as they choose to come.
We believe that if they keep coming long enough they will begin to understand their need to receive Christ as their Savior and repent of their sin – but until they do that it is NOT our job to judge them. Speak the truth to them, yes. Judge them, no. As Paul said in verse 12 and 13 “What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church?…God will judge those outside.”
At CTK there is always a place for you…
…if you are a believer struggling to overcome sin.
The very strict treatment Paul prescribes for certain members of the church does not include the Christian who has a moral failing and then repents.
I’ve said often: there are two types of sin. Sin that is repented from and sin that is not repented from.
The church consists of people who are all on different places in their spiritual maturity and how often they fall into sin. Some are very immature in their faith and they fall often into the habits of sinful behavior they used to be involved in without a thought. Others no longer are tempted by some of the more obvious sins.
What is important is not whether a person falls into an “obvious” sin or a “secret” sin – what is important is the person’s attitude about it. If there is repentance – demonstrated by a Godly sorrow for the behavior and a sincere desire and actions which demonstrate a turning from that sin – then our role in small groups and as a larger body is to say “There is Always a Place For You. You don’t have to be perfect to be part of our church – we’re all dealing with our problems. But you do need to turn from your sin and seek the power of the Holy Spirit to change those habits. You do need to come to the Lord and to those who your sin has affected and confess your sin and repent (turn) from it. As long as you are fighting that old sinful nature – we are here to cheer you along, to encourage you, to pray for you, to be your friend.
TRANS: So at CTK (as in the greater church of Jesus Christ) there is always a place for you if you’re an unbeliever or a believer that is struggling to overcome sin. But now we have to talk about the difficult situation of a third type of person.
2. At CTK there is NOT a place for you…
…if you are a believer engaged in willful disobedience of God’s commands. (1 Cor. 5:11,13)
This is type of person that Paul was writing about in the 5th chapter of 1 Corinthians.
Here is a person who is involved in something clearly identified as sin – having sexual relations with his step-mother. This is no secret either. Paul heard about it all the way in Ephesus! Evidently it was common knowledge among the people in Corinth that this incestual relationship was going on and that this man was a part of those following The Way of Jesus.
And, amazingly, Paul tells us that the church was “proud” (v.2) – almost as if they were so centered on the doctrine of God’s grace that they were able to allow ANYONE to be a part of their church. They were taking the motto “always a place for you” to the extreme!
Paul’s instructions are very clear about what to do with such a person.
11But now I am writing you that you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler. With such a man do not even eat
13 “Expel the wicked man from among you.”
Don’t associate with those who claim to be Christians but who are involved in ongoing, unrepentant sin.
“Wait a minute? That sounds judgmental! What about ‘let him who is without sin cast the first stone’?”
Let’s talk about it – Why is Paul so adamant that the Christian church not tolerate willful and unrepentant sin among people who claim to be believers?
3. The church must not tolerate unrepentant sin for the sake of the unrepentant person. (1 Cor. 5:4-5)
3Even though I am not physically present, I am with you in spirit. And I have already passed judgment on the one who did this, just as if I were present. 4When you are assembled in the name of our Lord Jesus and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present, 5hand this man over to Satan, so that the sinful nature may be destroyed and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord.
Now, Paul isn’t talking about some sort of ceremony where Satan actually comes walking into the church and takes the erring believer away! But he is saying that if a believer chooses to remain in a sinful pattern of life after they have been given a chance to repent then the church is to give them over to the choice they have made and to help clarify for them the choice they are making.
If the person is allowed to continue sinning and still be a part of the fellowship of the church, then they might never fully understand the consequences of their sin.
The goal of this action on the part of the church is NOT to embarrass or hurt the person who is in sin – though that may very well happen along the way. The goal is that THROUGH the pain of being disfellowshipped from the church the person will be brought to a place of repentance. That’s what he means by “the sinful nature may be destroyed and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord”.
It is far more important that the person come face to face with the ugliness of their sin NOW and repent of it than for them to be allowed to continue in that sin and stand before God with that sin still unrepentant.
If there is no consequence for sin – it is unlikely the sinning person will have any motivation to change. Isn’t this true with our children? Isn’t this true with our society? The same must be true for the church!
If there is a person in this church who claims to be a follower of Jesus Christ but is involved in ongoing sin that they are not repenting from, we do that person no favor by winking at it or acting like it is “a personal matter”. We have a responsibility to each other to do whatever is necessary to bring them to repentance – and in this case, it means removing from them the positive benefits of being a part of the body of Christ.
Is this easy? No. Is it fun? No. Is it the right thing to do? Yes.
TRANS: But there is more at stake here than simply the spiritual state of the unrepentant person…
4. The church must not tolerate unrepentant sin for the sake of the church. (1 Cor. 5:6-8)
1 Corinthians 5:6-8 (The Message)
Your flip and callous arrogance in these things bothers me. You pass it off as a small thing, but it’s anything but that. Yeast, too, is a "small thing," but it works its way through a whole batch of bread dough pretty fast. 7So get rid of this "yeast." Our true identity is flat and plain, not puffed up with the wrong kind of ingredient. The Messiah, our Passover Lamb, has already been sacrificed for the Passover meal, and we are the Unraised Bread part of the Feast. 8So let’s live out our part in the Feast, not as raised bread swollen with the yeast of evil, but as flat bread--simple, genuine, unpretentious.
(Hold up leavened and unleavened bread) Do you know what the difference between these two loaves is? Just a pinch of leaven. That little bit of leaven makes its way through the entire loaf.
Leaven throughout scripture is symbolic of sin. When sin is allowed to go unchecked in the “loaf” of the church, it does not simply affect the erring person or persons. It affects everyone. How?
A – Others who are immature in their faith may begin to think the sinful action is OK since there seems to be no discipline taking place. And then, they will be tempted to follow the bad example being set by the erring believer.
B – those outside the church who hear of it will be confused about what the Word of God really says, and they will be less inclined to repent of their sin.
C – Those who are mature and know the sinful behavior is wrong will lose respect for their church leadership if nothing is done when ongoing, unrepentant sin goes unchecked.
Thus the “leaven” of the unrepentant sin works it’s way through the whole “loaf” of the church.
QUESTIONS:
1. Are you aware of a believer involved in a pattern of sin? Speak the truth in love. Be prepared with the specific scriptures that address the sin, and go directly to that person in hopes to bring them to repentance.
There is no need for any person to be “disfellowshipped”. The hope of talking directly with the person is that they would repent and make changes in their life in accordance with God’s word. But they may never make those changes unless YOU are willing to speak directly to them about that.
If you do – go in love, go only after praying, go with the goal of restoration of their relationship with God – not to point fingers.
2. Is there sin in your life that is ongoing and unrepented from? Let me ask that another way: Is there any habitual action in your life which, if brought up by me right now, would be a source of embarrassment or shame to you? If so, you have 2 options:
a – cover it up and keep fooling yourself and everyone around you that it is really no big deal. This will lead to the loss of your intimacy with God, a lack of spiritual power in your life, the withdrawal of God’s blessing in your life. Sooner or later it will lead to an uncomfortable situation where someone is going to confront you
B – repent. Change your actions. Receive the love, the acceptance, the forgiveness that the church has to offer.
Psa. 139:23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.
Psa. 139:24 See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
