1 Corinthians 5 - Living by God’s Power

I’m saddened and humbled this morning.  I’m starkly aware that life is precious.  Our daughter lost her child this week.  She was just over four months pregnant with her fourth child, a son.  It came as a shock and heavy punch of the sting and tragedy of death.  I’m thankful for that little boy, that little life that shared these last precious months with his mom and was surrounded by family and brothers that could not wait to play with him.  His brother (Meghan’s five-year-old) Jack told us this week that he was confident the doctors could heal the baby.  He was so excited to have another boy in the family.  Oh Lord God, you are good and merciful to us.  I lift up the cup of salvation to You today and praise the LORD’s name for saving me (Ps. 116).  I know life is short.  And I trust our Good loving God, in all things.

And what a reminder this week of the love of our friends and church family.  I'm thankful for the prayers and words of encouragement and comfort this week.  A friend from work sent my daughter and her husband a gift card for food.  He and his wife have recently gone through similar loss and trauma.  Thank you.  To my friends and family.  I love you.  I hate to see suffering.  I hate to see loss and death.  And yet suffering is part of this evil world as certain as tonight will follow today.

Well, I’ve got a few minutes before we head to Yorktown so let’s cover this awkward and neglected Christian doctrine.  It’s the elephant in the room in many of our organizations.  The secular world calls it something like the ‘no jerks policy’.  The church doesn’t call it at all.  It is ignored.  Yet make no mistake, this doctrine is ignored at the peril and weakness of the church.  

First, let me say this.  Church discipline is not about shaming others (4:14).  That’s not the point.  It is about obedience to God’s way and taking precautions for the dangers God the Father provides us.

Second, let me add a point about Paul and Timothy.  Paul was Timothy's spiritual dad and Christian mentor.  But they were Christian friends, brothers in Christ.  The world can come up with Latin mottos about fidelity and brotherhood yada yada, but you know real Christian friendship when you see it.  Timothy was faithful to take this message to the Corinthians.  I believe the fact that I’m reading this passage today shows me he was successful in his mission and faithful to his mentor and friend.

What’s the value of a Christian friend?  It is having someone that loves you with God-like love.  Selfless, unfailing.  A true friend you know very well will lay down his life for his brother in Christ.  He mourns when we mourn, cheers when we do well, celebrates with our joyous occasions, shares our struggles, honestly rebukes, and would rather die himself than betray the bond of Christian love.  It’s true.  We’re faulty.  Sometimes we wound each other as friends.  True friends can mend such wounds.  The Bible tells us (just like we learned at Camp Tapawingo in Northern Saskatchewan) to use the buddy system.  Stick together.  Swim in teams (the waves in those northern lakes are cold and strong).  True friends that provide you with heartfelt counsel are a treasure, rare, and God-given.

Ok, enough.  Onward.  So what is this doctrine?  And why gloss over it?  The heading in my Bible says “Paul Condemns Spiritual Pride.”  Really?  How absurd.  That is glossing over the point.  It is not some weak, woke, abstract construct of ‘spiritual pride’ we are talking about here.  It is sin.  Clear as day.  Sexual sin.  Greed.  Worship of worldly things.  Abuse.  Drunkenness.  And cheating people.  Maybe the heading should read, “Kick the Wicked Bastards Out,” but that comment will be more offensive to legalists than the wicked behavior Paul is pointing out here.  Yes, spiritual pride and arrogance are dominant in our culture, nay, in our churches.  We are a boastful, pretentious, arrogant bunch.  We are.  Paul may not be attempting to shame us here, but I feel it.

Ok, so this is what I see as this key doctrine for every church - the real heading of this 1 Corinthians 5: ‘Remove the Evil Person from Among You.”  That’s it.  Pretty simple.  So why don’t churches and Christian universities, hospitals, etc. do this?  Why don’t you ever see this in an “About Us” on a church website or the “What We Believe” tab?  Because, like the Corinthians we are sick, we are unhealthy.  We are following our sinful nature and so many of us indulge in sexual sin that we’d have to remove a big portion of our staff (maybe all of the leadership in some organizations) if we obeyed God’s way for His churches.

The terrible message of this passage is that the sin inside the church can be even worse than what the pagans do.  How sick.  How wrong.  We are to hate evil add to follow the pureness of the Holy Spirit.  Our actions are to be pure and we must stay away from sexual immorality as it corrupts our conscience damaging our souls.  It leaves the church stained and powerless.

Many leaders are corrupt.  The Emporers with no clothes.  Yet few will call it out.  You see vain men dying their hair and whitening their teeth.  You see outward signs of pride and arrogance and all the sexual sin that Paul talks about here.  It’s all sad, pathetic.  But the good news is God asks, nay, demands, that we do something about this problem inside the church.

Paul trusts the Holy Spirit here.  He does not know all the details.  But he’s heard enough to know what must be done.  He says to call a meeting of the church.  How many times has that happened in your churches?  I bet none.  What happened to this?  If our churches believed in the inerrancy of Scripture would we not see this discipline in action?  Well, it’s obviously hard to do.  At these meetings, we are supposed to throw the man out and hand him over to Satan so that his sinful nature will be destroyed.  Heavy stuff.  Not for the faint of heart.

Let our meetings be of a clean conscience.  Let our festivals be filled with the new bread of sincerity and truth, not wickedness and evil.

Do not associate with anyone who claims to be a believer yet indulges in sexual sin, is greedy or a cheat, worships idols, is abusive, or is a drunkard.  Don’t even eat with such people.  That’s what this passage says.  If your leadership is like that, leave that church!  This is the responsibility of the churchmen.  So, look around.  With sincerity and power in the name of Jesus Christ let us obey this doctrine.  We don’t need to be mean or complicate this.  But we do need to follow this doctrine.  

Lord Jesus, please convict us.  Please give us pure hearts and clean consciences. I pray for the health of the Church.  I ask for forgiveness.  I pray for the church to be pure and blameless.  I pray for leaders to lead well.  And for all men and women not to compromise with sin.  Help us to live with the Power of God.  Help us to live in sincerity and truth.  Help us to fellowship and celebrate in a way that gives honor to the name of Jesus.  Amen.