1 Corinthians 5:9-13 ~ 20130922 ~ Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

09/22 1 Corinthians 5:9-13 You Are To Judge Those Inside; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20130922_1cor5_9-13.mp3


1Cor 5 [SBLGNT]

9 Ἔγραψα ὑμῖν ἐν τῇ ἐπιστολῇ μὴ συναναμίγνυσθαι πόρνοις, 10 οὐ πάντως τοῖς πόρνοις τοῦ κόσμου τούτου ἢ τοῖς πλεονέκταις καὶ ἅρπαξιν ἢ εἰδωλολάτραις, ἐπεὶ ὠφείλετε ἄρα ἐκ τοῦ κόσμου ἐξελθεῖν. 11 νῦν δὲ ἔγραψα ὑμῖν μὴ συναναμίγνυσθαι ἐάν τις ἀδελφὸς ὀνομαζόμενος ᾖ πόρνος ἢ πλεονέκτης ἢ εἰδωλολάτρης ἢ λοίδορος ἢ μέθυσος ἢ ἅρπαξ, τῷ τοιούτῳ μηδὲ συνεσθίειν. 12 τί γάρ μοι τοὺς ἔξω κρίνειν; οὐχὶ τοὺς ἔσω ὑμεῖς κρίνετε, 13 τοὺς δὲ ἔξω ὁ θεὸς κρίνει ; ἐξάρατε τὸν πονηρὸν ἐξ ὑμῶν αὐτῶν.


1Cor 5 [ESV2011]

5:1 It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans, for a man has his father's wife. 2 And you are arrogant! Ought you not rather to mourn? Let him who has done this be removed from among you. 3 For though absent in body, I am present in spirit; and as if present, I have already pronounced judgment on the one who did such a thing. 4 When you are assembled in the name of the Lord Jesus and my spirit is present, with the power of our Lord Jesus, 5 you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.

6 Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? 7 Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. 8 Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

9 I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— 10 not at all meaning the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. 11 But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one. 12 For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? 13 God judges those outside. “Purge the evil person from among you.”


Paul is concerned that the church in Corinth is not being shaped by the cross, not living lives that are in step with the gospel. Their conduct does not match what they believe. Because of Jesus, they have been made new. They have been cleansed by the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. All their sins are washed away. Paul is urging them now to be who they are in Christ. And this extends to the corporate level. Because they are a community of believers who are united to one another through faith in Jesus Christ, the sin of one affects the health of the whole. He has used the illustration of old leaven introduced into a new unleavened batch of dough. As a community of followers of Jesus, they are expected to hold one another accountable to standards appropriate for those who claim to be following Jesus.

The Previous Letter

In verses 9-13, Paul is clearing up a misinterpretation of a previous letter he had written. He says “I wrote to you in my letter.” The letter we are studying today is known as 1 Corinthians. From this statement we conclude that Paul had written a previous letter to the church in Corinth that we don't have. That might freak some people out and send them off on rabbit trails chasing 'lost' apostolic writings and conspiracy theories about church councils throwing out perfectly good books because they didn't like what they said. That simply does not match the facts of history, or the character of the documents we have in our bibles. If someone was trying to grasp power and manipulate the writings to their own advantage, they certainly didn't do a very good job. The books that were rejected by the early church councils were rejected because they were false writings (pseudapigrapha), teaching things contrary to the rest of Scripture, written under the false name of someone important (like an apostle) in an attempt to gain credibility. Those documents are not lost; they are available to read today so you can judge for yourself.

It is clear from statements like this one that we do not possess every apostolic writing. Paul wrote an earlier letter to the church in Corinth that was not preserved. God in his sovereignty could have preserved it for us, but for whatever reason, he did not. We can be confident that we have everything that God intended us to have, and if you care to study the manuscript evidence, you will see that these writings have been meticulously preserved for us through scores of copies and multiple independent witnesses.

Misunderstood

Not everything that the apostles wrote are easy to understand. The apostle Peter writes about Paul.

2 Peter 3:15 ...just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, 16 as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures.

Not even what an apostle wrote was free from being misinterpreted by its original readers. Some people scour the Scriptures in search of anything they can use to defend their own ideas. The same is true today. If I send you an e-mail, you might read it with a preconceived idea and take what I wrote to mean something completely different than what I intended. When we read the bible, our goal is to hear the author's intent. We want to be careful to lay aside our preconceived ideas and allow the author to explain for us what he means by what he says. That's why we often look at many other biblical passages to make sure we are on the right track in how we are understanding a verse or passage. Here Paul spells out what he didn't mean and what he did mean so there is no question.

Apparently the previous letter did not accomplish its intended goal. Maybe Paul wrote more generally, not naming the specific sins in the body, or maybe the situation with the incestuous man was new information he received after he wrote the first letter. Whatever the case, in this letter, Paul refers to what he had written, and clarifies what he did not mean and what he did mean.

The Previous Statement

First, he reiterates what he had written; 'not to associate with sexually immoral people'. We don't know if this is a direct quote from his letter or a summary of the letter, or maybe the entire contents of a quick note. In the original this is a three word statement. We could translate it literally 'not to mix it up together with porno's'. This 'mix up together' is an interesting word especially in light of his illustration about dough and old leaven. They are not to blend together with sex addicts, pornographers, those who are sexually unrestrained.

The Misunderstanding

Paul then states their misunderstanding of his statement.

1 Corinthians 5:9 I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— 10 not at all meaning the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world.

They thought he meant that they should not associate with the sexually immoral of this world. They thought that somehow they were to withdraw from the world in which they lived and have no contact with any unbelievers ever. Slaves who served unbelieving masters would have to run away. Employees who worked for unbelievers would have to quit their jobs. Employers who employed an unbelieving work force would have to fire them. When they went to the market they could only buy food from other believers. They could not go to any social gatherings that would include unbelievers. They would have to withdraw into a closed Christian commune and have no interaction with the outside world. Paul says 'that is not at all what I meant.' That is simply impossible. In order to do that, he says, you would have to leave the planet, you would have to die and go to heaven. He doesn't mean that we shouldn't live next door to a pagan or buy groceries from a pagan or pay your water bill to a pagan or eat in a restaurant where other pagans eat. Not at all.

When Jesus prayed for his followers before his crucifixion, he prayed;

John 17:14 I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 15 I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 17 Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.

Followers of Jesus must be distinct from the world, but they are sent into the world. Salt cannot have its preserving effect unless it comes in contact with the meat. We are to be in the world but not of the world. We are to be the salt of the earth.

The Correct Understanding

Having made it clear that he did not mean total withdrawal from sinful society, he now spells out what he did mean by what he had said.

11 But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one.

There must be a clear distinction between the church and the world. Anyone who bears the name 'brother', anyone who claims to be a brother or sister in Christ must be held to a completely different standard. If you claim to be a follower of Jesus, then you are claiming to represent Jesus in everything you say and do and think and feel. Your attitudes and actions should come into line with what Jesus is like.

None of us are perfect. Where we see that we are out of step with Jesus, we should confess that as sin and cry out to Jesus to change us by the power of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.

The problem Paul is addressing in the church in Corinth is not that they have interaction with sinners in the world. The problem is that they have someone who claims to be a brother who is openly involved in immorality and is not turning away from it. Paul says 'stop acting like everything is all right!' This person claims to be a brother, but he is not acting like a brother, so you should stop treating him as a brother. “Let him who has done this be removed from among you.” “Hand such a one over to Satan.” “Cleanse out the old leaven.” “Purge the evil from among you.” Do not mix it up together with anyone who bears the name 'brother' if he is guilty of these things. Don't even eat with such a one.

Does this mean that if anyone in the church has a history or has ever slipped up that we should cut them off and refuse to associate with them? This would be also be a misapplication of this passage. Later in this letter, Paul will say:

1 Corinthians 6:9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

Many of those in this church had a past. But they were made new. They no longer are what they once were. They have been transformed by the gospel. But they should not pretend to still be what they once were. By the grace of God you are no longer what you once were. Be who you are in Christ!

But what if someone slips up?

Galatians 6:1 Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.

Not condemnation or alienation but restoration in a spirit of gentleness and humility for those of us who slip up. Jude says:

Jude 1:22 And have mercy on those who doubt; 23 save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh.

Rescue with mercy and fear. But what about those who don't want to be rescued? What about those who persist in sin and claim to be brothers?

Titus 3:9 But avoid foolish controversies, genealogies, dissensions, and quarrels about the law, for they are unprofitable and worthless. 10 As for a person who stirs up division, after warning him once and then twice, have nothing more to do with him, 11 knowing that such a person is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned.

So Paul tells Titus to have nothing to do with a divisive person after two warnings.

2 Thessalonians 3:6 Now we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from any brother who is walking in idleness and not in accord with the tradition that you received from us. ...14 If anyone does not obey what we say in this letter, take note of that person, and have nothing to do with him, that he may be ashamed. 15 Do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother.

Paul tells the Thessalonians to warn and then to keep away from and have nothing to do with a brother who refuses to work.

The Wider Application

Notice that this separation is not exclusively for the sexually immoral. In Titus and Thessalonians it extends to divisiveness and idleness. Here in 1 Corinthians 5, Paul widens the scope as well. In verse 10 he extends this to the greedy, swindlers, and idolaters; in verse 11 he adds revilers and drunkards.

11 But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one.

For someone who claims to be a follower of Jesus, who is led by the Holy Spirit, who has been adopted into the family of God, to be persistently divisive, irresponsible, immoral, possessed by a desire to get more, holding other things as more important than God, abusing others in word or deed, given to alcohol, manipulating situations to his own advantage, these things are totally out of place. These things are not characteristic of someone who has a relationship with Jesus.

Those who are caught in any transgression should be confronted and restored in a spirit of gentleness with humility. Those who are willfully sinning and refuse to repent, we are not to associate with them; not even to eat with them. They are no longer to be treated as if they were fellow believers; they are to be treated as an unbeliever so that they will not continue under false assurance thinking they have a relationship with Jesus when in reality they may not.

Judging Insiders

Paul gives the principle behind treating so-called brothers differently than the world.

12 For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? 13 God judges those outside. “Purge the evil person from among you.”

What have I to do with judging outsiders? It is not our place to judge them. God judges those outside. The church is responsible for judging those inside the church. So often we get this backward. We want to be the moral police of the world, letting everyone know clearly and loudly what we are against, demanding that the world adopt Christian morals and values, while we turn a blind eye to our own sins like greed and pride and divisiveness.

Paul is warning us to beware of a judgmental attitude toward those outside the church. We should not expect the unbelieving world to adhere to Christian morals or values. We should not be surprised or offended when pagans live like pagans. It should come as no shock that the Christ rejecting world also rejects Christ's values.

Abortion is wrong. All sexual activity outside the relationship between a man and his wife is wrong. Pornography is wrong. The insatiable desire in our culture for more and more and more is wrong. These are all sins with victims who get injured or destroyed. Out of our love for a humanity created in the image of God, we should stand against what is wrong and do what we can to bring healing and hope to this broken world. But we must remember that the only thing that can truly ever fix what is broken in us is the gospel. We all are sinners. Jesus died for our sins to forgive us and make us new. To put a band-aid on the symptom while ignoring the cancer inside is cruel. To tell someone to stop doing wrong when they have a heart that is twisted and sick with sin is hopeless. We have been given the cure! We must not condemn those with the disease because they are showing symptoms.

If we as the church are responsible for judging those inside, we should be passionate about the purity of the church. We should solicit, seek out, and welcome judgment from our brothers and sisters in Christ out of our desire to be pleasing to Christ.

For the glory of God, for the sake of the reputation of Christ among unbelievers, for the sake of the advance of the gospel, for the sake of the purity of the church Christ's bride, for the protection of weaker believers; because of the great price paid by Jesus to save us from our sin, for the sake of those who think they are right with God but are not; for the sake of their final salvation, we are to judge those inside the church; “Purge the evil one from among you”