Sermons on 1 Corinthians 5:10

… Neither has Paul. Paul very clearly says, 1 Corinthians 5.10, he literally says, I'm not telling you to stop hanging out with the sexually immoral of this world because God left you in the world to be a witness to them. And in order to witness to them, you gotta be around them. In 1 Corinthians 10, a few chapters later, he says, hey, I want you to eat in the houses of unbelievers and I want you to shop in their stores. So he's not telling them to withdraw completely. Rather, what he is saying is that when it comes to your close friends, your core group, those you partner with, those you yoke your lives up together with, those need to be believers going the same direction and the same speed as you are. Over the years, I've used this little graphic that I find helpful. I've shown it to you before, but it's very helpful. It's very simple. Think of your friendship like this, friendships like this. …

Watch at 30:59 · See full text →

Paul just gets honest. Listen, this is talking about the church here. If you were avoiding the sexually immoral in the world, you couldn't go out of your house. You'd go somewhere else, another planet. But 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 swindler. With such a man do not even eat. Don't even sit at the table with him. What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside expel the wicked man from among you. I want you to notice the forceful language Paul uses here four times what he says to do. Verse 2 he says, put that brother out of your fellowship. Verse 5, hand him over to Satan, which we'll talk about in a minute. Verse 7, get rid of that brother and member of the church. And verse 13, expel the wicked man from among you. This right here pretty much rules Paul out of being on the front cover of Church Growth magazines. He's just lost his right to do that ever. And not just Paul. Jesus tells us this in Matthew 18. Paul talks about it here in 1 Corinthians chapter 5. The Word of God is telling us to remove a member from the church, to remove a brother or sister from the church. Why? …

See full text →

2. But this interpretation is totally foreign to the design of the Apostle, who is not here speaking of this or that church, but on quite another subject. Neither did the Apostle himself or any of his brethren draw any such inference from the words. Had they done so it would have been a flat contradiction both to the example and precept of their Master. For although the Jewish church was then full as unclean, as unholy, both inwardly and outwardly, as any Christian Church now upon earth, yet our Lord constantly attended the service of it. And he directed his followers in this, as in every other respect, to tread in his steps. This is clearly implied in that remarkable passage: “The scribes and Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat: All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: For they say and do not.” (Matt. 23:2, 3.) Even though they themselves say and do not, though their lives contradict their doctrines, though they were ungodly men, yet our Lord here not only permits but requires his disciples to hear them. For he requires them to “observe and do what they say.” But this could not be if they did not hear them. Accordingly the apostles, as long as they were at Jerusalem, constantly attended the public service. Therefore it is certain these words have no reference to a separation from the Established Church. 3. Neither have they any reference to the direction given by the Apostle in his first Epistle to the Corinthians. The whole passage runs thus: “I wrote unto you in an epistle, not to company with fornicators: Yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world. But now I have written unto you, not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one, no not to eat.” (1 Cor. 5:9–11.) This wholly relates to them that are members of the same Christian community. The Apostle tells them expressly, he does not give this direction, not to company with such and such persons, with regard to the Heathens, or to men in general; and adds this plain reason, “For then must ye needs go out of the world;” you could transact no business in it. “But if any man that is called a brother,” — that is connected with you in the same religious society, — “be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one, no not to eat.” How important a caution is this! But how little is it observed, even by those that are, in other respects, conscientious Christians! Indeed some parts of it are not easy to be observed, for a plain reason, — they are not easy to be understood. I mean, it is not easy to be understood to whom the characters belong. It is very difficult, for instance, to know, unless in some glaring cases, to whom the character of an extortioner or of a covetous man belongs. We can hardly know one or the other, without seeming at least to be “busy bodies in other men’s matters.” And yet the prohibition is as strong concerning converse with these, as with fornicators or adulterers. We can only act in the simplicity of our hearts, without setting up for infallible judges, (still willing to be better informed,) according to the best light we have. …

See full text →