1 Corinthians 5:1

It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father's wife. You are puffed up and have not rather mourned, that he who has done this deed might be taken away from among you. I verily, as absent in the body but present in the spirit, have judged already concerning him who has done this deed. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together in my spirit with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, deliver such a one unto Satan for the destruction of his flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.

Father, as we look into your word, we ask for your guidance by your spirit. Lord, we know that at times your word is challenging to us. I pray that you would prepare our hearts to hear from you what your spirit is saying to the church. What you said to the Corinthian church 2,000 years ago is very similar to what you are saying to the church in our own nation today. We do pray that you would continue to transform us by the renewing of our minds as we look at the culture around us and the way in which the world is going. It is no different than it was 100 years ago or 1,000 years ago; it is just at a different pace. We are to be set apart; we are to be different. I pray that you would work that out in our lives by your spirit. We ask this in Jesus' name, and all God's people agreed, saying, Amen. You can be seated.

Almost five years ago, I began teaching the book of Isaiah at the Bible College. Each semester, I have the opportunity to go through the whole 66 chapters in about 14 weeks. It's an interesting feat. However, five years ago, when I first studied through the book, I got to chapter 28 and was struck by verse 10. In verse 10 of chapter 28, Isaiah is being accused by those who heard his message of being repetitive.

And they said that Isaiah's teaching was precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little. At least that's how it reads in our modern translation. In the original language, in the Hebrew, it's more precept, precept, precept, precept, line, line, line, line, here a little, there a little. They accused Isaiah of being repetitive, like a broken record. That verse really stuck out to me several years ago. I really liked "line upon line."

I found it interesting that the insult brought against the prophet Isaiah is descriptive of the way we teach the Scriptures at Calvary Chapel. We have a distinctive within the movement of Calvary Chapel that we teach line upon line. This means that we go verse by verse and chapter by chapter through the Scriptures. By doing so, we can be sure that we don't miss anything. The problem is, we don't miss anything. There are passages of Scripture that are difficult, and we can't dodge those passages.

We finished chapter 4 a couple of weeks ago, and if you were to come today and we just jumped right into chapter 8, you'd wonder, "Wait, what happened in chapters 5, 6, and 7?" We can't dodge the passage, even though these are passages that are often skipped. Even in our own personal reading, many churches will jump right over chapters 5, 6, and 7 because they are difficult passages of Scripture.

I don't know if you've noticed over the last several months as we've been going through the book of Isaiah or the book of 1 Corinthians, but I'm sure you have noticed that each week feels like we're getting the one-two punch. There are a lot of heavy things in the book of 1 Corinthians. As I'm studying through these passages during the week, I often find myself thinking, "Miles, you need to lighten up a little bit." But it just seems like week after week, we get into more and more heavy passages.

In one way, I'm kind of prefacing what we're going to be looking at over the next several weeks. You might need to tighten your belt of truth when you come in and maybe adjust the breastplate of righteousness. Make sure that you've got the helmet of salvation firmly fastened. Know for sure that while the shield of faith does very well in defending against the fiery darts of the wicked one, as Ephesians chapter 6 says, the word of God's truth goes...

Right through the shield of faith, you are completely defenseless to that. God's word is powerful; it's sharper than any two-edged sword. It's living and powerful, and it's a discerner of the thoughts and the intents of our hearts. I can guarantee, as I've been studying through this passage, I've been challenged in my thinking on it, even though I've studied it before. Over the next several weeks, it's going to challenge us a little bit.

A good decade ago, it was not uncommon for many churches to see people wearing little canvas bracelets with the letters WWJD on them. How many of you remember those? How many of you had one of those? A number of you did. WWJD is an acronym representing the phrase "What Would Jesus Do?" It was very popular in the 90s, but it didn't start then. It actually began in the 1930s in a Christian book that introduced the concept of what Jesus would do.

Beginning in about 2001, another four-letter acronym found its way into Christian circles and has become quite popular, no doubt overtaking WWJD. You see it on shirts, hats, shoes, pants, sunglasses, handbags, book bags, belts, key chains, and even some tattoos. The acronym N-O-T-W means "Not of This World." There's rarely a day that goes by without seeing a car zooming by with "Not of This World" emblazoned on it, often at 80 miles an hour. You realize that truly their car is like a rocket ship, not of this world, just flying along.

In John's Gospel, specifically in John chapter 18, Jesus is being tried before Pontius Pilate. He states that His kingdom is not of this world. Just prior to that, in John chapter 17, Jesus is praying for His disciples. You may want to turn there briefly. We are in 1 Corinthians, so turn to the left, and you'll come to John 17. He is praying what we have come to call His high priestly prayer, not just for the disciples gathered there on that night, but for you and I gathered here today as well. This is one of the Lord's prayers for us.

Verse 14 specifically is where I'd like you to look. In John 17:14, Jesus says, "I have given them Thy word." Speaking to the Father, He continues, "I've given to My disciples Your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world."

Verse 15 states, "I pray not that you should take them out of the world, but that you should keep them from evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world." This phrase is the primary source from which we derive the expression "not of this world." It is also from this passage that we understand that we Christians are to be in the world, but not of the world. The idea is that while we are physically present in this world, we are not to partake in the practices of this world, nor are we to be influenced by its values.

The problem is that this concept has led, throughout different times in church history, to significant portions of the body of Christ isolating themselves from the surrounding culture. They observe the culture and conclude that it is filled with sin, sickness, and death, prompting them to withdraw. However, this is not what Jesus intended when he prayed this prayer. The true heart of it is expressed in the middle of those two verses that discuss our relationship to the world. In verse 15, Jesus says, "Father, I do not pray that you should take them out of the world, but that you should protect them from evil." God does not want to remove us from the world because we are meant to be an influence upon it.

In John chapter 9, verse 5, Jesus declares, "As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world." He has also called you and me to be lights in a dark world. In Matthew chapter 5, during the Sermon on the Mount, this is made very explicit. Additionally, in Peter's letter, 1 Peter chapter 2, verse 9, we are instructed to proclaim the praises of Him who called us out of darkness and into His marvelous light. Therefore, we are to walk in the light as He is in the light, as stated in 1 John 1, shining this light to the world.

However, when the church chooses to isolate itself from the surrounding culture due to the sin present in the world, it quickly becomes too remote from those it has been called and commissioned to reach. Typically, when the church isolates itself, it begins to tolerate sin within its own ranks. In attempting to separate from the sins of this world, they inadvertently allow sin to enter the church and begin to tolerate it.

As if because we are the church, because we are God's chosen people, it is okay. We see the same thing throughout the Old Testament, relating to the children of Israel. They were God's chosen people. God did call them to be separate. They separated themselves from all the peoples around them, but they harnessed the sin of the world within themselves and felt it was okay because they were God's chosen people. The church has a remarkable knack for justifying sin within its ranks while looking at the rest of the world and saying, "That's wicked. That's sin. You're going to hell."

This is one of the perceptions our culture has of the church. I remember right after 9/11 when Pastor Eric, Rick Kirstead, Mark Cato, and I went to New York City to minister there. We came upon several individuals standing on the side of the road with their signs, shouting, "Repent! You're all going to hell!" They were screaming on their loudspeakers. This is the perception our world often has of the church: that it is full of hypocrites and is just a condemning group of phonies. That is the world's view a lot of the time, and it is something we are up against.

However, this perception has arisen because of our own actions. Here, Paul is confronting a church that had this very problem. They had separated themselves from the culture around them, yet they had tolerated sin within their ranks. We have already seen that one of the issues they dealt with was division into factious groups. There were schisms within the church, which created an internal problem for the Corinthian church and affected their fellowship.

The problem we begin to address in chapter 5 is an issue of their witness in their culture. They had an external problem as well. The city was aware of a commonly reported sin occurring in their church—something that even the people of Corinth looked down upon as wicked. This is remarkable, considering Corinth was one of the most carnal cities of antiquity, known for its immorality. Yet, when a group of carnal, immoral people says, "That's sick," there is a real problem. It must be truly bad if they perceive it to be wicked.

In the first two verses of 1 Corinthians chapter 5, we have the problem. It is reported commonly, Paul said.

It was common knowledge. It was well known within the church, within society, and even outside the city walls, so to speak, of Corinth. It was commonly reported that there was fornication among them. The general problem was that there was sexual immorality within the confines of the church at Corinth. The King James Version translates the word "porneia" as fornication. Other translations refer to it as sexual immorality. This term speaks of all extramarital, premarital, or unnatural sexual unions, including adultery, fornication, which is sex outside of marriage, homosexuality, incest, and bestiality.

However, it goes further than that. It covers all manner of idolatrous worship of images or pornography. Paul states that it is common knowledge that this sort of sexual immorality exists in the church at Corinth. Again, that is the general problem. But there is a specific problem as well. Such fornication is not so much named among the Gentiles. The specific issue that had come to Paul, through whatever channels, was that he had received news of this situation in the church.

There was a specific issue of fornication, sexual immorality, in the church at Corinth, in addition to all the general problems, that even the Gentiles looked down upon and said, "That's just wrong." The King James Version states that it is a fornication that is not so much named among the Gentiles. The word "named" is not really part of the original language, so it could simply be translated as "such fornication as is not among the Gentiles."

It was a kind of fornication that the Old Testament law forbade. Paul singles it out at the end of verse 1, stating that one should have his father's wife. Again, the Old Testament law forbade such things. In Deuteronomy chapter 22, verse 30, God speaks to His people through Moses, giving them the law, and says, "A man shall not take his father's wife. In so doing, he uncovers his father's nakedness." In Deuteronomy 27, verse 20, we read, "Cursed is he that lies with his father's wife, because he has uncovered his father's nakedness." And all the people shall say, "Amen."

Everybody should be in agreement with this. God is saying to His people that this is an abomination to the Lord. Not only was it forbidden in the Old Testament scriptures, in the law, but it was also abhorred by the Romans. The Romans looked at it as an abhorrent, wicked thing. Cicero, the Roman statesman and writer, called such an act—this incestuous act—an incredible and unheard of wickedness. This is a Roman; this is not a Christian, just a Roman pagan individual. It was considered among the Romans to be an incredible and unheard of wickedness.

This act was declared to be sin by the law, culturally abhorrent to the Romans, and yet condoned by the Corinthians. They looked at it and figured it was okay for this individual to be within their church, even though he had taken his father's wife. When we read it in that context, we recognize that this is not speaking of his biological mother; this was his father's wife in the sense that it was his stepmother. Apparently, she is not a believer and was not a part of the church at Corinth. In dealing with this issue and its punishment, Paul only addresses this man; he does not address the woman. Clearly, she was not a part of the church, so she doesn't seem to be a believer.

Paul does not see any difference in this situation than if she were a part of the church or if she were his biological mother. He says this is wrong; this is sin, and it needs to be dealt with. The church at Corinth was not addressing it. Look at their response to it. In fact, their response was more of an issue to Paul than the actual sin. In 1 Corinthians 5:2, he states, "And you are puffed up." As if the sin were not dreadful enough, Paul's greater concern was that the church at Corinth was proud of the whole issue somehow. They were puffed up about this; they were rejoicing over it.

That it even happened was incredible, but that the church would be proud of it is beyond understanding. It was beyond incredible that the church could grow so dense to the issues of God and His clear directives. He says, "You have not rather mourned." The right reaction should have been that they mourn over this.

Mourning in the way that you would mourn over a lost loved one is essential. Paul says you should look at this individual as if they are lost to you because they are involved in unrepentant, open, and willful sin. They appear to be unaffected by conviction. Paul emphasizes that you should be mourning over this, and yet, you're not. This sentiment aligns with what the prophet Isaiah said of his culture in his day, specifically in Isaiah chapter 5, verse 20, when he states, "Woe to those who call evil good, who put bitter for sweet, and who put darkness for light."

Perhaps the man involved in this sin was something of a leader in the church at Corinth, and they didn't fully know how to address it. However, it doesn't seem to be the case that they were unsure. Rather, it appears they were rejoicing over this issue. They may have come to the point where they felt they had liberty in Christ to behave in this manner. This was one of the significant issues with the church at Corinth; they exercised their liberty in a way that was not glorifying to the Lord. They might have looked at the situation and thought, "It's okay. We have liberty. We can do these things. It's bad for the world, but we are saved by grace, and we have liberty in Christ."

They had begun to believe the notion that after you become a Christian, you can do anything you want, anytime you want, with anyone you want, and it's acceptable because God is gracious and will forgive. Far be it that we should think like that. Paul says in Romans chapter 6, "Shall we sin that grace may abound? God forbid."

Perhaps, and I think this is probably the real case, they had fallen into the trap of seeing toleration as a mark of love. This is one of the issues we face in our day within the church as well. We begin to tolerate things, thinking that our toleration is a mark of love, that we are truly a loving group of people. How wonderful it is that we love one another in this way! We are constantly bombarded with this kind of thinking today: that if we love someone, we will tolerate them.

We've substituted the word "accept" for "tolerate." We've redefined "tolerate" as "accept." We say, "We'll accept it. It's okay. We'll accept their sin." However, Noah Webster, in his 1828 dictionary, provides a note at the bottom of his definition of toleration. He states, "The law of love tolerates no vice." I think that's such an important phrase to reflect on and consider.

Because we're told that this is the way this person is, that this is the way they were born, and that these are just the things they do, we often feel compelled to love them and accept all these things. However, that is not the case. Paul says the right reaction is that we should mourn over this, as if we were mourning someone who is dead to us, and that we should put him out of the church.

Now, if this morning, when you hear that they would be put out of the church, you cringe in any way, it indicates that we have been more influenced by the culture of our world than by the values of the Bible. If we think, "Whoa, that seems a little harsh," or "That's kind of heavy to put him out of the church," it shows that we have been influenced more by the culture around us.

Paul identifies the problem as sexual immorality in general, but specifically addresses the issue of incest within the church. In verses 3 through 5, he gives the punishment. In verse 3, he states, "For I verily, as absent in the body but present in spirit, have judged already." Paul asserts that he has already made a judgment about this whole issue. He continues, "As though I were present with you, I have already judged concerning him that has done this deed." Even though he is not physically present, he is with them in spirit and has already passed judgment on the one who has committed this act. He is passing the judgment that they ought to be passing.

Of course, when we begin to pass judgment upon sin, we are often reminded of the words of Jesus in Matthew chapter 7: "Hey, brother, judge not that you be not judged." Have any of you ever been confronted with that before? When you tell someone, "Listen, you ought not to live this way," they respond, "Hey, judge not that you be not judged." They are completely taking that passage out of context.

The context of Matthew chapter 7, verses 1 through 5, is that we are first to examine ourselves. After examining ourselves, we are then to bring this judgment upon another person. First, remove the beam from your own eye, and then you will be able to see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye. Paul expresses a similar sentiment in Galatians chapter 6 when he talks about the person who has been overtaken in sin or a trespass. He advises, "Consider yourselves, lest you also be tempted." When you go to restore them, which sometimes involves a rebuke, you must consider yourself, lest you also be tempted.

So that you do not fall into the same temptation or vice, Paul says, "I've already judged on this whole issue." The next time you are gathered together, this is Paul's prescription to them. He gives them an exhortation: "Here's what you are to do." In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and you can use my name if you want to, it basically says, "Because I'll be with you in spirit."

In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, deliver such a one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit might be saved in the day of Christ Jesus. Cast him out of the church, Paul says, out from under the protection of the saints, out from under the protection of the Lord. In fact, deliver him unto Satan in the way that you say, "God, whatever you need to do, do it."

There’s a part of us that goes, "Whoa, that’s heavy." I guarantee you, when the church at Corinth received this letter from Paul, they weren't going, "Yeah, let’s do it." They were going, "Whoa, what?" I think they probably were expecting not an exhortation and a rebuke from Paul; they were probably expecting him to say, "Oh, bravo, you’re so loving." Yet, something completely different occurred.

This was a church that boasted about their love. They boasted about their agape feasts, and that’s why Paul had to define for them, in 1 Corinthians chapter 13, what agape really is all about. It was at their agape feasts, when they were gathering together, that some of them were getting drunk, and they were all allowing this immoral sort of behavior.

So Paul says, "Deliver such a one unto Satan." Why? Ultimately for his good and ultimately for the good of the church. Paul exercised the very same sort of thing. He spoke about it to Timothy in 1 Timothy chapter 1, verse 20. He says, "Of Hymenaeus and Alexander, I have delivered unto Satan, that they would learn not to blaspheme." I've given them over. I've said, "Lord, do whatever you need to do," even if that means allowing the enemy to come against them, that they would learn a lesson and be changed from the course that they are on right now.

So Paul says, "Deliver this one to Satan for the destruction of his flesh." Now, there are two possible ways to view this destruction of the flesh here in verse 5. One, Paul is speaking about the destruction of the flesh to the point of this person's actual physical death.

Just like with Ananias and Sapphira in Acts chapter 5, they had sinned in such a way that it was displeasing to God. As a result, God took their lives. They had lied to the Holy Spirit. Perhaps Paul is saying, "Deliver him unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh," to the point where this individual might die so that his spirit could be saved in the day of Christ Jesus. Alternatively, Paul could be speaking about the destruction of his carnal, sinful nature, which he ought to reckon as dead. If he truly is a Christian, that is the mindset of Paul. He ought to reckon dead this lifestyle and what he is doing because it is against God. It is an abomination. It doesn't matter if his flesh desires it or if he feels good in his sin; the fact remains that it is an abomination before God and ought to be crucified.

I guarantee that in this crowd this morning, there are things that God counts as sinful that our flesh likes. Let me give you an example: gluttony. I won't go any further because I'll get in trouble. Deliver such a one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his soul, that his spirit might be saved in the day of Christ Jesus. Paul was more concerned about his eternal well-being than his temporal state. We need to gain this perspective. We need to be more concerned about a person's eternal well-being than how they feel in the moment. If someone says, "That made me feel so bad," the response should be, "Good! Repent!"

He speaks of the problem and the punishment. Now, in verse 6, he gives them a picture: "Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?" When Paul says, "Your glorying is not good," to me, that is like the major understatement of 1 Corinthians. Literally, he says, "Your rejoicing is not good. It's not right." How terrible that you should boast about your spirituality and let this sort of thing go on. Do you not realize, says Paul, that even one person who is allowed to go on sinning will soon affect the whole church? A little leaven leavens the whole lump. It is so important that those given authority within the body of Christ be willing to execute that authority by rightly calling sin what it is and addressing those issues.

In the book of Lamentations,

Which was written by the prophet Jeremiah as he was watching his own nation go into captivity with the Babylonian Empire. God, speaking through the prophet Jeremiah, says in Lamentations 2, verses 14 through 16, that this is a result of your false prophets not telling the people what they ought to do. If they would have listened to the right prophets, they wouldn't have gone into captivity.

He says, "A little leaven leavens the whole lump." The illustration of leaven here is something that Paul's readers would have understood without any problem. Every single day, they would have had to bake bread. Perhaps there are some here today who are into baking bread, but it's something we do more out of enjoyment and pleasure than as a necessity for daily living. We can simply go down to Vons and buy a loaf of bread.

For those who bake, you understand the concept of yeast and what it does. This little microorganism that you add to your dough is activated by warmth. As it is, it begins to consume carbohydrates and sugars around it, off-gassing with CO2, which causes the bread dough to rise. A little bit of yeast leavens or causes to rise the whole lump.

In the same manner, Paul says, this little bit of sin, if allowed to remain within the church, will affect the whole body of Christ. So what's his prescription? What's his plan for them? In verse 7, he says, "Purge out therefore the old leaven, that you may be a new lump." Get rid of this sin.

Notice what he says right after that in verse 7: "As you are unleavened." Underline that in your neighbor's Bible if you would. As you are unleavened. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, "If any man be in Christ, he is a new creation." We are new creations in Christ, not becoming new creations. We are, by Christ's power, new creations. Therefore, we ought to live as new creations.

We have been made unleavened by Christ. He has, by His work on the cross, dealt with the punishment of our sin. He is dealing with the presence and power of sin in our lives right now. He removes the leaven from our lives. We are new creations in Christ, and we ought to live that way, as Paul is implying here. You are unleavened, so get rid of this issue of sin.

So that you might live in a way that is glorifying and honoring to the Lord. For even Christ, our Passover, is sacrificed for us. The reason that we are unleavened is because Jesus, the Passover lamb, the true Passover, was sacrificed for us.

Now, if you know the Old Testament, you'll remember that in the book of Exodus, when the Passover was instituted, the children of Israel, there in bondage in Egypt, were told to remove leaven from their households right before they partook of the Passover. They were to partake of the Passover, and then they partook of the feast of unleavened bread. There was a very practical reason for it: they were going to leave Egypt with haste. They were going to go out quickly, and so they would not have had time to leaven their bread. The Lord tells them to make their bread unleavened, and then they partook of the feast of unleavened bread.

But it looked forward to Jesus, who was without sin, becoming sin for us. He is the Passover lamb, and therefore he extends to us his righteousness. The Passover lamb, without sin, without spot or blemish, without leaven—which in the Bible is a type of sin, a picture of sin. Therefore, verse 8 says, "Let us keep the feast," says Paul, "not with the old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth."

Lest the Corinthians think that Paul is speaking of literal yeast, he defines for them what he means when he is talking about leaven here. Jesus' disciples constantly misunderstood him and thought he was being absolutely literal when he would say things like, "Cut off your hand if it causes you to stumble," or "Purge out the yeast, or the leaven of the Pharisees." They were going, "Did one of you guys forget to bring bread?" I'm not talking about bread, Jesus says.

So that the Corinthians not think that he is talking about yeast, he clarifies. Why is he talking about yeast? I thought he was talking about sin. He says, "No, you need to purge out the leaven, the yeast of malice and wickedness, because these sins will destroy you." Keep the feasts, not with leaven.

Now, he's not talking about the Passover feast here. What feast do you think Paul would have been talking about to the church at Corinth? It's the same one that he instructs them in, in 1 Corinthians chapter 11: the Lord's Supper. He says, "You need to partake of the feast without leaven." When you come before the Lord in communion to partake of the body of Christ and the blood of Christ through the bread and through the cup, he says, "Make sure you examine yourself," as stated in 1 Corinthians chapter 11, "to make sure that there is no leaven, there's no malice."

There's no wickedness when you're coming together as the body of Christ. You should do so unleavened, with sincerity, and in truth.

In verse 9, we've seen the problem and considered the punishment. Now, we look at the principle. Paul wrote to the Corinthians in an epistle not to keep company with fornicators. Apparently, he had written an earlier letter outlining certain things they were to do. In reality, 1 Corinthians is 2 Corinthians, and 2 Corinthians is 3 Corinthians. That's a riddle for you to think on later.

In Paul's first letter to the Corinthians, which we do not have, he told them not to keep company with fornicators. However, they misapplied what he said and misinterpreted it. This is a very important thing for us to consider. We can often misinterpret Scripture and, therefore, misapply it. We have to be very careful in the way that we interpret Scripture.

Paul indicates that they didn't fully comprehend what he was saying. They thought he was talking about withdrawing themselves from all the people of Corinth. Yet, he clarifies that he was not referring to the sexually immoral of this world, or the covetous, or the extortioners, or the idolaters. Why? Because then you would need to go out of the world entirely.

If we were going to separate ourselves from all those in this world who are sexually immoral, covetous, steal from one another, or bow down to false gods, we would have to completely check out of the world. Day by day, we are surrounded by people who walk in a way that the Bible classifies as sin. We have acquaintances who are walking in immorality, co-workers who covet what we have and may steal it if given the opportunity, and family members in our extended families who are walking in sin.

But they are not believers, and we cannot expect righteous living from unrighteous people. It shouldn't shock us when our co-worker, who does not know Christ, cuts our legs out from underneath us to try and get the promotion we thought we were going to receive. It should not surprise us when they backstab us; it's normal.

However, it should surprise us if we see that behavior in the church. It should shock us.

It should cause us to mourn if that is seen in the church. Paul gives an addendum to what he had said in his first letter in verse 11. He writes, "But now I have written unto you to not keep company with any man that is called a brother." Circle the word "called" there. If a brother is a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner, with such a one, do not even eat.

To ensure that they would not misapply what he had said, Paul emphasizes that they should not keep company with someone who is called a brother. Notice he uses the word "called." Why? Clearly, Paul expects that true brothers in Christ would walk in a different manner. His implication is that he does not really know if this guy is a true believer. Paul's view is that he does not think he is a real brother because how could he live in unrepentant, open, and willful sin, unaffected by the conviction of the Holy Spirit? At best, he is a Christian in name only. Either he is deceived, or he is a wolf in sheep's clothing.

Therefore, Paul instructs them to purge such a one out and not keep company with them. Do not keep company with someone who is perpetually and willfully walking in fornication, covetousness, idolatry, railing, drunkenness, or extortion.

We have already considered the fornicator. If we look at someone who is covetous or greedy, it is someone eager for selfish gain. That is what dominates their life; they are greedy to grab whatever they possibly can. An idolater mixes their own worship of false gods with Christianity. A railer is someone who is verbally abusive to those around them. This behavior is incongruent with Christianity; it does not fit, as Paul says. We ought not to be that way.

A drunkard is someone given to drunkenness perpetually. An extortioner is simply a thief. These behaviors are unfitting for Christians. By the power of the Spirit, we are to put them away, as Paul says. This message is not just in this passage but also in the book of Ephesians. You are in 1 Corinthians; turn just a few books to the right to Ephesians chapter 4 briefly. We are to cut these things out of our own lives.

If there's someone within the confines of the church who continues in unrepentant, willful sin, unaffected by conviction, then we're told to separate ourselves from them. No doubt that's painful. Yes, it hurts. It was no doubt painful when, in the Old Testament, if a family member was stricken with leprosy, you would have to say, "You can't come here anymore. You can't come and spend time with us. You can't come see us. We can't talk to you anymore," lest we get leprosy and all die.

But separation is essential for the health of the church and ultimately for the restoration of that sinning individual. If sin is allowed to remain, it affects our worship, our work, and our witness in the community. We need to make sure that these things are dealt with if they are open, clear, and commonly noted around us.

Ephesians chapter 4 begins at verse 17. Paul says, "This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that henceforth you walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind." Don't walk as the rest of the world, Christian. Skip on down to verse 22: "That you put off concerning your former conduct, the old man which is corrupt according to deceitful lust." Get rid of the old nature, Paul says, and put on the new. Be renewed in the spirit of your mind and put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

What does this look like practically? Verse 25 states, "Wherefore, put away lying. Speak every man truth with his neighbor, for we are members of one another." Simply put, if you lie, stop and speak the truth. If you're a perpetual liar from your youth, stop, he says. You're a Christian; don't do that anymore. It may mean that your stories are not as exciting as they once were, but stop. Speak the truth.

In verse 26, we read, "Be angry and do not sin." A lot of people have struggled with that. What in the world does it mean? Well, it means to be angry for the right reasons and react in the right way. What are the right reasons? Read the scripture. What's the right way? Consider Jesus. "Be angry and do not sin. Let not the sun go down on your wrath, neither give place to the devil." You give a foothold to the devil when you allow wrath to remain in your heart and in your mind perpetually.

"Let him who stole steal no more, but rather let him labor, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that has need." Simply put, if you're a thief, stop, get a job, and give. Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth.

But that which is good to the use of edifying may minister grace to your hearers. If you have a hard time speaking nicely to your kids, to your spouse, or to your co-workers, then just shut your mouth. As I've said before, use the theology of Thumper: if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all. Instead, speak grace— that which ministers grace to the hearers.

Do not grieve the Spirit of God, whereby you are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as Christ, for God's sake, has forgiven you.

Paul says that if there is a person within the body of Christ who is called a brother, who claims to be a Christian, and yet they are continually or perpetually in sin—walking in sin, unrepentant, willfully, without conviction—Paul says, "With such a one do not eat." Specifically, in this context, he is speaking about the Lord's table. That person is not allowed to be involved in communion or in fellowship with God among the saints.

The clear context also indicates that you are not to have company with that person. That is, you are not to have any sort of intimate relational contact with them. You might say, "Well, that's hard. How can we possibly do it?" You're right; it is hard. Many people say, "No, I need to reach out to that person and be loving and accepting."

However, if they are walking in unrepentant sin and claim to be a believer, separate yourself from them. Perhaps that temporal separation will cause them to recognize that they want to be in fellowship with their brothers and sisters and with God. If they are temporarily separated, with the intent that they will be with us eternally, perhaps they will repent.

But if, for a moment, we say, "No, I want to maintain a relationship and fellowship with this person," would you rather be separated for eternity? They may not truly be a believer, and we ought to treat them like an unbeliever. This means that we evangelize them as we would any other unbeliever. You need to repent. You're walking in sin. I don't think you're a Christian. Repent and prove me wrong.

They may get really upset. I had that conversation with one guy once. I told him, "I don't think you're a Christian." He got really angry and wanted to prove me wrong. Praise the Lord; I'm glad he proved me wrong.

Paul continues in verse 12, "For what have I to do to judge them that are outside?"

Do you not judge those who are within? But those who are without, God judges. Therefore, put away from among yourselves the wicked person. Paul says it is not my responsibility to judge outsiders, but it certainly is your responsibility, your job, to judge those who are within the church and are sinning in these ways. God will judge those who are outside.

I think the church really needs to key into that one. We have to be very careful because we are constantly pointing the finger of judgment at this world. God will judge them. As the Scriptures say, quoting from the Old Testament in Deuteronomy, you must remove the evil person from among you. This is hard, I know, but it is essential for the ultimate health of that sinning individual and for the health of the church, because a little leaven leavens the whole lump. May it not be the case in our lives individually or in our church corporately.

A great picture of this can be found in Judges chapter 7, where we read about Achan, who had taken something from the city of Jericho when the city was destroyed. That item was considered an abomination, and ultimately, because of it, people died due to the sin in the camp. May the Lord, by His Holy Spirit, purge from our lives anything that is not glorifying to Him, and purge from the church that which does not honor Him, so that we would be a bride without spot or blemish, shining brightly to a dark world. Amen?

Let's stand and pray. Father, Your Word is living and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, and it cuts deep. It is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Lord, no doubt, in hearing this, which is totally against the culture in which we live, we are challenged. But God, I pray that You, by Your Spirit, would cause us to meditate upon these things, to think on these things, and to identify in my life and in the lives of my brothers and sisters here if there is anything that is not pleasing to You.

Help us to bring it before You so that You would remove it. Lord, speaking through the Apostle John, You said, "If we confess our sins, You are faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us of all unrighteousness." Would You purge from us this morning anything that is leaven, hindering us in our worship?

Hindering us in our work, hindering us in our witness. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.