Sexual Immorality

1 Cor. 5

Paul is chagrined to hear that someone within the body is practicing sexual immorality of a kind that would be an affront to Pagans. A man has his father's wife! It is amazing to him that they can still be spiritually arrogant when this is happening. But. apart from this spiritual ignorance, which is sin in itself, what is a church to do when this situation occurs? The text says, with the power of Jesus, to deliver this person to Satan in order to save his soul. What does that mean? My footnote says it means removing him from the church. If he were really delivered to Satan, he would have no spark of the divine nature within himself. His soul would not be saved. But removing him from the church is a different story even though that still seems harsh.

Why would Paul suggest such a strong measure? Because a little leaven leavens the whole lump. Leaven is sin. Cleansing out the old leaven, the old sin, makes room for the new lump. Once we are saved and have appropriated all that Christ [our Passover Lamb] did, then we are unleavened. Sin no longer has mastery over us. It no longer enslaves us. So we need to celebrate the body of Christ not with the old leaven of malice and evil but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. Following Christ does not mean indulging the flesh, it means walking as He did sincerely and truthfully. He is our Truth. He must control our lives.

Paul clarifies he is not referring to the sexually immoral of the world, but those within the body of believers, with anyone who bears the name of brother. If a brother is sexually immoral, greedy, an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler, the body is not even to eat with this person. Believers are to purge the evil as well as the evil person from among them. Even though it sounds harsh in our world of tolerance and anything-goes, it is what God says. Perhaps it is like Achan who hid the precious things in the floor of his tent. Everything from Jericho was to be devoted to destruction except for what God had specified, yet Achan thought better. Because of his sin, when Israel went to battle with Ai, a very small city, they lost the battle. God's people must be obedient to what God says. It was only after Achan and the things that he hid were destroyed was Isarel able to win the battle against Ai. Sin is serious. God does not take it lightly!

Father, 

Open me eyes to see the sin I am not confessing. Give me a heart that grieves over any sin in my life. Help me never to feel justified in allowing sin.

In Jesus name,

Amen