Address the Sin! (1 Corinthians 5)

The way in which we address sin is of the utmost important. A heart that is earnest and humble in confession will lead to eternal life. But a heart that is haughty and hides sin, will lead to eternal death.

He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion. (Proverbs 28:13)

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In Corinthians chapter 5 we see an extremely ugly event taking place. Within the church there is a man who is sleeping with his father's wife. (I know, Yuck!) However, the real problem that Paul is addressing here is not actually the sin this man is committing. He focuses more heavily on the lackluster response of the Church. It is clear that what the man is doing is sinful, the church should have known that. However, we see in 1 Corinthians 6:2....

1 Corinthians 5:2 You have become arrogant and have not mourned instead, so that the one who had done this deed would be removed from your midst.

... that those who should be detesting such a sin are not in any way mournful of it, they are actually arrogant! In this sense Paul is saying that these people are puffed up and proud, not necessarily because of the sin, but it should be impossible to be proud when an issue as large as this is present within the body of Christ. We see in James 4:9 that in regard to sin we are to "be miserable, and mourn, and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom". There is NO place in the Christians heart for haughtiness and arrogance, how much more so when there is a glaring heart issue evident to all who look!

As we move forward, we see Paul's solution to this problem is to excommunicate this wicked sinner from the church. This is not done out of hatred or ill will; we actually see in verse 5 that it is the exact opposite!

1 Corinthians 5:5 I have decided to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.

This is an act of mercy! This is where I want to focus most heavily. You see church, the sad reality of this passage is that sometimes the church can act almost as an opiate when it comes to sin. In this particular instance there is no correction or rebuking coming from the church whatsoever. A church that lacks the conviction to rebuke sinners within its own congregation does more to harm them then it does to help. There is a trend in modern Christianity that takes the mindset that we should accept the sinner regardless of the sin. While I would agree with this, it is only half of the equation. You love the sinner, and you implore them to repent of the sin. If there is no heart for change or true repentance, then further steps are to be taken. Many modern churches love to pat people on the back while they walk them straight toward hell. Charles Spurgeon says it best,

“If sinners be damned, at least let them leap to Hell over our dead bodies. And if they perish, let them perish with our arms wrapped about their knees, imploring them to stay. If Hell must be filled, let it be filled in the teeth of our exertions, and let not one go unwarned and unprayed for.”

It is our responsibility to plead with those amongst us to repent of their ways and turn back to Christ. We absolutely cannot sit idly by and allow these things to go on unaddressed within the church. A church who only lovingly accepts and does not lovingly rebuke is aiding in the normalization of sin. If we have a heart that looks like Christ's, it should be the thing that we hate the most.

If sin is not addressed within the church, it will grow and it will fester like a disease. We as the body of Christ cannot accept or ignore sickness and disease, it must be dealt with before it destroys us. This does not mean that sinners are to be met with hostility. It is the exact opposite in fact! Sin is to be addressed with love and understanding. It is only in this way that we can rebuke each other in a God honoring way. God loved us and commanded us to move forward to better things, so too must we have this mindset when approaching each other.

1 Corinthians 5:6-7 Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough? 7. Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed.