In the business world there is a practice of praise in public and discipline in private. We often praise and give thanks to others publicly in Church but what about when there needs to be discipline? As Paul instructs the Church family at Corinth on the reported sexual immorality he will follow what the Lord Jesus instructed when it comes to dealing with a brother who is living in sin. Please read 1 Corinthians 5:1-13 as we focus on verses 3-8 this week. Paul doesn’t waste time addressing the arrogance, the tolerance and the sin taking place inside the body of Christ. Even though Paul isn’t with them physically he passes judgment on the person living in sexual immorality as though he is there. You may say wait a minute what about Matthew 7:1 that says judge not, that you be not judged. If you look at this paragraph closely the problem is that we don’t like to take the log out of our eye because then we have to admit that there is sin in our lives that needs to be confessed and repented of so that we can help others. This may have been the case with the Corinthians church as well. What about you? When was the last time you examined yourself in light of God’s word and let the Holy Spirit search your heart? Paul instructs the Church body that when they gather in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ with his power they are to remove this man from fellowship. He is not allowed to partake in the Lord’s Supper. This man is to be delivered to Satan for the destruction of the flesh so that his soul may be saved on the day of the Lord. (Vs 5) What would happen in the life of the church if we practiced Church discipline the way the Bible instructs us. Let’s be clear, Church discipline is not to remove someone from Church membership nor damn them to hell, but from the Lord’s Supper Table. The illustration of leaven working through a whole lump is true. It is a little package that is used when making bread. In this case the sexual immorality being tolerated in the church here at Corinth rendered them ineffective in their community. After this short illustration of leaven leavening the whole lump of dough the apostle Paul draws a straight line to the Lord’s Supper. Ongoing sin in our lives affects other people around us. Christ died for our sins setting us free from the control of sin so that we can live a life pleasing to God. So when a church has to practice church discipline under the authority of Jesus Christ the person who is being disciplined is then removed from under the umbrella protection of the Church, so that they are no longer protected by Lord Jesus. It is here that if a person learns that God is not mocked, that a person reaps what they sow more than they sow later than they so. The Lord Jesus knows how to bring his erring child back to him. Are you running from the Lord and his discipline in your life? If so then repent of your sin and come back to him. Are you a church that truly needs to practice church discipline and remove someone from the Lord’s Supper so t hat the Lord can bring about the discipline he wants in their lives so that they know that the Lord is holy and not to be mocked?
Categories: Weekly Sermon