1 Corinthians - Part 8
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Review: A few weeks ago we began a series on 1 Corinthians. Just to remind you what we’ve covered so far:
Review: A few weeks ago we began a series on 1 Corinthians. Just to remind you what we’ve covered so far:
Corinth was a major City - very large, cosmopolitan
Corinth was a beautiful, yet wicked place.
Corinth was located at a major commercial crossroads - this is why it is so prominent.
The Church at Corinth had been planted by Paul - He had spent 18 months there working.
He has written back and forth to them once and he’s now received word from one of the House Churches that there are some problems in the Church. He’s also received a letter from them to ask him some pastoral questions.
He writes 1 Corinthians to respond to the issues in this Church and to answer their questions
Our First week, we said he begins dealing with their issues by reminding them of their identity. He reminds them who they are
They are set apart and sanctified in Christ Jesus
They are “Saints”
They are members of a bigger body of believers all over the world.
Our Second week we said that Paul moved to reminding them of Who God is and what he had done for them.
Paul reminds them to be thankful to God.
Paul reminds them God had given them everything they needed to live as Saints
Paul reminds them that the Faithfulness of God is their foundation
God had called them into fellowship with himself. This idea of fellowship means and intimate sharing. A better word might even be “communion.”
Our third week we talked about how Paul begins to address divisions within this Church.
They are supposed to be united - With one voice, one, mind, and one purpose.
Instead they are divided
Paul Says - “Stop being divided! Christ is not divided and we don’t follow a man, we follow Jesus!”
Our Fourth week, we looked at how Paul Addressed these divisions: By appealing to the cross!
Last week we talked about how Paul defines Spiritual Wisdom and Spiritual Maturity.
A couple of weeks ago we discussed leadership and what to look for in a godly leader.
Opening Story/Illustration: I remember when I was in High School my youth group, which was about 100 kids, went through some major changes. My youth pastor left and moved on and then we got a new youth pastor. A lot of the kids in the youth group didn’t like him. So one week, a bunch of them got together and decided they were going to do something about it. During worship, one of the girls got up and asked for the mic. She stood up and read the scripture “Judge not, lest ye be judged.” She then talked about how she felt like she was being judged. Then her, and about 75 kids, all got up and walked out of the room never to come back.
Opening Story/Illustration: I remember when I was in High School my youth group, which was about 100 kids, went through some major changes. My youth pastor left and moved on and then we got a new youth pastor. A lot of the kids in the youth group didn’t like him. So one week, a bunch of them got together and decided they were going to do something about it. During worship, one of the girls got up and asked for the mic. She stood up and read the scripture “Judge not, lest ye be judged.” She then talked about how she felt like she was being judged. Then her, and about 75 kids, all got up and walked out of the room never to come back.
Now perhaps she had a point on some things. She probably had some legitimate issues that needed to be talked through. BUT we live in a Church culture that says - NO ONE CAN JUDGE ME. This is the world we live in. “I’ll do what I want, and If you don’t like it, I’ll go to a church that will let me do what I want.”
Transition to Text: While it may have gotten worse, this is not a new phenomenon. People have always been trying to do things their own way without any authority in their life.
Transition to Text: While it may have gotten worse, this is not a new phenomenon. People have always been trying to do things their own way without any authority in their life.
I want to read two passages tonight that might seem unrelated, but I promise you, they are related.
Text: Matthew 16:13-20
Text: Matthew 16:13-20
13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. 18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” 20 Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.
15 “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. 16 But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. 17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. 18 Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. 19 Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”
So, Jesus here says “Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” What does this mean?
Typically we hear binding and loosing used of demons. BUT..That’s not what this means here. I did a word search for demons and the demonic and Matthew 14-20. I only hit two instances of the word and neither of them have anything to do with what Jesus is saying here.
What does Jesus mean? Binding and loosing, in Matthew 16 and 18 have to do with Church discipline. That when someone confesses to follow Jesus the Church agrees with that and binds itself to them. And when someone is living a life that does not align with the gospel - the church has a right and the authority to loose them.
We get really uncomfortable with this. The Catholic church probably takes excommunication too far and so to correct it, us protestants just got rid of it entirely. But, there is something biblical about it.
I say all that to give us background as we Read 1 Corinthians 5
1 It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans, for a man has his father’s wife. 2 And you are arrogant! Ought you not rather to mourn? Let him who has done this be removed from among you. 3 For though absent in body, I am present in spirit; and as if present, I have already pronounced judgment on the one who did such a thing. 4 When you are assembled in the name of the Lord Jesus and my spirit is present, with the power of our Lord Jesus, 5 you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord. 6 Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? 7 Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. 8 Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. 9 I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— 10 not at all meaning the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. 11 But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one. 12 For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? 13 God judges those outside. “Purge the evil person from among you.”
State or Setup Main Idea:
State or Setup Main Idea:
Transition to Points: Let’s look at this passage tonight.
Transition to Points: Let’s look at this passage tonight.
Points
Points
Paul is concerned with the health of the Church - They were proud of this guy!
This does not mean that Paul was not concerned about the individual.
In 2 Corinthians, He speaks of restoring and forgiving this individual.
5 Now if anyone has caused pain, he has caused it not to me, but in some measure—not to put it too severely—to all of you. 6 For such a one, this punishment by the majority is enough, 7 so you should rather turn to forgive and comfort him, or he may be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. 8 So I beg you to reaffirm your love for him. 9 For this is why I wrote, that I might test you and know whether you are obedient in everything. 10 Anyone whom you forgive, I also forgive. Indeed, what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sake in the presence of Christ, 11 so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs.
The Sin Paul condemns here is sexual immorality. This man is living with his step mother and having sexual relations with her.
We don’t get any comment about the woman here, so the assumption is that she is an unbeliever and beyond the influence of the faith community.
Nothing is said about whether or not the father is still alive.
What shocks and bothers Paul is the Church’s pride in this man’s lifestyle.
They are participating in behavior that even non-Christians find repulsive! Why were they proud of it?
Why were they proud of this?
Maybe they were proud of their tolerant attitude
Maybe they were proud of the new “freedom” in Christ
Paul reminds them - The community has a responsibility for the moral responsibility for conduct of its members.
IF YOU ARE SAVED YOU DO NOT BELONG TO YOURSELF.
26 If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.
YOU BELONG TO JESUS AND WE BELONG TO ONE ANOTHER!
Every morning I pray this prayer - Lord remind me today that I do not belong to myself. I belong to you, to the Church, and to my wife. Help me to live accordingly.
Even Private conduct between consenting adults affects the life of the whole community!
Paul urges them to mourn this situation instead of being proud of it.
They had completely accepted this situation and done nothing about about it when they should have been grief-stricken…it was sin that crucified Jesus; it was to free people from sin that he died. No Christian can take an easy-going view of it.
They were to Judge this brother.
Paul’s major point here is shocking to us - The gathered community itself is invested with the power of the risen Jesus to declare this offender no longer a member of the community. The community is given the authority to “bind” and “loose” and discipline because Jesus himself is present where his people are present in his name.
Paul says this man should be handed over to Satan for the destruction of his flesh. What does Paul mean by this?
Maybe he means that by excommunicating this man he will learn to crucify his flesh
The point is not that the man would suffer, but that he would be transformed and returned to the community of faith.
The community is to have godly sorrow over this man - The idea being of grief as if he has died.
Too often we think forgiveness and tolerance is the preferred action towards sinning believers.
Matthew 7:1 is often quoted “Judge not, lets you bet judged.”
But this does not mean we should never judge. It means we should not harbor hypocritical judgment against our neighbor in self-righteousness.
Closing Story - Dr. Davis
Conclusion
Conclusion
So what? What does all this mean for us?
So what? What does all this mean for us?
We belong to one another. What we do, even in private, matters.
We are allowed, even required, to lovingly and humbly judge those who claim to follow Jesus and call them out for their habitual, unrepentant sins.
We must have humble attitudes towards one another and allow God to use those in the body of Christ to help us grow.
Now What?
Now What?
Prayer
Prayer