Sermon Tone Analysis

One of the best-written and most critically-acclaimed dramas on television in the last several years was a show about power and politics, relationships and retribution.

It chalk-full of deception and coercion, power-plays and lawsuits, affairs and immorality.

Every episode heaps scandal on top of scandal.

It is appropriately named: ‘Scandal’.

As I’ve been reading and studying and meditating upon 1 Corinthians 5, the word that has come to mind again and again is: scandal.

Sometimes, the way the Church tends to behave is downright scandalous.

A television drama based on the Corinthian church would be very successful.

The Corinthian church is embroiled in all kinds of scandalous behavior (as we’re about to see in chapters 5-6).

Christians today, upon hearing about the behavior of some of the Corinthians, should shudder and recoil in disgust.

Even the non-religious and idolatrous Corinthians in that day would have looked at the Corinthian Christians and thought, “Well, they’re no different than us!

They’re acting just like us, even worse maybe!”

For the Church to act and look just like the world is, according to Paul, absolutely bonkers (I think he would have used that word if he’d known it, but it’s only 60-some years old, so there you go).

For the Church to act, behave, appear no different from the lost and dying world in which it finds itself is unbearable to Paul and so it should be for us.

The Church has to stand out as an example to the community around it.

The Church must not treat one another the way the world treats one another.

We are not another business or just some non-profit organization that doesn’t pay any tax at Walmart.

We are the called-out people of God.

We do not follow our base desires.

We do not gratify the sinful nature, nor do we excuse sinful behavior in our midst or amongst ourselves.

In a word, we must be different.

>If you have your Bible (and I hope you do), please turn with me to 1 Corinthians 5. Keep your Bible open in front of you as we make our way through this chapter in God’s Word.

What a scandalous situation!

Paul can’t believe his ears; he’s horrified.

His use of the word actually highlights his unbelief.

It’s not just that there is sexual immorality among the Corinthians, but of a kind that even non-believers wouldn’t tolerate.

Verse 1 is enough to send shivers down my spine.

It really is unbelievable.

“A man is sleeping with his father’s wife” is a paraphrase.

The actual wording is “A man has his father’s wife.”

This is a continual, on-going sexual relationship.

A man and his step-mom.

And if that’s not bad enough (which it is; Leviticus 18:7-8 forbids this specifically).

It’s bad enough already, but to compound the problem, this man is part of the church there in Corinth.

And then—worse still!—it seems the Corinthian church is tolerating this kind of behavior—behavior the pagans wouldn’t tolerate, and if the pagans in that day (the day of idols and cults and temple prostitutes) wouldn’t tolerate it, you know it rose to another level of awful.

Tolerate—that’s the key word here.

I didn’t see that word in verse 1 until probably the 20th time I read this passage.

You know how your brain just skims over or speeds by different words?

The pagans don’t tolerate this behavior, but the church seems to be just fine with it.

Paul says the Corinthians Christians are proud.

What are they proud of?

Are they proud of this man’s blatant and public sin?

I doubt it.

So what are they proud about?

I think they’re proud of their tolerance.

They must believe that, in their self-professed maturity and wisdom (see chapters 1-4), their tolerance and acceptance of this sinful behavior shows that they are further along than other Christians.

They are arrogant about this: their progressive behavior.

It’s possible they’re lax or uncaring (“Eh.

Whatever.”).

They might be indifferent (“Well, that’s really none of our business.”).

They might have bad theology excuses bad behavior (“Let’s go on sinning so that grace may abound!”).

All of those are options.

But I tend to think they’re proud of their tolerance.

Anything goes here in the Corinthian church.

Tolerance is the order of the day.

Tolerance is the order of our day, isn’t it?

“If it makes you happy...” “You do you, man.

Have at it.”

“Who are we to tell you what to do or not to do, to be or not to be, that is the question?”

Whatever it is they’re proud of, “whatever the actual relationship of their pride to the incest, their pride has blinded them both to the fallen brother’s true condition and their own.”

Rather than demonstrating pride, Paul rebukes:

They absolutely should have mourned this, and mourned this deeply.

Gone into mourning probably refers to the deep anguish that’s related to true repentance.

Mourning is the proper response to such sin in their midst, not pride.

And true mourning would have resulted in removing this man from their fellowship.

An unrepentant man, continuing in his blatant sin, should be put out of the church.

This is beyond unpopular.

Can you imagine what would happen or what would be said if we removed a person from the membership of this church for their unrepentant sinful behavior?

We’d be labeled with all kinds of fun terms: legalists, hypocrites, holier-than-thou, high and mighty.

And those are only the few church-appropriate phrases.

Just imagine what would happen.

The very thought of doing something like that rubs some of you the wrong way—and yet God tells His people to do this over and over.

You might say, “Ah, well, Barrett.

That’s all Old Testament stuff.”

But remember, friends, Jesus told us to do this very thing when dealing with sin the church:

How do we deal with sin in the church?

How do we deal with a scandalous, sinful situation?

We mourn, we grieve.

And we discipline the offending party—for the good of the church and the restoration of the offending party.

You might see this as harsh or even unloving.

But when we appreciate the biblical view of God’s holiness and His deep revulsion to sin, we will see this as the only logical behavior of His people.

Really and truly, more than proper church discipline, Paul is calling for and expressing what should be the normal consequences of their being the people of God.

Through this letter that Paul is writing to the church, as it is read aloud in their gathering, Paul is communicating his own prophetic word to them.

Paul’s letter to them—inspired by the Spirit—would be heard audibly by the entire assembly.

It’s as if Paul is there with them as his words are read out loud.

And all of this with the recognition of his authority and the Spirit’s presence.

The Christian community there in Corinth is to act as a community, Paul being there with them in spirit, and they are to hand this man over to Satan.

Imagine, for a moment, what it would be like to be called out by Paul via this letter while sitting in the public gathering.

Awk-ward!

And then to hear Paul say: “Hand this man over to Satan...” That’s uncomfortable...

The language means to turn him back out into Satan’s sphere.

In contrast to the gathered community of believers who experience the Spirit and power of the Lord in the building up of one another and loving concern for one another, this man is to be put back out into the world where Satan and his principalities and powers hold sway over people’s lives to destroy them.

By putting this man outside the believing community, the desire is that which is carnal, fleshly, sinful in him would be destroyed, so that he might be saved on the day of the Lord.

The intent of this action is the man’s salvation.

The goal of church discipline is always, always, always restoration and redemption.

Let this man be turned over, put outside, so that he would put aside his sins, repent, and out of a desire for fellowship and love and community, once again join the gathering of the redeemed.

That’s what Paul is urging the Corinthians to do, because:

Toleration of sin transgresses the holy calling of the Church.

The behavior of this man is scandalous, no ifs, ands, or buts about it.

Even more scandalous is that the church would tolerate it, excuse it, sweep it under the rug.

God is Holy.