Tim Maton – Everyday Church, Wimbledon
(Thoughts on 1Cor 5 - Some of the details )
If I had a title for my sermon, it would be “Holiness is a whole church responsibility”.
What comes across in Paul’s letters, including this one, is his passion: his passion for Jesus, the Gospel, for people and the Church.
It’s because of these passions that Paul desires a holy Church; one that honours Jesus, that proclaims the Gospel, and sees many people saved and transformed by it.
Today I want to highlight three ways in which we can take collective responsibility for the holiness of God’s Church.
Recognise the destructiveness of unchecked sin
Don’t you know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough? Get rid of your old yeast, so that you may be a new unleavened batch - as you really are. (verse 6b-7)
Yeast is a type of fungus that’s been commonly used for millennia to make bread rise and alcohol ferment. Despite its amazing properties, the many mentions of yeast in the Bible tend to have a negative connotation.
The fact you only need a small amount of yeast for it to spread and affect the whole batch of dough makes it a good illustration of the destructive effect of sin in our lives and in God’s church. The smallest sin spreads and infects like mould, wildfire, or cancer, as we might say today.
The imperative is, therefore, to be ruthless in getting rid of the sin early!
This applies to all types of sin, of which he lists a few examples in verse 11: sexual immorality, greed, idolatry, slander, drunkenness, and swindling.
...
Paul explains that as brothers and sisters in Christ, we have a responsibility to judge one another.
Some of you may remember that we heard something sounding contradictory to this a fortnight ago when looking at the beginning of chapter 4:
It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. (1 Cor 4:4b-5a)
I think we can square this because chapter 4 is talking about judging one another’s fruitfulness or effectiveness as believers, which we’re definitely not to do, while chapter 5 is talking about judging one another’s sinful behaviour, which we are.
This is part of ‘one anothering’
I’m told there are 59 specific “one another” instructions in the Bible about how we’re to relate to one another within the church community. The phrase "one another" is derived from the Greek word allelon [al-el-on] which means to "one another, each other; mutually, reciprocally."
As well as loving, caring, serving, building up, honouring, accepting, comforting, encouraging, and praying for one another, is the command to admonish one another (in Romans 15:14 KJV and Colossians 3:16).
We might not relish it, but admonishing is one of the characteristics of a loving church community. It doesn’t mean scolding, as the word implies reminding and advising and wanting the best for them.
In a context where the other 58 one anothering instructions are evident, admonishing well has a chance. And it’s vital if we’re to help one another grow, mature and be fruitful together.
If we’re going to take collective responsibility for the holiness of the church, then we need to be sincere about our own discipleship, which will mean regularly dying to self. And we need a high bar on what we mean by Christian community, sharing lives and discipling one another, which will mean having difficult conversations with one another from time to time.
As well as understanding these phases, it’s also important to understand the focus of church discipline if we’re to do it well.
Throughout his teaching, Jesus’ objective is for the person to listen and be won over. We’re not aiming to win an argument but to win a person. It’s vital, therefore, that we do all we can to help them receive and respond, to repent and be restored.
The desire would be for all issues to be resolved within Phase 1 or 2, without any involvement of elders let alone apostles. This again highlights how holiness is a church-wide responsibility. As we explain in Membership Courses, being a part of Everyday Church means being prepared to give and receive admonishment regarding sinful behaviour that has been witnessed.
Four areas
Our passage in 1 Corinthians 5 also highlights four areas of focus:
1. Sorrow
Shouldn’t you rather have gone into mourning. (verse 2)
There’s an appropriate sadness with having to deal with blatant, wilful, unrepentant sin in the church.
I’ve just finished reading the book of Ezra in the Bible, and was struck by how the news of sexual sin among the Israelite exiles returning to Jerusalem affected him (in Ezra 10:1-2). We’re told he wept and threw himself down before the house of God, prompting others to join him in weeping bitterly.
For us, I think that means that whether at Phase 1 or Phase 4, we progress in an attitude of prayer and fasting. We’re going to need the Holy Spirit, his wisdom and grace, if we’re going to handle our part well.
2. Sanctification
Hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord. (verse 5).
Paul echoes Jesus’ heart for restoration.
Not only is the Gospel the means to paying the penalty for your sin once and for all, but it’s also the means for dismantling the power of your sinful tendencies day by day.
This is Paul’s hope for the man caught in incest, when he recommends going to Phase 4, “for the destruction of the fresh”. By ‘flesh’ he means the sinful tendencies that we still live with us Christians this side of glory, but which can be overcome in Christ.
3. Separation
You must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. (verse 11)
Jesus’ instruction for Phase 4 was to treat the sinful brother or sister as like a pagan or a tax collector, in other words like an unbeliever.
Paul’s application of this in the church age is, therefore, for some sort of separation between the unrepentant professing Christian and the church, expressed in various ways: put out of fellowship, hand over to Satan, expel, do not associate, do not eat (possibly referring to communion). However it’s worded, they’re clearly now on the outside rather than the inside of church life.
If it gets to this, perhaps it’s evident that they weren’t saved in the first place, which is not ours to judge, and explains why Paul refers to those “who claim to be a brother or sister” but don’t act like one (in verse 11).
But remember how Jesus treated so called “sinners”, including prostitutes and tax collectors. He befriended, loved, and spent time with them when others wouldn’t. Why, because the Gospel is for them!
So, our separation isn’t to ostracise them, but to expose them again to the Gospel of grace, confident that it can continue to transform them.
4. Spirit
So when you are assembled and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present. (verse 4).
As already mentioned, we need the Holy Spirit’s presence, wisdom, and direction throughout this process.
In the rare occasions that it gets to Phase 4, and thankfully it is rare in my experience, our precise measures and timings need to be Spirit-led and probably still staggered.
For example, it might mean asking them to stop serving, or not take communion, or come on Sundays but not to a Life Group, to asking them to resign from membership, or not come on Sundays either. None of these will be taken lightly, and each can be reversed when an ongoing dialogue response is made.
Conclusion
Hopefully, this passage has helped you to see that holiness is a whole church responsibility:
1. Let’s recognise the destructiveness of unchecked sin - including our own pride.
2. Let’s each contribute to a culture of sincerity and truth - in our personal discipleship and in a holistic one anothering
3. Let’s apply the phases and focus of church discipline - by admonishing to restore
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