Daily Scripture Reading 1Corinthians 5:1 - 6:8

When non-Christians look at modern Christianity, they see people who don’t live and act any differently than those outside the church. Adultery, divorce, remarriage, pornography, fraud, and deception are widespread amongst Christians. Our church services are not sacred, they are just as shallow and trite as the offerings found in movie theaters and on television.

In today’s passage, we will learn that the church in Corinth had a similar problem. Paul’s rebuke and exhortation to the Corinthians can and should be applied to Christianity in the 21st century.

In the first four chapters of 1Corinthians, Paul exhorted the Christians in Corinth to stop thinking of themselves as being of Paul, or of Apollos, or of Cephas. Instead, they were all servants of Jesus Christ. In chapter 5 Paul turned to the topic of sexual immorality.

1Cor. 5:1 ¶ It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and sexual immorality of such a kind as does not exist even among the Gentiles, that someone has his father’s wife.

There are two things to note from this verse. First, the Corinthians had sexual immorality among them. Second, even worse is that the immorality was worse than that found outside the church.

Christians are human, so we are not perfect, so there will always be sin in the church. However, as Christians, we should at least be less sinful than the world. Unfortunately, the church in Corinth was not better than the culture in which they lived.

We have a similar problem today. Modern Christianity has become so sinful that when people outside the church look at Christians, they don’t see a good example of how to live the Christian life. Adultery, divorce, and sex outside of marriage are just as common amongst Christians and so-called Christians as they are amongst non-believers. Many pastors and churches are dishonest and deceitful. The services conducted on Sunday by many churches are worldly and indistinguishable from secular entertainment. When non-Christians look at modern churches, they do not see anything that is different than their empty, secular lifestyle.

1Cor. 5:2 And you have become puffed up and have not mourned instead, so that the one who had done this deed would be removed from your midst.

It was bad enough that a man had his father’s wife, but even worse was that the church allowed it. They should have removed the man from their midst, but they didn’t.

Part of the reason modern churches are so corrupt is because most Christians tolerate divorce, remarriage, adultery, sexual promiscuity, dishonesty, and worldliness.

1Cor. 5:3 ¶ For I, on my part, though absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged him who has so committed this, as though I were present:

1Cor. 5:4 in the name of our Lord Jesus, when you are assembled, and I with you in spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus,

1Cor. 5:5 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.

1Cor. 5:6 ¶ Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?

Just as a little leaven permeates the entire lump of dough, so too when a church tolerates a little bit of sin, eventually, sin will permeate the church. Several decades ago, Christians began tolerating divorce and remarriage, and now that and other sexual immorality is rampant within the church.

1Cor. 5:7 Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, also was sacrificed.

1Cor. 5:8 Therefore let us celebrate the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

1Cor. 5:9 ¶ I wrote you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people;

1Cor. 5:10 I did not at all mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the greedy and swindlers, or with idolaters, for then you would have to go out of the world.

1Cor. 5:11 But now I am writing to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he is a sexually immoral person, or greedy, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler—not even to eat with such a one.

Note that it isn’t just sexual immorality that is to be avoided. Christians should also shun greed, idolatry, drunkenness, and swindling.

1Cor. 5:12 For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Are you not to judge those who are within the church?

1Cor. 5:13 But those who are outside, God will judge. REMOVE THE WICKED MAN FROM AMONG YOURSELVES.

Many 21st century Christians have the false idea that unity trumps everything; therefore, they are reluctant to remove anyone from their midst. However, unity does not trump everything. Removing sin is more important than pretending to be unified.

1Cor. 6:1 ¶ Does any one of you, when he has a case against another, dare to be tried before the unrighteous and not before the saints?

1Cor. 6:2 Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? If the world is judged by you, are you not worthy to constitute the smallest law courts?

1Cor. 6:3 Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more matters of this life?

1Cor. 6:4 So if you have law courts dealing with matters of this life, do you appoint those who are of no account in the church as judges?

1Cor. 6:5 I say this to your shame. Is it really this way: there is not one wise man among you who will be able to pass judgment between his brothers?

This passage teaches us that Christians should not sue other Christians. That does not mean if a Christian is wronged by another Christian that he should just ignore it. Instead, verse 5 indicates that churches should have a mechanism for having a trial within the church to settle disputes among Christians.

1Cor. 6:6 On the contrary, brother is tried with brother, and that before unbelievers!

1Cor. 6:7 ¶ Actually, then, it is already a failure for you, that you have lawsuits with one another. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be defrauded?

It is okay for a wronged brother to ask the church to help in a dispute with another brother; however, being wronged and defrauded is better than taking your case before non-believers.

1Cor. 6:8 On the contrary, you yourselves wrong and defraud. You do this even to your brothers.

Christians should be an example of how people should live, we should be honest and fair in all our dealings, but the so-called believers in Corinth were wronging and defrauding their brothers.

Christians are human, so we are not perfect. There will always be sin inside the church. However, when non-Christians look at the church, they should see a group of people who live differently and more righteously than the world around them.

That is not happening today. Modern Christians are just as prone to sexual immorality and dishonesty as the culture we live in.

Who are some people within the church whose lifestyle is no different than those outside the church?

What needs to change within your church so that when non-Christians look at you and your fellow believers, they see something that is different than that of the world?

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“Scripture quotations taken from the (LSB®) Legacy Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2021 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org and 316publishing.com.”