Click here to go to 1 Corinthians 5
Paul speaks strongly to the sin of a man within their church. And the fact that like a little yeast, a little sin can hurt the church. It is also important that Paul speaks to the fact the God will judge unbelievers but those within the church should judge those that are believers that are sinning. How often does that happen today? Probably not as often as it should... but it's tough stuff...
Have any of you seen this in action?
This is a subject that always saddens me. Rather than call out the believers guilty of sexual sin, the church usually turns a blind eye to it and says, "Well, at least they're in church..." But what does that do other than provide a bad example for the younger generation? So often we think of "the world" as some terrible force exerting its influence over us--which it does--but it's the examples they see close to home that really do
ReplyDeletethe damage to young believers, not those on television.
It's definitely tough--I know *I* don't feel confident in how to call someone out lovingly or, if they don't repent, put them out of the church. But Paul's glaringly clear here that it's exactly what we need to do, lest the whole church suffer.
1 Corinthians 5
ReplyDelete6b Don’t you know that a little yeast spreads through the whole batch of dough?
Yes, twice. The first time it was someone in the church who had been counseled privately, refused to turn away, then publicly from the pulpit explained and dismissed. The second time, it was a spiritual leader; wrote a letter which was read before the church, and did not return.
I choose to follow Jesus on this subject rather than Paul.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, everyone, I'm on vacation until July 9th, so I'll only be popping in and out. Have a great 4th!