1 Corinthians 5:6-13
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.
Paul says that we are "not to associate with sexually immoral people" (verse 9), but he goes on to clarify that as referring to the sexually immoral people in the church. For if that referred to all the sexually immoral people in the world, we "would need to go out of the world" (verse 10). The fact is that we cannot escape all interactions with sinful people, as much as we might want to. But the body of believers should be a safe place of refuge, as well as a light to the rest of the world. When we bring unrepentant behaviors into that group, we weaken our witness and can be a temptation to other believers. Our sin can work like yeast or leaven that affects everything around it (verse 6), and spread throughout the church. Thus we need to guard the purity of the church and its members.
Lord, give us discernment about how to deal with sinful believers, and protect the church from the consequences of my own sins.
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.
Paul says that we are "not to associate with sexually immoral people" (verse 9), but he goes on to clarify that as referring to the sexually immoral people in the church. For if that referred to all the sexually immoral people in the world, we "would need to go out of the world" (verse 10). The fact is that we cannot escape all interactions with sinful people, as much as we might want to. But the body of believers should be a safe place of refuge, as well as a light to the rest of the world. When we bring unrepentant behaviors into that group, we weaken our witness and can be a temptation to other believers. Our sin can work like yeast or leaven that affects everything around it (verse 6), and spread throughout the church. Thus we need to guard the purity of the church and its members.
Lord, give us discernment about how to deal with sinful believers, and protect the church from the consequences of my own sins.