Notes on 1 Corinthians 5

1 It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father's wife.
2 And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you.
3 For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, concerning him that hath so done this deed,
4 In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ,
5 To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.
6 Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?

Some churches today still interpret tolerance of sin as an evidence of Christian love. A prime example, though by no means the only instance, is the acceptance by some liberal denominations of homosexual clergy, up to and including the level of bishop. The Bible indicates quite clearly that friendship with the world is enmity with God (James 4:4 Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.). The idea seems to be that if we somehow find that toleration of sin is consistent with Scripture, we'll attract more people from the world into our ranks. That cheapens and corrupts the church into little more than another social organization.

Another issue here is keeping the local church pure. The idea of removing someone from membership is anathema to most churches now; only a few fundamental denominations still practice it, though it's clearly sound scriptural practice. This does not mean the person is now, once more, a lost sinner, assuming they were saved to begin with. It does mean that they are removed from the fellowship of the church while they persist in engaging in open sin.

There is no such thing as a little tolerance for sin. Once an exception is made, as with the Corinthian church here, the stain of sin will spread through the whole congregation. That's true of denominations as well. The evidence is all too clear and abundant.

7 Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:
8 Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
9 I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators:
10 Yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world.
11 But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat.
12 For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within?
13 But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person.

The parable of the wheat and tares indicates that removal of the tares, the result of bad seed, is not possible until the judgment, but this is speaking of the world as a whole. While it is probably impossible to keep all wolves in sheep's clothing out of the church, we certainly should not tolerate professing Christians in our midst who continue, or begin, to indulge in habitual or heinous sin. There will always be sinners in church, because all of us are sinners, just saved or unsaved. If the unsaved are coming to church, we should hardly forbid them to come because they're still sinning, but as Christians there should be a different standard. As Paul indicates in his next letter to the Corinthians, though, removing someone from the local church doesn't mean rejecting them altogether; he or she should be given a chance to repent and be restored to fellowship.

We can't just leave the world altogether, Paul says. Though we certainly shouldn't seek the company of sinners, of any variety, we can't avoid them completely. We may well work with them, or associate with them professionally, or deal with them in a sore or other business. Rubbing elbows with them out in the world, though, doesn't mean we should tolerate in our midst practicing sinners who proclaim themselves to be Christians.

Paul makes an important distinction here between judging those in the world, and those within the church. This is not a blank check to pass judgment on our brethren in Christ, but it does afford the local congregation the authority to judge sin in the camp, and deal with it without fear of violating the command to "judge not, that ye be not judged." (Matthew 7:1). The problem is finding a balance between being just, and being self-righteous. If we're practicing some habitual sin ourselves, we could hardly expect to sit in judgment over someone else.

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