Sin in the Church

Memory Text

“Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies” (1 Corinthians 6:19, 20, NIV).

If you think your local church is problematic because the members cannot agree on what paint to use on the walls, read 1 Corinthians 5.

Last week, Paul dealt with disunity. For four chapters, he confronted quarrels, cliques, pride, and the tendency to build our Christian identity around human leaders.

But now it gets worse.

We are no longer talking about paint, programs, or personalities. We are talking about incest, sexual immorality, prostitution, lawsuits, marriage, and singleness.

The church in Corinth had big problems.

And yet, perhaps the most disturbing problem was not simply that sin was present in the church. The greater problem was that the church had become comfortable with it.

Numbed by Sin

1 Corinthians 5:1–2, NIV

“It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that even pagans do not tolerate: A man is sleeping with his father’s wife. And you are proud! Shouldn’t you rather have gone into mourning?”

The Greek word translated “sexual immorality” is porneia. It shares the same Greek root from which we get the closely related English word pornography.

But porneia is broader than pornography. It refers to sexual immorality in general—sexual behavior outside God’s design.

And what exactly was happening in Corinth?

A man was sleeping with “his father’s wife,” most probably his stepmother. This was directly forbidden in Leviticus 18:8. Jewish tradition also treated this offense with extreme seriousness:

“The following are stoned: he who commits incest with his mother, his father’s wife, or his daughter-in-law.”¹

Mind you, Corinth was not exactly known for moral purity. Yet Paul says that even the Gentiles did not normally tolerate something like this.

But wait. It gets worse.

“And you are proud!”

What?!

The man was living in sexual immorality, and the church was proud.

Proud of what? Paul does not tell us. Perhaps they were proud of being “loving” and tolerant. Perhaps the man was wealthy or influential. Perhaps they had misunderstood grace and Christian liberty.

We do not know.

But we know what they should have done.

They should have mourned. They should have disciplined the guy.

Sin had so numbed their consciences that what should have produced grief produced pride instead. That is one of the frightening things about sin. What shocks us today may become normal tomorrow. We see it repeatedly, tolerate it slowly, and eventually lose our ability to recognize it for what it is.

This is why the church must be careful not to call compromise “love.” Ellen White wrote, “Compassion for the erring should not degenerate into indulgence for transgression.”²

Biblical love does not humiliate the sinner.

But neither does it celebrate what destroys him.

Discipline That Seeks to Save

Paul then uses very strong words. He says that the man must be removed, judged, “delivered to Satan,” and put away from the fellowship.

That sounds harsh, doesn’t it?

But notice the purpose:

1 Corinthians 5:5, NKJV

“Deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.”

Did you catch that?

“That his spirit may be saved.”

Church discipline is not revenge. It is not designed merely to embarrass a person or show everyone that the church is right.

Its goal is restoration.

To “deliver such a one to Satan” means allowing the person to experience the consequences of the life he has chosen. He openly rejects the faith and practice of the church; therefore, he should no longer be allowed to pretend that he remains in good and regular standing.

This is done for the man.

But it is also done for the church.

Paul warns that “a little leaven leavens the whole lump” (1 Cor. 5:6). Open and unrepentant sin does not remain private. When it is tolerated, the standards of the whole community slowly change.

To be clear, church membership does not mean that we no longer struggle with temptation. Every member struggles.

The issue is not the presence of struggle.

The issue is the absence of repentance.

The church should be a safe place for struggling sinners. But it must never become a safe place for sin itself.

When the Sinner Returns

The story does not end with discipline.

In 2 Corinthians 2, Paul speaks about a disciplined person who had experienced sufficient sorrow. He writes:

“You ought rather to forgive and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one be swallowed up with too much sorrow. Therefore I urge you to reaffirm your love to him” (2 Corinthians 2:7, 8, NKJV).

Some believe this may be the same man. We cannot be certain.

But the principle is clear.

When a person refuses to repent, the church must not pretend that nothing is wrong. But when the sinner truly repents, the church must not continue punishing him as though grace were unavailable.

A church can be too lax before discipline and too harsh after repentance.

Paul says: forgive him. Comfort him. Reaffirm your love to him.

Beautiful, isn’t it?

Discipline has fulfilled its purpose when the sinner returns to Christ and is lovingly restored to the fellowship.

The Church Is Not Above the Law

In 1 Corinthians 6, Paul rebukes church members for taking ordinary disputes before secular courts. Surely, believers should possess enough wisdom and humility to settle personal, relational, and financial disagreements among themselves.

But this passage must never be used to hide crimes.

Abuse, violence, threats, exploitation, and other criminal matters belong before the proper civil authorities. Romans 13 teaches that government has a God-given role in restraining evil and administering justice.

So, what is the difference?

Personal disputes between believers may be resolved within the church. Crimes must be reported to the government. Sometimes the church and civil authorities must both act.

The church does not protect its reputation by covering sin.

It protects its witness by doing what is right.

You Are Not Your Own

Paul’s answer to sexual immorality is not merely, “Try harder.”

His answer is identity.

1 Corinthians 6:11, NKJV

“And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified.”

“Such were some of you.”

There is hope in that sentence.

Our past may describe where Christ found us, but it does not have to define where Christ is taking us.

Paul says that we are members of Christ, joined to the Lord, and temples of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, Christian sexuality begins with this truth:

“You are not your own.”

The world says, “My body, my choice.”

Paul says, “Your body belongs to Christ.”

We were bought at a price. Therefore, what we do with our bodies matters.

Flee—But Run to Christ

“Flee sexual immorality” (1 Corinthians 6:18, NKJV).

Joseph did not stay in the room to debate with temptation. He ran.

Sometimes, the most spiritual thing you can do is close the app, leave the room, end the conversation, establish a boundary, confess to a trusted Christian, and run.

But notice this: the command to flee sexual immorality is placed between being “joined to the Lord” in verse 17 and being “the temple of the Holy Spirit” in verse 19.

We do not merely flee from sexual immorality.

We flee to Christ.

Marriage and singleness are both conditions in which a Christian may honor God. Neither automatically makes a person holy. Holiness comes from a life surrendered to Christ and indwelt by the Holy Spirit.

Conclusion

The church is a hospital for sinners. But a faithful hospital does not rename sickness as health.

Truth without love becomes cruelty.

Love without truth becomes indulgence.

But in Christ, truth and love meet.

Jesus does not excuse sin, because sin destroys the people He loves. But He does not abandon sinners either. He confronts, forgives, cleanses, and restores.

So, yes, the church must practice discipline.

But always remember why.

For the church.

For the sinner.

And ultimately, for the glory of Christ.

Discussion Questions

1. How can repeated exposure to sin numb the conscience of an individual or a church?
2. What is the difference between loving a sinner and tolerating unrepentant sin?
3. How can the church practice discipline without becoming harsh, selective, or humiliating?
4. Why must criminal conduct be reported to civil authorities?
5. What practical steps can help us flee sexual immorality and run to Christ?

Endnotes

1. Mishnah Sanhedrin 7.4, Soncino ed. of the Talmud, 359.
2. Ellen G. White, “The Church the Light of the World,” Review and Herald, December 20, 1881.