Tuesday, August 14,
2012, 5:32 a.m. – The Lord woke me with the song “A Believer’s Prayer” playing in my mind. Speak, Lord, for your
servant is listening. I read 1
Corinthians 5 (NIV 1984):
It is actually
reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that does not
occur even among pagans: A man has his father’s wife. And you are proud!
Shouldn’t you rather have been filled with grief and have put out of your
fellowship the man who did this? Even though I am not physically present, I am
with you in spirit. And I have already passed judgment on the one who did this,
just as if I were present. When you are assembled in the name of our Lord Jesus
and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present, hand
this man over to Satan, so that the sinful nature may be destroyed and his
spirit saved on the day of the Lord.
Your boasting is not
good. Don’t you know that a little yeast works through the whole batch of
dough? Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast—as
you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Therefore
let us keep the Festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and
wickedness, but with bread without yeast, the bread of sincerity and truth.
I have written you in
my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— not at all meaning the
people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or
idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. But now I am
writing you that you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother
but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or a
swindler. With such a man do not even eat.
What business is it of
mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God
will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked man from among you.”
It is
Reported
Paul,
evidently, received a report that sexual immorality was being allowed to go on
within the church in Corinth unchecked. A man had his father’s wife. The
implication was that this was an incestuous relationship, as well as it was a
sexually immoral relationship. The man was involved in consistent and
unrepentant sin – a kind of sin that did not occur even among the pagans of
that time period. And, the church was proud.
It
is doubtful that the church was proud of the man’s sin, but rather that they
were proud of their religious liberties or they were proud of their local
fellowship or proud of their faith in Christ, and perhaps they distorted God’s
grace in their pride. Whatever the reason for their pride, the picture is
clear. Their pride overshadowed their consciences with regard to this man’s
particular sin. They should have been filled with grief over this man’s sin to
the point of confronting him with his sin, requiring repentance, and then if he
refused, to put him out of their fellowship as a means of discipline and
correction, in the hope that he would come to his senses, that he would repent
of his sin, and so he could be brought back into right relationship with God
and with the family of God.
This
situation in the Corinthian church describes much of what I see in the church
in America overall. I have witnessed a cultic teaching sweeping across
evangelical Christianity in America that waters down the gospel message, that
teaches that repentance and obedience to Christ are not necessary for
salvation, and that God is pleased with us no matter what we do, suggesting
that God is pleased with us even when we sin. This is a distortion of God’s
grace that has swept evangelical Christianity in America, and that has numbed
or dumbed down our consciences to where we are being taught that it is wrong to
confront fellow believers who are living in sinful and willful rebellion
against God and his commandments. So, blatant and willful rebellion against God’s
commands is being allowed to go on within today’s church unchecked and the
church is proud of their grace and love.
Yeast and
Dough
The
church in Corinth was charged by Paul, not only with pride, but with failure to
act appropriately to help this man to be free of this sin, for his sake, as
well as for the sake of the family of God. He was to be expelled if he was
unwilling to repent of his sin. I believe the scriptures teach the biblical
model of first of all confronting the person with his or her sin, giving him,
or her, the opportunity to repent, and then if he, or she refuses, church
discipline must be exercised. The church must act when they learn of a
congregant (professing Christian) involved in willful and unrepentant sin, but
especially of the kind that works its way through the congregation as yeast
works its way through a batch of dough.
Evidently,
as is exemplified for us in the prohibition of leaven (yeast) in the bread
eaten at the Passover Feast, and the Passover symbolizing our salvation from
sin via the blood of Jesus Christ shed for us on the cross, yeast (or leaven)
is a symbol of evil or sin. The “Old Yeast” is thus symbolic of our old lives
of sin that must be done away with, and that Christ did away with on the cross.
Yet, because of what Christ did for us on the cross, we are to daily die to our
old lives of sin and to follow Christ in obedience and surrender to his will,
and to his purposes for our lives. Just because we are in Christ through faith
does not mean we are free to continue in sin. To the contrary! We died to sin.
How can we live in it any longer? Daily we must come to the cross, confessing
our sin, and choosing to follow Christ Jesus in obedience, or that yeast of sin
may work its way back into our lives.
When
we make bread, or pizza dough, which we did at our house yesterday, we insert
yeast into the flour mixture. It works its way through the dough and causes the
dough to expand and to increase in size. Unchecked sin within the church works
the same way. It works its way through the body of Christ and expands and grows
and soon the whole congregation is affected by the sin in one way or another,
but in particular in their witness for Christ. If the sin goes unchecked, which
I believe it does in most congregations today, it gives off the impression to
the rest of the body that we don’t have to take sin all that seriously or that
God’s grace covers it all, so it doesn’t really matter. But, it does matter to
God. Big Time!
With
regard to the keeping of the festival, this is not speaking literally of
continuing the practice of this celebration of the Passover Feast, but is
speaking metaphorically or from a spiritual standpoint rather than a physical
application. The keeping of the festival, thus, has to do with continuing to
rid our lives and the life of the church of the old yeast of sin, and living in
holy dedication to God in purity and in his righteousness at work within us.
And, this must be done with sincerity and in truth, i.e. we can’t fake it. If
we are going to take on the name Christian and say we are followers of Jesus
Christ, then we need to behave like we are his followers. We can’t continue in
willful sin and have fellowship and communion with Christ and with his body,
the true church.
Our Associations
Paul
said he had written them previously on the subject of not associating with
sexually immoral people. Then, he clarified for them what he meant. He did not
intend that they cut off all associations of any kind with immoral non-believers.
Otherwise they would have to leave this world or isolate themselves entirely
from all people, which is impossible. No, he meant we should not have Christian
fellowship with professing Christians if we know they are living sexually
immoral lives or if their lifestyles are exemplified by greediness, idolatry,
slander, drunkenness or swindling (cheating; dishonesty; deceitfulness or
treachery). The church is not to engage itself in fellowship over a meal with
such people. Wow! If the church truly began to practice this today, I believe
revival would begin to break out. Oh, how sad that the church has embraced
today’s culture and often winks at sin in its congregants.
Yet,
lest we get the impression here that it is ok to have close associations with
non-believers who live immoral lifestyles, Paul refutes that notion in 2
Corinthians 6 when he teaches that we should not be yoked (partnered) together
with unbelievers. We should not have close friendships with, should not enter
into marriage with, and should not go into partnership in a business adventure,
etc., with unbelievers. The reason is basic and simple. We who are in Christ
have been clothed with Christ and have put on his righteousness and holiness. Righteousness
and wickedness have nothing in common.
This
does not mean all unbelievers are wicked people in the sense of going out and
committing horrific crimes or that they are living immoral lifestyles, but the
wickedness here must be understood in the context of our sin nature. If an
unbeliever has not the Holy Spirit within him or the conscience that a believer
should have with regard to what God has called sin, then close associations
with unbelievers by their very nature can either lead us back into sin or may certainly
conflict with our walks with the Lord, because there is not the common bond of
Christ between us and unbelievers, or between us and many professing Christians
who are living immoral lifestyles or who are given over to willful sin and
rebellion.
Our
Response
If
we are aware that a brother or sister in Christ is living in willful sin and
rebellion against God and his commandments, we, who are in a right relationship
with God, should go to that person with the goal of restoring that individual
back to a right relationship with God. If we see that sinful lifestyles are
going on unchecked within the local congregation, I believe we have a Biblical
mandate to confront that situation, as modeled for us in scripture. If more
Christians were willing to speak the truth in love to their brothers and
sisters in Christ about sin and to hold each other accountable, I believe this
would shake up the church and we would see the beginnings of revival in today’s
worldly congregations.
Yet,
we must first of all examine our own hearts and minds to make sure we have not
been affected by the old yeast of sin working its way through the whole batch
of dough, i.e. through the body of Christ, and that we have not been dumbed
down in our own consciences with regard to sin, thinking that now that we are
under grace that it doesn’t matter if we sin. It does matter to God! We need to
examine our own lifestyles before God, praying for him to reveal areas of our
lives that are sinful and not pleasing to him, and we must repent of all sin
and choose to walk in fellowship and obedience to our Lord from this day
forward.
Then,
we must examine all our associations and relationships before God in prayer,
asking him which relationships fall into either this category of being yoked
together with unbelievers or into this category of professing Christians living
sinful lifestyles, and ask for his wisdom and guidance in how to break off
these relationships. Obviously we are not to divorce a husband or wife who is
an unbeliever if we are already in a marriage relationship, but there may be
relationships we can and should cut out of our lives. Corporately the true
church should act in dealing with sin within the church and should remove
offending parties from the fellowship of believers if they refuse correction
and choose not to repent.
A
Believer’s Prayer / An Original Work / July 31, 2012
With my
whole heart,
Lord, I
pray to be Yours,
And Yours
always.
Lead me
in Your truth today.
May I
love You, and obey.
Lead me
in Your righteousness.
When I
sin, may I confess;
Bow
before You when I pray;
Live for
You and You always.
Love You,
Jesus,
You’re my
friend.
Life with
You will never end.
You are
with me through each day,
Giving
love and peace always.
You will
ne’er abandon me.
From my
sin You set me free.
You died
on that cruel tree,
So I’d
live eternally.
Soon
You’re coming back for me;
From this
world to set me free;
Live with
You eternally.
Oh, what
joy that brings to me.
I will
walk with You in white;
A pure
bride,
I’ve been
made right
By the
blood of Jesus Christ;
Pardoned
by His sacrifice.
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