Read 1 Corinthians 5:1-5
- Seems kind of harsh to me. What right does Paul have to judge this person?
- Shouldn’t a church help those who fall out of the way?
- In Christianity today, have we become unable to tell the difference between Christian freedom and scandalous behavior?
- Verses 6-8: “The whole Christian life, from this point of view, becomes one long Passover-celebration!” – Tom Wright.
- Verses 9-13: Paul says that we should associate with non-believers and those who are not following the same practices as us. Why? Because we would have to form a space colony to make sure that we were free from their influence. However, what does he say about the immoral believer?
- Verses 1-6: Think about if you had a car and took it to a mechanic shop. You like that mechanic shop and you think they do a good job. But one day you are on the other side of town and happen to peer into another mechanic shop. There you see your mechanic getting his car fixed in someone else’s business. Would you trust your mechanic shop if the workers themselves go somewhere else to get their cars fixed? Paul’s point here is that we should settle Christian disputes within the Christian community. Why go to someone who does not have the same morals and convictions and allow them to judge based upon man’s law? How would this mindset help the church today?
- Verses 7-8: In a Christian community there should be civilized ways to settle disputes and Christian love should win over selfish gain.
- Does this mean that we simply give up on people who are living this lifestyle? No, it actually should motivate us to work on them and bring them into the body of Christ.
- How does this stand in opposition to the mindset of many Christians today: I’m saved, so it doesn’t matter what I do, I’m forgiven?
- You can take some of this and almost make the statement that if we are having sex outside of marriage, if we are participating in sexual immorality, then we in fact are committing adultery against not only our future mate, but our present God.
- Paul notes that sexual sins hurt yourself. Murder hurts someone else, and their families, stealing hurts the one being stole from, but sexual impurity actually hurts the one participating in the actions.
- While the first two road blocks we talked about; loyalty and intellect, seem not to be a big deal and rather manageable, this road block is a big one. It has deterred many steady Christians. People who were on top of the world and were living righteously fall in a matter of seconds. Sexual immorality is far and wide. It comes in many forms: homosexual behavior, sex outside the bonds of marriage, looking at pornography, lusting after girls or boys at school or in movies.
- Anyone can find their ways around filters, anyone can get their hands on porn. You can find ways to be alone with him or her. We are sexual beings. The fact that you feel that way towards the opposite sex is natural and is a gift from God. However, it is to be used only with your future wife or husband and to bring glory to God.
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