Bad Boy Brethren

1 Cor 5:1-5

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. KJV

When your sin is so bad that not even the other sinners want to hang out with you then you have really gone over the edge. There was every imaginable sin committed in Corinth, but still this was one thing no one did, not even the vilest of the Gentiles. Whether it was his actual mother or his step-mother some will debate, but either way it was an unheard of sin among the sinners. Even today if you really want to insult someone you accuse them of practicing maternal fornication.

These folks were Christians. We are not told if they were already practicing this sin before they were saved or after, but they freely moved among the church folks and activities. No one called them on it. They were perhaps tolerated under the flag of grace or love. This is what is prevalent today. We do not want to judge and we are under grace so we do not practice church discipline or shun those who are not walking circumspectly. We let preachers get away with abuse and heresy without saying anything because of a false concept or grace, love and judgment. This is why we are in such disrepute among the unbelieving culture. We should openly rebuke, shun and if possible remove such folks from public ministry. Since we tolerate it the world believes we condone it and share the labels and slurs they pour upon the church.

Notice in verse five that Paul turned them over to satan if need be to take their life while their soul is still saved. That is a great verse for eternal security, but it should be a sobering one for both the Church and the backsliding or rebellious child of God. He can take us home early in disgrace or shame if we have no desire to get right with Him to be a faithful witness of our salvation in our lifestyle.

If some were weak, sickly and dead because they did not practice the Lord's Supper with correct respect for its purpose how much more so would this couple and the others listed in verses 9-13 be in danger of an early departure from this life? We need to develop a more healthy fear of God than what we have. We have gotten into a form of sloppy agape even among Baptists. Thank God that we are saved by faith through grace and are eternally secure, but there is a possibility that we could show up in the throne room much earlier than we should have and be saved by fire.

We will get better at understanding and practicing exclusion as we practice the previous points. Doing so will bring us to the next phase of spiritual growth.