Start Here

Digging Deeper – Dealing with Unrepentant Sin in Christ’s Church

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Pinterest
Email

Digging Deeper 

LISTEN TO THE SERMON

This blog post contains notes and application questions from our message, Dealing with Unrepentant Sin in Christ’s Church.

SUMMARY OF THE SERMON

James preached from 1 Corinthians 5:1-13. From his message, we see:

Rules – Paul speaks to a widely known problem that was happening in the church, and he gave them a procedure that must be followed to deal with the issue. (1 Corinthians 5:1-5)

  • Problem (1 Corinthians 5:1-2)
    • Act – There was sexual immorality in the church. It was flagrant. It was ongoing. It was unrepentant.
    • Attitude – There was indifference in the church over this flagrant act of sin. There was no mourning. There was a complacency.
  • Procedure (1 Corinthians 5:3-5)
    • Authority – The Apostle Paul acting in the name of and under the power of the Lord Jesus Christ pronounced judgment on this unrepentant man.
    • Action required – The church acting in the name of and power of the Lord Jesus Christ was to
      • Assemble together
      • Deliver this man to Satan (remove him from the fellowship of the church and send him to the world, the realm of Satan) for the destruction of his flesh (this could be the sinful nature, or this could be physical).
      • This procedure is prayerfully going to result in the man’s willingness to repent and leave a life of sin and move on to holiness. However, if he does not, it removes a malignancy from the church and sends a clear message that unrepentant sin is so serious that it must be dealt with strongly

Reasons – Paul uses the Old Testament image of leaven and the Passover as a metaphor for dealing with this problem of unrepentant sin in the church. (1 Corinthians 5:6-8)

  • Cleanse the church (1 Corinthians 5:6) – Paul used the image of leaven (which was a type of yeast that was used in baking). The leaven would spread through a lump of dough until it permeated every area.
    • During the Jewish people’s enslavement in Egypt, God sent Moses to lead them out of bondage. A series of plagues were given by God to urge Pharaoh to let God’s people go. The Pharaoh would not relent.
    • On the night of the final judgment (the death of the firstborn) the Jews were to purge all of the leaven from their homes and make unleavened bread (Leviticus 23:6-8) and kill a lamb and put its blood on the doorpost (Exodus 12:6-7). The angel of death would pass over any house that had this sign on the doorpost.
    • Leaven was a metaphor for sin. As Israel had been set free from bondage in Egypt by the blood of the lamb, those of you who are in Christ, have been set free from the enslavement to sin by the precious blood of the Lamb (Romans 6:17-18).
    • Leaven was a metaphor of hypocrisy (Matthew 16:5-12; Matthew 23)
    • Leaven was a metaphor for disobedience and rebellion (Galatians 5:7-10)
  • Continue under the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 5:7)
    • The Israelite were to celebrate the the Festival of Passover yearly (the Passover – Leviticus 23:5, the Feast of Unleavened Bread – Leviticus 23:6-8, and the Feast of Firstfruits – Leviticus 23:9-14).
    • You are to continue under the person and work of your Passover Lamb, the Lord Jesus Christ. You are to do that daily not simply yearly.
    • Remember who you are. You are a new creation. You are a child of God. You are forgiven. You are free from sin.
  • Celebrate your salvation. (1 Corinthians 5:8) Worship is a great deterrent to sin. In fact, you cannot correctly worship and at the same time be desiring to sin.

Relationships – Paul seeks to correct a misunderstanding the church had about how to associate with those who are involved in unrepentant sin. (1 Corinthians 5:9-13)

  • Relationships with those who are unbelievers. (1 Corinthians 5:9-11) You are to look for opportunities to proclaim the gospel. But more importantly, you are to demonstrate the gospel in the way you live. You are to be in the world but not acting like the world.
  • Relationship with those who are in unrepentant sin but are professed believers. (1 Corinthians 5:12-13) You are to proclaim the gospel. You are to demonstrate the gospel. You are to hold each other accountable for we are a family. You are to encourage holiness of life.

Key Takeaways:

  • “The world is waiting to see such a church that takes sin so seriously, which enjoys forgiveness so completely, which in its gatherings has an awesome sense of God’s immediate presence to bless, shape and transform people, and loves and involves itself with the people of this world in costly compassionate service.”

BRINGING IT HOME: (REFLECT, REQUEST, RESPOND)

REFLECT: QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION AND DISCUSSION

  1. Paul as the Corinthian church’s spiritual father sought to admonish them, teach them, set an example for them and even to, if necessary, discipline them. Which of these is more difficult for you to do in your relationships with others?
  2. Read 1 Corinthians 5:1-2. Describe the problem as Paul defines it?
  3. Read 1 Corinthians 5:1-2. What was the Corinthians response to the problem? How did Paul say that they should respond instead?
  4. Read 1 Corinthians 5:3-5. This passage describes the procedure the church was to employ in this situation. What was the apostle’s judgment and what was the church’s decision to be in this matter?
  5. How is leaven defined? Consider looking up the word at https://biblehub.com/topical/l/leaven.htm and write down what you learn from your study.
  6. How does celebrating Christ in worship help to deal with sin in our lives?
  7. Read 1 Corinthians 5:9-13. Based on this passage, what is the difference in how we are to respond to non-believers in the world and believers in unrepentant sin?

REQUEST: PRAYER AND PRAISE

  • Ask God to help you to be more Cross-centered in your life
  • Confess and repent of any sins that are in your thoughts, words or actions that are connected to habitual sin patterns in your life.
  • Ask for the Holy Spirit to help you leave a life of habitual sin and bask in the forgiveness and freedom of cross of Christ.

RESPOND: APPLYING WHAT YOU HAVE LEARNED

  • How can you love God more through what you have learned? (read, study, meditate, memorize, share)
  • How can you love others more through what you have learned?

ADDITIONAL RECOMMENDED RESOURCES

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Pinterest
Email

Related

Facebook Twitter Youtube

Get Updates

Gratitude journal

When was the last time someone said thank you to you? When was the last time you said thank you to someone else? So many people today struggle with a lack of thankfulness and ingratitude. This leads to struggles with complaining, criticizing, and comparing. Gratitude and thankfulness provide a powerful remedy for these problems. This gratitude journal helps us to identify what we should be grateful for and what we do as a result of seeing life as a gift.

God's grace prayer journal

Do you struggle with applying the truth that you learn during your study of God’s word? This God’s grace prayer journal will allow you to focus on gratitude and live in contentment in life. The journal pages encourage you to observe what you are learning from the Bible text, evaluate how you have failed to live according to the truths stated, seek forgiveness, and develop godly plans for change.

Giving hope

Do you struggle with the lack of hope? Do you find yourself struggling with doubt and insecurity during times of great challenge? During those times, you need to find your rest and assurance in pondering, personalizing, praying, and practicing what God’s Word says. In the short devotional, spend time meditating and studying each of these passages. Write down whatever comes to mind in the spaces below. And let God speak to you.

Discovering Godly patterns

One of the keys to growing in Christlikeness in our lives is to unearth and discover, and biblically evaluate our thinking patterns, speaking, and acting. This worksheet will help you be honest and specific about areas in your life that are not meeting biblical standards in thinking, speaking, and acting.

Counseling review journal

The God who began a good work in you will continue it through your lifetime and will finish it when we meet him face-to-face. God works for us, and God works in us. He enables us to become more like Christ every single day. This work is progressive and continual in this life. This worksheet helps us review and evaluate gains made during counseling and discipleship, show gratitude to God for what he has done, and develop plans for future growth and change.

Conflict review worksheet

There probably is not a day that goes by that we do not have some level of conflict with others. This worksheet helps us focus on the problem and not the person. It helps us evaluate how we have handled a dispute and how we should deal with it moving forward.

Bible study notes sheet

Do you ever struggle with doing a Bible study or journaling the key ideas from your reading? This Bible Study Note Sheet will encourage you to ponder and meditate on Scripture. Also, God’s Word is meant for you, so this worksheet will help you personalize what you are learning. It will also guide you in learning to pray God’s Word, and finally, it will encourage you to put into practice the principles and promises you find in reading the Word of God.

Anger journal

Anger is a significant issue for so many people. People often stuff or spew their anger, but very few learn to study their anger. This journal assignment will help you to do just that. It will help you understand, evaluate, and respond to your anger in better ways.

4 Steps to rethinking a problem

Do you ever find yourself getting overwhelmed with problems? Do you find yourself struggling with thinking clearly during a challenging situation? This four-step approach to rethinking a problem will help.

4P problem-solving approach worksheet

Problems can seem overwhelming. When we are in the midst of a significant crisis, many of us struggle with defining the problem and implementing helpful solutions. This worksheet helps us to identify three unbiblical and unproductive ways of handling problems. It also encourages us to destroy problems, not people, as we deal with issues in a biblical and God-honoring way.