Church discipline (chap. 5 & 6)
The church at Corinth was not only a divided church having different groups, it was also an undisciplined and disgraced church. There was a terrible sin in the assembly and although the members knew about it,they were ignorant of it.
For that matter no church is perfect, but human imperfection must never be an excuse for sin. Just as parents must discipline their children in love, so local churches must exercise discipline over the members of the assembly. Church discipline committee is not a group of pious policemen out to catch a criminal. Rather, it is a group of broken hearted brothers and sisters seeking to restore an erring member of the family.
Confronting the immorality of the church: (chap.5):
The previous chapter-4 Paul dealt the mental problems of the Church as the Church members were divided with different groups of founders. In this chapter-5, Paul is dealing with their moral problems. The church should not act as a moral policemen to catch the culprit, but should make the culprit and the church realise the importance of keeping sanctity of the souls and the church which is body of Christ. If the sin is confronted, it can have far reaching consequences and paralyze the church. The correction should not be vengeful but must be dealt in such way that it bring a healing to the offender. We can see 3-benefits if the immorality is confronted in any church:
For Benefit to the offender: (5:1-5):
There was a specific flagrant sin the church which the Corinthians have failed to deal with. There was a man having immoral affair with his mother or step-mother and the church members were ignoring the situation. Paul says that the Corinthians had the responsibility to deal this sin. The woman was apparently not a part of the church family otherwise Paul would have spoken about her as well. The church seemed to be puffed up and boasting about their liberal attitudes, Paul says that they should instead be filled with grief, mourn over and try to remove their sin from their fellowship. ‘Mourning’ in Greek is used to mourn over the death. Pauls says: although he was physically away from the church, he was always with them in spirit which means that he was always praying for them that they should continue to grow matured and lead an exemplary life.
Paul passes on the judgement saying “hand him over to Satan” does not mean to send him to hell, for no church can do that. The church must immediately disassociate with that man and dismiss him from the fellowship so that he must live in the world, which is controlled by Satan (Jn.12:31; Col. 1:13). The purpose of such discipline is not to lose a member, but rather to bring the sinner to the place of repentance that he might be saved from loss of reward on the day of judgement. God tells us not to judge others, but He also tells us not to tolerate flagrant sin because leaving such a sin undisciplined would have a dangerous repercussions in the church.
The discipline was to be handled by the church collectively, and not by the leaders alone.Since the matter was known publicly, so it had to be dealt with publicly. If the man refused to repent, he must be dismissed from fellowship. It is sad to say that now-days Church discipline is a forgotten ministry in many churches. Yet, if we really love one another, and if the pastor really loves his flock, he will see to it that wandering ones are warned and disciplined for their own good.
For the benefit of the Church: (5:6-8):
It is foolish for a church to say it is “open-minded” and willing to accept any and all members, no matter how they live! Would you open the door of your home to all who want to enter? Then why should we allow any and all who want to enter to come into the fellowship of the church? Corinthians did not realize that public flagrant sin to exist in the church affects all its members.
Paul used the Passover supper to illustrate his point (Ex.12:15 ff). Leaven to the Jews was always been a symbol of sin and corruption. So before Passover, they always scoured their houses to remove all traces of leaven. Christians must have the same attitude. We dare not allow the yeast of sin to grow quietly in the church and produce trouble and shame. Christ died for us, not to make us like the world, but to make us like Him. “Be holy for I am holy” (1 Pet.1:16). But it does mean that each church member must see to it that the leaven of sin is not growing in his or her life. And, if sin becomes known, the leaders must take steps to protect the spiritual welfare of the church. Paul does not expect anyone to be sinless because all believers struggle with sin daily. Instead he is speaking against those who deliberately sin, feel no guilt and refuse to repent. There are several kinds of Christians that we are warned about in the Bible, who should not be permitted fellowship in the local church. The church must ensure that such members do not take membership in our church. They are those:
- Who cannot settle personal differences (Matt.18:15-17)
- Who are notorious for being a flagrant sinner (1 Cor. 5:9-11)
- Who hold false doctrine (1Tim. 1:18-20; 2 Tim. 2:17-18)
- Who cause divisions(Titus 3:10-11)
- Who refuse to work for a living (2 Thess. 3:6-12).