How Do We Deal With Sin In The Church?
Goof Morning Friends,
There is a difference between church growth and church health. And the distinction comes to roost in the church when we make allowances for sin and especially sins involving sex. The problem is that we were created as creatures with a sexuality and science tells us that there are more varieties than we might at first think. So, our culture is a bit crazy when it comes to treating people as human beings as if they have no sex. And this is especially relevant for people put in leadership positions in the church, for if they abuse their power the results are severe. This is messy territory. We are instructed not to weed out people but to wait for the harvest in one scripture and here today we are told to clean out the yeast. So, on this day of Atonement…the Jewish new year. Just How Do We Deal With Sin In The Church?
Scripture: It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not found even among pagans; for a man is living with his father’s wife. And you are arrogant! Should you not rather have mourned, so that he who has done this would have been removed from among you? For though absent in body, I am present in spirit; and as if present I have already pronounced judgment in the name of the Lord Jesus on the man who has done such a thing. When you are assembled, and my spirit is present with the power of our Lord Jesus, you are to hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord. Your boasting is not a good thing. Do you not know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough? Clean out the old yeast so that you may be a new batch, as you really are unleavened. For our paschal lamb, Christ, has been sacrificed. Therefore, let us celebrate the festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
1 Corinthians 5:1-8 (NRSV)
On another sabbath he entered the synagogue and taught, and there was a man there whose right hand was withered. The scribes and the Pharisees watched him to see whether he would cure on the sabbath, so that they might find an accusation against him. Even though he knew what they were thinking, he said to the man who had the withered hand, “Come and stand here.” He got up and stood there. Then Jesus said to them, “I ask you, is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the sabbath, to save life or to destroy it?” After looking around at all of them, he said to him, “Stretch out your hand.” He did so, and his hand was restored. But they were filled with fury and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.
Luke 6:6-11 (NRSV)
Message: The issue in today’s scripture is in the news and the problem has not changed much over the centuries. Perhaps the abuses have been reduced…perhaps we have made little real progress…perhaps we are on the verge of a breakthrough. In 1 Corinthians 5, Paul severely admonishes the church for its failure to discipline an erring brother. And it is clearer than ever that the problem should not be suppressed. The thing is that sometimes the individual is guilty, but repentant. Sometime the person is innocent and sometimes the person is guilty and not repentant. Correction and discipline are certainly not topics anyone delights in discussing much less having to carry them out. The problem in Corinth was however a bit clearer cut. Paul had undoubtedly known of the incest of the Pharaohs and the results. So, there is a very practical concern. People thought that they could be immoral, and it not influence their soul and their relationships with others. History and good logic knew better. So as Christians we must be ready and willing to practice discipline when necessary, but we do not have to go on witch hunts. You see Church discipline is practiced every day in the Lord’s Church without most of us knowing that it is happening and that is the way Christ meant for it to take place. The goal however must be focused on restoration whenever possible and that is not easy to stomach given the arrogance of past abusers. The goal though is for people to realize that the body and the spirit cannot be separated. That is why Paul in his letter to the Corinthians condemns open immorality especially when church leaders are bragging about it. The problem is not properly expressed sexuality. The evil of sexual sins is their negative effect on others. Therefor we are to reject the dualistic partitioning of humans into body and soul. What the Corinthians needed to realize is that one is what one does. The body and the spirit are inseparable and moreover the body is the Temple of the Holy Spirit. Shame on leaders who abuse this for they are not fit to lead.
Pray we atone for our sins. Pray we pray hard for our leaders. Pray we realize that every Christian is susceptible to sin. Pray we are accountable for each other. Pray we realize that sometimes love must be tough. Pray we avoid sin without ruining relationships. Pray we realize that Christ’s plan for discipline is for restoration but not necessarily restoration to positions of power. Pray we break down barriers that separate people’s poor behavior from accountability. Pray we realize that there are natural consequences to arrogant immorality in the church…in the community…in the country. Pray we not forsake Christ’s plan.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 