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Pastor, I Charge You to Demonstrate God’s Mercy
1 Corinthians 5:1-13
Today, we receive a new minister. He’s God’s servant and steward of the mysteries of God. He preaches the Word and we’ve vowed to receive it from his lips, not as the word of man, but truly as the Word of God when faithfully delivered. He shows God’s mercy by preaching the gospel. Those who repent and believe have everlasting life. He also preaches holiness - that God sanctifies sinners. Why? So we’d continue in repentance and faith, to remain holy and joyful in Christ. That’s why we receive the visual gospel from him in the supper. To know that though we sin, Christ receives us when we repent. Our Lord’s Supper forms remind us of that - “if we are heartily sorry for our many sins and desire to grow in obedience, we are worthy partakers of this heavenly food and drink.” Faith and repentance - that’s the gospel.
But what happens if there’s no repentance? Some will hate the mercy preached. They love their sins. In church, hypocrites - meaning, fake believers - do not receive the Word unto repentance. And sometimes, true believers seduced by the power of sin, also resist the Word. So by church discipline they’re corrected to repent. But when there’s no repentance, they’re removed from God’s kingdom. Why? Christians repent. Unbelievers don’t repent. It’s mercy to preach the gospel, and it’s mercy to restore a brother. In the forms today, we read that the minister and elders shall supervise the doctrine and life of the membership. That’s also an act of mercy. So today’s message is a charge to our new pastor from the Word; but it’s also a charge to the church. We’ll explore this passage in three proposition. Firstly, Pastor, know that open sin is common in church. Secondly, teach and do what must be done. Thirdly, aim for the good of God’s people.
Firstly, Pastor, know that open sin is common in church. In our study of 1 Corinthians, we learn they were facing problems. There were divisions because of human wisdom. They exalted certain ministers over others, even looking down on Paul. But he told them not to judge before the time. But that didn’t mean they shouldn’t examine themselves. If they had, Paul wouldn’t have rebuked them. You see, the church had a very serious problem. A member was involved in open sin. But in their human wisdom, they let the problem fester. And the problem they had was the same problem many churches have today. There was open sexual sin. Verse 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.” The phrase “it is reported commonly” tells us it was open - a known fact. Paul was miles away, but people who visited him - like Chloe’s household - reported what happened; out of deep concern or gossip. And it wasn’t one or two reports, it was commonly reported. There was open sin. What kind? The sin of fornication. And “fornication” is a catch all word for any kind of sexual immorality - adultery, pederasty, homosexuality, and others less comfortably described on a Sunday morning.
And the sin of fornication is common in the Bible. Of Paul’s seven lists of sins, the word “fornication” is found in five of them. Each time as the first on the list. For example, Colossians 3:5 - “Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, etc.” Even in the list in verse 11 - “But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, etc.” To be clear, such open sexual sin is also common today. Pastor, like Paul, you must know that. Church, you must know that too. The Bible speaks about it far too often. Abraham and Hagar, Judah and Tamar, Sodom and Gomorrah, the Benjamites and the Levite, Samson and Delilah, David and Bathsheba, the Samaritan woman with 5 husbands, the woman caught in adultery, Herod Antipas and his half-sister Herodias. The list goes on. Pastor, you must know that open sexual sin is common. Our young adults, youth, teens, and even children are exposed to, affected, and deceived by it. Members have been disciplined for it - in the past and recently. Church, you must admit there’s such an open sin. Acknowledging such sin helps us care for one another - to teach and admonish. But we don’t like such conversation. Parents won’t speak to their children on this. They hope it’ll go away. Friends don’t confront - they have hee hee ha ha fellowship, but not spiritual ones. And sometimes these sexual sins can be extreme. The church member was fornicating with his father’s wife. It says – “that one should have his father’s wife” – “have” means “to have sexual relations.” It was his stepmother. If it was mother, he’d have said mother. But this was his father’s wife. Now, Corinth was known for its sexual immorality. The Temple of Aphrodite was nothing more than a brothel. But this behavior topped it all. It was so terrible it was practically unheard of. Even Paul said it was “not so much as named among the Gentiles.”
But there was another sin. There was toleration of impenitence - and this is also sin. Now, the fornication wasn’t a one off followed by repentance. If so, Paul would’ve reacted differently. But it was persistent. It says - “that one should have his father's wife.” It doesn’t say had but have. Present continuous tense. And it was commonly reported. It had gone on for some time. Yes, all Christians struggle with sin - even sexual sin. Our times are similar to Roman times and God’s people will struggle with such sin. But God’s people must struggle against it. When we fall into sin, there must be broken-hearted repentance. We’re Christians not because we’re perfect, but because we’ve been forgiven - we repent. Jesus didn’t say, “blessed are the perfect in spirit” but “the poor in spirit”; not “blessed are the sinless” but “blessed are they that mourn.” God delights in a broken and contrite heart. But sadly in Corinth, there was impenitence and toleration. Verse 2 says – “And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you.” Instead of removing him from church, they tolerated his sin. Paul was aghast! They should’ve mourned! But they tolerated it. Why? We learn they were puffed up. Proud - of their toleration of sin. Now, a church tolerates sin for many reasons. We fear dealing with unpleasant circumstances like disciplining an impenitent member. We may not like to deal with fallout when it comes to family or friends. We fear complications. Or we may have a misguided mercy. “Jesus was so merciful, that he didn’t stone the woman caught in adultery. It’s not our place to judge - he who has no sin cast the first stone. If Jesus didn’t cast it, neither should we. A person needs space to repent in his own time, and we must give that space.” Sounds very humble and merciful, right? Paul called it proud. Why? Because we follow our judgment instead of God’s. They thought this mercy was good. Meanwhile, there was persistent open sin.
Pastor, there will be such proud people in our midst. They forget that confronting impenitence is actually a merciful thing. By removing such a one, it’s a gospel act. And if we don’t remove, we deny him the gospel. We’re actually unmerciful. Paul was saying that impenitence was bad, but toleration was worse. Many in church will take sin lightly. Both sexual sins and toleration are the common open persistent sins in church. Now, to be clear, we must show Christ’s mercy - the Lord Jesus said to the woman taken in adultery - neither do I condemn you, go and sin no more. He said, come unto me, all you that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest - rest from sin. But they must come. That’s the gospel - go and sin no more. Come to Christ for help. If we deny people this gospel by tolerating sin, we deny them eternal life. Pastor, like Paul, know that open sin is common - and you must demonstrate mercy. How?
Secondly - Pastor, teach and do what must be done. Paul taught the church what they had to do. What? In short, they had to excommunicate the persistently impenitent one. Verse 2 - he which has done this deed should be taken away from the church. Verse 5 - he should be delivered unto Satan for his flesh to be destroyed. Why? Verse 7 - to purge out the old leaven. How? Verse 9 - don’t keep company with such fornicators. Verse 11 - don’t keep company or eat with such a one. This is the practice of excommunication - to remove someone who says he’s Christian, but has no love for Christ, because he loves sin. Pastor, you must teach this Word - they’re not my words, nor yours, but God’s. Matthew 18:17 also says - “And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.” Not my words, nor yours, but God’s. Pastor, with the elders, you’re to teach and do this. But to do this, we’re to make righteous judgments in humility. But didn’t Jesus say judge not lest ye be judged? But Paul said in verse 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.” Paul judged from afar that he must be cast out. You see, Jesus forbade hypocritical judgment, but we must judge righteously, applying the same standards to ourselves. Let not an impenitent man judge another impenitent man, unless he repents first. Pastor, many in church will think you’re high handed when you teach or do this. Many will think you’re punitive. But Paul reminded the people, in verses 5-6 - “In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, 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.” In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. It’s not something you can anyhow ignore - it’s Christ’s command. Pastor, you can’t not do it. You must be faithful to your ordination vows. At the same time, Christ is the king of the church and savior of his people - he’s all compassion. That’s why we do it with mourning - weeping for those living in sin. Discipline takes time, prayer, labor - serving that wayward brother. Service is by nature humble. True humility would never say - I could never do this. True humility says - I must do it. It’s loving. Leviticus 19:17 - “Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart. Thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbor, and not let sin come upon him.” Pastor, many will hate their brothers by not rebuking them. But you must demonstrate mercy. Teach and do.
Thirdly - Pastor, aim for the good of God’s people. When excommunication is done with humble, merciful, loving judgment, it’s for the good of God’s people. How? It’s for the destruction of the flesh. When one is impenitent despite loving counsel, he’s delivered to Satan for the destruction of the flesh. But what does this punitive sounding thing mean? The devil’s realm is the world. So the punishment is to remove the person from God’s kingdom back into the world. In his kingdom, God protects us from Satan, even when we don’t know his attacks. He does it through the church. Through fellowship, we receive comfort and support; through the Word, we grow in restraint and holiness; through the prayers of others we have divine help. By removing a person, he’s removed from these graces. We’re even told not to pray for such a person who commits this sin unto death. Why? Once outside the spiritual protection of the church, the destruction of the rebellious sinful flesh would take place. Away from restraint, he’d sin more until the sinful impulse is destroyed. Like the Prodigal Son. He left his father’s side, he lived uncontrollably by fulfilling his desires. And when he fell so far to eat unclean foods of unclean animals, he came to himself and returned to his father. Pastor, don’t be trigger happy. Excommunication is the last resort. But you must have love and mercy enough to strengthen you to do this. But at the same time, teach the church to care. If the church does not give comfort, fellowship, and care; the person disciplined will not care about what he’ll lose. Pastor, teach the people to care so much, that the persistent sinner will be sorry to part from the church. Teach the people to love and admonish - to rescue him from sin. Because that man in Corinth was ignoring his sin, the church had to care enough to face it for him.
Your calling is to cultivate purity in church. And such church discipline is for the purity of the church. Paul called for a meeting, in Jesus’ name and authority, where this man would be disfellowshiped. While such practice can and has been done harshly, it doesn’t mean it can’t be done correctly, for the good of the church. Their tolerance was bad for them. Verses 6-7 - taking pride in their tolerance was not good. Why? Because “a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.” Impenitence would lead to more impenitence in the church. It would grow like yeast in a lump of dough. A church which has the wrong understanding of mercy will ultimately be consumed by sin. So Paul told them to “Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us.” He used the illustration of the Passover, where special torches would be used to kill off yeast in kitchens. That’s the picture of fighting sin. Since our passover lamb was sacrificed for us, we must fight sin. But the church wasn’t doing that. They wanted Christ’s sacrifice for salvation but not his refining fire for sanctification. But you can’t have one without the other. You can’t have pardon without purification. And when discipline is carried out, it purifies the church. 1 Timothy 5:20 - “Them that sin rebuke before all, that others also may fear.” Those emboldened to sin would think twice. But Pastor, there’ll be those who’ll reject these words of God. They won’t hear them from your mouth - because they’re wiser in their own eyes. They’re proud. They may even mock you. Paul had previously written to them not to company with fornicators - verse 9. Perhaps some said - then we can’t have non-Christian friends. Paul said - no, you’re in the world to be an influence. But you’re to avoid those who say they’re Christians, but they’re fornicators. Don’t even eat with them. Why? They’ll influence you. To preserve purity. A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.
Pastor, love the church and the Word - give the church the Word. Labor to convince people of the Word. Call them to live according to the Word. Church of God, be taught by your pastor. Pursue after purity in your own lives. And be clear in your minds about the danger. Know there’s open sin. Care enough to teach and admonish one another. The wounds of a friend are better than the kisses of an enemy. Fulfill the law of love by bearing each other’s burdens, to restore those overtaken in sin. And that takes conversation; gumption to carry out purity.
That’s why membership is important. When we covenant ourselves to a church we receive the care of the church. A Christian who only takes from a church and moves onto another when he’s fed and full is not obedient. There’s no accountability. Today, we’ve been charged to receive our pastor. We pray that more men will give their lives to minister mercy and pursue purity. To have men to teach, urge, admonish, and restore, with all humility and gentleness of mind. Because this was Christ. Even though Peter sinned, Christ restored him in Galilee - Simon, son of Jonah, lovest thou me more than these? Even though Paul was the chief of sinners - the Lord Jesus saved him and gave him a place in his kingdom. Paul was much forgiven, which is why he served much and loved much. If Christians forget the gospel, how forgiven they are, and live in sin, how will they serve much and love much? Church of God, I charge you to remember and demonstrate God’s mercy.
- Pastor, Know that Open Sin Is Common in Church
- Open sexual sin is sin
- Toleration of impenitence is sin
- Pastor, Teach and Do What Must Be Done
- Excommunication
- Judgment and Humility
- Pastor, Aim for the Good of God’s People
- For the destruction of the flesh
- For the protection of the church
Conversation for Change:
- What are some reasons why we don’t want to confront other’s sins and keep them accountable? (cf Colossians 3:16 ESV, RSV, NLT)
- What would a church be like, if no one confronted anyone about their sins, and worshipers were allowed to continue in sin? And how would you feel if sin were to be rebuked publicly? (cf Matthew 18:15-20)
- What does it mean when a church member resigns in the midst of church discipline? How does lack of accountability demonstrate unbelief and a breaking of vows?
* As a matter of courtesy please advise Rev. Mark Chen, if you plan to use this sermon in a worship service. Thank-you.
(c) Copyright 2024, Rev. Mark Chen
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