02.01.2015 How to Correct a Christian Who is Trapped in Sin

02-01-2015 Worship from Grace Summit on Vimeo.

02-01-2015 from Grace Summit on Vimeo.

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Lord, You are Holy. And thank You that now we stand as holy people – a holy community, accepted and loved.

We have been looking at 1 Corinthians. Corinth was basically a pagan community – and Paul was giving practical instructions for how Christians should live.

A foundational verse:

1 Corinthians 3: 16 Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?

You is plural here. But later, he is talking about you as an individual, like in 1 Cor. 6 (19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?)

He is saying – the Temple is where God meets His people - and yes, God, meets us individually, but we lose so much if we don’t meet with God in community as well.

1 Cor. 3: 21 So then let no one boast in men. For all things belong to you, 22 whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or things present or things to come; all things belong to you, 23 and you belong to Christ; and Christ belongs to God.

We have a new identity – a new citizenship. We don’t think of citizenship unless you are travelling overseas! For the Corinthians, their Roman citizenship was one of the most treasured things they had! People had risked their lives for Rome and they won their citizenship at great cost, and it afforded great opportunities in life. It really elevated you above everyone else. People would pay enormous amounts of money to become citizens. But Paul is saying you have a new citizenship – and this thing that meant so much in life, God is replacing it. You had lived so much of your life to become part of this Roman community – and now God is giving you a new community – oh, and by the way, it is a community of the weak and poor – the losers.

They are living in this new kingdom – yes, it was still Corinth – but Paul was teaching them to live in the tension. And that is a thing today. How do we live as Christians in this new world? What we see, in Corinth, they were going to extremes on either end and Paul addresses that.

As Jesus said, we are in the world but are not to be of this world.

1 Corinthians 5: 1 It is actually reported that there is immorality among you, and immorality of such a kind as does not exist even among the Gentiles, that someone has his father’s wife. 2 You have become arrogant and have not mourned instead, so that the one who had done this deed would be removed from your midst.

6 Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough? 7 Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed.

This is a difficult chapter. How do we apply it today? Paul is addressing sexual immorality in the city of Corinth. I want to say this: That is not the only concern. Many, when they think of Corinth – this is what they think of. And this is not the most important concern (which is, this attitude of superiority, division, party politics, etc.).

As he addresses THIS issue (sexual immorality) – there is a Biblical standard in relation to sexual morality – and he wants the Corinthians to live by it – here is the standard; here is how you should live.

There is a Greco-Roman standard of sexuality – some of which is not compatible with the Biblical standard.

There is a third standard in this letter to the Corinthians. There was a Biblical standard, the standard of the world, and the standard of the church in Corinth. And the ironic thing – their standard was unacceptable to the Bible AND to the world! Things were really bad! The world looked in and said, what are those people doing?

Someone has his father’s wife.

This is a step-mother. And the son is living with the father’s wife while the father is still alive. IN the Roman world, this was illegal, and the punishment is to be exiled for 5 years to an island. Banished! Thrown out! Greco Roman culture is all about hierarchy – and everything belonged to the patriarch – the children, the slaves, the wife. And what this son was doing was a direct attack on the Biblical standard AND on society. AND THEY WERE BOASTING ABOUT IT! They were sending out flyers to the community! Come join our church! Look what we do!

They had taken grace too far. This letter is the result of letters going back and forth – and they are trying to figure out what to do. Most likely, this guy is important. First – for him to not be arrested indicates he must have had some power. And they were probably thinking, we have this important guy in our church and we don’t want to ruffle any feathers! He may have been wealthy, and boy, you want that tithe coming in.

1 Cor. 6: 12 All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything.

When Paul came in, and preached, the gospel focused on the law and restrictions that the Jewish people put on people and Paul is preaching this gospel of freedom and grace and forgiveness – and the Corinthians are saying, HEY! We aren’t under the law!

Paul is saying there is a Biblical standard and we need to conform to that standard – in every area of our lives.

In our country, we look at our political world and see that it is divided – party politics sneak in and we conform to it as Christians – in our culture – and we think it is okay and it is absolutely not okay – it goes against everything God’s word says.

In other areas too – entertainment – what we accept – because it is not as bad as it could be! That is the way we think!

1 Cor. 5: 9 I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people; 10 I did not at all mean with the immoral people of this world, or with the covetous and swindlers, or with idolaters, for then you would have to go out of the world. 11 But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler—not even to eat with such a one.

We are to be in the world but not of it.

Some were adopting everything in the culture. Others – as indicated by what Paul wrote to them – had separated themselves entirely from the community. Let’s build a Christian enclave! But Paul is saying – you can’t do that. Get out of your Christian enclave and into the world without the world getting into you!

This is where Corinth failed – they did not get out on mission and they were not following the Lord.

1 Corinthians 5:3 For I, on my part, though absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged him who has so committed this, as though I were present

12 For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Do you not judge those who are within the church? 13 But those who are outside, God [h]judges. Remove the wicked man from among yourselves.

There is one word used four times – judge.

He talks about judging – these verses seem to contradict Jesus’ most famous quote! There are two types of judging, based on the context: Good judging and Bad judging –

Matthew 7: 1 “Do not judge so that you will not be judged. 2 For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. 3 Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?

Jesus makes it clear – do not judge! But in context, this judgment is condemning another person. Condemning someone to bring about guilt and shame. Judging motives – things that only God is free to judge.

This judging expresses disapproval of the individual. It comes from an attitude of spiritual superiority. None of us is superior to others. We all do it. We condemn people, don’t we? When we do that, we do it from pride and arrogance and an attitude of superiority – Self-righteousness is always at the root. This is the one Jesus was constantly going after.

Then he talks about a log – blindness to your own problems – it means you cannot see your own flaws and weaknesses and wounds -=- you are oblivious to how you offend and hurt other people – and comes from living by false standards. The Pharisees were perfect at this. Their standards looked very biblical – and that is the scary part – we can make our standards look really good and right.

Paul is obviously speaking of something different because he instructs us TO judge. There are certain behaviors that are unacceptable. Punching someone – unless you are a boxer. Stealing –

Paul is saying – we need to judge/discern – when someone is behaving in a way that is unacceptable to the Biblical standard – we don’t condemn, shame, apply guilt and manipulation – but we point out and correct the wrong behavior – and in our country – this is a difficult thing to do.

That is not what Jesus is talking about in Matthew 7.

The key in judging properly is motive in approach and focus. It is not an attitude of I am better than you – that I hold the true standard! It should come from a motive of love – what the person is doing is ruining his life – keeping him from God.

Galatians 6:1 Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted.

4.5 points here: How do we go about correcting something?

1) There must be absolute certainty that what the person is doing is a sin. Other translations say, “TRAPPED” in some sin. You don’t have hunches, feelings, or have heard rumors – it is CLEARLY – they are doing something evil in God’s sight – evil and hurtful to others. So we do not correct personal opinions and convictions. We may have strong convictions – but there is no freedom to correct for that unless it is clear.

2) only the spiritual person is allowed to do this – not the perfect person – but someone surrendered and yielded to Jesus Christ. IF you are not in that situation – if you are the irritated person – STOP! Don’t do it! If you are the person who is thinking – this person made me look bad, that is not the time to correct! It should not be about your embarrassment. You better be spiritual. It is a wakeup call – I need to have my life together – to not have a log in my eye.

3) it is about restoration – not about condemnation. Correcting someone is not about condemning, but restoring relationship.

4) Gentleness and .5) humility. On the football field, someone may grab someone’s shoulders – but that doesn’t work in the real world.

Humility – we think of Jesus and the money changers – driving them out with a whip. And we think we should do that! But until you are completely like Jesus, you might want to take a different approach.

CS Lewis – “Parents are seen to treat their children with 'an incivility which, offered to any other young people, would simply have terminated the acquaintance.'

How often do we treat someone in our family in such a way that if we were to do that to a boss, it would terminate my employment immediately?!

You should approach everyone as if they were the most important person.

1 Cor. 5: 12 For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Do you not judge those who are within the church? 13 But those who are outside, God judges. Remove the wicked man from among yourselves.

Then he adds this – what about judging outsiders? I am not judging those in the world – I am only doing this in this community. I am of the opinion that we focus too much judging the world and neglect issues in the Church. I think too many of us like judging the world. Paul is saying – what do I have to do with that. The world does not, and will not, ever adapt standards of Biblical morality – because it is the world! That is not the nature of the world. There will be one point this happens – when Jesus is sitting on the throne in the New Kingdom. Our job is not to make the world try to conform to our standards – but to make sure that we do not conform to the world’s standards! It might be with pornography, premarital sex, affairs – sexual immorality.

History shows that the church has had its biggest impact when the world is in greatest conflict with the church.

How do we deal with it other than telling people they are bad and need to stop?

1) Become a community that is led by the Spirit of God.

1 Cor. 6: 19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?

When we become God’s community, it produces desire to do what is right. Guilt and shame produce greater immorality. When sin goes underground, it becomes stronger.

Philip Yancy to a prostitute in Chicago: Have you ever tried the church? She replied, the church, I feel bad enough already!

When people come to this community – they must recognize it as different.

2) We need to become ‘blenders’ – I couldn’t think of any better way to say this. We make smoothies. I make good ones; Cindy puts green stuff in it.

In our community – singles need to be part of our community. Over half of older adults are single. We segregate – we don’t blend. It is great to have a youth group, but adults need to be involved – not just their parents. When you see kids here – make connections! Kids like it.

Men and women – it is difficult in this day and age to have healthy male and female relationships.

3^rd – the church needs to be a safe place for marriage – all marriages have problems – and there needs to be openness. Every marriage has a problem – we all wear masks – and it is a big one in marriage. It tells people who are honest and struggling that this is not a safe place for me.

Let’s pray. Lord, thank You. Help us to live here in our community – in this world – as people who belong to You. We have been bought with a price – we are to glorify You with our bodies. In Your name we pray. Amen.