Things Gone Wrong Can Be Discipline
Our Sinful Nature – Part 1

Scripture Reading: 1 Corinthians 5:1-12

Key Verse: 1 Corinthians 5:5
…hand this man over to Satan, so that the sinful nature may be destroyed and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord.

When God’s people in sinful behavior, what does God do? What should the church do when they are aware of it? These are the questions today’s Scripture Reading addresses.

The situation was a man having sexual relations with his mother-in-law. The church was aware of this ongoing sin but did nothing about it. The man who took part in this sin continued to be a part of the fellowship among God’s people. Taking direction from the Apostle Paul, let’s look at the overall principles.

First, this situation was ongoing, not a one time “slip” into immoral behavior. God and His church discipline those who are unrepentant and unwilling to change! God would never discipline one of His children over a one-time slip, but when repentance is quick, discipline is light!

Second, God uses His church to help discipline those who are part of the fellowship of believers. In Corinth, the godly leaders should have stepped up and dealt directly with this ongoing immoral relationship. Instead, according to 1 Corinthians 5:2, they developed pride rather than grief over this terrible sin.

Third, asking this man and woman to stop their relationship or leave the church would have taught them lessons about the serious nature of grieving God’s heart. Letting them continue in the church implied that their immoral behavior was “no big deal.” That might have emboldened others to cater to their sinful fleshly cravings. The apostle was not being mean spirited, but, rather, Spirit led!

Father, grant me a heart balanced with gracious love and firm convictions concerning Your Word. In Jesus’s Name, amen.