MPC, 19th May 2002.1 Corinthians 5 - "The Importance of... Being Different"
Maurie Cropper MPC, 19th May 2002.
In the Growth Group studies during the week, we looked at some MEDIA COVERAGE about Christians. Newspaper articles. Headlining what the world SEES… when they look at the PUBLIC FACE of THE CHURCH. There's more and more every day.
And I don't think most people make distinctions. Church is church. Christian is Christian. So whether it's Catholic or Presbyterian or its America, Ireland, or Australia… THE MUD STILL STICKS.
To the public we're all the same.
So let's build up a picture of what your ordinary Courier Mail reader is reading about THE CHURCH. About Christians.
From YESTERDAY'S PAPER:
Page 19. Prostitution rise alarms Bishop. Bishop Carlos Belo in East Timor… upset, it says, at the INFLUX of PROSTITUTES.
So someone reading that article would then get the picture that THE CHURCH is CRITICAL of PROSTITUTION in the community.
Page 22. And the headline reads, CARDINAL SAYS SORRY.
Roger Mahony, head of America's largest Catholic Archdiocese… apologizing. Because he knew a priest had been sexually abusing children for 16 years. And did absolutely NOTHING about it.
And at the same time, police are laying charges against 40 other priests. Charged with the same kind of offenses.
And on p.3 of The Australian. An article headlining "…sex abuse charges"… referring to charges of sexual abuse at church schools here in Queensland.
There was more of the same in last Monday's Four Corners; they showed a BBC documentary about sexual abuse in the church. With a focus on a particular clergyman in Ireland; almost the same story as in the USA. Abuse going on for fifteen years. And nobody did ANYTHING ABOUT IT. Even when they knew.
You'll hear the same sort of stories closer to home. And we know, don't we, that sort of thing just ISN'T ON. And it should have been dealt with. Long ago.
You could understand it, couldn't you, if the average NEWSPAPER READER thought there was something GROSSLY INCONSISTENT… in a Christianity that wants to play MORAL POLICEMAN FOR THE WORLD… and yet seems to say ANYTHING GOES… when it comes to the church.
They'd simply see Christians as hypocrites.
And therefore miss the point that in matters of morality we Christians are meant to be a SHINING LIGHT to the world.
And ESPECIALLY Sexual Morality.
Which is exactly the problem in Corinth.
The Apostle Paul has something important to say to the church in Corinth and he doesn't waste any time getting into it. Some hard words.
Pick it up with me in verse 1:
It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that does not occur even among pagans: A man has his father's wife.
Here's a man sexually involved with his step-mother. Something that Paul says doesn't even happen outside of the church. It's no wonder he doesn't waste any time with niceties. This is a terrible situation.
And he's into it. NO SMALLTALK. NO MESSING AROUND. STRAIGHT TO THE POINT!
Because when something like this is going on there's a ripple effect. You know, chuck a rock into a pond it's not long before the ripples reach all the way to the edge. All are tainted by the action of just one. The whole church is affected – the whole church is disgraced.
In Corinth, it's even worse. Because there hasn't just been a cover up. The story's gone public. And people in the church seem like they're actually PROUD OF IT.
Look at what he says to them at the start of verse 2. He says, A Man has his father's wife. AND YOU'RE PROUD?
How can you be?
And verse 6. Boasting. He says, "Your boasting is not good."
Somehow they're thinking it doesn't matter. More than that. That their trendiness, their tolerance, that their FLEXIBILITY – was something to boast about. And as Christians they could somehow DO WHATEVER THEY LIKED.
And so in verse 2 there are TWO THINGS they should be doing – instead of boasting about how broad minded they are. NUMBER 1, they need a change of heart. Number 2. They need strong action.
Read it. He says, instead of being proud, he says, "Shouldn't you rather have been filled with grief… and have put out of your fellowship the man who did this?"
Instead of accepting what was going on, instead of celebrating it, there should be tears in their eyes. It's a TRAGEDY. The Greek word used here for 'grief' is the same word used of 'mourning for the dead'. This is like a DEATH IN THE FAMILY.
Paul doesn't spell it out further than that, but the dishonour this son has brought on his father, the immorality that's going on, it should be grieving the church the same way as the death of someone close.
It's easy, isn't it… to maybe have a sense of righteous indignation about what someone else is doing. Which isn't what Paul says is appropriate at all. The opposite of their boasting isn't SELF RIGHTEOUSNESS. Which we Christians seem so famous for. It's tears.
Now the next bit's even tougher. Because having been filled with grief, they've actually got to take action. Firm, clear decisive action. And Paul's definite instruction is, "…put him out of your fellowship."
Verse 4 and 5. He spells it out in detail. This whole situation has been VERY PUBLIC. So it's going to be resolved in public as well. He says when you're gathered together in the name of the Lord Jesus – HAND HIM OVER TO SATAN.
By which he means the same as what he said before. Exclude him. From the people of God. Send him back to the WORLD. Send him back to Satan.
Which sounds harsh to our ears. But the fact is, there are only two options. Two masters. And this guy clearly hasn't been interested in serving the Lord Jesus in the choices he's making. So Paul's saying, MAKE IT CLEAR CUT. If he's living like that, don't let him KEEP PRETENDING HE'S A CHRISTIAN.
With the hope in the end that this guy's SINFUL NATURE, his wrong desires will some how be worked through. That the seriousness of what he's doing will somehow sink in. And he'll repent of what he's doing. So his Spirit will be saved on the day of the Lord.
That's the intention. Paul says DECISIVE ACTION is ultimately going to be GOOD FOR THE PERSON INVOLVED. And will SAFEGUARD THE CHURCH.
Now we don't have a good track record of taking this sort of action, do we. We linger between not wanting to be seen as judge and jury, and wanting to restore the person to fellowship. Maybe it's the glasshouse effect. We are aware that we're not perfect in certain areas of our lives, so there's an element of feeling hypocritical. We fear being accused of throwing rocks when we live in glass houses ourselves. So we do nothing,… except sit on our hands.
But at that point we need to untangle the issues. That will then allow us to address them singularly. Deal with inappropriate public behaviour by following what Paul says here. But also address whatever it is in your own life that you, and maybe only you and God know about. Get serious about both. It's a tough call. But it's got to be done!
And it's not just sexual immorality. Which in lots of ways is the easy one to focus on. Verse 11. Paul says don't even ASSOCIATE with anyone who CALLS HIMSELF A BROTHER AND is sexually immoral. Or GREEDY. An idolater. OR A SLANDERER. A drunkard. Or a SWINDLER. He says Don't even EAT… with a CHEAT.
Or more specifically, someone who calls themselves CHRISTIAN… and yet is happy to keep on in any of those ways.
Don't tolerate it. Or accept it. In yourself. Or anyone else WHO CLAIMS TO BE CHRISTIAN.
Because the point is, coming to Christ means walking AWAY from that stuff. Rather than embracing it. Or defending it. Or excusing it. Or hiding it.
But notice this. Because it's the OPPOSITE to what you'll see in the Courier Mail. He says, I'm not talking about those OUTSIDE THE CHURCH. I'm talking about INSIDERS.
He says I'm not talking about cutting yourself off from the people of the world who are like that. To do that you'd have to LEAVE. I'm talking about having nothing to do with CHRISTIANS… who are bringing the name of Jesus into disgrace.
Check what he's saying from verse 9. Because lots of Christians get this wrong as well. The sort of MONASTRY mentality. Trying to have nothing to do with ordinary people. They're our MISSION FIELD. So he says this. "I have written you in the letter not to associate with sexually immoral people – not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. But now I am writing you …that you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler. With such a man do not even eat."
Now it's clear, isn't it? And yet the church at large has real unease, even a difficulty in following through. The expulsion of someone from the church community.
In fact, the world does a better job of this sort of thing.
Like when it happens to a high-profile athlete. As with Wayne Carey earlier this year. The high profile captain of North Melbourne football club. One of the game's greatest ever footballers. He's no longer a player for the club. He's excluded from the team. Because by having an affair with the wife of his vice-captain he disgraced not only himself and his family – but disgraced the team; the club, the sport. And so he's gone.
For Paul the issue is clear. The people he's referring to are not those in the world, but those in the church. We're not to judge the world. That's God's business.
Verse 12. "What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? God will judge those outside."
He's not saying don't have anything to do with the world. It's into the world we must go. Go, to influence those in the world to turn to Jesus.
We're not to judge the world.
But to offer and demonstrate something FAR BETTER.
Our business as Christians is to take the Gospel into the world.
And it's our business as Christians to SHOW THE DIFFERENCE.
And leave the judging of the world to GOD.
In the meantime, he says, let's get SERIOUS about the example we're setting. And so take a good look INSIDE the church. Rather than critiquing the OUTSIDE. Have a good look at those who CLAIM TO BE CHRISTIAN. To make sure we really ARE.
When Paul speaks of the yeast in verse 6 that "…works through the whole batch of dough" … he's not only referring to the sexual immoral behaviour of the man having an affair with his step-mother. He's just as much talking about the attitude that permits that sort of behaviour to take place without critiquing it. That says, ANYTHING GOES.
He Paul isn't talking about 'kangaroo courts' or 'little black books being kept on people'; but it's important to critique our behaviour.
And to do with assessing and critiquing stuff, can I say at this point that the leaders here in THIS CHURCH COMMUNITY take the matter of appointing workers, especially in our Kidbiz and Youthworks ministries, very seriously. And so every worker goes through the system of filling out an 'MPC Application Form' and also applies for a 'Suitability Card'. As well as following a strong set of protocols.
So critiquing is important. Start with Phil and with me.
Have a close look at yourself. And lets work hard at being a church where we encourage one another to be SERIOUS about being Godly.
And let me say the tough thing. If, say, you're a CHRISTIAN and you're caught up in sexual immorality and you want to keep going that way, you need to realise it's ONE OR THE OTHER. Maybe it's better to stop pretending. Do the gutsy thing and sort yourself out. Seek help. If you're caught up in GREED… the story's the same. Or you're a drunkard or a swindler or a cheat… those aren't things to boast about.
They're the things that need to GO.
And if they're left unchecked in a church, if the ethos is, anything goes, then the problems SPREAD. Like yeast in bread. Amazing how little you need to put in. And it affects the whole mix. Verse 6 to 8, that's his point. That the old habits are not only ungodly – they are corrupting. Just like yeast they'll work their way through the whole dough, the whole church community. And the Christian church is not simply the old society patched up. It's a radically new entity. Made new by Jesus' work on the Cross and superseding all before it.
And if you've left the old way of life behind, characterised by evil things, then your life is going to be like a continuous festival sustained by "sincerity and truth". Motivated by sincerity and truth, we Christians need to be growing in godliness.
Here in this church community we want to seek out non-Christians. We want to welcome them. If that's YOU, ..you need to know we want to encourage you to be seeking after God. But more than that, we want all people to be moving forward. We not only want the non-Christian to be growing in their interest in the Christian faith,… we want Christians to be growing in godliness.
But if the church looks exactly the same as the world why would non-Christians want to leave the world? How can people be attracted away from the world? Without true conversion the church has nothing to say to a world in the grip of sin.
So if we're working hard at living godly lives, people, …especially those outside of the church, won't only be aware how different the church is; they'll see something ATTRACTIVE about it. As an alternative to the world.
And all of us have a part to play. We need to prayerfully seek God's help in moving forward. Always ready to repent. And although it begins with ourselves, we all need the support, the encouragement, and the sincere, truthful critiquing of those who are aware of their own need to humbly grow towards Christ-likeness.
It's a difficult thing to move forward alone, …that's why God has placed us in community with other believers. Let's pray that when the TOUGH ISSUES COME… we'll have enough integrity and courage to be firm.
But enough love and compassion always to act with GRIEF rather than PRIDE.
Always desiring true repentance.
And always wanting to GLORIFY THE GOD WE SERVE