Devotional 1 Corinthians 5: Immorality and the Purity of the Church Reflection on 1 Corinthians 5: Paul's instruction to expel the immoral brother, the danger of hypocrisy, and the difference between discipline and evangelism. Topics: Devotional, New Testament.

Devotional 1 Corinthians 5: Immorality and the Purity of the Church

Today’s devotional is found in the book of 1 Corinthians, chapter 5, and this was what happened.

Synopsis: In this chapter, Paul commands, in his letter addressed to the church in Corinth, that they expel the immoral brother from among them.

Observations

These were my observations.

1. Expel the immoral brother from among you. When Paul said this to the Corinthians, he did not mean that we should simply stay away from all immoral people. For Jesus left us the commandment to spread the gospel to all nations (Matthew 28:19–20). This means that we will inevitably encounter immoral people wherever we go. For Jesus came into the world, literally, to save us from our sins and offer eternal life to all those who accept Him as Lord and Savior. In other words, Jesus would not have come if we were not all condemned to death by our sins (i.e., by our immorality). That is why Jesus told the Pharisees that it is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. Furthermore, He did not come to call the righteous, but sinners (Matthew 9:12–13). So, what Paul means by expelling the immoral brother from among you complements what Jesus said. That is to say, Paul upholds what Jesus said about how we must evangelize all nations. However, what he warns about is the Christian brother who already knows the gospel and continues to be immoral. This is the context to which Paul refers. When we have a Christian among us who does not want to change his conduct and continues with a hardened heart, we must expel him from the Christian fellowship. For his behavior and our tolerance toward his conduct could come to influence other Christians to stray from the right path (i.e., he can become a stumbling block).