This week's Bible Study - March 14, 2010
When Immorality Comes to Church
 Background Scripture:
1 Corinthians 5:1-2,9-13; 6:15-20
Quote of the Week:
“Morality is the thing upon which your friends smile, and immorality is the thing upon which they frown”
-- Elbert Hubbard
What kind of people go to church? If you sat at the door of your church and watched them come in, what kinds of problems do you think they would have? Most people come to church and at least attempt to put on a good face. When asked how things are, most people reply "fine", just so others don't ask questions. Of course, they may share more with their closer friends, but most people put on a mask of some sort. There is a song by Casting Crowns about plastic people - here are the chorus lyrics.
Are we happy plastic people
Under shiny plastic steeples
With walls around our weakness
And smiles to hide our pain
But if the invitation's open
To every heart that has been broken
Maybe then we close the curtain
On our stained glass masquerade
Each Sunday, there are people that are hurting in our churches. There are people dealing with relationships issues, loss of loved ones, unemployment concerns and so many other possible issues. These types of issues will impact all of us at some point and we need to realize that is a normal part of life. Some of these people want you to believe that everything is okay, because they want to wear that church mask. Unfortunately, as a church, we've more or less told them that it is not only acceptable, but also preferred, that they keep their problems to themselves.
Also, on any given Sunday, there are some people that are dealing with moral issues in their lives. Statistics will tell you that many people (men and women) are impacted by pornography. And then, it will begin to occur to you that this is an issue that is evident in the lives of some church members. There are probably many reasons to explain this, such as the changes in technology that have made access much easier and more secretive. This had made this a bigger and bigger issue in our age. Through many different means, our society attempts to brainwash us into believing that there is no problem with 'casual; sex. They say it's not immoral; there is nothing wrong - it's only sex. And, sadly, many believers buy into that. There are certainly other types of immorality, but the point is that it surely exists in the lives of some church members and others that walk through the church doors. While we can acknowledge that this may be true of others, the biggest thing that you have to worry about is if this is a part of your life.
Given that this issue does exist, how should the church respond? There are many different views on that. Some choose to ignore. Some choose to go on witch hunts. We need to understand what the Bible has to say and then adjust our views accordingly. We do know that God can work in the life of any individual, and that through God's help, any individual can make significant changes in their lives. So, we need to understand that God isn't through with those who have gotten caught up in immorality, but that is certainly not where God wants them to stay.
The church at Corinth had problems. They were made up of people from many diverse backgrounds, which added to the problems that they faced. When Paul wrote to the church, he had to address such issues as mental attitudes, factions, carnality, arrogance and many others. In this passage, Paul is addressing a continuing case of immorality in the church, by at least one church member. The church and the public knew about it, yet instead of saying anything about it, the Corinthians actually became arrogant about it and flaunted their position in the church and community.
The issue was that there was sexual immorality within the church - a kind that didn't even exist among the pagans. Their society was very pagan and almost anything went, but this situation was beyond what was acceptable elsewhere. In our day, there are many deviant sins that are taking place outside the church body, but just as in this passage, we need to be aware that sin also exists inside the walls of the church, and in the body of the church, the people who call themselves believers.
This issue was that a man was having sexual relations with his father's wife, which is presumed to be his stepmother. The tense of the words in this passage indicate that this was not a passing fancy or a one time occurrence, but an enduring sexual relationship. .What was the response of the church? They knew about it and they were proud! Can you imagine? This is the type of circumstance that you might see on the Jerry Springer show today, but would you expect to see this in the Bible? Surely, this type of activity does not happen without our churches, does it?
Paul was telling the church that, rather than being proud about it; they should have been filled with grief and have put the man who did this out of their fellowship. The sin was bad enough, but Paul was more concerned that the sin was taken so lightly. Earlier in the book of 1 Corinthians, Paul talked about how the church had wrong ideas about God's power and how he worked among his people. But, this passage indicates a moral issue. The key point is that the moral and mental issues are connected, because if you have the wrong view of God, you will find yourself allowing more and more things to go unchecked. Instead of just allowing this sin to keep on happening, they needed to confront the man and if he was unwilling to change, they were to put him out of their fellowship of believers.
In his writing and in his teaching, Paul had told the church that they were not to associate with sexually immoral people within the church. However, he indicated that they could not disassociate with all immoral people, or else they would have to leave the world. Immorality is rampant in our world and you simply cannot avoid it at every turn. If you work outside the home, you either know or have known people who have been engaged in all types of sin. You just can't avoid these people. You also can't expect godly behavior from ungodly people. To avoid these people, you would have to leave the world. Surprisingly, this is how many people see holiness and Christian living - to get as far away from the world as possible. We are called to be light and salt in our world. What good is flashlight on a sunny day, or what good is salt that stays in the salt shaker? If we're not near the world, how can we ever have any impact?
However, Paul was writing about a person who calls himself a brother, but is content to be sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler. In your mind, you may not think that you exhibit any of these behaviors. When we hear these words, our minds go to the extreme and we vindicate ourselves - I am not like that. But, are you a person who must have more? This describes many Christians who are trying to keep up and in front of others around them. There are others who steal by taking what is not theirs. As an example, many people neglect to pull a full day's work in for a full day's pay. In effect, they are stealing.. There are others who are character assassins. This is one of the bigger issues in our churches today.
Jesus taught that if you have had the thought, you've done the deed. There are many people who have not followed through in some of these activities, but they have most certainly allowed their mind to go there. None of us are perfect, and if we are honest, we would agree that our righteousness is as the Bible says, filthy rags. Don't fool yourself into thinking that you can be good enough and your behavior will make you a standout with God.
While we all struggle with many types of sins, the problem really becomes evident when we allow ourselves to become entangled in sin so that it becomes our lifestyle. When that happens, over time we become content in our sin and unwilling to change. Paul clearly states that if there are those who have chosen those types of lifestyles, and they are within the church, the church body should avoid them. He writes "with such a man do not even eat". You cannot simply continue in Christian fellowship with a notorious sinner that has no desire to change, yet still calls themselves a Christian.
Paul indicated that he had no business to judge what goes on outside the church. This becomes a favorite hobby of many Christians as they see the problems in our society and they are all too quick to pass judgment on those who are practicing such things. That is God's job - he will judge those on the outside. Their job was to judge those inside and expel the wicked man from among the fellowship. The purpose was not so much to punish the sinner, but to purify the church and ultimately, to bring the sinner to true salvation.
Sometimes we allow ourselves to become involved in sin because we forget who we truly are in Christ. In Christ, our bodies are members of Christ. If we lived our lives truly aware of that truth, there are things that we would likely never do. It is when we believe that we can leave Christ behind that we are more apt to engage in sin. Paul says that you would never take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute. In the Bible, it says that the two will become one flesh. Is it right to unite the body of Christ with a prostitute? Rather than doing that, we are told that we who unite ourselves with the Lord are one with him in spirit.
In our day, sexual immorality is almost encouraged; sometimes even within the church. Oh, people may not call it sexual immorality, but some people in the church see no problem with people sleeping together and having sex outside of marriage. Even if it is frowned on by others, they seldom say flee. Some want to push it as close as possible without going too far, but that is a dangerous game to play. Some tend to alter the meaning of the word sex, so that they can do more and not 'feel' guilty.
How should we as believers deal with sexual immorality? We are told to flee. To flee is to run away, as from danger or pursuers. It is to move swiftly. If you are being chased by a madman, you'd flee. If you are being chased by an angry dog, you'd flee. Why? Because, you fear what might happen if you don't. The same applies with sexual immorality. The consequences may not seem as bad as being chased by a lunatic, but in many ways they are worse.
Every other sin that a person commits is outside his body. When you sin sexually, you are sinning against your own body. The issue of sexual immorality impacts people much more than they would like to admit. It is a sin against your own body and when you add that you are the body of Christ, the impact is even more fully realized. As believers, our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit. We are truly no longer our own, as we were bought with the blood of Christ. Therefore, we should honor God with our bodies.
Closing
The Corinthians lived in a society that allowed almost anything. That doesn't seem too different from where we live today, does it? The problem was that the immorality became prevalent in the church and nobody seemed to care. We need to be careful as believers that we do not fall in step with our world and use their standard rather than God's. We also need to realize that Jesus' view of sin was much different than the Jewish view. They said you avoid certain behaviors and you avoid that sin. Jesus said that you sin when your mind goes there. We all have some issues in our lives with that.
Paul told the church that they could not control what was on the outside, but they needed to break fellowship with those who claimed to believers, yet were living immoral lifestyles. There are likely many situations in our churches that could be classified as such. Paul is not telling the church to go on a witch hunt and seek out any occurrences of any type of immorality. However, when the issue has come to light and the person or people involved are unwilling to change their behavior, the church must break fellowship, at least for a while. This helps to keep the church more pure, and also causes the one who is guilty to evaluate their lives and hopefully turn back to God.
There is the issue of how the church deals with those in sins such as sexual immorality, but perhaps the bigger issue is for you. What are views on this issue? Do they line up with the world, or are they lining up with Scripture? Many people tend to pick and choose the things that they want to believe in and how they want it to impact their lives. Truly, we were bought at a price and you are not your own. It is not our prerogative to pick and choose what we will do, especially in the areas of sexual sin. Yes, the world will tell you that you can sleep with anyone you want to - it's only sex, they say. However, the world did not buy you with a price. The world really doesn't care much about what happens to you. Why would we ever lean that way, when we know the love and care that God has for us in Christ?
If, by some chance, you find yourself at this time in an area of sexual immorality - or any other type of immorality, take care of it. If you let it go, you will find that it seems like less and less of a problem, until you lose control. Eventually, it will come up to bite you. It will have impacts upon your world here, and is a prime reason for the destruction of many families. But, perhaps more importantly, you will find yourself further and further from God, and that has eternal implications. Don't simply play the game of church, and live any which way you want to live. Hand over your issues to God. Flee immorality and become the person that God has called you to be.
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