1 Corinthians 5: It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father's wife. 2 And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you. 3 For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, concerning him that hath so done this deed, 4 In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, 5 To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. 6 Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? 7 Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:8 Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. 9 I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators: 10 Yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world. 11 But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolator, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat. 12 For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within? 13 But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person.
Problems in the church: first it was factions, now he addresses sexual immorality. And he begins with a specific incident, but then broadens it to all areas of sexual immorality.
You might think that since we are studying a letter written to a church from 2000 years ago, that the problems the experience would be totally different than the ones that exist in churches today. But instead, what we find is that many of the problems that the Corinthian church were experiencing, we can continue to relate to. In fact, this letter could have been written to many churches that are active today.
They had problems with divisions in the church, so do many churches. That had members involved in the sin of sexual immorality, fornication, sadly, that is still a plague on the church. They were haggling about what a person should eat or not eat, they had confusion about the exercise of spiritual gifts, especially the gift of tongues, so do we. They had those who claimed to be Christian but who disputed the reality of the resurrection, they had members suing each other in the courts of law. They disputed about the role of women in the church. There are still issues today.
This all sounds very familiar. And of all the issues that sound familiar, sexual immorality is the one that seems to never go away. All we have to do is recount the morality of the decades we have experienced, and we will also be recounting the issues with sexual immorality that the church has wrestled with.
You guys remember the fifties? I don’t. But, for me, that always seemed to be the era of sexual purity. Now, those of you who lived it will probably tell me that it wasn’t. But I do recall a story that Geraldine, or Maxine told about them as teenagers. Three sisters, Geraldine, Maxine, and Glenda. They heard a statistic that 1 in 3 or 1 in 4 teens were sexually active. And the joke was, well it’s not me, so it must be you. And the church reinforced that attitude about avoiding impurity.
There was generally a common Christian worldview.
Then came the sixties and the seventies. Playboy, Penthouse. Movies had to be rated because of sexual content. “Throw off your parent’s virtues.” Woodstock was the hallmark event of music and promiscuity. They said that sex is just a biological function like eating or sleeping. Just do what satisfies the biological need. Along with that came a rise in divorce, adultery, promiscuity before marriage. And the church, allowed the sexual immorality of the world to creep in. This is the problem of the Corinthian church. How do you live in a corrupt world without being influenced by it?
Then along came the eighties. When we suddenly were reacquainted with sexually transmitted diseases. AIDS came roaring out with a vengeance. And during this time there was a resurgence and reemphasis on purity. Churches were preaching against homosexuality, and teens were encouraged to wait for intimacy until after marriage. They had services where they took a pledge. But we never entirely shook off the world in our churches.
Then beginning in the nineties, and two thousands, it has felt like the society was on a downgrade into the sewer. And in the last ten years, it felt like there was a bum’s rush to see how perverted and debase we could become. Everything and anything is acceptable. Now we have a society that accepts and even celebrates polygamy, homosexuality, transvestites, drag queens, gender confusion, and every other kind of deviancy. That’s our society. That is even the rule of law, and the accepted norm in our society. But the question is, what will the church do? Some churches have already decided to accept it all. Others don’t accept the more extreme immorality, but excuse the milder stuff like adultery and soft pornography. But what do we do?
We are going to consider 5 problems related to sexual immorality in the church.
Problems related to sexual immorality in the church.
I am not preaching this because of some problem in our church. We preach through the Scripture so that we are aware of the whole counsel of God. And we preach it because we are living in a process as believers.
Romans 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind,
God doesn’t want purity in just our actions. But also in our thoughts.
There is more than one problem addressed by Paul in regard to this sin in the Corinthian church. It’s not just the sin of fornication, there are other problems that have tagged along with it. Their witness in the community was affected. Even those who weren’t involved in the sin itself, were proud, unwilling to see their own blight. And they also had the problem of an unwillingness to properly deal with the individual who was sinning. And finally, they had an inadequate view of the Church as the bride of Christ.
So, let’s start by looking at the problems-fornication, reputation, arrogance, discipline, and view of the church.
I. The Problem of Fornication
Paul says, “It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you,”
Let’s stop there—he jumps right into the topic.
It is somewhat instructive that Paul begins this chapter in such an abrupt manner. He just concluded his word to them in chapter 4 about the problem of factions in their church by asking them,
21 What will ye? shall I come unto you with a rod, or in love, and in the spirit of meekness?
He’s been talking about divisions in the church. He ends that topic with verse 21.
21 What will ye? shall I come unto you with a rod, or in love, and in the spirit of meekness?
To put it in parent/child terms, he’s asking them if he needs to go get the paddle when he comes. “Do you guys want me to show up angry, or in a spirit of forgiveness and grace?” And then, very abruptly he changes the subject from factions to sexual immorality by saying,
It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you,
No introductory statement, no segway from one subject to another. He jumps right in and says, “There’s fornication among the members of your church.” And it is “reported commonly” that there is fornication among you. In other words, everybody knew. This wasn’t a sin only known by a few, or among the leaders; everybody knew. And so, as soon as this statement in his letter was read to the church, you know that everyone knew what he was talking about.
That is shocking, but it is not. We know how church works. Often everyone knows what everybody is doing. But nobody says anything to the person doing it. This atmosphere creates an atmosphere of complacency about sin. In the school room for example, if the rule is that you can’t be on your phone during class, but the teacher consistently allows one student to get away with it, the other students begin attempting to get away with it as well. And the class in general begins to think that the rules don’t matter.
Now before we get into the details of this occasion for sin, let’s look at that word, fornication. Because he is saying that fornication is a sin. So, we need to know what that means so we can avoid that sin. The word is “porneia” in the Greek. Often translated fornication or sexual immorality.
https://biblehub.com/commentaries/1_corinthians/5-1.htm
“The original word, πορνεια, implies (sexual) criminal conversation of any kind whatever; and is used by the LXX., and by the writers of the New Testament, …., namely, to denote all the different kinds of uncleanness committed, whether between men and women, or between men, or with beasts.
It’s the general word for sexual immorality.
To help with understanding let’s look at a passage of Scripture.
Paul will write later in this letter about some who chose to remain unmarried, or virgins.
1 Corinthians 7: Now concerning the things whereof ye wrote unto me: It is good for a man not to touch a woman. 2 Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband. 3 Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence: and likewise also the wife unto the husband. 4 The wife hath not power of her own body, but the husband: and likewise also the husband hath not power of his own body, but the wife.
Paul is saying that if you want to avoid all forms of sexual immorality, get married.
In the context of this passage, fornication is any sexual activity outside of that between a married man and woman. And the Bible spells it out even more explicitly.
What is fornication?
So, fornication is premarital sex. The passage we just read establishes that.
1 Corinthians 7:2 2 Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband.
The remedy to prevent fornication is to get married. Another passage…
Hebrews 13:4 4 Marriage is honorable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.
In other words, the marriage bed is undefiled, or un-sinful, any other intimacy will be judged. This law started in the Old Testament.
Deuteronomy 22:28-29 28 “If a man finds a girl who is a virgin, who is not engaged, and seizes her and lies with her and they are found, 29 then the man who lay with her shall give to the girl’s father fifty shekels of silver, and she shall become his wife because he has violated her; he cannot divorce her all his days.
We have to be careful here. Because of the English wording this almost sounds like a rape. But it can’t be a rape, because Old Testament law provided the punishment of death for rape. There is no call for the death penalty here. The implication is that this was consensual. And again, the implication is that there should be no sexual relationship prior to marriage. If there was, they should marry.
What is fornication?
Fornication is adultery.
Hebrews 13:4 4 Marriage is honorable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.
What is adultery? It is sexual intimacy with a married individual. And again, the Old Testament punishment was death.
Leviticus 20:10 ‘If there is a man who commits adultery with another man’s wife, one who commits adultery with his friend’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.
Now let me say something here. I am not advocating the death penalty for these sexual sins. These laws were designed for Israel when they were a theocracy. A theocracy is a society ruled by God. But the passages do give us an understanding of how seriously God regarded the sins of fornication.
What is fornication?
Fornication is Homosexuality,
Years ago, I delivered a series of sermons addressing homosexuality and the Bible. The Scripture that was based on is in a transcript on our website pvbiblealive.com. But for today just consider an Old Testament and a New Testament passage.
Leviticus 18:22 22 And you shall not lie with a male as [a]one lies with a female; it is an abomination.1 Corinthians 6:9-11 Legacy Standard Bible
9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor [a]effeminate, nor homosexuals, 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.
Paul is saying that you were forgiven of these sins, so don’t continue actively practicing them. We are sometimes tempted. And Christians do fail. But when we do, we repent, confess, seek a new mind, and seek purity.
What is fornication?
Fornication is Pornography in all its forms. When I say in all its forms, I mean that there is much that is on the market today that 100 years ago would be called pornography. There are many books and magazines with stories and words that are pornographic, but the world doesn’t consider them so. Pornography used to be hidden away, in back rooms, in brown paper wrappings. Today it can be found in the school and public library. It is on Tiktok videos and in Disney movies.
Frankly, we have become very lax. We have lost our vigilance. I have become very lax. Today sexual relationships are portrayed so often on the screen that we have become immune to it. Why does it matter? Because we are the Bride of Christ, and we seek to be pure for the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.
But think of it this way. Every time you see an intimate relationship portrayed, even if you don’t “see anything” you have introduced to your imagination, a sexual relationship with the people on the screen. And we are not to do that. We have a very high calling—a renewed mind—not just actions, but thoughts.
Matthew 5:27-29 27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery’; 28 but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
How do you get there while living in this society? Extreme separation—not monasticism. Jesus said…
29 But if your right eye makes you [a]stumble, tear it out and throw it from you; for it is better for you [b]to lose one of the parts of your body, [c]than for your whole body to be thrown into [d]hell.
The right eye and hand were considered the best eye and hand on the body. So, Jesus is saying that even if you have to rid yourself of something that is your best thing. If doing so keeps you from sexual sin, you have traded the good for the great.
I think most here about all the information that is available to us on our phones or on the internet. But we also know that there is a lot of sexual filth on the internet. So, what does getting rid of your right hand or eye mean in this situation? Restricting yourself from access to the filth. Whether that means a filter that you have no control over, or totally unplugging from the net, you may need to “cut it off and cast it from you.”
What’s the goal? No impure thoughts. No impure words. Anybody heard of coarse jesting?Ephesians 5:3-5 Legacy Standard Bible
3 But sexual immorality [a]or any impurity or greed must not even be named among you, as is proper among [b]saints; 4 nor filthiness and foolish talk, or coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. 5 For this you know with certainty, that no one sexually immoral or impure or greedy, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.
What is coarse jesting? Dirty jokes. What is the goal? No impure thoughts
Now, as I preach this, I don’t want to give the impression that I am a Puritan in this regard; that I have it all together. But the older I get, the more I start thinking about what is going into my brain, and out of my mouth. I hear bad language on videos and T.V.. I hear it in the classroom at school. And do you know what I fear? I fear that I will grow old and lose my ability to restrain my thoughts. I’ll be that old preacher who suddenly has a filthy mouth. I fear it because those words and thoughts are in there. I am exposed, sometimes daily. So, I need to make sure that I don’t expose myself to stuff voluntarily.
What is fornication? 3 more particular acts, and we won’t belabor these; they are self-explanatory.
Fornication is Bestiality,
Leviticus 18:23 23 Also you shall not lie with any animal to be defiled with it, nor shall any woman stand before an animal to [a]mate with it; it is a perversion.
What is fornication?
Fornication is Prostitution,
Leviticus 19:29 ‘Do not profane your daughter by making her a harlot, so that the land will not fall to harlotry and the land become full of lewdness.
What is fornication?
Fornication is Incest, intimacy with a close relation—one of the oldest laws—the specifics are in Leviticus 18
Leviticus 18: 6None of you shall approach to any that is near of kin to him, to uncover their nakedness: I am the LORD. 7 The nakedness of thy father, or the nakedness of thy mother, shalt thou not uncover: she is thy mother; thou shalt not uncover her nakedness.8The nakedness of thy father's wife shalt thou not uncover: it is thy father's nakedness.9The nakedness of thy sister, the daughter of thy father, or daughter of thy mother, whether she be born at home, or born abroad, even their nakedness thou shalt not uncover.10The nakedness of thy son's daughter, or of thy daughter's daughter, even their nakedness thou shalt not uncover: for theirs is thine own nakedness.11The nakedness of thy father's wife's daughter, begotten of thy father, she is thy sister, thou shalt not uncover her nakedness.12Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy father's sister: she is thy father's near kinswoman.13Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy mother's sister: for she is thy mother's near kinswoman.14Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy father's brother, thou shalt not approach to his wife: she is thine aunt.15Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy daughter in law: she is thy son's wife; thou shalt not uncover her nakedness.16Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy brother's wife: it is thy brother's nakedness.17Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of a woman and her daughter, neither shalt thou take her son's daughter, or her daughter's daughter, to uncover her nakedness; for they are her near kinswomen: it is wickedness.
So that’s the definition of fornication; any sexual intimacy outside of a relationship between one man and one woman in marriage.
But we’ve faltered on living up to the calling to sexual purity. And therein is the problem. The world has made its way into the church, and frankly, even into its pulpits. It’s no wonder that the church is failing in America. We just have to look at the search histories on phones, computers, TVs, Netflix, Hulu, or Disney + to know why. We just have to look at books being read, words being spoken.
How do I renew my mind? Let’s close with a self-evaluation tool.
We can supplement our accountability to others by reading slowly through literature designed to challenge our Christian maturity. Consider, as an example, these questions related to sexual purity that I had to read carefully as I read Kent Hughes' Liberating Ministry from the Success Syndrome:
1.
Are we being desensitized by the present evil world? Do things that once
shocked us now pass us by with little notice? Have our sexual ethics slackened?
2. Where do our minds wander when we have no duties to perform?
3. What are we reading? Are there books or magazines or files in our libraries
that we want no one else to see?
4. What are we renting at the local video stores? How many hours do we spend
watching TV? How many adulteries did we watch last week? How many murders? How
many did we watch with our children?
5. How many chapters of the Bible did we read last week?
Leading the Way by Paul Borthwick, Navpress, 1989, pp. 120-121.
The church needs to repent. This preacher needs to repent.
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