WEBVTT

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 For those of you who are visiting, my name is Sean.

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 It's a welcome you here, and I have the privilege of,

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 I'm one of the pastors here and get to preach God's Word on most weeks.

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 And the benefit of going through a book of the Bible expositionally,

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 like we're doing now, going through the book of 1 Corinthians,

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 is that you don't get to skip difficult topics, right?

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 So here we are with talking about incest and judgment

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 and excommunication on this Sunday.

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 But God's grace will still shine through in this passage.

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 So let's look at 1 Corinthians 5, 1-13.

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 And figuring out whether or not we should pass judgment on others as God's people

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 is, and if we are supposed to do it, then what is appropriate judgment?

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 What is an appropriate judgment?

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 That's a very complex biblical issue.

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 So, for example, look at Matthew 7, 1-5, where Jesus says,

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 Judge not that you be not judged,

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 for with judgment you pronounce, you will be judged.

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 And with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

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 Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye,

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 but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?

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 Or how can you say to your brother,

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 Let me take the speck out of your eye,

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 when there is the log in your own eye?

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 You hypocrite.

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 First take the log out of your own eye,

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 and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.

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 And it's a very famous passage we all know about.

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 And then in the preceding chapter of this book,

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 Paul said in chapter 4, verse 3,

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 But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you,

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 or by any human court.

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 In fact, I do not even judge myself.

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 Right?

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 So what in the world then,

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 given all these things that Paul's saying,

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 does he mean here in verse 3 of chapter 5,

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 I have already pronounced judgment on the one who is sexually immoral.

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 So is Paul doing what Jesus told him not to do?

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 Is Paul doing what he himself prohibit the church from doing in the previous chapter?

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 And so the question, this is a complex question,

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 and the question of whether or not we are to judge

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 is further complicated by our own sinfulness.

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 Because on the one hand, in our sinful pride,

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 we hastily pass judgment on people

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 while simultaneously thinking ourselves to be above judgment.

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 And so we're to say things like,

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 Who are you to judge me?

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 Right?

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 On the other hand, in our sinful fear,

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 we neglect to confront persistent willful sins

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 in our brothers and sisters

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 who need our loving admonishment.

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 So our passage for today is one of the most helpful

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 and clear passages for navigating these complex issues

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 that we face in our life together as a church.

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 So Paul's main point in this passage is this,

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 is that the church that has been purified by Christ's sacrifice

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 must purge the evil from their mist.

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 That's the main point.

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 The church that has been purified by Christ's sacrifice

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 must purge the evil from their mist.

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 And we will talk in turn about whom we should purge,

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 verses 1 to 2 and 9 to 13,

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 and then about how we should purge evil,

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 and then finally about why we should purge evil from our mist.

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 And they'll be my three main points.

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 So first, let's look at whom we should purge

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 in verses 1 to 2 and 9 to 13.

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 So having addressed the Corinthian believers'

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 inappropriate boasting in human leaders

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 and their worldly wisdom up to this point in the letter,

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 Paul turns his attention to the related

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 but more specific issues that beset the Corinthian church.

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 So here it begins in verse 1.

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 It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you

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 and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans.

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 For a man has his father's wife.

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 The word actually conveys Paul's disbelief, right?

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 It's actually reported that there's sexual immorality among you, right?

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 And according to Genesis 2.24,

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 the only appropriate context for sexual relations

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 is intergendered and monogamous relationship

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 in the context of marriage.

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 So in the word sexual immorality,

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 that includes all forms of sexual relations

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 outside of that biblical vision.

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 And sexual immorality is often featured prominently

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 in the list of vices throughout the New Testament.

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 And it's not because, you know,

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 Christians are particularly prudish or squeamish

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 when it comes to the topic of sex.

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 In fact, Christians are the only ones

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 that truly know how to enjoy sex

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 within the God-given proper bounds.

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 But the reason why sexual immorality

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 is so frequently condemned in the New Testament

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 is because it was one of the most prevalent

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 and persistent sins in the Greco-Roman culture

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 in which the New Testament was written.

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 There was a widespread saying among the Greeks.

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 It went like this.

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 Mistresses we keep for the sake of pleasure,

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 concubines for the daily care of the body,

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 but wives to bear us legitimate children.

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 That was a prevalent attitude among men

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 in the Greco-Roman culture.

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 No wonder the New Testament vehemently condemned

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 sexual immorality and repeatedly it does so.

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 And so, furthermore, we know for certain

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 that from chapter 6 in the next chapter,

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 that the Corinthian believers,

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 Corinthian believers before their conversion

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 were in fact guilty of sexual immorality.

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 And in fact, some of them were still persisting

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 in sexual immorality after.

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 And so this is definitely a very pertinent issue.

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 And that's why it's often mentioned throughout Scripture.

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 But it wasn't merely the case that they were engaging

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 in the kinds of sexual immorality

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 that seemingly everyone around us seemed to engage in.

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 Their offense was even more flagrant

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 because Paul says in verse 1,

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 So it's been reported that this is a kind of sexual immorality

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 that even the non-Christians in their culture condemn.

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 But yet that has been reported to be existing

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 in this Corinthian church.

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 And the phrase father's wife is taken from Leviticus 18, 7-8.

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 And in that passage, uncovering, the language is used,

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 uncovering the nakedness of one's father

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 is distinguished from uncovering the nakedness of one's mother.

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 And both are condemned.

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 So the fact that those two things are distinguished

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 shows us that the father's wife is not a reference

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 to someone's mom, but rather to probably his concubine

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 or a woman that's sexually related to his father

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 but not his biological mother.

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 But both were condemned nonetheless.

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 And here it seems that because only the man is addressed,

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 the man who is sexually immoral,

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 it seems that the issue is the woman is not a member of the church,

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 but the man is.

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 And so the man is the one that's being addressed here.

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 But it wasn't...

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 So Paul uses the language of possession here

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 to refer to the crime.

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 This is a man has his father's wife

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 and the language of possession is a euphemism

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 for sexual immorality, sexual relations.

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 And the present tense of the verb has

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 implies ongoing, enduring relationship.

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 So that means this has been happening

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 out in the open for everyone to see

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 and it has been ongoing.

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 It's something...

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 It wasn't a one-off thing.

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 It was not a one-night stand.

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 And Paul is shocked that such a thing is happening

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 in the Corinthian church.

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 And so he continues in verse 2,

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 And you are arrogant.

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 Ought you not rather to mourn?

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 Let him who has done this be removed from among you.

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 What's even more shocking than the egregious sin

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 that the Corinthians were tolerating

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 is the fact that while harboring such sin in their midst,

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 they were arrogant.

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 This is the same word that Paul used in chapter 4

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 to describe the Corinthians.

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 They were puffed up.

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 It's the same word, right?

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 In their boasting in worldly wisdom and human leaders,

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 the Corinthians were puffed up.

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 And now, even now,

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 instead of humbling themselves in repentance,

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 they are boasting.

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 They're puffed up in their own superior spirituality.

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 And this is helpful for us

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 because nowadays when we think about

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 church disciplining its members,

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 we assume that it's because of...

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 When the church refuses to discipline its members,

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 we think that that's because of humility, right?

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 I mean, that's the common way to think about it.

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 We think, oh, who are we to judge, right?

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 Oh, who are we to cast the first stone, right?

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 And so we think that it's humility

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 that prevents the church from disciplining its members.

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 And on the other hand,

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 we think that it's pride

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 that leads to judgment of its members

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 and discipline of its members.

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 We think it's characterized

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 by a holier-than-thou attitude.

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 But according to Paul in this word of God here,

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 the Corinthian church refused to discipline

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 its erring member,

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 not because of their humility,

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 but because of their arrogance.

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 If they were humble

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 and they mourned the sin in their midst,

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 they would have addressed it.

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 But because they were arrogant,

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 they presumed upon God's grace

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 and they were content

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 not to do anything about it.

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 So we're wrong to think

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 that it's the humble church

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 that doesn't discipline its church.

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 It's the arrogant church

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 that refuses to discipline its members.

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 And the problem was not merely

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 that the Corinthian was returning a blind eye

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 and just saying, okay, let that be.

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 I mean, it's not right,

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 but just let it be.

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 That's not what they were doing.

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 We know this because Paul uses

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 the language of puffed up again

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 in 1 Corinthians 8.1,

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 where the Corinthians say things like,

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 all of us possess knowledge, they said.

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 And because of that,

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 they were eating food offered

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 sacrificed to idols.

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 And in that, Paul says,

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 they were puffed up.

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 And so they were using

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 their spiritual freedom

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 and their really pretext

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 that they have all this knowledge,

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 knowing that all these idols are nothing,

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 that there was only one true God.

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 They were like, it's okay

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 to eat food sacrificed to idols.

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 I mean, it's true to an extent,

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 but they were doing so

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 at the expense of other believers' conscience.

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 They're violating the other believers' conscience

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 and making them stumble.

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 And in that, Paul says,

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 you're abusing your spiritual freedom

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 to harm other believers,

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 and that was wrong.

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 And in that, that was their arrogance.

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 And we find an even closer example of this

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 in chapter 6, verse 12,

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 where Paul describes another one

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 of the Corinthian slogans.

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 And this one, it goes this way.

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 They said,

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 all things are lawful for me.

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 So the Corinthians were saying this,

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 repeating the slogan to themselves

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 to justify certain sinful behaviors.

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 And in chapter 6,

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 specifically to justify sleeping with prostitutes.

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 They were saying,

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 all things are lawful for me,

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 so it's okay for us to sleep with prostitutes.

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 And on the surface,

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 it sounds,

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 that phrase sounds like

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 one of Paul's hallmark teachings,

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 doesn't it?

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 Because Paul says here,

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 in Galatians 5, 18,

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 but if you are led by the Spirit,

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 you are not under the law, right?

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 And then,

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 but they're, of course,

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 abusing Paul's teaching

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 because Paul anticipates

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 the Corinthian response

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 and addresses it in Galatians 5, 13,

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 where he says,

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 for you were called to freedom,

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 brothers,

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 only do not use your freedom

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 as an opportunity for the flesh,

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 but through love serve one another.

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 Similarly, Paul says in Romans 6, 14 to 16,

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 for sin will have no dominion over you

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 since you are not under law,

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 but under grace.

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 What then?

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 Are we to sin

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 because we are not under law,

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 but under grace?

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 By no means.

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 Do you not know

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 that if you present yourselves

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 to anyone as obedient slaves,

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 you are slaves of the one whom you obey,

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 either of sin,

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 which leads to death,

00:10:57.120 --> 00:10:57.840
 or of obedience,

00:10:57.960 --> 00:10:58.980
 which leads to righteousness?

00:10:59.700 --> 00:11:01.180
 So while it is true

00:11:01.180 --> 00:11:02.660
 that those who are in Christ

00:11:02.660 --> 00:11:03.600
 and therefore,

00:11:03.840 --> 00:11:05.960
 and because Christ perfectly fulfilled the law

00:11:05.960 --> 00:11:07.560
 and his righteousness is ours,

00:11:07.559 --> 00:11:09.219
 we are no longer under the law.

00:11:09.479 --> 00:11:10.419
 That is true.

00:11:10.759 --> 00:11:12.679
 But the fact that we are no longer under the law

00:11:12.679 --> 00:11:14.559
 does not mean that we can go on sinning

00:11:14.559 --> 00:11:15.779
 because to do so would mean

00:11:15.779 --> 00:11:17.339
 that we remain slaves to sin

00:11:17.339 --> 00:11:18.299
 when, in fact,

00:11:18.339 --> 00:11:20.079
 we have been freed from slavery to sin.

00:11:20.559 --> 00:11:21.399
 So for Paul,

00:11:21.539 --> 00:11:22.819
 Christian freedom in Christ

00:11:22.819 --> 00:11:25.559
 was supposed to lead to greater obedience.

00:11:26.059 --> 00:11:26.799
 It was an opportunity

00:11:26.799 --> 00:11:28.500
 to follow the Holy Spirit,

00:11:28.839 --> 00:11:29.759
 not the flesh,

00:11:29.919 --> 00:11:31.159
 but the Corinthians were abusing

00:11:31.159 --> 00:11:32.059
 their spiritual freedom

00:11:32.059 --> 00:11:32.639
 to say,

00:11:32.899 --> 00:11:34.059
 all things are lawful for me,

00:11:34.119 --> 00:11:35.439
 and they were living in sin.

00:11:35.440 --> 00:11:38.400
 And so they were twisting Paul's teaching

00:11:38.400 --> 00:11:40.240
 really to suit their fancies

00:11:40.240 --> 00:11:41.480
 and indulge their sinful flesh.

00:11:42.020 --> 00:11:42.660
 They considered themselves

00:11:42.660 --> 00:11:44.820
 to be so preeminently spiritual

00:11:44.820 --> 00:11:45.900
 that they believed

00:11:45.900 --> 00:11:47.160
 that they were above the law

00:11:47.160 --> 00:11:47.840
 and saying,

00:11:48.280 --> 00:11:49.720
 all things are lawful for me.

00:11:49.780 --> 00:11:50.840
 And so Paul says to them

00:11:50.840 --> 00:11:52.180
 and rebukes them in verse 2,

00:11:52.440 --> 00:11:53.780
 and you are arrogant.

00:11:54.480 --> 00:11:56.400
 I should not rather to mourn.

00:11:57.060 --> 00:11:59.940
 So Paul prescribes this in verse 2,

00:11:59.940 --> 00:12:01.820
 let him who has done this

00:12:01.820 --> 00:12:03.980
 be removed from among you.

00:12:04.600 --> 00:12:06.080
 The only proper way

00:12:06.080 --> 00:12:07.780
 to deal with this kind of sin

00:12:07.780 --> 00:12:08.580
 in this situation

00:12:08.580 --> 00:12:09.840
 is to remove

00:12:09.840 --> 00:12:11.260
 the sexually immoral person

00:12:11.260 --> 00:12:12.380
 from their midst.

00:12:12.740 --> 00:12:13.880
 That's the final stage,

00:12:13.980 --> 00:12:15.040
 really the last resort

00:12:15.040 --> 00:12:16.920
 of the process of church discipline,

00:12:17.240 --> 00:12:19.240
 which some people call excommunication.

00:12:20.260 --> 00:12:20.680
 But wait,

00:12:21.600 --> 00:12:22.140
 that's probably,

00:12:22.320 --> 00:12:23.800
 some of you guys are the wrong way, right?

00:12:23.860 --> 00:12:25.700
 Because isn't this the case

00:12:25.700 --> 00:12:26.520
 that a church

00:12:26.519 --> 00:12:29.000
 is not a museum for saints,

00:12:29.360 --> 00:12:30.919
 it's a hospital for sinners.

00:12:32.360 --> 00:12:33.259
 You guys have probably

00:12:33.259 --> 00:12:34.240
 heard that phrase, right?

00:12:35.079 --> 00:12:36.639
 It's a popular quote

00:12:36.639 --> 00:12:37.980
 from Pauline Phillips

00:12:37.980 --> 00:12:40.740
 who ran an advice column

00:12:40.740 --> 00:12:41.659
 entitled Dear Abby

00:12:41.659 --> 00:12:42.819
 in the 1950s.

00:12:43.500 --> 00:12:44.799
 But it was adapted

00:12:44.799 --> 00:12:45.519
 and popularized

00:12:45.519 --> 00:12:46.600
 by this viral

00:12:46.600 --> 00:12:48.179
 Christian spoken word video.

00:12:48.319 --> 00:12:49.399
 I'm sure you guys have seen it.

00:12:50.279 --> 00:12:52.559
 But the statement

00:12:52.559 --> 00:12:53.480
 is only half true.

00:12:54.100 --> 00:12:55.100
 Because yes,

00:12:55.199 --> 00:12:55.899
 it is true

00:12:55.899 --> 00:12:57.039
 that a church

00:12:57.039 --> 00:12:58.559
 is a hospital for sinners,

00:12:58.840 --> 00:13:00.360
 but it is also true

00:13:00.360 --> 00:13:01.039
 that the church

00:13:01.039 --> 00:13:02.740
 is a home for saints.

00:13:04.740 --> 00:13:06.459
 Christians are simultaneously

00:13:06.459 --> 00:13:07.879
 saint and sinner

00:13:07.879 --> 00:13:09.340
 with the biblical accent

00:13:09.340 --> 00:13:10.759
 actually falling on saint

00:13:10.759 --> 00:13:12.019
 because for the Christians,

00:13:12.240 --> 00:13:14.519
 sin is an ever-decreasing reality

00:13:14.519 --> 00:13:15.659
 while our holiness

00:13:15.659 --> 00:13:17.100
 is an ever-increasing reality

00:13:17.100 --> 00:13:17.799
 as we conform

00:13:17.799 --> 00:13:19.120
 to the image of Christ.

00:13:19.899 --> 00:13:20.759
 So the church,

00:13:20.899 --> 00:13:21.059
 yes,

00:13:21.120 --> 00:13:22.419
 it is a hospital for sinners

00:13:22.419 --> 00:13:23.139
 in a sense

00:13:23.139 --> 00:13:24.399
 that all sinners

00:13:24.399 --> 00:13:25.460
 of all strife,

00:13:25.460 --> 00:13:26.500
 no matter what kind

00:13:26.500 --> 00:13:27.400
 of sinner you are,

00:13:27.560 --> 00:13:28.560
 you are welcome here

00:13:28.560 --> 00:13:29.340
 to come and receive

00:13:29.340 --> 00:13:30.160
 the grace of God

00:13:30.160 --> 00:13:31.200
 and to find the healing

00:13:31.200 --> 00:13:32.120
 of Jesus Christ.

00:13:32.420 --> 00:13:33.540
 But it is not

00:13:33.540 --> 00:13:34.940
 a hospital for sinners

00:13:34.940 --> 00:13:35.480
 in the sense

00:13:35.480 --> 00:13:36.440
 that you can come here

00:13:36.440 --> 00:13:37.259
 and keep sinning,

00:13:37.720 --> 00:13:38.639
 that you can come here

00:13:38.639 --> 00:13:39.560
 and remain a sinner.

00:13:43.019 --> 00:13:44.120
 The problem here

00:13:44.120 --> 00:13:45.740
 is not that a sinner

00:13:45.740 --> 00:13:47.100
 is sinning,

00:13:47.240 --> 00:13:48.800
 but that a so-called saint,

00:13:48.799 --> 00:13:50.379
 a person who claims

00:13:50.379 --> 00:13:51.159
 to have renounced

00:13:51.159 --> 00:13:52.259
 his sinful ways

00:13:52.259 --> 00:13:53.859
 is persisting

00:13:53.859 --> 00:13:54.899
 presumptuously

00:13:54.899 --> 00:13:56.059
 in his sins.

00:13:56.199 --> 00:13:57.019
 That's the problem.

00:13:57.779 --> 00:13:59.059
 So don't misunderstand me here

00:13:59.059 --> 00:14:00.279
 because Paul's not saying

00:14:00.279 --> 00:14:01.339
 that only sinless people

00:14:01.339 --> 00:14:01.939
 can be members

00:14:01.939 --> 00:14:02.479
 of the church

00:14:02.479 --> 00:14:03.979
 because if that's the case,

00:14:04.059 --> 00:14:05.339
 we'd have exactly zero members

00:14:05.339 --> 00:14:05.899
 in our church,

00:14:06.240 --> 00:14:06.479
 right?

00:14:06.719 --> 00:14:07.620
 And that's not

00:14:07.620 --> 00:14:08.419
 what he's saying.

00:14:09.079 --> 00:14:09.699
 But a Christian,

00:14:09.799 --> 00:14:10.620
 and if you're a Christian

00:14:10.620 --> 00:14:11.419
 who is struggling

00:14:11.419 --> 00:14:13.179
 with certain besetting sins

00:14:13.179 --> 00:14:13.719
 during your life,

00:14:13.799 --> 00:14:15.079
 whether it's sexual immorality

00:14:15.079 --> 00:14:16.179
 or something else,

00:14:16.179 --> 00:14:17.759
 and you repented of them

00:14:17.759 --> 00:14:18.799
 and you've been trying

00:14:18.799 --> 00:14:19.639
 to reform your ways,

00:14:19.699 --> 00:14:20.559
 then this passage

00:14:20.559 --> 00:14:21.839
 should not be something

00:14:21.839 --> 00:14:22.839
 that makes you insecure

00:14:22.839 --> 00:14:23.859
 about your salvation

00:14:23.859 --> 00:14:25.159
 or make you worry

00:14:25.159 --> 00:14:25.779
 that you're going to get

00:14:25.779 --> 00:14:26.719
 kicked out of the church.

00:14:27.839 --> 00:14:29.159
 What Paul's addressing here

00:14:29.159 --> 00:14:30.799
 is unrepentant sin,

00:14:31.199 --> 00:14:31.379
 right?

00:14:31.799 --> 00:14:32.899
 What Paul's addressing here

00:14:32.899 --> 00:14:34.399
 is of a public

00:14:34.399 --> 00:14:35.599
 and egregious nature.

00:14:36.159 --> 00:14:37.199
 And the sexually immoral

00:14:37.199 --> 00:14:37.839
 Corinthian brother

00:14:37.839 --> 00:14:38.819
 was brazenly

00:14:38.819 --> 00:14:40.179
 and unapologetically

00:14:40.179 --> 00:14:41.099
 persisting

00:14:41.099 --> 00:14:42.740
 in this incestuous relationship

00:14:42.740 --> 00:14:44.259
 and that's why Paul's teaching

00:14:44.259 --> 00:14:45.219
 that we must judge

00:14:45.220 --> 00:14:46.300
 such a brother.

00:14:47.100 --> 00:14:47.800
 And that's why

00:14:47.800 --> 00:14:48.399
 this teaching

00:14:48.399 --> 00:14:49.540
 to judge one another

00:14:49.540 --> 00:14:50.320
 in the church

00:14:50.320 --> 00:14:51.259
 doesn't contradict

00:14:51.259 --> 00:14:52.399
 Jesus' teaching

00:14:52.399 --> 00:14:53.740
 about not judging

00:14:53.740 --> 00:14:54.920
 in Matthew chapter 7

00:14:54.920 --> 00:14:55.899
 because there

00:14:55.899 --> 00:14:57.220
 Jesus is disallowing

00:14:57.220 --> 00:14:58.600
 hypocritical judging,

00:14:58.779 --> 00:14:58.960
 right?

00:14:59.320 --> 00:14:59.899
 When you have,

00:15:00.379 --> 00:15:01.379
 we point out

00:15:01.379 --> 00:15:02.379
 a minor shortcoming

00:15:02.379 --> 00:15:02.800
 or fault

00:15:02.800 --> 00:15:03.779
 in a brother or sister

00:15:03.779 --> 00:15:04.779
 while ignoring

00:15:04.779 --> 00:15:05.920
 a much greater fault

00:15:05.920 --> 00:15:06.660
 of your own

00:15:06.660 --> 00:15:07.940
 that's clouding

00:15:07.940 --> 00:15:08.440
 your judgment,

00:15:08.639 --> 00:15:08.800
 right?

00:15:09.279 --> 00:15:10.340
 So Jesus is condemning

00:15:10.340 --> 00:15:11.480
 that kind of hypocritical judgment.

00:15:12.360 --> 00:15:12.860
 And also,

00:15:13.040 --> 00:15:13.800
 it doesn't contradict

00:15:13.800 --> 00:15:14.759
 what Paul said earlier

00:15:14.759 --> 00:15:15.779
 in chapter 4 verse 3

00:15:15.779 --> 00:15:16.179
 when he said,

00:15:16.299 --> 00:15:16.799
 but with me

00:15:16.799 --> 00:15:17.840
 it is a very small thing

00:15:17.840 --> 00:15:18.759
 that I should be judged

00:15:18.759 --> 00:15:20.039
 by you or by any human court.

00:15:20.360 --> 00:15:21.319
 Because in that case

00:15:21.319 --> 00:15:22.899
 there was no sin involved,

00:15:23.039 --> 00:15:23.240
 right?

00:15:23.759 --> 00:15:24.799
 Paul didn't sin,

00:15:24.860 --> 00:15:25.480
 that's why he added,

00:15:25.580 --> 00:15:26.519
 for I am not aware

00:15:26.519 --> 00:15:27.580
 of anything against myself.

00:15:27.659 --> 00:15:28.120
 So the Corinthians

00:15:28.120 --> 00:15:29.179
 were not judging Paul

00:15:29.179 --> 00:15:30.240
 because of his sin,

00:15:30.559 --> 00:15:31.139
 rather they were

00:15:31.139 --> 00:15:31.919
 passing judgment

00:15:31.919 --> 00:15:32.799
 on his ministry

00:15:32.799 --> 00:15:33.860
 saying that that's

00:15:33.860 --> 00:15:34.620
 a poor way

00:15:34.620 --> 00:15:35.319
 to do ministry,

00:15:35.460 --> 00:15:36.279
 it's not fruitful,

00:15:36.500 --> 00:15:37.679
 we know a better way,

00:15:37.980 --> 00:15:38.700
 a better way

00:15:38.700 --> 00:15:40.299
 that's in addition to,

00:15:40.399 --> 00:15:41.019
 that supplements

00:15:41.019 --> 00:15:41.559
 the gospel.

00:15:41.559 --> 00:15:42.899
 And so there,

00:15:43.039 --> 00:15:44.099
 Corinthians were arrogantly

00:15:44.099 --> 00:15:45.139
 and prematurely

00:15:45.139 --> 00:15:46.279
 judging the quality

00:15:46.279 --> 00:15:47.159
 of Paul's ministry,

00:15:47.519 --> 00:15:48.539
 they weren't judging

00:15:48.539 --> 00:15:49.319
 his sin.

00:15:50.899 --> 00:15:51.579
 And so here,

00:15:51.719 --> 00:15:52.759
 it's a different case.

00:15:53.399 --> 00:15:54.739
 So then whom are we

00:15:54.739 --> 00:15:55.839
 called to judge

00:15:55.839 --> 00:15:56.539
 as a church?

00:15:56.839 --> 00:15:57.819
 Skip ahead with me

00:15:57.819 --> 00:15:58.319
 for a little bit

00:15:58.319 --> 00:15:59.599
 to verses 9 to 13.

00:16:00.439 --> 00:16:01.319
 There Paul mentions

00:16:01.319 --> 00:16:02.519
 a previous letter

00:16:02.519 --> 00:16:03.039
 that he had written

00:16:03.039 --> 00:16:03.699
 to the Corinthians

00:16:03.699 --> 00:16:04.739
 instructing them

00:16:04.739 --> 00:16:05.979
 not to associate

00:16:05.979 --> 00:16:07.119
 with sexually immoral people.

00:16:07.439 --> 00:16:08.419
 So this wasn't actually

00:16:08.419 --> 00:16:09.719
 the first Corinthian letter,

00:16:09.720 --> 00:16:11.240
 but by God's providence,

00:16:11.320 --> 00:16:11.899
 we don't have access

00:16:11.899 --> 00:16:12.480
 to that letter.

00:16:12.980 --> 00:16:13.800
 And apparently

00:16:13.800 --> 00:16:14.480
 in that letter,

00:16:14.660 --> 00:16:15.340
 he had told them

00:16:15.340 --> 00:16:15.899
 not to associate

00:16:15.899 --> 00:16:16.899
 with sexually immoral people,

00:16:17.019 --> 00:16:17.540
 but the Corinthians

00:16:17.540 --> 00:16:19.100
 misunderstood what he meant

00:16:19.100 --> 00:16:20.639
 or deliberately distorted it.

00:16:20.960 --> 00:16:22.399
 And so Paul clarifies himself

00:16:22.399 --> 00:16:23.639
 in verses 9 to 13.

00:16:23.759 --> 00:16:24.019
 He says,

00:16:24.399 --> 00:16:25.560
 I wrote to you in my letter

00:16:25.560 --> 00:16:26.420
 not to associate

00:16:26.420 --> 00:16:27.660
 with sexually immoral people,

00:16:27.899 --> 00:16:28.940
 not at all meaning

00:16:28.940 --> 00:16:29.720
 the sexually immoral

00:16:29.720 --> 00:16:30.840
 of this world

00:16:30.840 --> 00:16:31.899
 or the greedy

00:16:31.899 --> 00:16:32.660
 and swindlers

00:16:32.660 --> 00:16:33.480
 or idolaters.

00:16:33.720 --> 00:16:34.300
 Since then,

00:16:34.320 --> 00:16:34.680
 you would need

00:16:34.680 --> 00:16:35.600
 to go out of the world.

00:16:35.940 --> 00:16:37.019
 But now I am writing

00:16:37.019 --> 00:16:37.960
 to you not to associate

00:16:37.960 --> 00:16:38.500
 with anyone

00:16:38.500 --> 00:16:40.340
 who bears the name

00:16:40.340 --> 00:16:41.059
 of brother

00:16:41.059 --> 00:16:42.259
 if he is guilty

00:16:42.259 --> 00:16:43.460
 of sexual immorality

00:16:43.460 --> 00:16:44.120
 or greed

00:16:44.120 --> 00:16:45.340
 or is an idolater,

00:16:45.500 --> 00:16:46.000
 reviler,

00:16:46.399 --> 00:16:46.940
 drunkard,

00:16:47.080 --> 00:16:47.720
 or swindler,

00:16:48.340 --> 00:16:49.240
 not even to eat

00:16:49.240 --> 00:16:49.960
 with such one.

00:16:50.559 --> 00:16:52.720
 For what have I to do

00:16:52.720 --> 00:16:53.580
 with judging outsiders?

00:16:54.159 --> 00:16:55.200
 Is it not those

00:16:55.200 --> 00:16:56.220
 inside the church

00:16:56.220 --> 00:16:57.139
 whom you are to judge?

00:16:57.500 --> 00:16:59.019
 God judges those outside,

00:16:59.200 --> 00:17:00.759
 purge the evil person

00:17:00.759 --> 00:17:01.940
 from among you.

00:17:02.320 --> 00:17:02.960
 This passage

00:17:02.960 --> 00:17:03.700
 is so helpful

00:17:03.700 --> 00:17:04.480
 for clarifying

00:17:04.480 --> 00:17:05.539
 whom the church

00:17:05.539 --> 00:17:06.200
 is called to judge

00:17:06.200 --> 00:17:07.380
 because we are not

00:17:07.380 --> 00:17:08.279
 called to judge

00:17:08.279 --> 00:17:09.500
 the immoral people

00:17:09.500 --> 00:17:10.620
 of this world.

00:17:11.840 --> 00:17:12.940
 They don't accept

00:17:12.940 --> 00:17:13.620
 God's authority

00:17:13.620 --> 00:17:14.600
 and they are not

00:17:14.600 --> 00:17:16.279
 accountable to the church.

00:17:16.480 --> 00:17:17.519
 So it's futile

00:17:17.519 --> 00:17:18.160
 and inappropriate

00:17:18.160 --> 00:17:19.059
 to pass judgment

00:17:19.059 --> 00:17:20.000
 on them now.

00:17:20.740 --> 00:17:21.259
 Rather,

00:17:22.140 --> 00:17:22.640
 Paul's concern

00:17:22.640 --> 00:17:23.100
 is with someone

00:17:23.100 --> 00:17:24.340
 who claims to be

00:17:24.340 --> 00:17:24.920
 a member

00:17:24.920 --> 00:17:26.200
 of the family of God

00:17:26.200 --> 00:17:26.940
 who nevertheless

00:17:26.940 --> 00:17:28.160
 is guilty

00:17:28.160 --> 00:17:29.180
 of sexual immorality

00:17:29.180 --> 00:17:29.660
 or greed

00:17:29.660 --> 00:17:30.519
 or is an idolater,

00:17:30.600 --> 00:17:30.920
 reviler,

00:17:31.039 --> 00:17:31.380
 drunkard,

00:17:31.380 --> 00:17:31.860
 or swindler.

00:17:32.460 --> 00:17:33.440
 And this list of sin

00:17:33.440 --> 00:17:34.360
 that's mentioned here,

00:17:34.400 --> 00:17:35.799
 it's probably not exhaustive

00:17:35.799 --> 00:17:37.039
 because Paul lists

00:17:37.039 --> 00:17:37.700
 other vices

00:17:37.700 --> 00:17:38.419
 in different parts

00:17:38.419 --> 00:17:39.039
 of his epistles

00:17:39.039 --> 00:17:40.480
 and they overlap some

00:17:40.480 --> 00:17:41.220
 but they also differ

00:17:41.220 --> 00:17:41.859
 in some ways.

00:17:42.419 --> 00:17:43.240
 But while these are

00:17:43.240 --> 00:17:44.119
 not exhaustive

00:17:44.119 --> 00:17:44.919
 but they are probably

00:17:44.919 --> 00:17:45.579
 representative

00:17:45.579 --> 00:17:46.460
 of the ones

00:17:46.460 --> 00:17:47.819
 that were most flagrant

00:17:47.819 --> 00:17:48.259
 and common

00:17:48.259 --> 00:17:49.419
 in the Greco-Roman culture.

00:17:49.960 --> 00:17:50.619
 And it's amazing

00:17:50.619 --> 00:17:52.039
 as we look at this list

00:17:52.039 --> 00:17:53.039
 how representative

00:17:53.039 --> 00:17:54.440
 it is of the current sins

00:17:54.440 --> 00:17:55.659
 in 2018 as well.

00:17:56.419 --> 00:17:56.759
 First,

00:17:56.919 --> 00:17:58.220
 look at sexual immorality

00:17:58.220 --> 00:17:58.899
 as I mentioned earlier.

00:17:59.059 --> 00:18:00.240
 It includes all kinds

00:18:00.240 --> 00:18:01.139
 of sexual relations

00:18:01.139 --> 00:18:03.079
 outside of intergendered

00:18:03.079 --> 00:18:04.379
 and monogamous marriage.

00:18:04.380 --> 00:18:05.660
 And nowadays,

00:18:06.060 --> 00:18:07.100
 sexual aberrations

00:18:07.100 --> 00:18:07.840
 are normalized

00:18:07.840 --> 00:18:09.420
 and sexual transgressions

00:18:09.420 --> 00:18:10.620
 are glamorized

00:18:10.620 --> 00:18:11.580
 but the church

00:18:11.580 --> 00:18:12.500
 must observe

00:18:12.500 --> 00:18:13.620
 a different standard.

00:18:14.340 --> 00:18:15.140
 This doesn't mean,

00:18:15.280 --> 00:18:15.420
 however,

00:18:15.520 --> 00:18:16.020
 that the church

00:18:16.020 --> 00:18:17.060
 should expel

00:18:17.060 --> 00:18:17.600
 all members

00:18:17.600 --> 00:18:18.240
 who have ever been

00:18:18.240 --> 00:18:19.380
 guilty of sexual immorality

00:18:19.380 --> 00:18:20.660
 or currently struggle

00:18:20.660 --> 00:18:22.420
 with immoral sexual desires.

00:18:23.040 --> 00:18:23.780
 Being tempted

00:18:23.780 --> 00:18:24.980
 by sexual desires

00:18:24.980 --> 00:18:26.160
 and indulging

00:18:26.160 --> 00:18:27.200
 those sexual desires

00:18:27.200 --> 00:18:28.140
 in an unrepentant

00:18:28.140 --> 00:18:28.940
 and persistent way

00:18:28.940 --> 00:18:30.040
 are two different things.

00:18:31.440 --> 00:18:33.620
 Second vice listed

00:18:33.619 --> 00:18:34.219
 is greed,

00:18:34.539 --> 00:18:35.219
 which is everywhere

00:18:35.219 --> 00:18:35.879
 in our day,

00:18:36.000 --> 00:18:36.159
 right?

00:18:36.239 --> 00:18:37.139
 But perhaps seeing it

00:18:37.139 --> 00:18:38.359
 next to sexual immorality

00:18:38.359 --> 00:18:39.639
 surprises us a little bit,

00:18:39.699 --> 00:18:39.919
 right?

00:18:40.199 --> 00:18:41.179
 Because we tend to think,

00:18:41.239 --> 00:18:41.719
 ah, greed,

00:18:41.979 --> 00:18:42.219
 I mean,

00:18:42.859 --> 00:18:43.699
 everybody's greedy.

00:18:44.059 --> 00:18:44.439
 You know,

00:18:44.519 --> 00:18:45.399
 we think of it

00:18:45.399 --> 00:18:46.239
 as a lesser sin.

00:18:46.299 --> 00:18:46.599
 But Paul,

00:18:46.679 --> 00:18:47.559
 listen here,

00:18:47.559 --> 00:18:48.879
 right next to sexual immorality.

00:18:50.199 --> 00:18:51.159
 And it's because

00:18:51.159 --> 00:18:52.339
 we live in an economy,

00:18:52.479 --> 00:18:52.659
 right,

00:18:52.759 --> 00:18:53.519
 where profit

00:18:53.519 --> 00:18:54.359
 is the bottom line,

00:18:54.519 --> 00:18:54.699
 right?

00:18:54.759 --> 00:18:55.939
 And for generations

00:18:55.939 --> 00:18:56.639
 and generations,

00:18:56.839 --> 00:18:57.719
 we have leveraged

00:18:57.719 --> 00:18:58.879
 people's greed

00:18:58.879 --> 00:19:00.399
 to build our society,

00:19:00.819 --> 00:19:01.000
 right?

00:19:01.000 --> 00:19:01.980
 So hundreds of years

00:19:01.980 --> 00:19:03.220
 of this has desensitized

00:19:03.220 --> 00:19:04.539
 us to the evil of greed.

00:19:04.920 --> 00:19:05.519
 But that's why

00:19:05.519 --> 00:19:06.000
 it's helpful

00:19:06.000 --> 00:19:07.359
 to have the unchanging

00:19:07.359 --> 00:19:08.019
 word of God

00:19:08.019 --> 00:19:09.160
 critique our culture

00:19:09.160 --> 00:19:10.240
 rather than vice versa,

00:19:10.599 --> 00:19:11.119
 having our church

00:19:11.119 --> 00:19:12.119
 critique the word of God.

00:19:12.759 --> 00:19:13.579
 And so the word greed

00:19:13.579 --> 00:19:14.619
 is usually translated

00:19:14.619 --> 00:19:15.480
 as covetousness,

00:19:15.599 --> 00:19:16.819
 which is a form of idolatry

00:19:16.819 --> 00:19:18.200
 according to Colossians 3, 5.

00:19:18.539 --> 00:19:19.819
 And it refers to desiring

00:19:19.819 --> 00:19:20.839
 and scheming

00:19:20.839 --> 00:19:21.680
 to acquire

00:19:21.680 --> 00:19:23.099
 what belongs

00:19:23.099 --> 00:19:24.039
 to someone else.

00:19:24.980 --> 00:19:25.539
 So a person

00:19:25.539 --> 00:19:26.720
 who is guilty of greed

00:19:26.720 --> 00:19:27.279
 is someone

00:19:27.279 --> 00:19:28.460
 who seeks

00:19:28.460 --> 00:19:29.599
 to enrich himself

00:19:29.599 --> 00:19:30.240
 for herself

00:19:30.240 --> 00:19:31.480
 at the expense

00:19:31.480 --> 00:19:32.379
 of other people

00:19:32.379 --> 00:19:33.639
 and whose greed

00:19:33.639 --> 00:19:34.480
 manifests itself

00:19:34.480 --> 00:19:35.339
 in a harmful way

00:19:35.339 --> 00:19:36.419
 in his or her

00:19:36.419 --> 00:19:37.259
 regular interactions

00:19:37.259 --> 00:19:37.819
 with others.

00:19:39.059 --> 00:19:39.679
 And the third term

00:19:39.679 --> 00:19:40.519
 is idolatry.

00:19:40.939 --> 00:19:41.959
 Our pluralistic society

00:19:41.959 --> 00:19:42.619
 tells us that

00:19:42.619 --> 00:19:43.259
 all religions

00:19:43.259 --> 00:19:44.419
 are essentially the same

00:19:44.419 --> 00:19:45.919
 and all the gods

00:19:45.919 --> 00:19:47.459
 are different manifestations

00:19:47.459 --> 00:19:47.980
 or aspects

00:19:47.980 --> 00:19:49.019
 of the same thing

00:19:49.019 --> 00:19:50.199
 that all human beings

00:19:50.199 --> 00:19:50.659
 long for.

00:19:50.740 --> 00:19:51.359
 And this is not

00:19:51.359 --> 00:19:52.699
 dissimilar to the idolatry

00:19:52.699 --> 00:19:53.539
 that was common

00:19:53.539 --> 00:19:54.399
 in the Roman Empire

00:19:54.399 --> 00:19:55.419
 because the people

00:19:55.419 --> 00:19:56.039
 in those days

00:19:56.039 --> 00:19:57.219
 thought it expedient

00:19:57.219 --> 00:19:57.699
 to worship

00:19:57.699 --> 00:19:59.019
 all forms of gods

00:19:59.019 --> 00:20:00.079
 and appease

00:20:00.079 --> 00:20:00.839
 all the gods

00:20:00.839 --> 00:20:01.599
 so that they can

00:20:01.599 --> 00:20:03.519
 have their favor

00:20:03.519 --> 00:20:04.579
 and so that their

00:20:04.579 --> 00:20:05.740
 society can flourish.

00:20:06.299 --> 00:20:07.000
 And because of that

00:20:07.000 --> 00:20:07.619
 when Christians

00:20:07.619 --> 00:20:08.500
 refuse to worship

00:20:08.500 --> 00:20:09.039
 their gods

00:20:09.039 --> 00:20:09.720
 and only claim

00:20:09.720 --> 00:20:10.700
 to worship one god

00:20:10.700 --> 00:20:11.539
 they call them

00:20:11.539 --> 00:20:13.039
 Christians atheists

00:20:13.039 --> 00:20:13.980
 people who don't

00:20:13.980 --> 00:20:14.660
 believe in God.

00:20:15.879 --> 00:20:17.000
 And for a similar reason

00:20:17.000 --> 00:20:18.559
 Christians are denounced

00:20:18.559 --> 00:20:19.639
 today as exclusive

00:20:19.639 --> 00:20:21.960
 because if we acknowledge

00:20:21.960 --> 00:20:22.980
 a god other than

00:20:22.980 --> 00:20:23.960
 the one true god

00:20:23.960 --> 00:20:24.940
 we become an idolater.

00:20:25.980 --> 00:20:26.859
 Fourth item

00:20:26.859 --> 00:20:27.799
 is reviler.

00:20:27.799 --> 00:20:29.259
 Reviling includes

00:20:29.259 --> 00:20:30.240
 all forms of

00:20:30.240 --> 00:20:30.940
 verbal abuse

00:20:30.940 --> 00:20:31.740
 such as demeaning

00:20:31.740 --> 00:20:32.579
 insults

00:20:32.579 --> 00:20:33.259
 and damaging

00:20:33.259 --> 00:20:33.899
 slander.

00:20:34.559 --> 00:20:35.119
 But the person

00:20:35.119 --> 00:20:35.899
 in view is not

00:20:35.899 --> 00:20:36.519
 someone who

00:20:36.519 --> 00:20:37.879
 slips up once in a

00:20:37.879 --> 00:20:39.139
 while and repents

00:20:39.139 --> 00:20:39.480
 of it.

00:20:39.759 --> 00:20:40.740
 Rather the person

00:20:40.740 --> 00:20:41.480
 in view is someone

00:20:41.480 --> 00:20:42.279
 who is known

00:20:42.279 --> 00:20:43.419
 as a reviler.

00:20:44.079 --> 00:20:44.819
 Someone who is

00:20:44.819 --> 00:20:46.159
 consistently verbally

00:20:46.159 --> 00:20:46.639
 abusive

00:20:46.639 --> 00:20:48.139
 and who consistently

00:20:48.139 --> 00:20:49.339
 slanders others.

00:20:50.839 --> 00:20:51.700
 A drunkard

00:20:51.700 --> 00:20:53.079
 is pretty self-exponent

00:20:53.079 --> 00:20:53.859
 but refers to a

00:20:53.859 --> 00:20:54.740
 person who is

00:20:54.740 --> 00:20:55.659
 regularly given

00:20:55.660 --> 00:20:56.660
 to drunkenness

00:20:56.660 --> 00:20:58.160
 and the disorderly

00:20:58.160 --> 00:20:59.080
 conduct associated

00:20:59.080 --> 00:20:59.880
 with drunkenness.

00:21:00.600 --> 00:21:01.279
 And then swindler

00:21:01.279 --> 00:21:01.759
 is someone who

00:21:01.759 --> 00:21:02.500
 steals from

00:21:02.500 --> 00:21:03.380
 or defrauds

00:21:03.380 --> 00:21:04.120
 others for his

00:21:04.120 --> 00:21:04.700
 own gain.

00:21:05.019 --> 00:21:06.000
 Money laundering

00:21:06.000 --> 00:21:07.140
 tax evasion

00:21:07.140 --> 00:21:08.600
 pyramid schemes

00:21:08.600 --> 00:21:09.640
 false advertising

00:21:09.640 --> 00:21:10.200
 graft

00:21:10.200 --> 00:21:10.980
 all types of

00:21:10.980 --> 00:21:11.920
 scams would fall

00:21:11.920 --> 00:21:12.960
 under swindling.

00:21:13.440 --> 00:21:14.880
 And Paul instructs

00:21:14.880 --> 00:21:15.620
 the Corinthian church

00:21:15.620 --> 00:21:17.279
 not to associate

00:21:17.279 --> 00:21:18.960
 with such a person

00:21:18.960 --> 00:21:20.620
 not even to eat

00:21:20.620 --> 00:21:21.580
 with such a one.

00:21:21.579 --> 00:21:23.099
 And the phrase

00:21:23.099 --> 00:21:24.179
 associate with

00:21:24.179 --> 00:21:24.819
 literally means

00:21:24.819 --> 00:21:25.599
 to mix up

00:21:25.599 --> 00:21:26.279
 together with.

00:21:26.460 --> 00:21:27.559
 So it implies

00:21:27.559 --> 00:21:28.359
 some kind of

00:21:28.359 --> 00:21:29.579
 reciprocal relationship

00:21:29.579 --> 00:21:30.059
 some kind of

00:21:30.059 --> 00:21:31.039
 joint activity.

00:21:31.659 --> 00:21:32.220
 And Paul is saying

00:21:32.220 --> 00:21:32.919
 that as a community

00:21:32.919 --> 00:21:33.720
 you should not do

00:21:33.720 --> 00:21:34.759
 that with such people.

00:21:35.299 --> 00:21:36.279
 And he also says

00:21:36.279 --> 00:21:37.259
 it's in a similar way

00:21:37.259 --> 00:21:38.419
 not even to eat

00:21:38.419 --> 00:21:39.179
 with such a one

00:21:39.179 --> 00:21:40.319
 and there's some

00:21:40.319 --> 00:21:40.960
 debate about what

00:21:40.960 --> 00:21:41.419
 that means

00:21:41.419 --> 00:21:43.220
 and it's possible

00:21:43.220 --> 00:21:44.019
 that this is a

00:21:44.019 --> 00:21:44.819
 reference to the

00:21:44.819 --> 00:21:45.579
 Lord's Supper

00:21:45.579 --> 00:21:47.439
 of communion together

00:21:47.439 --> 00:21:48.539
 but I think it's

00:21:48.539 --> 00:21:49.519
 unlikely since the

00:21:49.519 --> 00:21:50.399
 word eat with

00:21:50.400 --> 00:21:51.600
 in the Bible

00:21:51.600 --> 00:21:52.480
 is never used

00:21:52.480 --> 00:21:52.980
 to refer to

00:21:52.980 --> 00:21:53.580
 the Lord's Supper.

00:21:53.840 --> 00:21:54.160
 This will be

00:21:54.160 --> 00:21:55.420
 the only occasion

00:21:55.420 --> 00:21:56.140
 if that's the case.

00:21:56.700 --> 00:21:57.040
 And also

00:21:57.040 --> 00:21:58.580
 so I think Paul

00:21:58.580 --> 00:21:59.640
 is referring to

00:21:59.640 --> 00:22:00.880
 and also kind of

00:22:00.880 --> 00:22:01.720
 Christian expulsion

00:22:01.720 --> 00:22:02.480
 from the church

00:22:02.480 --> 00:22:03.400
 would assume

00:22:03.400 --> 00:22:04.080
 I mean you would

00:22:04.080 --> 00:22:04.800
 assume that that

00:22:04.800 --> 00:22:05.860
 excludes the Lord's

00:22:05.860 --> 00:22:06.300
 Supper because

00:22:06.300 --> 00:22:07.300
 Lord's Supper implies

00:22:07.300 --> 00:22:08.600
 partaking in the church.

00:22:09.440 --> 00:22:10.340
 And so I don't think

00:22:10.340 --> 00:22:10.840
 that's what he's

00:22:10.840 --> 00:22:11.259
 referring to.

00:22:11.300 --> 00:22:11.940
 I think he's referring

00:22:11.940 --> 00:22:13.040
 to table fellowship

00:22:13.040 --> 00:22:13.560
 right?

00:22:14.280 --> 00:22:15.100
 And he's saying

00:22:15.100 --> 00:22:16.220
 don't have table fellowship

00:22:16.220 --> 00:22:17.240
 with such a person

00:22:17.240 --> 00:22:18.340
 because even today

00:22:18.340 --> 00:22:18.960
 right if you think

00:22:18.960 --> 00:22:19.420
 about it when you

00:22:19.420 --> 00:22:20.200
 have someone over

00:22:20.200 --> 00:22:20.759
 to your house

00:22:20.759 --> 00:22:21.360
 for a meal

00:22:21.360 --> 00:22:22.620
 it implies that

00:22:22.620 --> 00:22:23.100
 you are going

00:22:23.100 --> 00:22:24.019
 beyond mere

00:22:24.019 --> 00:22:25.000
 acquaintance to

00:22:25.000 --> 00:22:26.140
 actual acceptance

00:22:26.140 --> 00:22:26.559
 right?

00:22:26.819 --> 00:22:27.440
 It's a relationship

00:22:27.440 --> 00:22:27.880
 you're saying

00:22:27.880 --> 00:22:28.640
 acknowledging some

00:22:28.640 --> 00:22:29.400
 form of trust

00:22:29.400 --> 00:22:30.720
 but in the ancient

00:22:30.720 --> 00:22:31.660
 world table fellowship

00:22:31.660 --> 00:22:32.600
 was even more

00:22:32.600 --> 00:22:33.279
 meaningful and

00:22:33.279 --> 00:22:33.940
 significant than

00:22:33.940 --> 00:22:35.019
 it is today for us.

00:22:35.940 --> 00:22:37.140
 So now at this

00:22:37.140 --> 00:22:37.720
 point you're probably

00:22:37.720 --> 00:22:38.539
 wondering as I did

00:22:38.539 --> 00:22:39.460
 as I was studying

00:22:39.460 --> 00:22:39.940
 this passage

00:22:39.940 --> 00:22:41.799
 isn't that a little

00:22:41.799 --> 00:22:42.259
 harsh?

00:22:42.620 --> 00:22:42.759
 You know?

00:22:42.960 --> 00:22:43.440
 Like I mean

00:22:43.440 --> 00:22:45.420
 after all didn't

00:22:45.420 --> 00:22:46.420
 Jesus eat

00:22:46.420 --> 00:22:46.960
 eat with sinners?

00:22:48.039 --> 00:22:48.160
 Right?

00:22:48.640 --> 00:22:49.380
 Luke 15

00:22:49.380 --> 00:22:50.660
 verse 2

00:22:50.660 --> 00:22:51.580
 Pharisees and

00:22:51.580 --> 00:22:52.480
 the scribes

00:22:52.480 --> 00:22:53.279
 grumble against

00:22:53.279 --> 00:22:53.620
 Jesus

00:22:53.620 --> 00:22:54.340
 they say this

00:22:54.340 --> 00:22:55.340
 this man

00:22:55.340 --> 00:22:56.560
 receives sinners

00:22:56.560 --> 00:22:57.460
 and eats with

00:22:57.460 --> 00:22:57.800
 them.

00:22:58.580 --> 00:22:59.120
 That's the exact

00:22:59.120 --> 00:22:59.759
 same word that's

00:22:59.759 --> 00:23:00.140
 used here

00:23:00.140 --> 00:23:01.200
 Jesus ate with

00:23:01.200 --> 00:23:01.480
 sinners.

00:23:02.019 --> 00:23:02.800
 So if Jesus

00:23:02.800 --> 00:23:03.779
 ate with sinners

00:23:03.779 --> 00:23:04.840
 because he said

00:23:04.840 --> 00:23:06.279
 he came not to

00:23:06.279 --> 00:23:06.900
 you know

00:23:06.900 --> 00:23:08.320
 not to heal the

00:23:08.320 --> 00:23:08.840
 healthy but to

00:23:08.840 --> 00:23:09.480
 heal the sick

00:23:09.480 --> 00:23:10.720
 then why can we

00:23:10.720 --> 00:23:11.779
 as his followers

00:23:11.779 --> 00:23:13.080
 eat with sinners

00:23:13.080 --> 00:23:13.560
 in order to

00:23:13.560 --> 00:23:14.220
 minister to them

00:23:14.220 --> 00:23:14.680
 and bring them

00:23:14.680 --> 00:23:15.120
 to Jesus?

00:23:15.640 --> 00:23:16.720
 What's so wrong

00:23:16.720 --> 00:23:17.220
 about that?

00:23:17.360 --> 00:23:17.460
 Right?

00:23:18.100 --> 00:23:18.759
 And I think the

00:23:18.759 --> 00:23:19.519
 solution to this

00:23:19.519 --> 00:23:20.940
 seeming contradiction

00:23:20.940 --> 00:23:22.160
 lies in the context

00:23:22.160 --> 00:23:22.779
 in look at the

00:23:22.779 --> 00:23:23.420
 following verses

00:23:23.420 --> 00:23:24.740
 in verses 12 to 13.

00:23:25.980 --> 00:23:27.180
 For, right?

00:23:27.259 --> 00:23:27.880
 Meaning this is the

00:23:27.880 --> 00:23:28.660
 reason, this is the

00:23:28.660 --> 00:23:29.680
 grounds for this

00:23:29.680 --> 00:23:30.000
 command.

00:23:30.440 --> 00:23:31.980
 For, what have I to

00:23:31.980 --> 00:23:32.680
 do with judging

00:23:32.680 --> 00:23:33.319
 outsiders?

00:23:33.819 --> 00:23:34.700
 Is it not those

00:23:34.700 --> 00:23:35.700
 inside the church

00:23:35.700 --> 00:23:36.460
 whom you are to

00:23:36.460 --> 00:23:36.839
 judge?

00:23:37.259 --> 00:23:38.319
 God judges those

00:23:38.319 --> 00:23:39.640
 outside, purge the

00:23:39.640 --> 00:23:40.539
 evil person from

00:23:40.539 --> 00:23:41.000
 among you.

00:23:41.220 --> 00:23:42.160
 So these two verses

00:23:42.160 --> 00:23:43.220
 follow a neat kind

00:23:43.220 --> 00:23:44.039
 of A, B,

00:23:44.220 --> 00:23:45.200
 A, B kind of

00:23:45.200 --> 00:23:45.500
 formula.

00:23:45.740 --> 00:23:47.039
 So A, right here,

00:23:47.120 --> 00:23:47.740
 he's speaking of

00:23:47.740 --> 00:23:48.420
 how we shouldn't

00:23:48.420 --> 00:23:49.180
 judge outsiders.

00:23:49.519 --> 00:23:50.200
 And then B, he

00:23:50.200 --> 00:23:50.819
 talks about how we

00:23:50.819 --> 00:23:51.299
 should judge

00:23:51.299 --> 00:23:51.900
 insiders.

00:23:52.140 --> 00:23:53.019
 And then A, again,

00:23:53.079 --> 00:23:53.940
 about how God

00:23:53.940 --> 00:23:54.360
 will judge

00:23:54.360 --> 00:23:54.819
 outsiders.

00:23:55.000 --> 00:23:55.680
 And then B, how

00:23:55.680 --> 00:23:56.539
 church ought to

00:23:56.539 --> 00:23:57.559
 judge insiders and

00:23:57.559 --> 00:23:58.180
 purge the evil

00:23:58.180 --> 00:23:58.779
 from among them.

00:23:58.819 --> 00:23:59.380
 That's a quotation

00:23:59.380 --> 00:24:00.839
 from Deuteronomy 13.5.

00:24:01.360 --> 00:24:02.079
 And Paul's point

00:24:02.079 --> 00:24:03.420
 is this, we're not

00:24:03.420 --> 00:24:04.519
 supposed to judge

00:24:04.519 --> 00:24:05.900
 outsiders in this

00:24:05.900 --> 00:24:07.680
 way by dissociating

00:24:07.680 --> 00:24:08.600
 with them and

00:24:08.600 --> 00:24:09.579
 refusing to eat

00:24:09.579 --> 00:24:10.600
 with them because

00:24:10.600 --> 00:24:11.680
 they're not claiming

00:24:11.680 --> 00:24:12.600
 to share in our

00:24:12.599 --> 00:24:13.319
 Christian fellowship

00:24:13.319 --> 00:24:14.419
 in the first place.

00:24:15.059 --> 00:24:15.959
 And moreover, it's

00:24:15.959 --> 00:24:16.759
 God who will judge

00:24:16.759 --> 00:24:17.439
 them on the day of

00:24:17.439 --> 00:24:17.759
 judgment.

00:24:18.319 --> 00:24:19.879
 But we are supposed

00:24:19.879 --> 00:24:21.139
 to judge those who

00:24:21.139 --> 00:24:22.000
 claim to be

00:24:22.000 --> 00:24:22.939
 Christians and

00:24:22.939 --> 00:24:23.779
 therefore members of

00:24:23.779 --> 00:24:24.579
 the church yet

00:24:24.579 --> 00:24:26.039
 simultaneously live in

00:24:26.039 --> 00:24:26.899
 an unrepentant,

00:24:27.139 --> 00:24:28.019
 persistently sinful

00:24:28.019 --> 00:24:29.319
 manner, living a

00:24:29.319 --> 00:24:30.099
 double life because

00:24:30.099 --> 00:24:31.559
 by doing so they are

00:24:31.559 --> 00:24:32.759
 besmirching the name

00:24:32.759 --> 00:24:34.119
 of Christ and they're

00:24:34.119 --> 00:24:35.379
 damaging the corporate

00:24:35.379 --> 00:24:36.559
 witness of the church.

00:24:37.359 --> 00:24:38.179
 You guys follow what

00:24:38.179 --> 00:24:38.459
 I'm saying?

00:24:38.460 --> 00:24:40.720
 The unbelievers are

00:24:40.720 --> 00:24:41.720
 not accountable to

00:24:41.720 --> 00:24:43.000
 the church, but

00:24:43.000 --> 00:24:44.059
 believers are

00:24:44.059 --> 00:24:45.340
 accountable to the

00:24:45.340 --> 00:24:45.700
 church.

00:24:47.039 --> 00:24:48.120
 The behavior of

00:24:48.120 --> 00:24:50.000
 unbelievers does not

00:24:50.000 --> 00:24:51.120
 affect the credibility

00:24:51.120 --> 00:24:52.259
 of the church, but

00:24:52.259 --> 00:24:53.000
 the behavior of

00:24:53.000 --> 00:24:55.140
 believers does affect

00:24:55.140 --> 00:24:56.460
 the credibility of

00:24:56.460 --> 00:24:57.680
 the church's witness.

00:24:58.259 --> 00:24:59.400
 So while we can

00:24:59.400 --> 00:25:00.720
 tolerate unbelievers

00:25:00.720 --> 00:25:01.900
 as Jesus did and

00:25:01.900 --> 00:25:02.860
 freely welcome them,

00:25:03.079 --> 00:25:03.960
 eat with them and

00:25:03.960 --> 00:25:05.160
 minister to them, but

00:25:05.160 --> 00:25:06.340
 we must exercise

00:25:06.339 --> 00:25:07.559
 strict discipline

00:25:07.559 --> 00:25:09.159
 inside the church.

00:25:09.240 --> 00:25:09.839
 That's what Paul's

00:25:09.839 --> 00:25:10.059
 saying.

00:25:11.000 --> 00:25:12.139
 Because if we let an

00:25:12.139 --> 00:25:13.179
 unrepentant believer

00:25:13.179 --> 00:25:14.359
 continue to associate

00:25:14.359 --> 00:25:15.299
 with the church, we're

00:25:15.299 --> 00:25:16.599
 sending mixed signals

00:25:16.599 --> 00:25:17.939
 and wrong message to

00:25:17.939 --> 00:25:19.699
 the world about who

00:25:19.699 --> 00:25:21.079
 Christ is and what

00:25:21.079 --> 00:25:22.059
 the church is.

00:25:22.459 --> 00:25:23.299
 Because a church that

00:25:23.299 --> 00:25:24.339
 represents the God

00:25:24.339 --> 00:25:25.319
 whom we sang about

00:25:25.319 --> 00:25:26.939
 holy, holy, holy

00:25:26.939 --> 00:25:28.599
 must itself be holy

00:25:28.599 --> 00:25:30.079
 and set apart for him.

00:25:30.480 --> 00:25:31.119
 Because in order for

00:25:31.119 --> 00:25:31.899
 the church to be a

00:25:31.899 --> 00:25:33.279
 city on a hill, in

00:25:33.279 --> 00:25:34.019
 order for the church to

00:25:34.019 --> 00:25:34.839
 be a light in the

00:25:34.839 --> 00:25:35.759
 darkness, in order for

00:25:35.759 --> 00:25:36.879
 us to be an alternate

00:25:36.879 --> 00:25:38.539
 community, a contrast

00:25:38.539 --> 00:25:40.319
 community, we have to

00:25:40.319 --> 00:25:41.759
 be in the world but

00:25:41.759 --> 00:25:43.079
 not of the world.

00:25:44.000 --> 00:25:45.619
 Our values, beliefs,

00:25:45.720 --> 00:25:46.960
 and priorities have to

00:25:46.960 --> 00:25:48.619
 reflect heaven, not

00:25:48.619 --> 00:25:49.140
 earth.

00:25:50.680 --> 00:25:51.680
 Now, I don't think that

00:25:51.680 --> 00:25:53.519
 means that the church

00:25:53.519 --> 00:25:55.000
 shouldn't speak out

00:25:55.000 --> 00:25:56.140
 against the evils in

00:25:56.140 --> 00:25:57.019
 the culture and society

00:25:57.019 --> 00:25:58.119
 at large at all.

00:25:58.480 --> 00:25:59.259
 I do think that there

00:25:59.259 --> 00:26:00.140
 is a place for a

00:26:00.140 --> 00:26:00.980
 prophetic voice in

00:26:00.980 --> 00:26:01.680
 society, especially

00:26:01.680 --> 00:26:02.980
 since we live in a

00:26:02.980 --> 00:26:04.099
 democratic republic where

00:26:04.099 --> 00:26:05.279
 our discussions and

00:26:05.279 --> 00:26:06.680
 discourse shapes the

00:26:06.680 --> 00:26:07.359
 trajectory of our

00:26:07.359 --> 00:26:07.700
 nation.

00:26:08.200 --> 00:26:09.559
 However, we shouldn't

00:26:09.559 --> 00:26:10.799
 judge and condemn

00:26:10.799 --> 00:26:12.019
 unbelievers by

00:26:12.019 --> 00:26:12.980
 dissociating with them

00:26:12.980 --> 00:26:13.720
 here and now because

00:26:13.720 --> 00:26:14.519
 that's not our

00:26:14.519 --> 00:26:16.480
 prerogative, but God's.

00:26:17.619 --> 00:26:18.480
 And there are two

00:26:18.480 --> 00:26:19.539
 extremes to avoid as

00:26:19.539 --> 00:26:20.759
 we seek to apply this

00:26:20.759 --> 00:26:21.500
 biblical principle.

00:26:22.000 --> 00:26:23.339
 And the first pitfall is

00:26:23.339 --> 00:26:25.119
 fundamentalism, right?

00:26:25.539 --> 00:26:26.660
 Where we hold the

00:26:26.660 --> 00:26:28.059
 world accountable to

00:26:28.059 --> 00:26:29.500
 the same strict standards

00:26:29.500 --> 00:26:30.200
 as the church.

00:26:30.200 --> 00:26:32.559
 So we pass judgment on

00:26:32.559 --> 00:26:33.940
 unbelievers and refuse

00:26:33.940 --> 00:26:34.840
 to associate with them

00:26:34.840 --> 00:26:37.279
 and we create this

00:26:37.279 --> 00:26:38.180
 insular kind of

00:26:38.180 --> 00:26:39.340
 separatist community.

00:26:39.500 --> 00:26:40.600
 That's fundamentalism.

00:26:41.360 --> 00:26:42.880
 And the other pitfall is

00:26:42.880 --> 00:26:44.279
 libertinism, right?

00:26:44.480 --> 00:26:45.819
 Where we hold the

00:26:45.819 --> 00:26:46.980
 church to the same

00:26:46.980 --> 00:26:48.640
 loose standards as the

00:26:48.640 --> 00:26:48.880
 world.

00:26:49.740 --> 00:26:51.259
 So we refuse to pass

00:26:51.259 --> 00:26:52.140
 judgment on fellow

00:26:52.140 --> 00:26:53.460
 believers and neglect

00:26:53.460 --> 00:26:54.620
 church discipline, right?

00:26:54.660 --> 00:26:56.340
 We blend in with the

00:26:56.340 --> 00:26:57.640
 world and create a so-called

00:26:57.640 --> 00:26:59.120
 tolerant, inclusive community

00:26:59.119 --> 00:27:00.099
 community that is

00:27:00.099 --> 00:27:01.239
 indistinguishable from

00:27:01.239 --> 00:27:01.619
 the world.

00:27:02.459 --> 00:27:03.779
 Both of these are errors

00:27:03.779 --> 00:27:04.699
 that violate this

00:27:04.699 --> 00:27:05.919
 biblical principle and

00:27:05.919 --> 00:27:07.039
 we find in this passage

00:27:07.039 --> 00:27:10.339
 a good balance where we

00:27:10.339 --> 00:27:11.139
 do not judge those

00:27:11.139 --> 00:27:12.239
 outside but judge those

00:27:12.239 --> 00:27:12.739
 inside.

00:27:13.759 --> 00:27:14.579
 Unfortunately, however,

00:27:14.619 --> 00:27:15.839
 the modern church has

00:27:15.839 --> 00:27:16.519
 done both the

00:27:16.519 --> 00:27:17.439
 fundamentalism and the

00:27:17.439 --> 00:27:18.439
 libertinism and actually

00:27:18.439 --> 00:27:19.799
 the exact opposite of

00:27:19.799 --> 00:27:20.579
 what's commanded here,

00:27:20.959 --> 00:27:22.619
 which is to be quick to

00:27:22.619 --> 00:27:24.479
 judge outsiders but slow

00:27:24.479 --> 00:27:25.599
 to judge insiders.

00:27:26.639 --> 00:27:28.119
 We have been intolerant

00:27:28.119 --> 00:27:29.239
 and dismissive toward

00:27:29.239 --> 00:27:30.759
 outsiders while indulgent

00:27:30.759 --> 00:27:31.899
 and permissive toward

00:27:31.899 --> 00:27:32.559
 insiders.

00:27:33.599 --> 00:27:34.879
 No wonder then that we

00:27:34.879 --> 00:27:36.259
 are charged by the world

00:27:36.259 --> 00:27:37.479
 sometimes with hypocrisy.

00:27:39.619 --> 00:27:41.099
 We are not to judge those

00:27:41.099 --> 00:27:42.500
 who are inside, or to be

00:27:42.500 --> 00:27:43.319
 outside, but we are to

00:27:43.319 --> 00:27:43.879
 judge those who are

00:27:43.879 --> 00:27:44.759
 inside, right?

00:27:45.039 --> 00:27:46.359
 That's whom we should

00:27:46.359 --> 00:27:47.579
 purge from our midst.

00:27:48.779 --> 00:27:49.859
 So scripture commands us

00:27:49.859 --> 00:27:50.879
 to purge the evil person

00:27:50.879 --> 00:27:52.539
 from among us, but how do

00:27:52.539 --> 00:27:52.919
 we do this?

00:27:52.939 --> 00:27:53.639
 And that brings us to my

00:27:53.639 --> 00:27:54.179
 second point.

00:27:54.459 --> 00:27:55.879
 How should we purge evil?

00:27:55.880 --> 00:27:56.900
 How should we purge evil?

00:27:57.280 --> 00:27:58.500
 Paul's not telling us to

00:27:58.500 --> 00:27:59.960
 simply, you know, ghost them.

00:28:00.420 --> 00:28:01.280
 You guys know what that

00:28:01.280 --> 00:28:01.500
 means?

00:28:01.900 --> 00:28:02.580
 I learned that recently.

00:28:03.340 --> 00:28:04.500
 It's a terrible thing to

00:28:04.500 --> 00:28:05.160
 do to anyone.

00:28:05.920 --> 00:28:07.340
 But basically, ghosting is

00:28:07.340 --> 00:28:08.400
 where you suddenly just,

00:28:08.600 --> 00:28:09.360
 you know, without

00:28:09.360 --> 00:28:11.460
 explanation, you just

00:28:11.460 --> 00:28:12.660
 disappear from their life

00:28:12.660 --> 00:28:14.160
 and don't communicate with

00:28:14.160 --> 00:28:15.000
 them in any way, right?

00:28:15.020 --> 00:28:16.160
 I mean, that's like the

00:28:16.160 --> 00:28:17.160
 worst thing you can do.

00:28:17.480 --> 00:28:18.020
 Like, why would you,

00:28:18.060 --> 00:28:18.980
 that's not what Paul is

00:28:18.980 --> 00:28:19.140
 saying.

00:28:19.200 --> 00:28:20.240
 Oh, don't just say, oh,

00:28:20.260 --> 00:28:20.920
 dissociate with them.

00:28:21.000 --> 00:28:21.720
 Okay, don't acknowledge

00:28:21.720 --> 00:28:22.540
 them when they say hi to

00:28:22.540 --> 00:28:22.760
 you.

00:28:22.960 --> 00:28:23.920
 Don't return their phone

00:28:23.920 --> 00:28:24.680
 calls or texts.

00:28:24.940 --> 00:28:25.720
 That's not what he's

00:28:25.720 --> 00:28:26.240
 telling you to do.

00:28:26.300 --> 00:28:27.340
 That would be so hurtful.

00:28:27.880 --> 00:28:28.759
 The process that Paul

00:28:28.759 --> 00:28:29.759
 delineates is much more

00:28:29.759 --> 00:28:30.820
 careful and intentional

00:28:30.820 --> 00:28:31.700
 and loving because he

00:28:31.700 --> 00:28:32.920
 says in verses 3 to 5,

00:28:33.400 --> 00:28:34.759
 for though absent in body,

00:28:35.019 --> 00:28:36.440
 I am present in spirit.

00:28:36.740 --> 00:28:38.100
 And as if present, I have

00:28:38.100 --> 00:28:39.100
 already pronounced judgment

00:28:39.100 --> 00:28:40.340
 on the one who did such a

00:28:40.340 --> 00:28:40.580
 thing.

00:28:40.880 --> 00:28:41.759
 And when you're assembled

00:28:41.759 --> 00:28:42.700
 in the name of the Lord

00:28:42.700 --> 00:28:43.860
 Jesus and my spirit is

00:28:43.860 --> 00:28:45.160
 present with the power of

00:28:45.160 --> 00:28:46.259
 our Lord Jesus, you are to

00:28:46.259 --> 00:28:47.460
 deliver this man to Satan

00:28:47.460 --> 00:28:48.500
 for the destruction of the

00:28:48.500 --> 00:28:49.960
 flesh so that his spirit may

00:28:49.960 --> 00:28:51.920
 be saved in the day of the

00:28:51.920 --> 00:28:52.200
 Lord.

00:28:52.200 --> 00:28:53.080
 God, right?

00:28:53.740 --> 00:28:56.000
 In Matthew 18, 15 to 20,

00:28:56.120 --> 00:28:57.600
 right, Jesus teaches us how

00:28:57.600 --> 00:28:59.319
 to deal with sin in the

00:28:59.319 --> 00:28:59.920
 church community.

00:29:00.319 --> 00:29:01.539
 And in case of personal

00:29:01.539 --> 00:29:02.920
 offense, the first step that

00:29:02.920 --> 00:29:04.400
 Jesus teaches us is that it

00:29:04.400 --> 00:29:05.779
 should be handled one-on-one

00:29:05.779 --> 00:29:06.799
 on a personal basis.

00:29:07.140 --> 00:29:08.299
 If someone offends you, then

00:29:08.299 --> 00:29:09.240
 you need to approach that

00:29:09.240 --> 00:29:10.600
 offending brother or sister

00:29:10.600 --> 00:29:11.880
 and talk to them.

00:29:12.220 --> 00:29:14.500
 And this ensures that there's

00:29:14.500 --> 00:29:15.900
 no gossip or slander that

00:29:15.900 --> 00:29:16.860
 destroys the church.

00:29:17.340 --> 00:29:18.920
 It ensures that people are not

00:29:18.920 --> 00:29:20.660
 hiding behind, you know, in a

00:29:20.660 --> 00:29:22.300
 cowardly fashion and talking

00:29:22.300 --> 00:29:23.640
 about someone's offense.

00:29:23.820 --> 00:29:24.920
 And instead, it calls for

00:29:24.920 --> 00:29:26.100
 courage to go up to that

00:29:26.100 --> 00:29:27.560
 person to talk to that

00:29:27.560 --> 00:29:28.640
 person about their offense.

00:29:29.800 --> 00:29:31.060
 However, if he does not

00:29:31.060 --> 00:29:32.460
 listen, Jesus continues.

00:29:32.600 --> 00:29:33.620
 He gives the second step.

00:29:33.700 --> 00:29:35.040
 Take one or two others along

00:29:35.040 --> 00:29:36.580
 with you that every charge

00:29:36.580 --> 00:29:37.660
 may be established by the

00:29:37.660 --> 00:29:38.940
 evidence of two or three

00:29:38.940 --> 00:29:39.400
 witnesses.

00:29:39.960 --> 00:29:41.120
 This next step involves

00:29:41.120 --> 00:29:41.800
 mediation.

00:29:42.380 --> 00:29:43.660
 And by involving one or two

00:29:43.660 --> 00:29:45.000
 others in the process, it

00:29:45.000 --> 00:29:46.420
 ensures objectivity and

00:29:46.420 --> 00:29:47.040
 fairness.

00:29:47.039 --> 00:29:50.099
 And if the second step also

00:29:50.099 --> 00:29:51.319
 doesn't work, Jesus says a

00:29:51.319 --> 00:29:51.920
 third step.

00:29:52.019 --> 00:29:53.059
 He says, if he refuses to

00:29:53.059 --> 00:29:55.059
 listen to them, tell it to

00:29:55.059 --> 00:29:55.639
 the church.

00:29:56.039 --> 00:29:57.399
 And if he refuses to listen

00:29:57.399 --> 00:29:58.619
 even to the church, let him

00:29:58.619 --> 00:30:00.359
 be to you as a Gentile and a

00:30:00.359 --> 00:30:01.000
 tax collector.

00:30:01.119 --> 00:30:02.059
 That's excommunication.

00:30:02.180 --> 00:30:03.399
 It's the last step that Paul's

00:30:03.399 --> 00:30:04.039
 talking about here.

00:30:04.680 --> 00:30:06.379
 And since the offense of the

00:30:06.379 --> 00:30:07.539
 sexually immoral man in

00:30:07.539 --> 00:30:09.359
 Corinth was already public

00:30:09.359 --> 00:30:11.359
 knowledge, and because the

00:30:11.359 --> 00:30:13.799
 church was arrogantly really

00:30:13.799 --> 00:30:16.460
 kind of embracing the sin in

00:30:16.460 --> 00:30:17.640
 their midst, as opposed to

00:30:17.640 --> 00:30:19.400
 mourning it and repenting of

00:30:19.400 --> 00:30:21.160
 it, Paul kind of skips to the

00:30:21.160 --> 00:30:22.539
 final step when he tells them

00:30:22.539 --> 00:30:24.200
 Corinthian church to expel the

00:30:24.200 --> 00:30:25.980
 man from the church community

00:30:25.980 --> 00:30:27.200
 because those first two steps

00:30:27.200 --> 00:30:28.539
 effectively have already been

00:30:28.539 --> 00:30:30.100
 taken, effectively have been

00:30:30.100 --> 00:30:30.819
 nullified already.

00:30:31.620 --> 00:30:32.620
 And so the Corinthians have

00:30:32.620 --> 00:30:33.700
 neglected to judge this man,

00:30:33.759 --> 00:30:35.100
 but Paul says he has already

00:30:35.100 --> 00:30:36.420
 judged in verse 3.

00:30:36.819 --> 00:30:38.279
 For though absent in body, I am

00:30:38.279 --> 00:30:39.720
 present in spirit, and as if

00:30:39.720 --> 00:30:40.720
 present, I have already

00:30:40.720 --> 00:30:41.840
 pronounced judgment on the one

00:30:41.840 --> 00:30:42.759
 who did such a thing.

00:30:43.319 --> 00:30:45.380
 And I think Paul's, in the back

00:30:45.380 --> 00:30:46.140
 of his mind, he's thinking

00:30:46.140 --> 00:30:47.660
 about Matthew 18 as he writes

00:30:47.660 --> 00:30:49.760
 this, because in Matthew 18,

00:30:49.840 --> 00:30:51.380
 after delineating the steps of

00:30:51.380 --> 00:30:52.600
 church discipline, Jesus says

00:30:52.600 --> 00:30:52.920
 this,

00:30:53.260 --> 00:30:54.240
 Truly I say to you,

00:30:54.320 --> 00:30:55.520
 whatever you bind on earth

00:30:55.520 --> 00:30:56.880
 shall be bound in heaven, and

00:30:56.880 --> 00:30:57.960
 whatever you lose on earth

00:30:57.960 --> 00:30:58.860
 shall be loosed in heaven.

00:30:59.160 --> 00:31:00.760
 Again, I say to you, if two of

00:31:00.760 --> 00:31:01.860
 you agree on earth about

00:31:01.860 --> 00:31:03.820
 anything they ask, it will be

00:31:03.820 --> 00:31:05.160
 done for them by my Father in

00:31:05.160 --> 00:31:05.400
 heaven.

00:31:05.600 --> 00:31:07.020
 For where two or three are

00:31:07.020 --> 00:31:09.280
 gathered in my name, there am I

00:31:09.280 --> 00:31:10.000
 among them.

00:31:10.560 --> 00:31:12.500
 So this passage is often quoted

00:31:12.500 --> 00:31:14.200
 out of context, as if, like, you

00:31:14.200 --> 00:31:15.160
 know, if two or three believers

00:31:15.160 --> 00:31:16.580
 agree in prayer about anything,

00:31:16.900 --> 00:31:18.240
 then God will grant it to us.

00:31:18.480 --> 00:31:19.380
 If that's the case, I mean,

00:31:19.400 --> 00:31:20.380
 there's no prayer that I pray

00:31:20.380 --> 00:31:21.140
 that shouldn't be answered,

00:31:21.200 --> 00:31:21.960
 because I usually pray with

00:31:21.960 --> 00:31:22.480
 people, right?

00:31:22.620 --> 00:31:23.539
 But that's not what he's

00:31:23.539 --> 00:31:24.319
 talking about, because this

00:31:24.319 --> 00:31:25.680
 passage is given in the context

00:31:25.680 --> 00:31:27.259
 of church discipline, right?

00:31:27.259 --> 00:31:28.340
 He's saying that the church is

00:31:28.340 --> 00:31:29.759
 given the authority, with

00:31:29.759 --> 00:31:31.519
 Christ's authority, to bind and

00:31:31.519 --> 00:31:31.980
 loose, right?

00:31:32.019 --> 00:31:33.380
 To pronounce someone an

00:31:33.380 --> 00:31:34.980
 unbeliever, to excommunicate

00:31:34.980 --> 00:31:36.279
 them from the church, right?

00:31:36.380 --> 00:31:39.340
 So what he's saying here, and so

00:31:39.340 --> 00:31:41.380
 what he's, the reason why I think

00:31:41.380 --> 00:31:42.279
 Paul has this in mind is

00:31:42.279 --> 00:31:43.779
 because he says, for the absent

00:31:43.779 --> 00:31:45.059
 in body, I'm present in spirit,

00:31:45.139 --> 00:31:46.180
 and as present, I have already

00:31:46.180 --> 00:31:47.619
 pronounced judgment on the one

00:31:47.619 --> 00:31:48.599
 who did such a thing.

00:31:48.920 --> 00:31:50.500
 Paul knows, based on Jesus'

00:31:50.660 --> 00:31:52.099
 teaching, that it's not the

00:31:52.099 --> 00:31:54.039
 individual person, or the

00:31:54.039 --> 00:31:55.879
 individual member, or a pastor,

00:31:56.019 --> 00:31:57.660
 or even an apostle that can

00:31:57.660 --> 00:32:00.259
 pronounce judgment on a member

00:32:00.259 --> 00:32:01.960
 like this, but it has to be the

00:32:01.960 --> 00:32:03.779
 church community that pronounces

00:32:03.779 --> 00:32:04.940
 this judgment, because Jesus said,

00:32:05.079 --> 00:32:06.639
 when two or three are gathered.

00:32:07.160 --> 00:32:08.799
 So because of that, Paul, knowing

00:32:08.799 --> 00:32:10.759
 that he's now not there, he's

00:32:10.759 --> 00:32:12.519
 absent, he's kind of casting an

00:32:12.519 --> 00:32:14.180
 absentee ballot of sorts, right?

00:32:14.440 --> 00:32:15.259
 He's saying, you know what, I'm

00:32:15.259 --> 00:32:17.299
 not there, but as if present with

00:32:17.299 --> 00:32:19.039
 you, I am pronouncing judgment

00:32:19.039 --> 00:32:21.319
 over this person, and you as a

00:32:21.319 --> 00:32:23.379
 church community must now do

00:32:23.379 --> 00:32:24.759
 that, and that's what Paul is

00:32:24.759 --> 00:32:25.460
 enjoining them to do.

00:32:25.519 --> 00:32:26.619
 As your leader, do I'm not

00:32:26.619 --> 00:32:27.279
 physically present?

00:32:27.480 --> 00:32:28.619
 I have pronounced judgment with

00:32:28.619 --> 00:32:30.640
 my spiritual presence among you,

00:32:31.160 --> 00:32:32.440
 and no one, I think, knows

00:32:32.440 --> 00:32:33.819
 exactly what he means that he's

00:32:33.819 --> 00:32:34.619
 with them in spirit.

00:32:34.900 --> 00:32:36.039
 I think it means a little more

00:32:36.039 --> 00:32:37.279
 than what we say when we say,

00:32:37.400 --> 00:32:38.599
 like, oh, I'm with you in spirit.

00:32:38.599 --> 00:32:40.000
 You know, I think we say that,

00:32:40.099 --> 00:32:41.539
 we just mean, okay, my thoughts

00:32:41.539 --> 00:32:42.199
 are with you, right?

00:32:42.459 --> 00:32:43.679
 But I think Paul is here thinking

00:32:43.679 --> 00:32:45.259
 of a little more vital, real

00:32:45.259 --> 00:32:46.659
 spiritual communion that exists

00:32:46.659 --> 00:32:47.779
 through the Holy Spirit, and he

00:32:47.779 --> 00:32:49.219
 thinks in some way, because he's

00:32:49.219 --> 00:32:50.699
 a member of this church, he's a

00:32:50.699 --> 00:32:51.740
 founding member of this church,

00:32:51.819 --> 00:32:53.419
 he sees himself as a part of

00:32:53.419 --> 00:32:54.740
 this church through the Spirit.

00:32:55.699 --> 00:32:57.500
 And so he says in verse 4,

00:32:57.599 --> 00:32:59.659
 when you are assembled in the

00:32:59.659 --> 00:33:01.980
 name of the Lord Jesus, and my

00:33:01.980 --> 00:33:04.459
 spirit is present, that's when he

00:33:04.459 --> 00:33:05.659
 says you are gathered, pronounced

00:33:05.659 --> 00:33:06.740
 judgment on this man.

00:33:07.059 --> 00:33:08.059
 So he's saying, when you are

00:33:08.059 --> 00:33:09.279
 gathered, pronounce judgment, and

00:33:09.279 --> 00:33:11.240
 know that I am agreeing with you

00:33:11.240 --> 00:33:12.679
 in the Holy Spirit.

00:33:14.399 --> 00:33:17.159
 So this is one of the ways how we

00:33:17.159 --> 00:33:19.319
 are to exercise discipline and to

00:33:19.319 --> 00:33:21.240
 purge evil, not as some lone

00:33:21.240 --> 00:33:22.659
 rangers, one person condemning

00:33:22.659 --> 00:33:24.259
 another, but the church community

00:33:24.259 --> 00:33:26.220
 gathered in the name of the Lord

00:33:26.220 --> 00:33:27.740
 Jesus, with the power of the Lord

00:33:27.740 --> 00:33:30.099
 Jesus, we pronounce judgment in

00:33:30.099 --> 00:33:30.500
 this way.

00:33:31.500 --> 00:33:33.240
 And Paul describes the act of

00:33:33.240 --> 00:33:35.200
 excommunication in verse 5, he

00:33:35.200 --> 00:33:37.559
 says, delivering this man to Satan

00:33:37.559 --> 00:33:39.619
 for the destruction of the flesh, so

00:33:39.619 --> 00:33:41.759
 that his spirit may be saved in the

00:33:41.759 --> 00:33:43.099
 day of the Lord.

00:33:44.059 --> 00:33:45.940
 This language of delivering someone

00:33:45.940 --> 00:33:48.079
 over to Satan does not mean like

00:33:48.079 --> 00:33:50.039
 selling his soul to the devil or

00:33:50.039 --> 00:33:52.659
 anything remotely similar to that, but

00:33:52.659 --> 00:33:54.559
 it's a technical way of referring to

00:33:55.079 --> 00:33:58.159
 excommunication, of putting them

00:33:58.159 --> 00:33:59.079
 outside the church.

00:33:59.079 --> 00:34:01.679
 And it occurs again in 1 Timothy 1, 19

00:34:01.679 --> 00:34:02.139
 to 20.

00:34:02.619 --> 00:34:04.159
 So the church, the people of God, are

00:34:04.159 --> 00:34:05.779
 the people who are under Christ's

00:34:05.779 --> 00:34:08.519
 reign, but the unbelieving world

00:34:08.519 --> 00:34:10.799
 remains under the sway of the rulers,

00:34:11.019 --> 00:34:13.779
 quote, authorities, cosmic powers, and

00:34:13.779 --> 00:34:15.340
 spiritual forces of evil, right?

00:34:15.380 --> 00:34:16.699
 We know this from Ephesians 6.

00:34:17.179 --> 00:34:19.420
 And Ephesians 2, 2 to 3 tells us that

00:34:19.420 --> 00:34:22.059
 all unbelievers are following the prince

00:34:22.059 --> 00:34:24.900
 of the power of the air, which is Satan,

00:34:24.900 --> 00:34:27.039
 and living in the passions of their

00:34:27.039 --> 00:34:27.340
 flesh.

00:34:27.400 --> 00:34:28.300
 This is from Ephesians 2.

00:34:28.860 --> 00:34:30.780
 So to excommunicate a member from the

00:34:30.780 --> 00:34:33.460
 fellowship of the church is, in effect,

00:34:33.660 --> 00:34:35.960
 to consign the person to Satan's realm

00:34:35.960 --> 00:34:36.840
 and rule.

00:34:37.200 --> 00:34:39.760
 That's why to deliver someone over to

00:34:39.760 --> 00:34:41.180
 Satan is the technical way of referring

00:34:41.180 --> 00:34:42.000
 to excommunication.

00:34:42.800 --> 00:34:44.940
 And this also explains what destruction

00:34:44.940 --> 00:34:46.880
 of the flesh means, which is

00:34:46.880 --> 00:34:49.200
 conceptually related to deliverance to

00:34:49.200 --> 00:34:49.400
 Satan.

00:34:49.800 --> 00:34:51.500
 So if you look at verse 5 carefully

00:34:51.500 --> 00:34:53.059
 again, it says, deliver this man to

00:34:53.059 --> 00:34:54.779
 Satan for the destruction of the flesh.

00:34:55.119 --> 00:34:56.679
 So the destruction of the flesh is the

00:34:56.679 --> 00:34:59.139
 immediate result of deliverance to

00:34:59.139 --> 00:34:59.400
 Satan.

00:34:59.539 --> 00:35:00.880
 So it's something that Satan probably

00:35:00.880 --> 00:35:01.320
 does.

00:35:01.880 --> 00:35:04.239
 And then the ultimate purpose of that

00:35:04.239 --> 00:35:07.460
 is so that his spirit may be saved in

00:35:07.460 --> 00:35:08.199
 the day of the Lord.

00:35:08.279 --> 00:35:10.299
 So what does it mean, the destruction of

00:35:10.299 --> 00:35:10.739
 the flesh?

00:35:11.320 --> 00:35:13.960
 I think it can refer to two things,

00:35:14.059 --> 00:35:14.380
 possibly.

00:35:14.940 --> 00:35:16.679
 This was really hard to wrestle with and

00:35:16.679 --> 00:35:18.400
 study all week, but I think it's most

00:35:18.400 --> 00:35:19.400
 likely to be one of these two things.

00:35:19.699 --> 00:35:21.779
 And the first thing is that, for

00:35:21.780 --> 00:35:23.560
 example, it could refer to physical

00:35:23.560 --> 00:35:26.060
 suffering, an illness of some sorts

00:35:26.060 --> 00:35:28.220
 wrought by the devil that's supposed to

00:35:28.220 --> 00:35:29.460
 produce some kind of spiritual

00:35:29.460 --> 00:35:31.019
 sanctifying, have some kind of

00:35:31.019 --> 00:35:32.280
 spiritually sanctifying effect.

00:35:32.880 --> 00:35:37.320
 For example, in Job 2.6, Satan, God

00:35:37.320 --> 00:35:40.200
 says to Satan, behold, Job is in your

00:35:40.200 --> 00:35:40.560
 hand.

00:35:40.680 --> 00:35:42.900
 That's the same word as deliver right

00:35:42.900 --> 00:35:45.420
 here and only spare his life.

00:35:46.180 --> 00:35:47.500
 And so, and then what happens after

00:35:47.500 --> 00:35:49.600
 that is Job's flesh is afflicted by

00:35:49.599 --> 00:35:49.900
 Satan.

00:35:50.299 --> 00:35:52.380
 But the end result of that at the end

00:35:52.380 --> 00:35:54.900
 of Job is he says, now my eyes see you,

00:35:55.159 --> 00:35:57.319
 therefore I despise myself and repent in

00:35:57.319 --> 00:35:57.980
 dust and ashes.

00:35:58.259 --> 00:36:00.000
 Ultimately, it's his redemption and

00:36:00.000 --> 00:36:01.159
 salvation that happens, right?

00:36:01.179 --> 00:36:02.900
 So that could be one way that is what

00:36:02.900 --> 00:36:04.000
 destruction of flesh means.

00:36:04.579 --> 00:36:06.319
 And second, I think the destruction of

00:36:06.319 --> 00:36:08.599
 the flesh, so it's for the destruction

00:36:08.599 --> 00:36:09.079
 of the flesh.

00:36:09.159 --> 00:36:11.539
 You could also just read as unto or into

00:36:11.539 --> 00:36:12.579
 the destruction of the flesh.

00:36:12.659 --> 00:36:13.699
 That's the literal translation.

00:36:14.360 --> 00:36:15.819
 And I think it could refer to the

00:36:15.819 --> 00:36:18.679
 death-like existence of fleshly living.

00:36:18.679 --> 00:36:22.299
 And so when the word destruction can

00:36:22.299 --> 00:36:24.299
 also mean ruin, and that's, if you

00:36:24.299 --> 00:36:26.980
 look at 1 Timothy 6, 9-10, where the

00:36:26.980 --> 00:36:28.639
 word is used, it says, but those who

00:36:28.639 --> 00:36:30.819
 desire to be rich fall into temptation,

00:36:31.000 --> 00:36:33.399
 into a snare, into many senseless and

00:36:33.399 --> 00:36:36.000
 harmful desires that plunge people into

00:36:36.000 --> 00:36:37.579
 ruin and destruction.

00:36:37.719 --> 00:36:38.379
 It's the same word.

00:36:39.239 --> 00:36:40.859
 For the love of money is the root of

00:36:40.859 --> 00:36:41.799
 all kinds of evils.

00:36:41.940 --> 00:36:43.699
 It is through the craving, this craving,

00:36:43.759 --> 00:36:45.460
 that some have wandered away from the

00:36:45.460 --> 00:36:47.739
 faith and pierced themselves with many

00:36:47.739 --> 00:36:48.239
 pangs.

00:36:48.739 --> 00:36:51.099
 So by destruction of the flesh, or

00:36:51.099 --> 00:36:53.119
 ruin of the flesh then, I think Paul's

00:36:53.119 --> 00:36:54.879
 referring to the ruin and destruction

00:36:54.879 --> 00:36:57.399
 that characterize the life in the

00:36:57.399 --> 00:36:57.759
 flesh.

00:36:58.439 --> 00:37:02.919
 And by wandering from the faith, there

00:37:02.919 --> 00:37:04.419
 will be pierced with many pangs.

00:37:04.519 --> 00:37:06.259
 That kind of pain, the destruction that

00:37:06.259 --> 00:37:07.479
 characterized the life in the flesh,

00:37:07.759 --> 00:37:09.979
 might be what Paul is referring to here.

00:37:11.099 --> 00:37:12.799
 And Paul said in Ephesians 2 that

00:37:12.799 --> 00:37:14.399
 living in the flesh is, the passions

00:37:14.399 --> 00:37:16.459
 of the flesh is a sign of spiritual death.

00:37:16.460 --> 00:37:18.079
 So that would make sense too.

00:37:18.619 --> 00:37:20.539
 Both of these are acceptable views, and

00:37:20.539 --> 00:37:21.920
 you guys can hold either one.

00:37:21.980 --> 00:37:23.380
 But I think the second one is more

00:37:23.380 --> 00:37:24.699
 likely for several reasons.

00:37:25.300 --> 00:37:27.699
 And that's because in Job 2, while it's

00:37:27.699 --> 00:37:28.880
 a suggested parallel, there's no

00:37:28.880 --> 00:37:30.840
 reference to destruction of the flesh.

00:37:31.599 --> 00:37:34.139
 And then, and I think particularly in

00:37:34.139 --> 00:37:36.720
 Paul's writings, whenever he uses the

00:37:36.720 --> 00:37:39.500
 word flesh as contrasted to the spirit,

00:37:39.800 --> 00:37:41.619
 he's not referring to the body and the

00:37:41.619 --> 00:37:41.840
 soul.

00:37:41.840 --> 00:37:44.280
 He's referring to the sinful flesh and

00:37:44.280 --> 00:37:46.100
 referring to the part of the human being

00:37:46.100 --> 00:37:48.539
 that's oriented away from God to the

00:37:48.539 --> 00:37:50.140
 spirit, the part of us that's oriented

00:37:50.140 --> 00:37:51.120
 toward God, right?

00:37:51.500 --> 00:37:52.940
 And that's why I think he used the word

00:37:52.940 --> 00:37:54.620
 flesh here instead of using the more

00:37:54.620 --> 00:37:56.800
 neutral word body, which he used earlier

00:37:56.800 --> 00:37:58.760
 in this passage to contrast that he is

00:37:58.760 --> 00:38:00.579
 absent in body but present in spirit.

00:38:00.820 --> 00:38:02.200
 But here, I think he intentionally used the

00:38:02.200 --> 00:38:02.980
 word flesh.

00:38:03.780 --> 00:38:06.720
 And so, and he used that, he contrasted flesh

00:38:06.720 --> 00:38:08.940
 from the spirit earlier in chapter 3, verse 1,

00:38:08.940 --> 00:38:10.659
 in a similar way because the Corinthians

00:38:10.659 --> 00:38:12.679
 were living in a fleshly way instead of

00:38:12.679 --> 00:38:13.519
 being in spirit.

00:38:14.720 --> 00:38:16.260
 And so, that's what I think he's referring

00:38:16.260 --> 00:38:16.679
 to here.

00:38:17.079 --> 00:38:19.920
 And so, then he's saying by be delivered to

00:38:19.920 --> 00:38:22.079
 Satan and to the destruction of the flesh,

00:38:22.139 --> 00:38:23.360
 they're really referring to one and the

00:38:23.360 --> 00:38:24.099
 same thing, right?

00:38:24.159 --> 00:38:26.260
 Being handed over to Satan's realm and

00:38:26.260 --> 00:38:29.300
 being living in really the flesh and the

00:38:29.300 --> 00:38:30.760
 sin that's associated with it.

00:38:31.320 --> 00:38:33.840
 Now, that sounds extremely harsh, right?

00:38:33.880 --> 00:38:34.480
 On the surface.

00:38:34.480 --> 00:38:37.860
 And because it almost sounds like Paul's

00:38:37.860 --> 00:38:39.420
 condemning the sexually immoral man to

00:38:39.420 --> 00:38:40.400
 damnation, right?

00:38:40.539 --> 00:38:42.320
 It's like, oh, give him word to Satan and

00:38:42.320 --> 00:38:43.780
 let him flesh in the destruction of the

00:38:43.780 --> 00:38:44.000
 flesh.

00:38:44.320 --> 00:38:46.460
 But the next clause shows us that that's

00:38:46.460 --> 00:38:47.360
 not what Paul means.

00:38:47.760 --> 00:38:48.320
 Get it with me.

00:38:48.659 --> 00:38:50.059
 Deliver this man to Satan for the

00:38:50.059 --> 00:38:51.800
 destruction of the flesh, and here's the

00:38:51.800 --> 00:38:55.639
 purpose, so that his spirit may be saved

00:38:55.639 --> 00:38:57.019
 in the day of the Lord.

00:38:57.960 --> 00:38:59.440
 That's so comforting, right?

00:38:59.440 --> 00:39:02.679
 The purpose of delivering this man to

00:39:02.679 --> 00:39:05.840
 Satan is not his damnation, but his

00:39:05.840 --> 00:39:06.460
 salvation.

00:39:07.159 --> 00:39:08.760
 In other words, the spirit of church

00:39:08.760 --> 00:39:10.820
 discipline and excommunication is

00:39:10.820 --> 00:39:12.619
 redemptive, not punitive.

00:39:13.380 --> 00:39:15.139
 The goal of the church discipline is

00:39:15.139 --> 00:39:17.460
 reconciliation, not separation.

00:39:18.840 --> 00:39:21.280
 Paul's expressing his hope that through

00:39:21.280 --> 00:39:23.599
 excommunication, through the tough love

00:39:23.599 --> 00:39:25.900
 of the church, the man would be led to

00:39:25.900 --> 00:39:28.720
 repentance and faith, trusting that if he

00:39:28.719 --> 00:39:31.199
 has truly tasted of the life and the

00:39:31.199 --> 00:39:32.939
 spirit, that he would turn from his

00:39:32.939 --> 00:39:34.899
 distaste of the destruction of the

00:39:34.899 --> 00:39:36.899
 flesh back to the Lord.

00:39:37.719 --> 00:39:38.859
 That's his hope here.

00:39:39.519 --> 00:39:41.219
 And that's why it's so wrong for us to

00:39:41.219 --> 00:39:42.759
 say, you know, like, oh, like, I don't

00:39:42.759 --> 00:39:45.679
 want to judge these people, because by

00:39:45.679 --> 00:39:47.919
 refusing to judge one another, we're

00:39:47.919 --> 00:39:49.919
 condemning one another to judgment on

00:39:49.919 --> 00:39:51.199
 that ultimate day of judgment.

00:39:52.159 --> 00:39:54.659
 By obeying this passage and judging one

00:39:54.659 --> 00:39:57.159
 another in a loving way, we help each

00:39:57.159 --> 00:39:59.179
 other so that we can be saved on that

00:39:59.179 --> 00:40:00.219
 ultimate day of judgment.

00:40:01.739 --> 00:40:04.059
 And I hope our church really gets this,

00:40:04.199 --> 00:40:06.539
 understands this, because Dietrich Bonhoeffer

00:40:06.539 --> 00:40:08.339
 writes about this in his book, Life

00:40:08.339 --> 00:40:08.699
 Together.

00:40:09.339 --> 00:40:12.980
 He says, quote, nothing can be more cruel

00:40:12.980 --> 00:40:16.480
 than that leniency which abandons others

00:40:16.480 --> 00:40:16.980
 to sin.

00:40:18.159 --> 00:40:21.759
 Nothing can be more compassionate than that

00:40:21.759 --> 00:40:24.759
 severe reprimand which calls another

00:40:24.760 --> 00:40:27.960
 Christian in one's community back from the

00:40:27.960 --> 00:40:28.760
 path of sin.

00:40:30.220 --> 00:40:34.300
 A church that tolerates all manners of sin

00:40:34.300 --> 00:40:36.340
 among its members because it claims to be

00:40:36.340 --> 00:40:39.820
 quote, unquote, tolerant, open, inclusive, and

00:40:39.820 --> 00:40:43.340
 affirming is not practicing compassion.

00:40:44.720 --> 00:40:46.920
 They're practicing cruel indifference.

00:40:48.520 --> 00:40:52.000
 It's people we care nothing about that we

00:40:52.000 --> 00:40:54.719
 leave alone to do and live however they wish.

00:40:54.980 --> 00:40:55.500
 Is that not true?

00:40:56.980 --> 00:40:59.480
 It's phony friends that are content to

00:40:59.480 --> 00:41:02.760
 watch us ruin our lives with vices and bad

00:41:02.760 --> 00:41:03.300
 decisions.

00:41:03.860 --> 00:41:07.480
 The true friends confront us, chide us,

00:41:07.760 --> 00:41:10.260
 even get angry with us when we make bad

00:41:10.260 --> 00:41:12.139
 decisions that jeopardize our present and

00:41:12.139 --> 00:41:12.860
 future well-being.

00:41:13.880 --> 00:41:16.219
 That's what we are called to be.

00:41:16.780 --> 00:41:19.380
 That's the family of God, the true friends

00:41:19.380 --> 00:41:21.360
 that we are called to be for one another.

00:41:22.380 --> 00:41:24.140
 And this, by the way, is why our church

00:41:24.140 --> 00:41:26.559
 emphasizes membership so much, right?

00:41:26.940 --> 00:41:28.360
 It's because the New Testament church

00:41:28.360 --> 00:41:30.300
 assumed this kind of commitment among

00:41:30.300 --> 00:41:32.140
 believers and assumed this kind of

00:41:32.140 --> 00:41:32.800
 mutual accountability.

00:41:33.360 --> 00:41:35.280
 But Christians nowadays do not assume that

00:41:35.280 --> 00:41:36.740
 kind of mutual accountability and

00:41:36.740 --> 00:41:37.000
 commitment.

00:41:37.380 --> 00:41:39.240
 That's why we have to formalize membership

00:41:39.240 --> 00:41:41.900
 in order to teach our members explicitly of

00:41:41.900 --> 00:41:44.000
 this kind of mutual accountability and

00:41:44.000 --> 00:41:47.440
 commitment so that we can pursue this kind of

00:41:47.440 --> 00:41:48.800
 vision of a church together.

00:41:48.800 --> 00:41:51.600
 And note well that the church discipline that

00:41:51.600 --> 00:41:53.720
 Paul's talking about here will only work if

00:41:53.720 --> 00:41:55.560
 we buy in together as a community.

00:41:56.320 --> 00:41:58.280
 Only when we truly understand ourselves to

00:41:58.280 --> 00:42:00.440
 be accountable to one another will we submit

00:42:00.440 --> 00:42:01.360
 to church discipline.

00:42:02.220 --> 00:42:04.600
 Only if we humble ourselves and recognize that

00:42:04.600 --> 00:42:06.820
 we really need each other will we esteem

00:42:06.820 --> 00:42:09.100
 others' judgments more highly than our own.

00:42:11.300 --> 00:42:13.100
 Nowadays, right, people who are disciplined by

00:42:13.100 --> 00:42:15.000
 the church can simply leave and say, oh, I'll just

00:42:15.000 --> 00:42:16.820
 drive over to the next church in town, right?

00:42:16.820 --> 00:42:21.620
 And that reveals just how much the modern

00:42:21.620 --> 00:42:24.920
 church is characterized by the same pride of the

00:42:24.920 --> 00:42:27.740
 Corinthians of thinking oneself above judgment.

00:42:27.739 --> 00:42:36.859
 If we really saw each other as family and if we really valued each other's love and

00:42:36.859 --> 00:42:42.039
 investment in our lives and their judgment of where we are spiritually, we would be

00:42:42.039 --> 00:42:43.599
 fearful to leave like that.

00:42:43.599 --> 00:42:51.440
 So we are to purge the evil person from our midst in the context of the

00:42:51.440 --> 00:42:56.839
 gathered church community, in the name and power of the Lord Jesus Christ for the purpose of

00:42:56.839 --> 00:42:59.579
 restoration and reconciliation of the sinner.

00:42:59.860 --> 00:43:01.559
 That's how we should purge, right?

00:43:02.299 --> 00:43:05.139
 That brings us to my final point.

00:43:05.619 --> 00:43:06.559
 It's a shorter point.

00:43:06.559 --> 00:43:09.460
 Why we should purge, right?

00:43:10.219 --> 00:43:12.139
 The evil person from our, why should we purge?

00:43:12.400 --> 00:43:16.279
 One of the reasons I have already given, which is to restore the sinner, correct the sinner,

00:43:16.360 --> 00:43:18.980
 but there are more reasons that Paul specifies in verses 6 to 8.

00:43:19.360 --> 00:43:20.940
 Your boasting is not good.

00:43:21.519 --> 00:43:23.239
 Do you not know that a little leaven,

00:43:23.360 --> 00:43:25.559
 leavens the whole lump, cleanses out the old leaven,

00:43:25.619 --> 00:43:28.380
 that you may be a new lump as you really are on leaven.

00:43:28.380 --> 00:43:32.760
 For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.

00:43:33.160 --> 00:43:36.059
 Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven,

00:43:36.360 --> 00:43:40.840
 the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

00:43:41.800 --> 00:43:46.720
 Nowadays, the word leaven can refer to, more generally, to all kinds of leavening agents,

00:43:46.820 --> 00:43:48.900
 like baking soda or yeast.

00:43:49.820 --> 00:43:54.340
 And if you have the NIV translation, it actually says yeast, but that's a mistranslation,

00:43:54.519 --> 00:43:57.380
 because here the word, it has a more restricted definition.

00:43:57.380 --> 00:44:02.800
 It's referring to leaven, and leaven is actually like a fermented,

00:44:03.240 --> 00:44:05.900
 when you ferment a dough to make it light and fluffy, right,

00:44:06.180 --> 00:44:11.920
 and you save a part of that old batch of dough in order to use it for the baking of a new batch

00:44:11.920 --> 00:44:16.400
 so that you can make it, again, light and fluffy without having access to yeast,

00:44:16.539 --> 00:44:17.559
 that's what leaven is.

00:44:17.599 --> 00:44:22.180
 So it's the old part of the fermented bread that's kept reserved for the next batch

00:44:22.180 --> 00:44:24.059
 so you could use it for fermenting other breads.

00:44:24.660 --> 00:44:26.660
 And so yeast was very rare in the ancient world.

00:44:26.659 --> 00:44:29.960
 I mean, yeast is also wholesome, so it doesn't really make sense.

00:44:30.379 --> 00:44:33.480
 And it's an ingenious way to really ferment bread,

00:44:33.940 --> 00:44:38.019
 but of course the danger is that every time you do that, right,

00:44:38.480 --> 00:44:42.440
 the chance of harmful bacteria growing grows every time,

00:44:42.539 --> 00:44:46.079
 because you're taking the old one and you're probably preserving some of the really old one

00:44:46.079 --> 00:44:49.239
 as you take a piece of the old bread and use it for the new one.

00:44:49.239 --> 00:44:55.599
 And so that's the dangerous baking method if you preserve it over the long period of time.

00:44:56.000 --> 00:45:00.079
 And that's one of the reasons probably why God commanded in Exodus 12, 14, 20

00:45:00.079 --> 00:45:04.879
 to purge their homes of all leaven during the annual feast of unleavened bread.

00:45:05.399 --> 00:45:06.559
 I mean, that's not the main reason.

00:45:06.639 --> 00:45:07.619
 That's the secondary reason.

00:45:07.679 --> 00:45:09.099
 But I think that may have been one of the reasons.

00:45:09.099 --> 00:45:12.619
 Because for seven days they only eat unleavened bread,

00:45:13.239 --> 00:45:16.159
 and then because of that they start up the leavening process all over again

00:45:16.159 --> 00:45:18.179
 from the fresh batch, right, that they have.

00:45:18.960 --> 00:45:22.679
 And so in this way the word leaven for the Jews came to represent

00:45:22.679 --> 00:45:27.239
 how sin and evil insidiously spread among God's people

00:45:27.239 --> 00:45:31.420
 and grow until the whole bread is contaminated, right?

00:45:31.819 --> 00:45:33.319
 I mean, it's not a powerful picture.

00:45:33.320 --> 00:45:38.039
 So it's saying a little leaven leavens the whole lump is similar to our English saying

00:45:38.039 --> 00:45:40.660
 one bad apple spoils the whole barrel, right?

00:45:41.360 --> 00:45:44.900
 So using a familiar analogy, Paul enjoins the Corinthian church

00:45:44.900 --> 00:45:48.340
 to purge the leaven from among them, lest the whole batch be contaminated.

00:45:48.539 --> 00:45:52.480
 Because unrepentant sin in the context of the church, it's like cancer.

00:45:53.080 --> 00:45:56.100
 It spreads. It doesn't stay where it is, right?

00:45:56.460 --> 00:45:59.660
 You can't sweep it under the rug.

00:45:59.659 --> 00:46:04.819
 You can't just cover it up like this and manage sin like that.

00:46:05.099 --> 00:46:07.899
 It has to be, like cancer, eradicated.

00:46:08.440 --> 00:46:10.679
 It's the only way to deal with the sin in a proper way,

00:46:11.619 --> 00:46:14.199
 this kind of egregious sin, unrepentant sin.

00:46:14.940 --> 00:46:16.319
 And so that's why he says,

00:46:16.420 --> 00:46:20.319
 cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, right?

00:46:20.379 --> 00:46:23.460
 So that's the reason Paul commends the exclamation of the sexually immoral remains,

00:46:23.539 --> 00:46:25.500
 the preservation of the purity of the church.

00:46:25.500 --> 00:46:29.800
 Because Ephesians 5, 25-27 tells us that Christ saved us.

00:46:30.119 --> 00:46:31.699
 He's to cleanse us, right?

00:46:31.699 --> 00:46:32.900
 To sanctify us.

00:46:33.300 --> 00:46:34.340
 That's what he did, right?

00:46:34.380 --> 00:46:38.179
 He sanctified us, set us apart as his bride, right?

00:46:38.219 --> 00:46:42.260
 And if we are to be betrothed to Christ,

00:46:42.519 --> 00:46:47.179
 if the church is to be free of spot or wrinkle or any such thing,

00:46:47.420 --> 00:46:48.760
 as Ephesians 5 says,

00:46:48.840 --> 00:46:51.639
 then we have to cleanse out the old leaven.

00:46:51.639 --> 00:46:55.619
 How can we, the bride who is betrothed to Christ, the righteous one,

00:46:55.859 --> 00:46:59.679
 the holy one, tolerate filth and stain on ourselves?

00:47:01.440 --> 00:47:04.460
 But that sounds a little bit like works righteousness, doesn't it?

00:47:04.679 --> 00:47:04.819
 Right?

00:47:04.960 --> 00:47:05.599
 When Paul says,

00:47:05.819 --> 00:47:08.799
 cleanse out the old leavens that you may be a new lump.

00:47:08.879 --> 00:47:09.579
 Doesn't it sound like,

00:47:09.759 --> 00:47:12.519
 yeah, make yourself a new lump by cleansing out the old leavens.

00:47:12.559 --> 00:47:13.440
 Doesn't it sound like that?

00:47:13.739 --> 00:47:15.440
 I think Paul's aware that it sounds like that.

00:47:15.480 --> 00:47:17.980
 So he immediately adds a qualifier in verse 7.

00:47:18.599 --> 00:47:21.079
 Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump,

00:47:21.079 --> 00:47:24.079
 as you really are unleavened.

00:47:24.980 --> 00:47:29.840
 For Christ, the Passover lamb, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.

00:47:30.380 --> 00:47:31.599
 So what he's saying here is this.

00:47:31.659 --> 00:47:37.360
 We do not cleanse ourselves of old leaven in order to be clean and gain favor with God.

00:47:37.599 --> 00:47:43.440
 Rather, we cleanse ourselves because we have already been cleansed by Christ.

00:47:43.440 --> 00:47:53.159
 For Paul, the imperative to obey is always preceded and grounded in the indicative of what God has already done.

00:47:53.159 --> 00:47:56.879
 And so what he's saying is this.

00:47:56.980 --> 00:48:01.000
 It's really a concise summary of Christian discipleship and sanctification.

00:48:01.799 --> 00:48:04.539
 Become what you are, is what Paul is saying.

00:48:04.539 --> 00:48:11.059
 Live as the new creation that you are because you have been born again in Christ.

00:48:11.900 --> 00:48:13.460
 John Piper puts it this way.

00:48:13.599 --> 00:48:14.940
 Act the miracle.

00:48:16.679 --> 00:48:20.719
 Through Christ, we have experienced the miracle of salvation and new life.

00:48:20.820 --> 00:48:22.259
 Now act it out.

00:48:22.840 --> 00:48:26.019
 Live it out because Christ has already done it for us.

00:48:26.019 --> 00:48:30.980
 And since Passover is the first and the greatest day of the feast of unleavened bread,

00:48:31.219 --> 00:48:35.199
 he continues that imagery by giving the reason why we are truly unleavened bread.

00:48:35.300 --> 00:48:35.559
 He says,

00:48:36.300 --> 00:48:39.920
 For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.

00:48:40.579 --> 00:48:40.699
 Right?

00:48:41.480 --> 00:48:46.980
 When Israel was enslaved to Egypt and God delivered them through the Passover,

00:48:47.139 --> 00:48:49.360
 he told them to take a lamb and to slaughter it

00:48:49.360 --> 00:48:53.099
 and put Dabit's blood on the two doorposts and the lintel of the house

00:48:53.099 --> 00:48:55.299
 and then to eat the lamb in their house.

00:48:55.619 --> 00:48:58.159
 And when God went throughout Egypt to judge,

00:48:58.259 --> 00:49:02.279
 bring judgment on the Egyptian slaveholders and the nation of Egypt,

00:49:02.440 --> 00:49:05.539
 he killed the firstborn and brought judgment upon the household,

00:49:05.619 --> 00:49:09.960
 of every household except for the homes that had the blood of the lamb on the door.

00:49:11.019 --> 00:49:13.659
 He's saying the Passover lamb that's been sacrificed

00:49:13.659 --> 00:49:16.579
 so that we can be spared is Jesus Christ.

00:49:17.199 --> 00:49:20.480
 And because Jesus was not spared,

00:49:20.480 --> 00:49:24.280
 we can be spared from the judgment of our sins.

00:49:24.599 --> 00:49:26.099
 Because Jesus was excluded,

00:49:26.980 --> 00:49:30.820
 we can be received in fellowship with God,

00:49:30.920 --> 00:49:31.740
 communion with him.

00:49:32.219 --> 00:49:34.360
 That's the reason why we are clean.

00:49:35.380 --> 00:49:37.679
 That's the reason why we're unleavened bread.

00:49:38.360 --> 00:49:42.440
 And as such, we must cleanse the old leaven from our mist.

00:49:43.219 --> 00:49:45.780
 And Paul concludes this passage with verse 7,

00:49:45.780 --> 00:49:49.280
 Let us therefore celebrate the festival,

00:49:49.640 --> 00:49:50.860
 not with the old leaven,

00:49:50.940 --> 00:49:52.340
 the leaven of malice and evil,

00:49:52.420 --> 00:49:55.580
 but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

00:49:57.740 --> 00:50:01.040
 David Brainerd was an 18th century missionary,

00:50:01.140 --> 00:50:02.780
 American missionary to the Native Americans.

00:50:02.980 --> 00:50:05.260
 He used to serve actually in Stockbridge, Massachusetts,

00:50:05.620 --> 00:50:07.380
 and then he went over to New Jersey,

00:50:07.660 --> 00:50:09.260
 and he wrote this in his diary.

00:50:09.440 --> 00:50:09.660
 He said,

00:50:09.659 --> 00:50:13.159
 I never got away from Jesus and him crucified.

00:50:14.039 --> 00:50:16.679
 And I found that when my people were gripped

00:50:16.679 --> 00:50:21.679
 by this great evangelical doctrine of Christ and him crucified,

00:50:22.259 --> 00:50:24.839
 I had no need to give them instructions about morality.

00:50:25.619 --> 00:50:30.399
 I found that one followed as the sure and inevitable fruit of the other.

00:50:31.059 --> 00:50:34.480
 I find my Indians begin to put on the garments of holiness

00:50:34.480 --> 00:50:36.940
 and their common life begins to be sanctified,

00:50:37.260 --> 00:50:38.539
 even in small matters,

00:50:38.539 --> 00:50:44.599
 when they are possessed by the doctrine of Christ and him crucified.

00:50:47.000 --> 00:50:51.940
 The church that has been purified by Christ's sacrifice

00:50:51.940 --> 00:50:54.860
 must purge the evil from their mist.

00:50:55.679 --> 00:50:57.440
 And note, this is not a chore.

00:50:58.019 --> 00:51:00.440
 This is not something we do reluctantly.

00:51:00.599 --> 00:51:03.360
 The image that Paul uses is of celebrating the festival,

00:51:03.360 --> 00:51:05.740
 not literally the festival of unleavened bread,

00:51:05.820 --> 00:51:09.200
 but to celebrate the festival of what Christ has done for us,

00:51:09.240 --> 00:51:10.140
 in dying for us,

00:51:10.220 --> 00:51:12.579
 in sparing us from sin and judgment.

00:51:13.099 --> 00:51:13.680
 And because of that,

00:51:13.720 --> 00:51:15.800
 our life is a perpetual party,

00:51:16.460 --> 00:51:20.840
 a perpetual celebration of what Christ has done for us.

00:51:21.500 --> 00:51:22.820
 That's the image Paul has here.

00:51:24.280 --> 00:51:26.440
 So let's do that joyfully together.

00:51:27.760 --> 00:51:29.360
 Because of Christ's sacrifice,

00:51:29.680 --> 00:51:30.920
 purge the evil from our mist,

00:51:30.920 --> 00:51:33.240
 as the sure and inevitable expression

00:51:33.240 --> 00:51:35.360
 of that glorious reality of Christ crucified.

00:51:35.800 --> 00:51:36.659
 Let's pray together.

00:51:42.300 --> 00:51:46.880
 God, we know that this is hard for many people.

00:51:46.880 --> 00:51:52.280
 But we know,

00:51:52.940 --> 00:51:54.940
 because of the love that you demonstrated

00:51:54.940 --> 00:51:58.400
 in an unforgettable and unmistakable way

00:51:58.400 --> 00:51:59.619
 in Jesus Christ,

00:51:59.740 --> 00:52:01.800
 in his death and resurrection on our behalf,

00:52:02.400 --> 00:52:06.220
 that it comes from the Father's heart of love.

00:52:10.220 --> 00:52:11.599
 And we know it is true.

00:52:11.599 --> 00:52:14.759
 So help us to model that,

00:52:15.199 --> 00:52:15.799
 follow that,

00:52:16.380 --> 00:52:18.119
 for your glory and our good.

00:52:18.279 --> 00:52:19.199
 In Jesus' name we pray.

00:52:19.519 --> 00:52:19.739
 Amen.