Please forgive the delay of this post. Yesterday was filled with family time and I did not get it up until now.
Paul comes straight to the point of church discipline in chapter 5. The matter at hand in the discussion revolves around a man committing an act of sexually immorality. Making matters worse is that he is doing so with his step-mother. This type of behavior was apparently even condemned among the Gentiles, of which the Jews had little to no tolerance. In addition Paul states that the church is doing nothing to disciple or even disassociate with the person. Therefore Paul strongly urges the church to excommunicate the guilty party and have nothing to do with him.
This makes me ask myself a question. What actions and attitudes do we tolerate within the church which God abhors? Do we overlook certain behaviors as acceptable or even tolerable based n "who"? Do we make allowances on incidents for saying, "That is just the way they are?". Paul is very clear that when there is sin in the church we must deal accordingly with the offense and the offender. His judgment is "Do not associate with that person!" The purpose is dual fold: First, we must exercise discipline with the goal of redemption. The second is to not allow further corruption in the church.
In closing ask yourself, "Is there anything which I tolerate which God has condemned?" "Am I guilty of an attitude or an action which God despises and is detrimental to the body?"
Takeaways
1. Church disciple must be a staple for redemption and protection
2. We have the task of redeeming our fellow believers through God
3. Where do I fall in the scheme of tolerating sin?
Paul comes straight to the point of church discipline in chapter 5. The matter at hand in the discussion revolves around a man committing an act of sexually immorality. Making matters worse is that he is doing so with his step-mother. This type of behavior was apparently even condemned among the Gentiles, of which the Jews had little to no tolerance. In addition Paul states that the church is doing nothing to disciple or even disassociate with the person. Therefore Paul strongly urges the church to excommunicate the guilty party and have nothing to do with him.
This makes me ask myself a question. What actions and attitudes do we tolerate within the church which God abhors? Do we overlook certain behaviors as acceptable or even tolerable based n "who"? Do we make allowances on incidents for saying, "That is just the way they are?". Paul is very clear that when there is sin in the church we must deal accordingly with the offense and the offender. His judgment is "Do not associate with that person!" The purpose is dual fold: First, we must exercise discipline with the goal of redemption. The second is to not allow further corruption in the church.
In closing ask yourself, "Is there anything which I tolerate which God has condemned?" "Am I guilty of an attitude or an action which God despises and is detrimental to the body?"
Takeaways
1. Church disciple must be a staple for redemption and protection
2. We have the task of redeeming our fellow believers through God
3. Where do I fall in the scheme of tolerating sin?
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