I Corinthians 5, Outside vs. Inside

Paul has been confronting the arrogance of the Corinthian church, as they fight about leadership and standing.  In this chapter, Paul addresses the question, "When is it appropriate to discipline another for immoral or unethical behavior.  At one level, the answer is easy....

1 Corinthians 5: 1-5, Incest in the Church

It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that does not occur even among pagans: A man has his father's wife.  And you are proud! Shouldn't you rather have been filled with grief and have put out of your fellowship the man who did this? 

Even though I am not physically present, I am with you in spirit. And I have already passed judgment on the one who did this, just as if I were present.  When you are assembled in the name of our Lord Jesus and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present, hand this man over to Satan, so that the sinful nature may be destroyed and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord.

The church, arrogant and divisive, has at the same time been ignoring an active sexual relationship among members that they all recognize as wrong and damaging.  Paul confronts this harshly.

1 Corinthians 5: 6-8, The new bread of Christ

Your boasting is not good. Don't you know that a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough?  Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast--as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.  Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with bread without yeast, the bread of sincerity and truth.

Replace boasting by sincerity.  Remember the Lamb who was sacrificed for us, in sincerity and truth.

1 Corinthians 5: 9-13, Outside vs. inside

I have written you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people-- not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world.  But now I am writing you that you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler. With such a man do not even eat.

What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside?  God will judge those outside. "Expel the wicked man from among you."

Paul mentions an earlier letter, now lost.  He also gives clear advice, often forgotten by the Church. Those of us who voluntarily join the church community, who seek to follow Christ, offer ourselves for (constructive) criticism and judgment.  In that realm, (compassionate) judgment is appropriate and may even lead to discipline. But don't judge those who are outside the church!  

If only Christians in America practiced this...!  Instead (in my experience) the church gets this backwards, making pronouncements about those outside the church while often ignoring the sin and hypocrisy within the church!

The Old Testament quote in verse 13 is appears in Deuteronomy in a number of places, 17:7; 19:19; 21:21; 22:21,24; 24:7.