Addressing Tolerance and Sin in 1 Corinthians 5

1 Corinthians 5 “It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that even pagans do not tolerate: A man is sleeping with his father’s wife. ² And you are proud! Shouldn’t you rather have gone into mourning and have put out of your fellowship the man who has been doing this? ³ For my part, even though I am not physically present, I am with you in spirit. As one who is present with you in this way, I have already passed judgment in the name of our Lord Jesus on the one who has been doing this. ⁴ So when you are assembled and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present, ⁵ hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord. ⁶ Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough? ⁷ Get rid of the old yeast, so that you may be a new unleavened batch—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. ⁸ Therefore let us keep the festival, not with the old bread leavened with malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. ⁹ I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— ¹⁰ 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. ¹¹ But now I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. Do not even eat with such people.¹² What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? ¹³ God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked person from among you.”

In 1 Corinthians 5, Paul confronts sexual immorality within the church in Corinth, urging believers to uphold God’s moral standards. He critiques their prideful tolerance and emphasizes the necessity of addressing sin. Paul stresses the importance of removing unrepentant individuals from fellowship to protect the church’s integrity and promote spiritual restoration.

The city of Corinth was a very permissive city in moral terms. Immorality was part of the worship system (the goddess of Aphrodite). That culture was influencing the church rather than the church having a greater influence within the community. At times, the surrounding culture exerts such a powerful influence that, rather than serving as the salt and light of the world, there is an inclination to compromise and conform to the values and ideologies of this world.

In verse 2, Paul rebukes them for taking pride in the incest occurring within their church. This highlights the concept of tolerance, which is frequently regarded as a high virtue in today’s society for defining a good person. However, is being tolerant of everything and anything truly good?

If someone is living immorally and remains unrepentant, action must be taken. The church is not to ignore or tolerate such behavior. Paul warns that a small amount of yeast, symbolizing sin, can spread and corrupt its surroundings. Therefore, Paul advises that such an individual should be removed from fellowship. This demonstrates that such conduct is inconsistent with God’s ways and safeguards young and immature believers from mistakenly perceiving certain behaviors as acceptable simply because they are present in the church and tolerated by mature believers. The ultimate aim of removing such a person from the church is not punitive but is intended to foster repentance and restoration by allowing the individual to experience the absence of the supportive Christian community.

Jesus never intended for Christians to withdraw completely from the world. We are called to live amidst a value system that differs greatly from our own, while remaining holy and set apart. As believers, we must exercise caution to ensure that the surrounding culture does not dictate our values, but rather that our values be shaped solely by the Word of God.

God Bless.