1 Corinthians 5 – Pastor Mac Daily DEVO

 

…you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord. 1 Corinthians 5:5 – During the time Paul was ministering, Corinth was a massive trade city, and with all this wealth it was a hub for all sorts of sexual immorality. Prostitution was seen as religious activity, to “corinthinize” was synonymous with being sexual immoral. Here in chapter 5 we have a man in the church having an ongoing sexual relationship with his step-mom, and the Corinthian church not only was fine with it but proud of it! Paul, seeking to speak some sense into the church he planted, tells them to “deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh.” Now this sounds intense. Is the heart of Paul here saying that when someone sins like this in the church we should cast them out, tell them they are going to Hell, and never speak with them again? Absolutely not. What Paul is telling the church is if this brother is choosing to remain unrepentant of this sin, to for a time disassociate with him by removing him from the church. The purpose of this would be that he would see through this process the wrong of his sin, finally repent, and destroy the fleshly choices he was making. Then healing and reconciliation back with the church could take place. Our aim with non-believers is to help them see the wrong of their sin and to have them turn to Jesus. Our aim with believers in sin is to help them see the wrong of their sin and to have them turn to Jesus. While this process of church discipline is not easy, if the end result is the individual turning from their sin, following Jesus, and healed with the church, then it’s all worth it. Be willing to follow scripture even if the process isn’t easy, for if it brings someone back to the Lord, what could be better than that? I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 3112

 

Question To Ponder: How do you see this taking place in churches today?

 

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See Previous Devotions Over This Chapter

1 Corinthians – Chapter 5