Principles from Paul's Epistles

The Virtue of Grieving Over Sin

1 Cor. 5

Introduction

What makes you grieve? Most of us would say that only the most tragic events of this life make us grieve. We normally understand the term “grief” to represent the most profound and intense kind of sorrow. Consequently, we do not spend a good deal of our time grieving.

The passage we are going to consider this morning, however, may convince us that grieving or mourning should be more frequently observed in our lives than it is. The cause of this more frequent grieving is not what we usually encounter. In today's text, Paul chastises the Corinthians for not mourning at a time when they should have been mourning; he rebukes them for not grieving over an issue which was worthy of much grief.

This morning we are going to consider another principle from Paul's first epistle to the Corinthians. The first principle had to do with maintaining our point of reference, which is Christ; the second principle had to do with understanding the nature of the Church, especially as it relates to the part we all play in building up the one Body of Christ. This third point has to do with the virtue of grieving over sin. I want to speak to you about the benefits which come to a congregation when the members of that congregation are moved to mourn over sin in their midst.

Today, I'll be using 1 Cor. 5:

1 It is actually reported that there is immorality among you, and immorality of such a kind as does not exist even among the Gentiles, that someone has his father's wife. 2 You have become arrogant and have not mourned instead, so that the one who had done this deed would be removed from your midst. 3 For I, on my part, though absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged him who has so committed this, as though I were present. 4 In the name of our Lord Jesus, when you are assembled, and I with you in spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus, 5 I have decided to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. 6 Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough? 7 Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed. 8 Therefore let us celebrate the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. 9 I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people; 10 I did not at all mean with the immoral people of this world, or with the covetous and swindlers, or with idolaters, for then you would have to go out of the world. 11 But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler-- not even to eat with such a one. 12 For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Do you not judge those who are within the church? 13 But those who are outside, God judges. REMOVE THE WICKED MAN FROM AMONG YOURSELVES.

01. The Issue (vv. 1-5)

There are actually two issues in this chapter, one obvious and one not so obvious; or, perhaps I should say, one issue that immediately gets our attention and another issue that we are less likely to concentrate on. The obvious issue is the immorality which Paul mentions as this chapter opens. This was a gross and shocking type of immorality, as the apostle indicates when he says that even the Gentiles, that is, even rank pagans, don't engage in this particular form of immorality (cf. v. 1). Yet, here is the sin, the sin of a man having relations with his father's wife (this is a specific Jewish phrase which means that the woman in question was the offender's stepmother; such behavior is specifically forbidden in Lev. 18:8; 20:11; Deut. 22:30; 27:20); and here it is taking place in congregation of those who professed the gospel, a congregation of people who supposedly were living according to a standard of holiness derived from that gospel. Paul is, of course, rightly disgusted by what he has heard.

This sin was certainly enough to warrant Paul's condemnation. This was the kind of sin which represents the most blatant rebellion against the laws of God. This sin struck at the heart of the institution of marriage; it had to do with fundamental principles related to personal and familial purity. This sin was the kind that makes the skin crawl; it was the kind of sin that makes a congregation shudder-or at least it should have that effect. But I want you to notice the next words out of Paul's mouth: “You have become arrogant and have not mourned instead, so that the one who had done this deed would be removed from your midst.” (v. 2) Here is the less obvious issue in this passage. Here is the issue we are likely to skip over because, in our minds, we're concentrating on the sin Paul has identified. It shocks us as we read his words and we keep reading with that description of immorality in our minds to see what Paul says about it-and, if we aren't careful and deliberate in our reading, we will not feel the impact of those few words: “you have not mourned.”

My purpose in using this passage is not to talk about the sin. My purpose in using this passage is to talk about the manner in which the Corinthians reacted to the sin. That, I believe, receives the greater part of the apostle's attention. It was the reaction of this congregation which troubled Paul as much as, and perhaps more than, the sin itself. Paul clearly condemns the reaction of the Corinthians up to this point. “You have become arrogant,” he writes, “and have not mourned instead.” Mourning over this sin, grieving over this transgression, would have been the proper response, Paul teaches. The offender should have been “removed from your midst,” he writes, meaning that the congregation should have taken whatever steps were necessary to disassociate themselves from this man. The implication, however, is that he continued to participate in the life of the church. Instead of being removed from their midst, he apparently was still there.

This was an unacceptable circumstance, Paul reveals. And it was not just the sin which was unacceptable, it also was the response of the Corinthians that was unacceptable. Paul quickly deals with the transgressor. “I may not be there with you in person,” Paul says, “but I surely know what to do about such immorality.” “I don't have to sit down and hear anything from anyone,” the apostle indicates. This was an “open and shut case,” as we say. This man was committing a sin of the most disgusting kind; so, Paul writes, “I've already judged him-I don't even have to be there.” (v. 3) And since the Corinthians didn't seem to know what to do (or, in reality, since they were not willing to do the right thing), Paul gives them specific instructions. “Assemble yourselves,” he says, “and in the name of the Lord Jesus deliver that offender to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, so that his spirit may yet be saved.” (vv. 4, 5)

These are the words of an excommunication. These are the words spoken when the sin is so great that no tolerance is allowed and no patience is required. The Corinthians should already have done this, but Paul commands them to do it now. Paul's words are grave and deliberate as he invokes the name of Christ, indicating that this must be done because the reputation of Christ demands it. The only hope for this offender was that the outcome of his behavior would become so severe that he would repent. This is what is implied in Paul's phrase “I have decided to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of his flesh.” Paul is exhorting the Corinthians to put this man out of their midst because his presence was defiling the entire congregation. He must not be allowed to remain as if his behavior was acceptable in this Christian community. On the contrary, Paul commands that he be expelled from the Christian community in which he enjoyed the benefits of the church and, instead, be subjected to the consequences of his sin.

We know from previous study that one of the problems in Corinth was the peoples' habit of boasting. In the opening chapters, Paul chastises them for boasting in whichever teacher they decided was worthy of being followed; and he chided them again in the fourth chapter for boasting about their superiority in the faith. That kind of attitude, that attitude which leaves no room for humility, is very costly. It can lead to the kind of situation Paul is now addressing in this fifth chapter. Where there is a lack of humility-and Paul's previous words indicate a substantial lack of humility in this congregation-there will be a corresponding inability to grasp the ugliness of sin. That was happening in this church and that is the primary issue for us to note in this chapter.

Paul already has said that instead of being rightly concerned about this sin, and instead of acting properly in response, the Corinthians displayed arrogance (cf. v. 2). Paul uses a word (phusioo) which means “to be puffed up.” When it's used of people, the word means “to think loftily of oneself.” The apostle uses this same word three times in just the previous chapter! The Corinthians were “puffed up” about this or that. They were “puffed up” about which teacher they would follow and they were “puffed up” about the progress they thought they were making in the faith. They were so puffed up they even questioned Paul's integrity (cf. 4:18, 19). Where there is arrogance, there is no room for humility; and when humility is lacking, all manner of sin waits to be manifested. And in an atmosphere of boasting and lofty opinions of self, sin runs rampant and isn't even recognized for what it is-and that was the sad, deplorable situation in this congregation.

“You have become arrogant and have not mourned instead...” The issue is the unacceptable response of the Corinthians to sin in their midst; the issue is the arrogance of those in this congregation which allowed horrible sin to go on in their midst without rebuke. The arrogance had robbed them of the ability to think rightly. A proud man is not capable of thinking rationally because he is focused on self as the beginning point for his reasoning. And so, as the Corinthians went about boasting of mere men and boasting about their advancements in the faith, they were unable to recognize the depth of sin in their midst.

02. The Response (vv. 6-13)

We already know Paul's response. To say that he was dissatisfied with this congregation's reaction to the sin he has identified would be an incredible understatement. Paul's response is captured in these words: “Your boasting is not good.” (v. 6) The arrogance which could be observed so easily in this congregation produced this shameful situation in which open sin, sin of the most gross kind, was being tolerated. The pride of this congregation left the members unable and unwilling to do what was right. They thought so highly of themselves and, in reality, they were a considerable disappointment to the apostle.

Paul knew the danger which their boasting represented. He could point to their present situation and illustrate it in a vivid manner. Paul did as much back in v. 2: “you have become arrogant and have not mourned instead.” You see what arrogance gets you, Paul could have said. Do you see where you end up when you boast in yourselves? Do you see what can happen to a congregation when sin is no longer a cause for grief in the hearts of believers? Do you understand where a lax view of sin takes you? Do you realize the damage that is done when a congregation fails to remain vigilant in the matter of holy living? It leads to this, Paul teaches; it leads to this shameful, Christ dishonoring situation in which you now find yourselves.

How could you be so misinformed, Paul implies. “Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough?” Paul uses a common illustration to make his point. It only takes a small amount of leaven to affect a whole lump of dough. This is what it is like when sin is tolerated in the midst of a congregation, Paul teaches. Sin that is left unchecked doesn't go away; it works, perhaps only gradually, perhaps almost silently, but it works. And as it works, it spreads and alters the congregation. The only answer is to “clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump,” Paul says as he continues his illustration (v. 7) To remain unaffected by this sin, Paul tells the Corinthians, you must remove it from among you. If you don't remove it, you will be compromised and what will happen to you will be contrary to what you are supposed to be as a gospel-believing church.

“You are in fact unleavened,” Paul writes. He is simply following his analogy a bit further. The Corinthians, as believers, should be free of sin just as an unleavened lump of dough is free of leaven. And then he adds: “For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed.” It seems that Paul is recalling the episode of the Exodus. The Israelites fled Egypt with unleavened bread, an act which symbolized the quickness of their deliverance from slavery (cf. Ex. 12:33, 34). Later, the Israelites were required to remove yeast from their homes before they could eat the Passover Lamb (cf. Ex. 12:15). This was a reminder of the manner in which the LORD rescued them from Egypt. Paul is making a connection between the absence of leaven in the Israelites' homes, which reminded them of their deliverance from slavery, and the needed absence of leaven (that is, evil) in the Corinthian church, which would symbolize their deliverance from sin. Whereas the Israelites ate a Passover Lamb, the Corinthians ate of the true Lamb, as it were. To tolerate sin in their midst, therefore, would be to deny the reality of what Christ had done in securing their redemption.

“Therefore,” Paul continues, “let us celebrate the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” (v. 8) He means that the Corinthians should rejoice in what Christ had done for them and they should live in that state which He had secured for them. They should live as those who have been delivered from sin, not as those who sinned or tolerated sin in their midst. They were purified in Christ and should be living in a manner which reflected that truth.

So, Paul's response to the Corinthians is simple: do not sin and do not allow sin to remain in your midst. He goes further and reminds them that he had warned them about this kind of situation before (v. 9). Previously, the apostle told the Corinthians not to associate with immoral people. He now clarifies what he meant. He wasn't referring to “people of the world,” as he puts it, but immoral people in the congregation (cf. vv. 10, 11). It's the so-called brother who is immoral who represents the danger, Paul emphasizes. He is the one who is the leaven which affects the whole lump of dough; he is the one whose presence will inevitably bring harm to the whole church. Paul stresses that the Corinthians should not even eat with such a one. He means that an absolute break must be established between those who profess the gospel and live it and those who profess the gospel and deny it by their conduct.

Don't worry about those outside the church, Paul states, as if to indicate that the Corinthians had been giving their attention to the conduct of pagans while allowing unchecked immorality to run wild in the congregation. Give your attention to those who are part of the body, he writes. Our concern is the character of our congregation, Paul means. That is where you should focus. In fact, he teaches, it is the duty of Christians to judge one another in the church (v. 12). God will take care of the pagans, but as for you, he concludes, “remove the wicked man from among yourselves.” (v. 13)

I would summarize Paul's response in this manner: there is virtue in grieving for sin. He has shown how inappropriately the Corinthians had responded to this sin in the congregation. He charges them with being arrogant when they should have been mourning. Had they been mourning this sin, had they been grieving the presence of such a horrible transgression, they would not have been liable for the apostle's chastisement. As it was, however, the Corinthians needed an immediate change of perspective. They needed to cease acting like they were so far advanced in the faith and realize that they were failing the most basic test for any congregation. They needed to grieve for this sin and do the right thing-remove it.

Application

In terms of a general application, I've already said that this passage teaches that there is benefit in grieving for sin. I didn't mention this before, but the word Paul uses, which is translated “mourn” in v. 2 (pentheo), refers to the most severe type of lamentation. It's a word which describes how a human being reacts to the death of a loved one, for example. Paul tells the Corinthians that they should have this kind of reaction to the sin which had infiltrated their congregation. It was that serious and that threatening and that unacceptable. So, once again, I will say that the principle for us to take from this passage is that there is virtue in grieving-virtue is being severely troubled-over sin in our midst. The obvious question for me to ask you, therefore, is this: Are you grieved by sin in this congregation?

I certainly know how easy it is for us to become complacent about sin. We develop relationships in the congregation, we get to know each other and, if we are not vigilant, we reach the point where our toleration for conduct which is contrary to Scripture rises. When that happens, we become less likely to confront sin because it is being committed by someone we consider a friend. What you have to keep in mind, however, is that God has given us a standard by which we are to conduct ourselves and by which we are to measure the lives of everyone who participates in this congregation-that standard is His Word. That standard is fair to all. It does not condemn some and excuse others who commit the same transgression. The Word of God shows no partiality and that is why it must be the standard by which we live. By keeping the Word before us, we will never get to the point where we put relationships above this standard. By keeping the Word before us, we will never get sidetracked by issues which serve only to confuse between right and wrong.

A congregation which responds to sin as Paul describes in this chapter is going to have a number of characteristics. For example, the congregation which responds to sin as Paul describes will be one in which sin is met head-on. It will be a congregation in which sin is handled definitively because the people know the cost of delay. They know that sin left unchecked leads to other problems. Sin left unchecked does not simply disappear; sin left unchecked spreads. Sin destroys-that is the nature of sin. When sin is not handled properly, it prevents a church from pursuing those things which are supposed to be pursued. Sin that is not confronted causes hurt feelings and disrupted relationships and gossip. When people see sin tolerated and see sin allowed to go on and on and on, they have plenty to say and that contributes to the destruction of the body. But the kind of congregation which Paul endorses is one in which sin is handled forthrightly.

The congregation which responds to sin as Paul describes will also be one in which obvious sin is dealt with for what it is. When something occurs which is clearly contrary to the plain words of Scripture, then delay in responding is itself a sin. Paul uses strong language when he accuses the Corinthians of boasting when they should have been grieving. He uses two totally opposite notions, the one destructive and the other constructive, the one detrimental and the other beneficial. One of the amazing elements in this story, Paul reveals, is how the Corinthians had failed to react rightly to blatant sin, the kind of sin which was rarely observed even among the pagans. It was not as if there were questions about the propriety of what was going on. This was a case where the behavior was so obviously contrary to the Word of God that no presumption of innocence was needed, no long, drawn-out procedure was necessary. This was an open and deliberate transgression of that standard which was supposed to govern the congregation and it should have been treated as such.

No congregation which fails to treat obvious sin swiftly and definitively can expect to prosper. Again, that's why there is virtue in grieving over sin in our midst. That posture will ensure that we don't ignore that which is obvious and ensure that we don't fail to do what God requires in a timely fashion. The kind of congregation Paul wanted to see in Corinth was the kind in which the people understood that the ultimate aim of responding rightly to sin is the purity of the Body. Too often, though, Christians react in ways that hinder this goal. Understanding that the Body of Christ is to be pure will lead us to be a congregation which grieves over sin. But if we allow anything to supplant that ultimate aim, then we will find ourselves less and less likely, less and less willing to confront sin when it arises. The Corinthian church was full of all kinds of difficulties because the people did not have as their ultimate aim the purity of that local Body of believers. But without that goal, sin will appear less threatening than it really is and without that aim our response will be less vigorous than it should be. You can't grieve for sin unless you understand how contrary it is to what we are supposed to be as body of believers.

Let me ask you again, Are you grieved by sin in this congregation? We all should be troubled by sin in our midst. We should want purity in this local body, we should want to see growth in grace, we should want to see every person walking rightly before the Lord-and when we don't see those things, we should grieve. We should be sad, we should be repentant. But I fear that we have our eyes on many other things besides purity. I fear that, like most congregations, we are easily distracted so that we give attention to secondary matters before giving attention to this primary matter, which is our calling to be saints.

Every week, however, we are reminded of our high calling as saints. Every week, we are invited to partake of the Lord's Supper and in this sacrament we are reminded that we have been purchased by the blood of Jesus Christ; and His purchasing of us was not so that we would continue in sin, but that we would be delivered from sin. This sacrament tells us that we ought to grieve for sin in our midst because sin in a congregation of those purchased by the blood of Christ simple is not right.

One of the problems we face when asking ourselves if we are grieving over sin in our midst is a starting point. By this I mean that we have to realize that we don't start with our brother's life when developing this sense of grief for sin, we start with our own life. And this is makes our duty even more difficult to fulfill. We may easily be convinced that we should start inspecting the lives of those around us, but if we are told that we must first inspect our own lives, we are going to resist. But that is exactly what must happen and we all know that. We know that we must first look to ourselves, we must first open our hearts to the Lord and ask Him to reveal our sin to us so that we can mourn over it before we turn our eyes toward another.

As we come to the Lord's Table, we're going to sing a hymn. This hymn speaks of coming before God with grief and shame because of our sins. The cry of this hymn is “O God, be merciful to me!” This is what Paul had in mind-people coming before the Lord acknowledging their sin and finding comfort in His forgiveness. This hymn encapsulates Paul's teaching-there is virtue in grieving over sin.

Conclusion

I'm going to pray and then we will sing hymn number 409 as we come to the Table of the Lord.

Let's pray...

Singing of the hymn...