City Life Starter

By Ji Yun

We are living in a sexually polarized world.  It is almost unthinkable to compare what we see around us now as a norm in today’s society to the norm only a few decades ago.  The rise of the sexual revolution has redefined and challenged many of the orthodox views of the Bible.  Things such as sex outside of marriage, glamorization of adultery, and even homosexuality, has definitely led to confusion within the Christian Church as a whole.  The question is how do we approach this new age Christianity that normalizes and accepts what is clearly defined as sin in the Bible.  Finally, what do we do with the unrepented believer?

In 1 Corinthians 5, Paul dealt heavily on the issue of sexual immorality.  He concluded that what the Corinthian Church was doing was wrong, and they needed to take immediate action against sexually immoral members that were unrepentant: excommunication.

Here is why Paul believed that this individual ought to be excommunicated from the church.  First, the man sinned sexually with his stepmother.  In Leviticus 18:8, Scripture tells us, “You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s wife; it is your father’s nakedness.” (ESV) Second, this individual was unrepentant.  Finally, Corinthian Church’s lack of discipline led to greater suffering of the body of Christ, in that unrepented sin led to contaminating the whole church, compromising the purity and holiness of the house of God.

Excommunication seems harsh, and even unthinkable in today’s church climate, but if there is cancer in the body, and the whole body is at stake, wouldn’t any good doctor recommend cutting away the cancer to preserve the rest of the body?  Jesus said,

“If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.” (Matthew 5:29-30, ESV)

This week, our contributors will discuss in depth regarding this difficult chapter of the book.  I pray that Lord will grant you wisdom and revelation on the seriousness of sexual sin and how important it is for us to guard ourselves from this evil that is ever present with us.  Please feel free to comment and ask questions.  We look forward to hear from you.