Pastor Barry's  "Chapter & Verse"  Day 35

February 4;       I Corinthians 5:9;       35/260(II);       ‘Believers Sin’

1 Corinthians 5:9 I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people.

Remember, the epistles, or letters to the churches are written to Christians.  Paul is writing this chapter to the Church at Corinth about a member who was sexually immoral.  Paul, exerting his apostolic authority, tells the members of the church not to have fellowship with this man.  When we become Born Again, our past sins and conduct are removed and we are given the righteousness of God.  This means we have right standing with the Father, just as the Lord Jesus did.  Christians, even though they have been made righteous still sin.  If we are in fellowship with the Lord by reading the Word and prayer, when we do sin, our love for Jesus and the conviction we feel causes us to quickly repent, apologize and determine to resist temptation and sin in a greater way.  It appears that this was not the case with this man.  The sin seems to be on going, without repentance or change.  Paul is telling the church not to fellowship with this man, as if everything was alright.  Paul ‘turns this man over to satan.’  Really sin, without repentance and continued opens the door for satan to attack.  Paul wants the spiritual consequences of sin and the loss of the love and fellowship of the church, to open the eyes of this man so that  he would turn from his sinful behavior.  The price we pay for sin is incredibly high and destroys our peace, fellowship with the Lord, relationships and often our health.  In 2 Corinthians 2, it appears that the consequences of sin changed this man and now Paul is encouraging the church to forgive and comfort this man.  When we sin, the Lord will forgive and restore us, when we change.