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How to Treat Christians Who Live Like Non-Christians

Your own members are aware that there is sexual sin going on among them. This kind of sin is not even heard of among unbelievers—a man is actually married to his father’s wife. You’re being arrogant when you should have been more upset about this. If you had been upset, the man who did this would have been removed from among you. Although I’m not physically present with you, I am with you in spirit. I have already judged the man who did this as though I were present with you. When you have gathered together, I am with you in spirit. Then, in the name of our Lord Jesus, and with his power, hand such a person over to Satan to destroy his corrupt nature so that his spiritual nature may be saved on the day of the Lord.

It’s not good for you to brag. Don’t you know that a little yeast spreads through the whole batch of dough? Remove the old yeast ⌞of sin⌟ so that you may be a new batch of dough, since you don’t actually have the yeast ⌞of sin⌟.

Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. So we must not celebrate our festival with the old yeast ⌞of sin⌟ or with the yeast of vice and wickedness. Instead, we must celebrate it with the bread of purity and truth that has no yeast.

In my letter to you I told you not to associate with people who continue to commit sexual sins. 10 I didn’t tell you that you could not have any contact with unbelievers who commit sexual sins, are greedy, are dishonest, or worship false gods. If that were the case, you would have to leave this world. 11 Now, what I meant was that you should not associate with people who call themselves brothers or sisters in the Christian faith but live in sexual sin, are greedy, worship false gods, use abusive language, get drunk, or are dishonest. Don’t eat with such people.

12 After all, do I have any business judging those who are outside ⌞the Christian faith⌟? Isn’t it your business to judge those who are inside? 13 God will judge those who are outside. Remove that wicked man from among you.

Because of my deep love for you, I must express my concern about the report brought to me regarding the lewd and immoral behavior exhibited in your community. This scandal has come to my attention because this kind of thing is unheard of even among the outsiders around us: I understand a man is having sexual relations with his father’s wife. You have turned into an arrogant lot who refuse to see the tragedy right in front of your eyes and mourn for it. If you would face these hard realities, the one living in this sin would be removed from the community.

Despite the fact that I am not physically present with you, I am there in spirit and already have spoken judgment against the man who has engaged in this conduct. When you gather in the name of the Lord Jesus and I am present with you in spirit, and the infinite power of our Lord Jesus is present also, I direct you to release this man over to Satan so his rebellious nature will be destroyed and his spirit might be rescued in the day the Lord Jesus returns.

Your proud boasting in this matter is terrible. Don’t you understand that the tiniest infraction can bring about an unwelcome chain of events? That just a little yeast causes all the dough to rise? Get rid of all the old yeast; then you’ll become new dough, just as you are already a people without sin’s leavening influence. You see, the Anointed One is our Passover lamb; He has been sacrificed for us. So let the real feast begin. Get rid of all the old yeast, the yeast of hatred and evil. Throw it out so we can feast on the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

Sexual sin is always painful, but incest decimates families and communities, and it leaves people isolated and angry. The danger for believers who understand the reality of sin is that they may lose sight of redemption and become complacent in their brokenness. In Corinth the believers have become so complacent that they are ignoring the incest in their community. The church’s reputation is beginning to suffer among outsiders.

Church discipline if properly done accomplishes two things: first, it protects the community from harm caused by the sin; second, it can lead to a restoration of the sinner to God and the community. Ignoring the sin actually makes the lives of the sinners worse. Real love confronts the sin and leads the sinners toward redemption and wholeness.

In the letter I wrote to you previously, I made it clear that you are not to band together with those who have embraced immoral lives. 10 Don’t misunderstand; I’m not telling you to hole up and hunker down from the rest of the world. That’s impossible. The world is filled with immoral people consumed by their desire for more; they steal from one another without hesitation and will worship man-made idols with no shame at all. If you attempted to avoid these people, you would have to leave the world itself. 11 What I was saying is that you should not associate with someone who calls himself a brother or sister but lives contrary to all we stand for: committing immoral sexual acts, consumed with desire for more, worshiping tangible lifeless things, using profanity, drinking into oblivion, swindling and cheating others. Do not even sit at the table with a person like this. 12 Why would I ever attempt to judge those outside the church? Aren’t we called to judge those within the church? 13 God judges the outsiders. Your job is this: “Expel the wicked from your own community.”[a]

Sexual Immorality Rebuked

It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and sexual immorality of such a kind as does not exist even among the Gentiles, namely, that someone has (A)his father’s wife. [a]You (B)have become [b]arrogant and [c]have not (C)mourned instead, so that the one who had done this deed would be (D)removed from your midst.

For I, on my part, though (E)absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged him who has so committed this, as though I were present. (F)In the name of our Lord Jesus, when you are assembled, and [d]I with you in spirit, (G)with the power of our Lord Jesus, I have decided [e]to (H)turn such a person over to (I)Satan for the destruction of his [f]body, so that his spirit may be saved on (J)the day of the [g]Lord.

(K)Your boasting is not good. (L)Do you not know that (M)a little [h]leaven leavens the whole lump of dough? Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For Christ our (N)Passover also has been sacrificed. Therefore let’s celebrate the feast, (O)not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

I wrote to you in my letter (P)not to associate with sexually immoral people; 10 I did not at all mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the greedy and swindlers, or with (Q)idolaters, for then you would have to leave the world. 11 But [i]actually, I [j]wrote to you not to associate [k]with any so-called (R)brother if he is a sexually immoral person, or a greedy person, or (S)an idolater, or is verbally abusive, or habitually drunk, or a swindler—not even to eat with such a person. 12 For what business of mine is it to judge (T)outsiders? (U)Do you not judge those who are within the church? 13 But those who are outside, God [l]judges. (V)Remove the evil person from among yourselves.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Corinthians 5:2 Or have you...?
  2. 1 Corinthians 5:2 Lit puffed up
  3. 1 Corinthians 5:2 Or have you...?
  4. 1 Corinthians 5:4 Lit my spirit, with the power
  5. 1 Corinthians 5:5 Or that you are to turn
  6. 1 Corinthians 5:5 Lit flesh
  7. 1 Corinthians 5:5 One early ms Lord Jesus
  8. 1 Corinthians 5:6 I.e., fermented dough
  9. 1 Corinthians 5:11 Lit now
  10. 1 Corinthians 5:11 Or have written
  11. 1 Corinthians 5:11 Lit together if anyone called a brother is
  12. 1 Corinthians 5:13 Or will judge

Inmoralidad en la iglesia de Corinto

En efecto, se oye que entre ustedes hay inmoralidad, y una inmoralidad tal como no existe ni siquiera entre los gentiles, al extremo de que alguien tiene la mujer de su padre(A). ¡Y ustedes se han vuelto[a] arrogantes[b](B) en lugar de haberse entristecido(C), para que el que de entre ustedes ha cometido esta acción fuera expulsado de en medio de ustedes(D)!

Pues yo, por mi parte, aunque ausente en cuerpo pero presente en espíritu(E), como si estuviera presente, ya he juzgado al que cometió tal acción. En el nombre de nuestro Señor Jesús(F), cuando estén reunidos, y yo con ustedes en espíritu, con el poder[c] de nuestro Señor Jesús(G), entreguen a ese tal a Satanás(H) para la destrucción de su carne, a fin de que su espíritu sea salvo(I) en el día del Señor Jesús[d](J).

La jactancia de ustedes no es buena(K). ¿No saben(L) que un poco de levadura fermenta toda la masa(M)? Limpien la levadura vieja para que sean masa nueva, así como lo son en realidad sin levadura. Porque aun Cristo, nuestra Pascua, ha sido sacrificado(N). Por tanto, celebremos la fiesta no con la levadura vieja, ni con la levadura de malicia y maldad, sino con panes sin levadura(O) de sinceridad y de verdad.

En mi carta les escribí que no anduvieran en compañía de personas inmorales(P). 10 No me refería a la gente inmoral de este mundo, o a los codiciosos y estafadores, o a los idólatras(Q), porque entonces tendrían ustedes que salirse del mundo. 11 Sino que en efecto les escribí que no anduvieran[e] en compañía de ninguno que, llamándose hermano, es una persona inmoral(R), o avaro, o idólatra(S), o difamador, o borracho, o estafador. Con esa persona, ni siquiera coman.

12 Pues ¿por qué he de juzgar yo a los de afuera(T)? ¿No juzgan ustedes a los que están dentro de la iglesia(U)? 13 Pero Dios juzga[f] a los que están fuera. Expulsen al malvado de entre ustedes(V).

Footnotes

  1. 1 Corintios 5:2 O ¿Se han vuelto.
  2. 1 Corintios 5:2 Lit. hinchados o inflados.
  3. 1 Corintios 5:4 Lit. y mi espíritu con el poder.
  4. 1 Corintios 5:5 Algunos mss. antiguos no incluyen: Jesús.
  5. 1 Corintios 5:11 O Pero ahora les escribo que no anden.
  6. 1 Corintios 5:13 O juzgará.