The Leaven of Sin: Why a Holy God Demands a Holy Church

[00:00:00] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

[00:00:30] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Please join me in standing, if you are able,
[00:00:56] as the one true living God calls us to worship
[00:00:58] this Lord's name.
[00:01:00] This day.
[00:01:04] Thus says the one who is high and lifted up,
[00:01:07] who inhabits eternity, whose name is holy,
[00:01:12] I dwell in the high and holy place,
[00:01:15] and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit,
[00:01:19] to revive the spirit of the lowly,
[00:01:22] and to revive the heart of the contrite.
[00:01:25] Indeed, let us worship our God this morning
[00:01:27] as we join our voices together,
[00:01:30] singing hymn 100, Holy, Holy, Holy.
[00:01:33] Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty,
[00:02:00] Holy, Holy, Holy, Holy,
[00:02:02] early in the morning,
[00:02:05] my song shall rise to thee.

[00:02:11] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
Holy, Holy, Holy,
[00:02:14] merciful and mighty,
[00:02:18] God in three persons,
[00:02:23] blessed Trinity.
[00:02:25] Holy, Holy, Holy,
[00:02:28] Holy, Holy, Holy,
[00:02:29] Holy, Holy, Holy,
[00:02:29] Holy, Holy, Holy,
[00:02:29] Holy, all the saints adore Thee,
[00:02:36] Casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea.
[00:02:44] Cherubim and seraphim, all who have before Thee,
[00:02:53] Who were dead, are dead, and evermore shall be.
[00:03:03] Holy, holy, holy, O the darkness, hide Thee,
[00:03:12] Though the eye of sinful men Thy glory may not see.
[00:03:20] Holy, Thou art.
[00:03:23] Holy, there is none beside Thee,
[00:03:29] Perfect in power, in love, and purity.
[00:03:39] Holy, holy, holy, O God Almighty,
[00:03:47] All Thy works shall praise Thy name,
[00:03:52] In earth and in heaven.
[00:03:53] And sky and sea.
[00:03:57] Holy, holy, holy, Merciful and mighty,
[00:04:06] God in three persons, Blessed Trinity.

[00:04:16] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Let's pray together.
[00:04:21] Let's pray together.
[00:04:22] Lord God Almighty,
[00:04:23] Indeed, all Your works will praise Your name in earth and sky and sea.
[00:04:30] And so we come before You this morning,
[00:04:32] Proclaiming Your goodness, Your mercy, and Your greatness, Your might.
[00:04:37] Praising You, God in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
[00:04:41] Blessed Trinity.
[00:04:44] For You are holy and high and lifted up.
[00:04:47] You are the one who inhabits eternity.
[00:04:49] You dwell in a high and holy place.
[00:04:53] And yet You have also come down through Jesus Christ, Your Son and our Savior,
[00:05:00] to win a people back to Yourself who are contrite and lowly in spirit.
[00:05:05] And so we praise a God this morning who is almighty and transcendent,
[00:05:12] and yet merciful and eminent to His people.
[00:05:17] We praise You that You are the God who tells Your people,
[00:05:22] that You bring Your peace to them,
[00:05:24] peace to the far and peace to the near,
[00:05:26] and that You will heal us.
[00:05:29] We find great comfort in that as we come before You to worship You this morning.
[00:05:33] We pray that You would guide our worship by the power of Your Holy Spirit,
[00:05:37] that You would be merciful as You meet with us this morning,
[00:05:40] and that You would receive our praise.
[00:05:43] In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
[00:05:48] I invite you to remain standing and grab your bulletins
[00:05:51] as we have a confession of faith corporately this morning.
[00:05:56] It's printed on the second page on the inside of our bulletins.
[00:06:06] We will read this together.
[00:06:13] Holy Father, You see us as we are and know our inmost thoughts.
[00:06:20] We confess that we are unworthy of Your gracious care.
[00:06:25] We forget that all life comes from You and that to You all life returns.
[00:06:33] We have not sought to do Your will with our whole hearts.
[00:06:38] We have not lived as grateful children nor loved as Christ loved us.
[00:06:45] Apart from You, we are nothing.
[00:06:48] Only Your grace can sustain us.
[00:06:51] Lord, in Your mercy, forgive us, heal us, and make us whole.
[00:06:58] Set us free from our sin and restore to us the joy of Your salvation,
[00:07:05] now and forever. Amen.
[00:07:08] Christian, you have confessed your sins.
[00:07:11] Now hear the assurance of pardon from God Almighty.
[00:07:15] Romans chapter 8.
[00:07:18] There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,
[00:07:24] for the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus
[00:07:30] from the law of sin and death.
[00:07:33] That is the good news of the Gospel.
[00:07:35] May we live in its peace.
[00:07:37] Please be seated.
[00:07:38] .
[00:07:46] And now turn with me in your Bibles for our Old Testament reading this morning,
[00:07:50] Exodus chapter 12, verses 14 through 20.
[00:08:00] Exodus chapter 12, verses 14 through 20.
[00:08:02] As you're turning there, a bit of context is helpful.
[00:08:06] This is just before the tenth plague, the tenth strike against Egypt.
[00:08:12] This is just before the Passover occurs,
[00:08:15] and before that happens,
[00:08:17] God gives Israel their instruction for remembering this great deliverance.
[00:08:24] And that is the institution of the Passover,
[00:08:27] which they will observe at the beginning of their new calendar year,
[00:08:31] and then also this feast of the unleavened bread.
[00:08:35] That's where we will pick up in verse 14 of Exodus chapter 12.
[00:08:41] .
[00:08:43] This day shall be for you a memorial day,
[00:08:48] and you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord.
[00:08:52] Throughout your generations, as a statute forever,
[00:08:55] you shall keep it as a feast.
[00:08:57] Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread.
[00:09:01] On the first day you shall remove leaven out of your houses.
[00:09:05] For if anyone eats what is leavened from the first day until the seventh day,
[00:09:10] that person shall be cut off from Israel.
[00:09:13] On the first day you shall hold a holy assembly,
[00:09:16] and on the seventh day a holy assembly.
[00:09:19] No work shall be done on those days.
[00:09:22] But what everyone needs to eat, that alone may be prepared by you.
[00:09:27] And you shall observe the feast of unleavened bread,
[00:09:30] for on this very day I brought your hosts out of the land of Egypt.
[00:09:36] Therefore you shall observe this day throughout your generations as a statute forever.
[00:09:42] On the first month, from the fourteenth day of the month at evening,
[00:09:47] you shall eat unleavened bread until the twenty-first day of the month at evening.
[00:09:52] For seven days no leaven is to be found in your houses.
[00:09:56] If anyone eats what is leavened,
[00:09:58] that person will be cut off from the congregation of Israel,
[00:10:02] whether he is a sojourner or a native of the land.
[00:10:06] You shall eat nothing leavened.
[00:10:08] In all your dwelling places you shall eat unleavened bread.
[00:10:12] The grass withers and the flower fades,
[00:10:15] but the word of God will stand forever.
[00:10:18] Amen.
[00:10:22] At this point in time we want to invite forward
[00:10:25] our new officers for service of ordination and installation.
[00:10:42] Very good.

[00:10:52] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
Well congregation, this morning we do have opportunity to ordain and install
[00:10:58] men whom you elected just a few weeks ago into the offices of elder and deacon.
[00:11:04] Before us this morning is Heath White who will be installed into the office of elder.
[00:11:10] He was previously ordained and installed as an elder in another denomination
[00:11:14] and according to our form of government does not need therefore to be ordained again,
[00:11:18] but will go through the full service of installation.
[00:11:20] And then for deacon we have three of our four.
[00:11:23] Unfortunately John Lael and his family are ill this weekend and he's not able to be with us.
[00:11:27] We'll catch up with him next Sunday.
[00:11:29] But we also have Sam Bazin who will be reinstalled as deacon.
[00:11:32] Sam has served several terms in that office.
[00:11:35] And then we also have Joe Ziegengeist and Lucky Senessenbeth,
[00:11:38] both of whom will be ordained and installed.
[00:11:40] For the very first time to this sacred office of deacon.
[00:11:43] And so we rejoice that the Lord has provided us men for service in the life of the church.
[00:11:49] You know, Paul tells us that God, or Jesus Christ, when he ascended into heaven
[00:11:54] did not leave us to ourselves but gave gifts to the church.
[00:11:58] And part of those gifts are the leaders of the church,
[00:12:01] the officers of the church, elders and deacons.
[00:12:04] And we praise God for his design for his church.
[00:12:08] And then this should be especially important.
[00:12:10] This is a special day for you.
[00:12:12] Especially Joe and Lucky as you all are being ordained for the very first time in your lives.
[00:12:16] This is a day of celebration for you that the Lord has set you apart to serve in that regard.
[00:12:21] And it should be a day of great courage for you as well.
[00:12:25] Paul says that if anyone seeks the office of overseer or we could add to that even deacon,
[00:12:30] he seeks a noble task.
[00:12:32] And it is a noble thing to serve as an officer in the life of the church of Jesus Christ.
[00:12:38] So we praise God for all of you and for the service you will render.
[00:12:42] But we also recognize that this is a task.
[00:12:45] This is a call that Jesus Christ has put on your life.
[00:12:49] And to that end you will be expected to fulfill this call with all of your energy,
[00:12:54] with good faith, knowing that you are working on behalf and for the sheep of Jesus Christ.
[00:13:00] And I also want to offer a word of warning, of caution for you as well.
[00:13:07] As you are ordained and you are set apart for your service this morning,
[00:13:11] you will also find yourself targeted by the enemy of the church, Satan himself,
[00:13:16] who will want nothing more than to disparage the glory and honor of Jesus Christ
[00:13:21] by tearing you or your family apart.
[00:13:23] So be on guard, especially after today.
[00:13:26] Commit yourself and your family to the care of Jesus Christ.
[00:13:30] Have a regular diet of his word.
[00:13:32] Be faithful in prayer.
[00:13:34] Not only for you as an individual,
[00:13:36] but for the church as well.
[00:13:37] For the deacons, for the elders, and for this congregation as a whole.
[00:13:41] And know that as you serve, you will serve in the strength of the Holy Spirit
[00:13:46] and the empowering of God and his word.
[00:13:49] We do have a formula of questions for ordination and installation.
[00:13:53] I'm going to ask Lucky, Joe, and Heath that you answer all seven of these questions.
[00:13:58] Sam, since you have previously served as deacon or being reinstalled,
[00:14:02] you can jump in at question number five and I'll cue you in at that point.
[00:14:06] Let me ask you these questions.
[00:14:09] Do you believe in one God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit?
[00:14:13] And do you confess anew the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord,
[00:14:17] and acknowledge him head over all things for the church, which is his body?
[00:14:22] Do you?
[00:14:24] Do you reaffirm your belief in the Bible, the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments,
[00:14:29] as the word of the living God, the only perfect rule of faith and practice,
[00:14:34] infallible in all that it is?
[00:14:35] Infallible in all that it teaches and inerrant in the original manuscripts
[00:14:39] and to which nothing is to be added and from which nothing is to be taken
[00:14:44] at any time or upon any pretext?
[00:14:47] Do you?
[00:14:49] Do you accept the doctrines of this church,
[00:14:52] contained in the Westminster Confession of Faith and Catechisms,
[00:14:55] as founded on the word of God and as the expression of your own faith,
[00:15:00] and do you resolve to adhere thereto?
[00:15:03] Do you?
[00:15:05] Do you accept the government, discipline, and worship of the
[00:15:09] Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church?
[00:15:11] Do you?
[00:15:12] And Sam, including you now.
[00:15:15] Heath, do you accept the office of elder?
[00:15:18] Lucky Joe and Sam, do you accept the office of deacon in this congregation?
[00:15:22] And do you promise to perform faithfully all the duties of the office?
[00:15:27] And do you promise to endeavor by the grace of God to live your life in Christian witness
[00:15:32] before the church and in the world?
[00:15:34] Do you?
[00:15:36] Do you promise to submit in the spirit of love to the authority of the session
[00:15:41] and to the higher courts of the church?
[00:15:43] Do you?
[00:15:44] And then finally, do you promise in all things to promote the unity,
[00:15:49] peace, purity, and prosperity of the church?
[00:15:53] Do you?
[00:15:55] Well, now to you, the members of this congregation,
[00:15:58] I have two questions for you.
[00:16:00] One regarding the office of elder.
[00:16:02] One regarding the office of deacon.
[00:16:03] And after I've read them both to you, if you agree,
[00:16:06] I'll invite you to stand as a sign of your affirmation.
[00:16:10] Do you, the members of this congregation,
[00:16:13] acknowledge and receive this fellow member as elder?
[00:16:16] And do you promise to give him all the honor,
[00:16:18] obedience, encouragement, and assistance in the spirit of love
[00:16:22] to which his office according to the word of God
[00:16:25] and the standard of truth entitles him?
[00:16:28] And do you, the members of this congregation,
[00:16:30] acknowledge and receive these fellow members as elder?
[00:16:32] And do you, the members of this congregation,
[00:16:34] acknowledge and receive these fellow members as deacons?
[00:16:35] And do you promise to give them all honor,
[00:16:36] encouragement, and assistance in the spirit of love
[00:16:39] to which their office according to the word of God
[00:16:42] and the standards of this church entitles them?
[00:16:45] If so, and as you are able, please stand together.
[00:16:53] Thank you.
[00:16:54] You may be seated.
[00:16:55] And I would invite all the elders of the congregation
[00:16:57] to come forward for the laying on of hands
[00:16:59] and prayer of ordination and installation.
[00:17:02] As they're making their way forward,
[00:17:03] Joe and Lucky, since you're being ordained this morning,
[00:17:05] I would invite you to come to the middle and kneel
[00:17:07] for the laying on of hands.
[00:17:09] Heath and Sam, if you'll come over as well,
[00:17:11] so that we might put a hand on your shoulders as well.
[00:17:15] And before I pray, just a word of explanation.
[00:17:17] As the elders lay their hands upon these two
[00:17:19] who are being ordained to the office of deacon,
[00:17:22] this is not as if we are somehow passing our own power
[00:17:25] or ability on to them,
[00:17:27] but this is a recognition of the calling
[00:17:29] that God has placed on their life,
[00:17:31] that He has set them apart,
[00:17:33] and that you as a congregation have agreed
[00:17:35] with the call of God on these men's lives.
[00:17:37] So elders, if you would please place your hands upon these men,
[00:17:40] and let's pray together.
[00:17:42] Lord, our God, we do thank You
[00:17:44] that You have not left us as orphans in this world,
[00:17:47] but You have pursued us by Your grace,
[00:17:50] and You have given us a Savior, Jesus Christ,
[00:17:52] who is the Head and King of His church.
[00:17:55] And Jesus, we thank You that when You ascended into heaven,
[00:17:58] You did not abandon Your church,
[00:18:00] but You gave gifts to Your church.
[00:18:02] And this morning we acknowledge the gifts of elders and deacons,
[00:18:05] and we thank You for these men who have agreed to serve,
[00:18:08] whom You have set apart,
[00:18:09] whom this congregation has recognized as qualified and able.
[00:18:13] And so we pray this morning particularly for Joe and for Lucky,
[00:18:17] as they receive ordination into this office of deacon.
[00:18:20] Lord, we pray too for Sam and for Heath
[00:18:23] as they are installed into the offices of elder and deacon.
[00:18:27] Lord, we ask that You would equip and empower these men
[00:18:30] to serve faithfully for the good of this flock,
[00:18:33] for the good of this church,
[00:18:34] and for the good of Your kingdom and for Your glory.
[00:18:37] Lord, we would also pray that You would safeguard these men
[00:18:40] and their marriages and their families.
[00:18:42] Father, we pray that You would keep the evil one, our enemy, at bay,
[00:18:46] and that they might be able to serve You for the glory of Jesus Christ,
[00:18:50] that they would be a blessing to all in this congregation in this number.
[00:18:55] Lord, we thank You again for Your grace.
[00:18:57] We thank You again for the Holy Spirit
[00:18:59] who empowers our lives and our ministry.
[00:19:02] And we pray, Father, that You would be glorified in and through us
[00:19:06] and in and through these men.
[00:19:07] We pray in Jesus' name, amen.
[00:19:10] Gentlemen, you may stand.
[00:19:12] And in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, the great head of the church,
[00:19:16] I now declare You duly ordained and installed
[00:19:19] in the sacred office of elder and deacons.
[00:19:22] And I know these elders will want to extend to You the right hand of fellowship
[00:19:25] and welcome to this shared ministry.
[00:19:27] Welcome.
[00:19:28] God bless.
[00:19:30] See you.
[00:19:49] As these gentlemen make their way back to their seats,
[00:19:51] I invite the rest of you to join them in standing.
[00:19:53] It's a fitting hymn following a service of ordination installation.
[00:19:57] Number 585, Take My Life and Let It Be.
[00:20:00] We will sing the first four verses.

[00:20:12] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
Take my life and let it be consecrated, Lord, to Thee.
[00:20:21] Take my moments and my days.
[00:20:25] Let them flow in ceaseless praise.
[00:20:30] Let them flow in ceaseless praise.
[00:20:35] Take my hands and let them move at the impulse of Thy love.
[00:20:44] Take my feet and let them be swift and beautiful for Thee.
[00:20:53] Swift and beautiful for Thee.
[00:20:58] Take my voice and let me sing.
[00:21:03] Always only for my King.
[00:21:07] Take my lips and let them be filled with messages from Thee.
[00:21:16] Filled with messages from Thee.
[00:21:21] Take my silver and my gold.
[00:21:26] Not a white wood I withhold.
[00:21:31] Take my intellect and use.
[00:21:35] Every power as Thou shalt choose.
[00:21:40] Every power as Thou shalt choose.

[00:21:46] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
Let's pray together.
[00:21:48] Lord our God, we do pray that You would bless us.
[00:21:50] Lord our God, we do pray that You would take our lives, all of us,
[00:21:53] and make them consecrated to You for Your service.
[00:21:57] And even as we have just sung,
[00:21:59] that You would take even our silver and gold,
[00:22:01] that we would not withhold from You anything that is Yours.
[00:22:05] And we have opportunity now to live that out
[00:22:07] through the giving of Your tithes and our offerings.
[00:22:10] Lord, we ask that You would receive with pleasure these gifts as they are given,
[00:22:14] that we would do so with joy and thankfulness in our hearts,
[00:22:17] and that You would use these gifts
[00:22:19] to build up Your kingdom here in our own town and throughout the world.
[00:22:23] We ask in Jesus' name, Amen.
[00:22:26] You may be seated.
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[00:24:43] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
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[00:25:05] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
.
[00:25:06] as we look to the lord in a few moments of prayer together this morning let me just run a few
[00:25:13] items of prayer by you of course i mentioned last week that ruth goodrum had been moved to
[00:25:18] the hospice house here in mooresville please continue to pray for her for freddie and for
[00:25:22] casey if you have opportunity you might send a card or stop by and visit but continue to be
[00:25:27] pray for them as in these waning days of her life i also ask that you be praying for two of
[00:25:35] the young men within our congregation yesterday we got word that anthony ziegler who's about 19
[00:25:41] had an appendix burst and was rushed to the hospital while there they also discovered that
[00:25:47] there was an abscess on that appendix which complicated going forward so he's had a procedure
[00:25:53] late last night to deal with the abscess in the lord's will he'll be able to go home for a few
[00:25:58] days with antibiotics and then go back for the removal of the appendix so please be praying for
[00:26:04] not only anthony but of course mark and jimmy
[00:26:05] janeen as well as they are concerned for him and then i'd also ask that you be praying for one of
[00:26:11] my sons joseph who's up in the sound booth through two appointments this past week he was diagnosed
[00:26:16] with a congenital heart defect that causes increased heart rate now in god's mercy this is a
[00:26:23] issue that can be resolved fairly easily through a heart ablation and that's scheduled for this
[00:26:29] coming tuesday morning we say easy anything dealing with the heart of course is something
[00:26:34] that gives parents a little bit of time to deal with it but i'd also ask that you be praying for
[00:26:35] joseph and also joseph as well so we would encourage our appreciate your prayers for our
[00:26:41] family in this week as well so all that being said let's look to the lord now in a time of prayer
[00:26:47] oh lord our god we give thanks to you this morning for you are good and your steadfast love endures
[00:27:01] forever father i imagine that for many of us this morning we're going to be praying for you
[00:27:05] in this room this morning, those are words we have heard many times over the course of our lives,
[00:27:11] that You are good and Your steadfast love endures forever. Lord, this morning, would we ask that You
[00:27:18] would convince us all over again of the truth of those words, that You are a good God and that
[00:27:27] Your love for us, Your care and concern for us is from everlasting to everlasting, that no matter
[00:27:34] what may transpire in the course of our days in this life, that You do not leave us, You do not
[00:27:40] forsake us, and even the difficult things that we encounter, You as a good God are able to redeem
[00:27:48] to us. Indeed, we know that You are working all things ultimately for the good of those who love
[00:27:56] You and have been called according to Your purposes. And Father, we think of families this
[00:28:02] morning that need that.
[00:28:04] Reminder, we do think of the Goodrum family with Ruth under hospice care. Well, we thank You for
[00:28:10] these days that the family and these friends have been given to spend time with her and to speak of
[00:28:16] eternal things and the hope that we have in Jesus Christ. And Father, we pray that You would continue
[00:28:23] to visit this family and abide with them. We ask, Lord, that in Your mercy that You would deal
[00:28:29] gently and kindly with Ruth, that she would not suffer unnecessarily, and that You would
[00:28:34] be with Freddie and Casey in their grief. We think, too, of the Ziegler family with yesterday's
[00:28:41] upheaval with this appendix issue with Anthony. We thank You, Father, for the care that they
[00:28:47] received, that he has received, and we would pray for him as he's already undergone one procedure
[00:28:52] and is looking ahead to another procedure in a few days' time. Lord, we pray that this would
[00:28:58] all be resolved, that he would enjoy good health going forward from here, but that in the meantime,
[00:29:03] You would minister to anxious hearts and minds. We pray the same for Joseph, who will be
[00:29:09] undergoing a heart procedure on Tuesday of this week, that You would likewise safeguard him and
[00:29:15] his health, and that You would watch over Kristen and me and our family in our time of nervousness
[00:29:21] and anxiety for him, that we would put all of our hope, all of our trust in You because You indeed
[00:29:26] are a good God. Lord, we know that in addition to these three families that we have mentioned,
[00:29:33] there are numerous other families that we have mentioned, and there are numerous other families
[00:29:33] perhaps even in the room this morning who are facing issues that are disquieting, that are
[00:29:39] troubling, that scare them, that make them nervous. Lord, again, would You remind us that You are good
[00:29:48] and that Your steadfast love endures forever. We pray this today in Jesus' name. Amen.

[00:30:03] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
Your lovingkindness, Lord, is good and free. In tender mercy turn Thou unto me.
[00:30:27] Hide not Thy face from me in my distress.
[00:30:33] Give mercy here, my prayer, Thy servant bless.
[00:30:38] My heart was glad to hear the welcome sound, to hear the welcome sound, to hear the welcome sound.
[00:30:47] My heart was glad to hear the welcome sound, the call to sing Jehovah's house of prayer.
[00:30:58] With joy the meek shall see my soul restored.
[00:31:03] Your heart shall live, ye saints that seek the Lord.
[00:31:08] Ye helps the needy and regards their cries. Those in distress the Lord will not despise.
[00:31:19] My heart was glad to hear the welcome sound, to hear the welcome sound, to hear the welcome sound.
[00:31:28] My heart was glad to hear the welcome sound, to hear the welcome sound, to hear the welcome sound.
[00:31:33] The call to seek Jehovah's thousand prayer.
[00:31:40] Let heaven upon his grace and glory tell.
[00:31:45] Let earth and sea and all that in them dwell.
[00:31:50] Salvation to his people God will give.
[00:31:54] And they that love his name with him shall live.
[00:31:59] My heart was glad to hear the welcome sound.
[00:32:04] To hear the welcome sound.
[00:32:07] To hear the welcome sound.
[00:32:09] My heart was glad to hear the welcome sound.
[00:32:14] The call to seek Jehovah's thousand prayer.
[00:32:20] Amen.

[00:32:23] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
Thank you choir.
[00:32:25] We'll invite you to turn with me in your Bibles this morning
[00:32:28] to 1st.
[00:32:29] 1st Corinthians chapter 5.
[00:32:32] We are picking back up finally on our study of 1st Corinthians
[00:32:35] after taking a break for the season of Advent
[00:32:37] and then the last couple Sundays surrounding the new year.
[00:32:41] So it's good to come back to this study.
[00:32:44] And as we come to chapter 5,
[00:32:46] we find ourselves coming to a new section in the letter to the Corinthians.
[00:32:52] You remember over the course of the fall,
[00:32:54] we looked at the first four chapters of this book
[00:32:57] in which Paul was dealing with,
[00:32:59] with division and factions within the congregation.
[00:33:02] You might remember that they had sort of divided themselves up
[00:33:05] over their favorite teacher, their favorite apostle.
[00:33:08] And they were in these different groups
[00:33:09] kind of trying to vie for who was better
[00:33:12] or whose teacher was more spiritual
[00:33:14] or whatever the case may be.
[00:33:16] And Paul had to deal with that.
[00:33:17] He had to set them straight.
[00:33:19] He had to remind them of first things and priorities
[00:33:22] and being humble towards one another.
[00:33:25] And towards the end of that discussion,
[00:33:27] at the end of chapter 4,
[00:33:28] he even had to address,
[00:33:29] this puffed up, arrogant attitude
[00:33:32] that was prevalent within the life of the church.
[00:33:37] Well, as we move on to chapter 5,
[00:33:39] Paul moves on to another issue.
[00:33:42] Another thing that had been reported to him
[00:33:44] by Chloe and her people.
[00:33:46] You remember back in chapter 1,
[00:33:47] she was the one, her people,
[00:33:49] that let him know that there were some problems in the church.
[00:33:52] And as we come to chapter 5,
[00:33:53] we find that there are more problems.
[00:33:56] And that problem in particular,
[00:33:59] is sexual immorality.
[00:34:02] In fact, in over chapter 5 and chapter 6,
[00:34:05] which we are going to take over the course of three weeks,
[00:34:08] we're going to see in each of those three sections
[00:34:11] that Paul has to address the matter of sexual immorality.
[00:34:18] And so I believe that the next three weeks
[00:34:20] will provide us perhaps some of the most
[00:34:24] immediately relevant, practical,
[00:34:29] and applicable teaching in 1 Corinthians.
[00:34:32] That's not to say the rest of the book
[00:34:33] will not be practical and applicable.
[00:34:35] But considering our cultural moment,
[00:34:38] considering the attitude that our culture,
[00:34:43] not just as a nation,
[00:34:43] but as a Western civilization,
[00:34:45] has towards the issue of sexuality and sexual freedom,
[00:34:50] we see how well it parallels and matches
[00:34:53] the moment that Paul is addressing
[00:34:55] within the life of the Corinthian church.
[00:34:58] I think this is a very important point.
[00:34:59] I think this is a very important point.
[00:34:59] I think these will be some of the most significant passages
[00:35:01] that we will consider.
[00:35:03] So, that being said, let us hear
[00:35:05] what God has to say to us
[00:35:07] from His Word in 1 Corinthians chapter 5.
[00:35:14] It is actually reported
[00:35:16] that there is sexual immorality among you
[00:35:19] and of a kind that is not tolerated
[00:35:22] even among pagans,
[00:35:24] for a man has his father's wife.
[00:35:27] And you are arrogant,
[00:35:29] and you have no right to be arrogant.
[00:35:31] You have no right to be arrogant.
[00:35:31] You have no right to be arrogant.
[00:35:31] You have no right to be arrogant.
[00:35:32] You have no right to be arrogant.
[00:35:32] You have no right to be arrogant.
[00:35:32] Let him who has done this be removed from among you.
[00:35:35] For though absent in the body,
[00:35:37] I am present in the Spirit.
[00:35:39] And as if present,
[00:35:40] I have already pronounced judgment
[00:35:42] on the one who did such a thing.
[00:35:45] When you are assembled in the name of the Lord Jesus,
[00:35:47] and my Spirit is present
[00:35:49] with the power of our Lord Jesus,
[00:35:51] you are to deliver this man to Satan
[00:35:53] for the destruction of his flesh,
[00:35:56] so that his spirit may be saved
[00:35:58] in the day of judgment.
[00:35:59] Your boasting is not good.
[00:36:03] Do you not know that a little leaven
[00:36:05] leavens the whole lump?
[00:36:07] Cleanse out the old leaven
[00:36:09] that you may be a new lump
[00:36:10] as you really are unleavened.
[00:36:13] For Christ, our Passover lamb,
[00:36:15] has been sacrificed.
[00:36:17] Let us therefore celebrate the festival
[00:36:19] not with the old leaven,
[00:36:20] the leaven of malice and evil,
[00:36:23] but with unleavened bread
[00:36:24] of sincerity and truth.
[00:36:26] I wrote to you in my letter
[00:36:28] not to be a leaven,
[00:36:29] but to associate with sexually immoral people.
[00:36:32] Not at all meaning
[00:36:33] the sexually immoral of this world
[00:36:35] or the greedy and swindlers
[00:36:37] or idolaters.
[00:36:38] Since then you would need to go out of the world.
[00:36:41] But now I am writing to you
[00:36:43] not to associate with anyone
[00:36:45] who bears the name of brother
[00:36:47] if he is guilty of sexual immorality
[00:36:50] or greed
[00:36:51] or is an idolater, reviler,
[00:36:53] drunkard or swindler.
[00:36:55] Not even to eat with such a one.
[00:36:57] For what have you done?
[00:36:59] What have I to do with judging outsiders?
[00:37:01] Is it not those inside the church
[00:37:03] whom you are to judge?
[00:37:05] God judges those outside.
[00:37:07] Purge the evil person
[00:37:09] from among you.
[00:37:11] Let's pray together and ask God's help
[00:37:13] in the study of His Word today.
[00:37:17] O Lord, our God,
[00:37:18] we come to Your Word this morning
[00:37:20] returning to 1 Corinthians
[00:37:22] and we are confronted
[00:37:23] with a serious subject.
[00:37:26] A subject that was serious
[00:37:28] not only in the life,
[00:37:29] of the Corinthian church
[00:37:30] but for us in the 21st century
[00:37:33] relevant to us as well.
[00:37:37] Father, I would pray
[00:37:38] that as we consider Your Word this morning
[00:37:40] that Your Spirit would bring conviction
[00:37:42] if there are places in our lives
[00:37:44] where we have harbored
[00:37:45] sexual immorality or other sorts of sin
[00:37:48] not only as individuals
[00:37:50] but even corporately as a church body
[00:37:52] and that You might remove
[00:37:54] that leaven from us.
[00:37:56] That we truly might be
[00:37:58] a holy,
[00:37:59] a utile,
[00:37:59] a sinful and a sinful body
[00:38:01] that is not able to accept
[00:38:03] the fact of the Bible
[00:38:05] and that Your Word
[00:38:06] would begin to be a source
[00:38:08] of salvation for us.
[00:38:09] We ask this in Jesus' name.
[00:38:11] Amen.
[00:38:12] I think it would be helpful for us
[00:38:14] before we look at the text itself
[00:38:15] to remember a few things
[00:38:16] about the city of Corinth.
[00:38:19] The context in which this church existed.
[00:38:22] You might remember that Corinth
[00:38:24] was a major port city.
[00:38:26] It was located at the intersection of some major trade routes and as a result,
[00:38:28] As a result,
[00:38:29] It was a melting pot of all kinds of people, all kinds of beliefs, all kind of lifestyles.
[00:38:35] You had sailors, you had merchants, craftsmen, bankers, philosophers, and within the city
[00:38:42] a whole host of what we'll call unsavory industries that serviced these travelers as well.
[00:38:51] It was a major metropolitan city with all of the vices that we would expect to find
[00:38:56] in a city like that.
[00:38:57] There was power, there was money, and of course, there was sex.
[00:39:02] And as a result, the Corinthians had developed, the Corinthian culture, the city of Corinth,
[00:39:08] had developed a reputation within the Roman Empire as being the most notoriously depraved
[00:39:14] city within the entire empire.
[00:39:16] You might remember that in fact the rest of the Roman Empire came up with a phrase to
[00:39:20] Corinthianize as a catchphrase for any sort of lewd or licentious behavior or action.
[00:39:27] To Corinthianize, they were that, they were that immoral.
[00:39:32] As we talked about a few months ago, maybe a modern day equivalent for us in our minds
[00:39:36] would be like Las Vegas, you know, that city we call Sin City, where any vice that you
[00:39:41] might enjoy, you can go there and find.
[00:39:46] And so Corinth, as a city, embraced and celebrated sexual freedom.
[00:39:52] And if that sounds familiar to you, that's because those are the same waters that we
[00:39:56] swim in today as well, not just in this nation, but really as a Western civilization.
[00:40:03] We no longer just tolerate sexual immorality, but really there is a celebration of it, of
[00:40:09] personal freedom, of personal autonomy to live however we want because no one can tell
[00:40:14] me otherwise.
[00:40:17] And that's the mindset of sinful humans.
[00:40:21] Apart from God's restraining hand of grace, sinners will always pursue.
[00:40:25] Sinners will always pursue.
[00:40:26] Sinners will always pursue and always seek to enjoy anything that is contrary to His
[00:40:31] Word.
[00:40:32] But that sort of mindset of sexual freedom and sexual autonomy runs in sharp conflict
[00:40:40] with biblical morality, and more to the point, runs in conflict with the holiness of God.
[00:40:48] And I want us to think about that for a moment before we come to our text, the holiness of
[00:40:53] God.
[00:40:55] In both Old Testament and New Testament alike, all through the pages of the Old and New Testament,
[00:41:00] God reveals Himself over and over again as holy, and we've already affirmed that in
[00:41:08] our worship this morning.
[00:41:09] We were called to worship through the words of Isaiah 57 in which God declared His name
[00:41:14] is holy.
[00:41:15] Holy is His name, and He dwells in a place of holiness.
[00:41:21] And then we have found that call to worship by singing together the hymn, Holy.
[00:41:23] And then God has made ... We 옳הν Bonus Bats, let's call it theansen, We bass器,
[00:41:24] holy holy holy which is not the words of men that's the word we find in isaiah and in revelation
[00:41:30] the song that is being sung around the throne of god by those attending him that he is holy
[00:41:37] and then we acknowledge through our confession of sin together that we
[00:41:41] often are not holy that we fall short of his glory and we need him to forgive us
[00:41:47] because any of our sins is an offense an affront to his holiness
[00:41:53] you may remember at the burning bush when god called out to moses moses who at that time in
[00:42:02] his life didn't really know much about yahweh approached the bush and god stopped him short
[00:42:08] and said stop remove your sandals because the ground on which you are standing is holy
[00:42:16] god is holy and he cannot abide anything
[00:42:22] that is not holy the work they do is not holiness
[00:42:23] are not doing anything that has to be done to increase your authority that you are doing to decrease
[00:42:23] is unholy now if you think about that that kind of causes some problems in for humans right
[00:42:30] because again we are sinful we are unholy people thankfully god is not only holy but we also
[00:42:37] find out in the pages of scripture that he is gracious he is merciful he is loving he is
[00:42:42] forgiving and he calls people out of sin out of unholiness out of the world to be his people
[00:42:51] a chosen people who are to now be holy as he is holy we see this in the story of the exodus
[00:43:00] when he freed his people israel from their bondage in egypt out of that idolatrous nation
[00:43:05] he didn't just deliver them he delivered them and then brought them to mount sinai
[00:43:11] where he gave them his law in which they were to be holy as he is holy
[00:43:21] you
[00:43:21] the measure for our holiness is what we find in god's word and in his law that's summarized for us
[00:43:28] in the ten commandments think about it for a moment the first commandment you shall have no
[00:43:32] other gods before me so what does it mean for us to be holy in that respect that we don't have any
[00:43:37] other gods we don't worship anything else in our lives that we don't allow idols to displace god
[00:43:44] on the throne of our hearts and not only are we called to be holy in our relationship to god but
[00:43:51] the ten commandments that we find in the ten commandments that summarize for us in the ten
[00:43:51] commandments go on and instruct us that we are to be holy in our interactions with one another we
[00:43:55] are children to obey and to honor our father and our mother that's what it means to be holy
[00:44:01] we are not to murder we are not to commit adultery these are things that mark us that define our
[00:44:10] lives as holy what starts with those ten commandments and then if you read through
[00:44:16] the rest of the pentateuch that's the the first five books of the old testament you see that god
[00:44:20] fleshes out more and more what this holiness will look like for instance in the book of leviticus
[00:44:27] in chapters 18 through 21 in those four chapters over and over again god details what holiness
[00:44:33] will look like for his people when it comes to the matter of human sexuality i know that luke
[00:44:40] is particularly glad that i did not pick one of those passages for our old testament reading this
[00:44:44] morning and some of you with young children are probably thankful for that as well because god
[00:44:47] goes into very specific detail about what is holy in the book of leviticus and the changes in the
[00:44:50] about what sorts of behaviors are out of limits, that are unholy.
[00:44:57] But rather than going over the long list of things that are not permitted,
[00:45:01] it's actually simpler for us just to look at Scripture
[00:45:04] and acknowledge the one standard that God has set for human sexuality.
[00:45:10] And we find that at the very beginning of the Bible in Genesis chapter 2.
[00:45:14] When God created Adam, saw that he was alone and that it was not good,
[00:45:17] He created Eve, and then He put them together in the bond of marriage
[00:45:23] and declared that the two would become one flesh.
[00:45:28] And Jesus, repeating this in the New Testament, says,
[00:45:31] And what God has joined together, let no one separate.
[00:45:36] And so the standard, it's very simple for us to understand,
[00:45:39] the standard for human sexuality is expressed
[00:45:43] within the bonds of the covenant of marriage
[00:45:46] between a man and a woman.
[00:45:47] And any sexual activity outside of that is unholy, is sin.
[00:45:56] It's really just that simple.
[00:45:58] I'm not saying it's easy, but it's just that simple to get our heads wrapped around.
[00:46:02] That is God's standard for human sexuality.
[00:46:05] And no matter what anyone may say or what anyone may think,
[00:46:09] that is the standard.
[00:46:10] Human beings do not have the right, we do not have the authority
[00:46:14] to dictate to God what we think is right and wrong.
[00:46:17] God is the standard.
[00:46:17] God tells us, and we are called to live accordingly,
[00:46:21] particularly those of us who profess faith in Jesus Christ.
[00:46:29] God is holy, and He has called us to be holy.
[00:46:34] Well, this standard was not just for Old Testament Israel.
[00:46:38] This standard, as we come to 1 Corinthians 5,
[00:46:41] we find God repeating, reiterating now to His church
[00:46:45] through the Apostle Paul.
[00:46:48] And as we'll see, nothing changes
[00:46:50] between Old Testament and New Testament.
[00:46:53] God's standard remains the same.
[00:46:55] The standard for human sexuality remains within the bonds of marriage
[00:46:58] between a man and a woman, and anything else is sin.
[00:47:02] And it's not just here in chapter 5 that we're going to see this.
[00:47:04] We're going to see it next week in the first part of chapter 6.
[00:47:07] We're going to see it in the week after that at the end of chapter 6.
[00:47:10] And then when we come to chapter 7,
[00:47:11] which is a whole new section of the book of 1 Corinthians, guess what?
[00:47:14] It's going to be reiterated to us over and over again.
[00:47:17] So with that said, let's now look at this passage.
[00:47:25] Paul says in verse 1,
[00:47:27] This is the problem.
[00:47:44] Paul is identifying the problem within the church.
[00:47:47] And it's actually a two-fold problem.
[00:47:50] The first part of the problem is that there is a man within the congregation
[00:47:53] who has his father's wife.
[00:47:57] Now the way Paul phrases this seems to suggest that this is not his birth mother.
[00:48:02] This is not his biological mother.
[00:48:04] Perhaps she had passed away and his father has remarried,
[00:48:07] so this is his stepmother.
[00:48:11] But either way you want to split it,
[00:48:13] it still counts as an incestuous relationship.
[00:48:17] This is his father's wife, and this man is taking up with her.
[00:48:24] And much to the shame of the Corinthian church,
[00:48:28] Paul says this is an immorality that not even the pagans tolerate.
[00:48:35] Imagine that.
[00:48:36] The Corinthian culture, which was so lewd,
[00:48:39] that had slang terms named after them because of their licentious behavior,
[00:48:44] even they drew the line somewhere.
[00:48:46] And that line appeared.
[00:48:47] It apparently was incest.
[00:48:50] And yet the Corinthian church had that going on within their fellowship.
[00:48:54] And what had they done about it?
[00:48:57] Nothing.
[00:48:58] And that's the bigger problem that Paul identifies in this passage.
[00:49:01] It's bad enough that there's someone in the church who's doing this sort of thing,
[00:49:06] but what's really bad is that the church knows about it,
[00:49:08] and apparently the pagans around them knew about it,
[00:49:11] and the church wasn't doing anything about it.
[00:49:16] They were fine with it, it seems.
[00:49:17] Because in verse 2, what has Paul accused them of?
[00:49:21] Arrogance.
[00:49:22] This is the sort of thing that even the pagans would blush at,
[00:49:26] and Paul says, and yet you are arrogant.
[00:49:31] Now, this isn't the first time he's charged them with arrogance.
[00:49:34] In fact, if you look back just a few verses to the end of chapter 4,
[00:49:38] picking up in verse 18, he says,
[00:49:40] Some of you are arrogant, as though I were not coming to you,
[00:49:44] but I will come to you soon if the Lord wills,
[00:49:46] and I will find you.
[00:49:47] Find out not the talk of these arrogant people, but their power.
[00:49:51] For the kingdom of God does not consist in talk, but in power.
[00:49:54] What do you wish?
[00:49:56] Shall I come to you with a rod, or with love and a spirit of gentleness?
[00:50:02] I think we can appreciate now why Paul says,
[00:50:04] Shall I come to you with a rod?
[00:50:07] Because this church is tolerating this kind of sexual immorality within its membership.
[00:50:17] They're arrogant about it, almost like they're proud of themselves,
[00:50:22] because perhaps for them, they've reached a new sphere of spirituality.
[00:50:30] It could be that they sort of have the same beliefs that Paul has to take care of in the book of Romans,
[00:50:34] that, you know, if we sin more, God's grace will abound more.
[00:50:42] And so, we'll let this guy keep doing this thing,
[00:50:45] and we'll just keep reaping the benefits.
[00:50:47] God's grace in our lives.
[00:50:49] It could be that that was what they were thinking.
[00:50:51] Paul doesn't tell us.
[00:50:53] It could be that they had bought into that false dichotomy of spirit and flesh.
[00:50:59] That anything we do in the flesh doesn't really matter,
[00:51:01] because all that really is eternal about us is our soul, is our spirit.
[00:51:06] Well, if you were part of our study on Wednesday nights this past fall,
[00:51:08] you know that that's not true.
[00:51:10] That our body, as well as our soul, has eternal purpose in God's plan.
[00:51:18] What the point is, is that this gross immorality was happening within the church.
[00:51:26] An immorality to the degree that even the pagans would have done something about it.
[00:51:31] Even the pagans would have said, this is wrong.
[00:51:34] And the church hasn't even done that.
[00:51:38] The church that had been bought with the blood of Christ,
[00:51:41] that had been cleansed by His blood, called to be holy, even as He is holy,
[00:51:47] is embraced.
[00:51:47] And even celebrating this unholy behavior.
[00:51:52] By the way, what do you think the pagans around them thought of the gospel?
[00:51:59] Of their witness, of the name of Jesus as they witnessed this, as they saw this?
[00:52:06] They probably thought, well, they're no better than us.
[00:52:08] In fact, they're actually worse than us.
[00:52:10] So this guy Jesus and their religion must just be another one we can ignore
[00:52:14] and not have anything to do with.
[00:52:17] I'm not even sure we can call the Corinthians hypocrites on this matter
[00:52:20] because I don't think they thought this was sin.
[00:52:23] Because they were boasting about it.
[00:52:28] And so Paul, in verses 2 through 5, tells them what ought to happen.
[00:52:34] He tells them what they ought to do.
[00:52:37] And put it simply, this kind of immorality, this kind of sin,
[00:52:40] simply could not exist within the body of Christ.
[00:52:46] The man who has done this,
[00:52:47] the man who is guilty must be dealt with
[00:52:50] and must be dealt with in an extreme manner.
[00:52:53] We see at the end of verse 2, Paul says,
[00:52:55] let him who has done this be removed from among you.
[00:53:01] He needs to be cast out.
[00:53:04] And then in verse 3 and following, Paul goes even further.
[00:53:07] Speaking from his office of apostolic authority,
[00:53:10] he says to the Corinthians,
[00:53:12] even though I am not physically with you, I'm with you in spirit
[00:53:15] and I have already cast judgment,
[00:53:17] judgment on this man.
[00:53:20] Now keep in mind, he is speaking in his office with apostolic authority.
[00:53:24] He's being led by the Holy Spirit in everything that he is writing.
[00:53:27] And he is not basing his judgment based on hearsay,
[00:53:31] but on the evidence of multiple witnesses
[00:53:33] that have reported to him of this sin.
[00:53:37] And Paul says, I have already cast judgment on the man.
[00:53:41] And so the next time you get together as a church,
[00:53:44] since this is a very public sin,
[00:53:46] you are to deal with it.
[00:53:47] You are to deal with it together.
[00:53:48] You are to cast off your arrogance.
[00:53:51] You are to embrace the grief and mourning that should be marking you.
[00:53:55] Seek the favor of God
[00:53:56] and deliver this man over to Satan.
[00:54:04] Now, we hear that with our very modern 21st century ears.
[00:54:09] And some people may be thinking to themselves,
[00:54:11] well, that seems rather harsh.
[00:54:12] That seems rather judgmental.
[00:54:14] Didn't Jesus tell us, judge not?
[00:54:16] Judge not.
[00:54:17] Here's Paul saying, I've already passed judgment.
[00:54:20] Well, that's true.
[00:54:20] Jesus did say, judge not.
[00:54:22] But he wasn't saying we couldn't make any judgments.
[00:54:24] He was saying, don't put yourself in a position
[00:54:25] where you think you are perfect
[00:54:26] and you look down your nose at everyone else
[00:54:28] who's in the mire and the mud.
[00:54:30] You're all sinners.
[00:54:32] And there's people who often quote that,
[00:54:34] often forget that just a few chapters later
[00:54:35] in that same gospel, Jesus goes on to say,
[00:54:38] judge with a right judgment.
[00:54:44] What's the right judgment for the church?
[00:54:46] What's the standard by which,
[00:54:47] by which we make judgments?
[00:54:49] It's God's holiness
[00:54:51] as revealed in God's word.
[00:54:57] This man didn't just fall short of this standard once.
[00:55:01] He didn't have a slip up, a whoops-a-daisy.
[00:55:05] This man was in unrepentant,
[00:55:08] high-handed rebellion against God
[00:55:11] and against his standard.
[00:55:13] He was in persistent sin.
[00:55:15] And so judgment was,
[00:55:17] was in order.
[00:55:19] By the way, that's why later on in this passage,
[00:55:21] in verse 12, Paul tells us,
[00:55:23] is it not those inside the church
[00:55:25] whom we are to judge?
[00:55:26] Those who take the name of brother or sister in Christ
[00:55:30] to hold them to account according to God's standard?
[00:55:35] And so Paul calls for the man to be handed over to Satan.
[00:55:39] In our modern language,
[00:55:41] we would call this excommunication.
[00:55:44] Ex meaning out of,
[00:55:45] and then communion.
[00:55:47] Out of communion.
[00:55:49] Out of the visible body of Christ.
[00:55:52] We would remove this person
[00:55:53] and say they are not part of the body of Christ.
[00:55:58] We would hand him over, as Paul says,
[00:56:01] to Satan.
[00:56:05] Let me be very clear.
[00:56:07] The reason for the handing him over for Satan
[00:56:10] isn't purely punitive.
[00:56:11] It's not to get a pound of flesh.
[00:56:14] It's with an eye towards redemption.
[00:56:17] And salvation.
[00:56:19] Because Paul doesn't say,
[00:56:20] hand him over to Satan
[00:56:20] and let him burn in the pit of hell forever.
[00:56:23] Paul says,
[00:56:24] hand him over to Satan
[00:56:26] so that his spirit may be saved
[00:56:31] in the day of the Lord.
[00:56:37] This is always the goal
[00:56:40] and the hope of any church discipline.
[00:56:44] To reclaim and restore a brother or sister,
[00:56:47] to Christ,
[00:56:48] and to fellowship.
[00:56:50] It's never to be purely punitive.
[00:56:55] And this follows the example
[00:56:56] that God himself sets for us.
[00:56:58] I read this passage
[00:56:59] and I think about what David says
[00:57:02] a number of times in the book of Psalms.
[00:57:05] In Psalm 34 and in Psalm 51.
[00:57:07] In moments of his life
[00:57:08] when David was in unrepentant sin,
[00:57:11] he speaks of God
[00:57:12] as though he put his hand upon David
[00:57:14] and with the full weight of his hand
[00:57:16] was crushing his bones.
[00:57:17] Making him miserable and sick in his sin
[00:57:20] until he came to the point of repentance.
[00:57:24] And David says in those Psalms,
[00:57:26] when I saw my error,
[00:57:27] when I repented of my sin,
[00:57:28] when I turned from it,
[00:57:30] you restored to me the joy of your salvation.
[00:57:36] Friends, when God's judgment is on his people,
[00:57:39] that is a gracious thing
[00:57:41] because he's not giving you over
[00:57:43] to the will of your heart,
[00:57:44] but he is holding you to account
[00:57:47] so your thick head understands what you are doing.
[00:57:51] And you turn and you repent.
[00:57:53] And God embraces you.
[00:57:55] And he restores to you the joy of his salvation.
[00:57:59] And so handing this man over to Satan
[00:58:01] is Paul's way of saying,
[00:58:03] let him experience the heavy hand of God.
[00:58:05] Till he come to his senses.
[00:58:07] Till he repent of his sin.
[00:58:09] Till he repent of his sin.
[00:58:11] Till he repent of his sin.
[00:58:13] Till he repent of his sin.
[00:58:15] Till he repent of his sin.
[00:58:16] Till he repent of his sin.
[00:58:17] So that his spirit may be saved
[00:58:20] in the day of salvation.
[00:58:25] Again, what Paul is discussing here
[00:58:26] is what we would call church discipline.
[00:58:30] Church discipline has long been acknowledged,
[00:58:32] at least in reformed circles,
[00:58:34] as one of the defining marks of a true church.
[00:58:37] Along with the right preaching of the word,
[00:58:39] the right administration of the sacraments and prayer,
[00:58:42] church discipline is one of those defining marks.
[00:58:45] And sadly, it's one of the least practiced marks.
[00:58:47] marks of the church in our modern era. And for any number of reasons, first of all, so many
[00:58:52] churches, or so few churches, I should say, even have a membership role anymore, even know who's
[00:58:57] coming on a particular Sunday or not, much less knowing what's going on in their lives. And so
[00:59:02] there is no accountability in so many churches in our modern era. And then for churches that do
[00:59:09] know who's part of their membership, they often don't practice church discipline because, to be
[00:59:14] quite honest, it is not fun. It is unpleasant. And I can say that as one who has gone through
[00:59:19] the process a number of times. It is not pleasant. It costs you sleep. It can cost you temporarily
[00:59:24] your reputation, your good name. You can be attacked. You can be reviled for standing the
[00:59:29] line and calling someone on their sin. And so churches are often hesitant to engage in it. But
[00:59:37] when it's done, and when it's done according to God's purpose with that eye towards restoration,
[00:59:43] recognizing that the Lord is with us, and that the Lord is with us, and that the Lord is with us,
[00:59:44] the ones exercising discipline, we're not perfect. We're sinners.
[00:59:49] When we do it according to God's standard, it can have amazing restorative effects.
[00:59:57] I can remember a few years ago, I was on a commission within our presbytery
[01:00:01] that was dealing with a matter of church discipline within another congregation.
[01:00:05] Situation was quite simply, a woman had cheated on her husband.
[01:00:09] And as we went through the process of discipline with her, we got to the point
[01:00:12] where we barred her from coming to the Lord's table. She was not welcome to partake of the
[01:00:19] sacrament of communion. And this was particularly significant because that congregation observed the
[01:00:24] sacrament every single Sunday. And so for several months, every single Sunday, she sat in worship
[01:00:30] under the preaching and the teaching and the convicting power of God's Word. And then when
[01:00:34] the sacrament of communion was served, she had to sit there as the visible signs and seals of God's
[01:00:41] grace passed.
[01:00:42] by she could not partake of god's grace in that meal week after week after week and after several
[01:00:52] months of that she was brought by god's hand to the point of repentance and then was restored
[01:00:59] to her husband and then readmitted to the lord's table and praise god even to this day
[01:01:05] the two of them enjoy a thriving marriage
[01:01:08] i imagine there are some churches that would have seen that situation and said well they're
[01:01:16] headed for divorce let's pray for them but through calling people to account by holding them
[01:01:23] to god's standard god brought restoration where the world would have only seen destruction
[01:01:35] so
[01:01:36] church discipline in first corinthians 5
[01:01:38] in 1 corinthians 5
[01:01:38] in 1 corinthians 5
[01:01:38] in our situation as well, doesn't only think about the person who is sinning, the person who is in
[01:01:44] the wrong. It's also for the sake of the church. And that's where Paul goes next. In verse 6,
[01:01:52] he says, do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Or to put that in a
[01:01:58] phrase that we use today, don't you know that one bad apple ruins the bunch? Or to put it another
[01:02:04] way, sin, like cancer, has to be cut out or else it will metastasize and it will grow and it will
[01:02:11] infect the entire body. You see, it wasn't just this individual who was sinning against God. It
[01:02:17] was the fact that the congregation was not doing anything about it, and the people of that church,
[01:02:22] seeing that one person was able to get away with sin, that would inevitably lead others
[01:02:27] to embrace other forms of sin, knowing that all would be fine.
[01:02:34] And it would eventually lead to the point where the Corinthian church would actually cease to be a
[01:02:38] true church. Their lampstand, in the language of Revelation 1 and 2, would be removed.
[01:02:49] And so they are called to remove the man and then to recognize that to tolerate the man is like
[01:02:57] leaven in dough. And this is more than just a baking illustration. This is actually an
[01:03:04] illustration of the fact that the church is not a church. It's a church that is a church that is a
[01:03:04] that has a historical, redemptive connection. We heard about that earlier from our Old Testament
[01:03:10] reading in the book of Exodus. Now, when God was sending that tenth plague, the plague of the
[01:03:15] Passover, the destroying angel that would come and visit Egypt and kill all of the firstborn
[01:03:21] children in the land, God told His people the only way to be spared from the coming destruction
[01:03:27] is to slaughter a spotless lamb, to paint the lentils of your doorpost with its blood,
[01:03:34] and to kill all of the firstborn children in the land. And He said,
[01:03:34] and then to take refuge under the blood of that lamb. And be ready, because when the destroying
[01:03:42] angel passes through the land, you will be kicked out. The Egyptians will tell you to go,
[01:03:46] and you have to go that night, so you don't have time for your dough to rise. You need to cook it
[01:03:50] in an unleavened form. And then afterwards, in the years to come, the people would remember God's
[01:03:55] deliverance by celebrating the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. And as Luke read for
[01:04:00] us, for seven days, they were not to eat anything with leaven in it. They were supposed to go through
[01:04:04] their homes with a brush and clean out all the old leaven, all the old yeast. And that leaven,
[01:04:09] that yeast, was a reminder to them that they had been separated from the world. That when God
[01:04:16] delivered them from Egypt, the leaven of Egypt and all of its pagan idolatry was left behind,
[01:04:22] and they were now an unleavened loaf to God. It's interesting, that's the exact same language
[01:04:30] that Paul employs in verses seven through eight.
[01:04:34] Cleanse out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump as you really are unleavened. For Christ,
[01:04:39] our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. So let us keep the festival, not with the old leaven,
[01:04:45] the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
[01:04:54] Friends, if you have looked to Jesus Christ,
[01:04:56] then you, like the Israelites before you, have taken refuge in and under the blood of the
[01:05:04] lamb who was slain for you. By the blood of Jesus Christ, you have been cleansed, you have been
[01:05:10] purified, you have been called to holiness. And you cannot, you cannot embrace the leaven of this
[01:05:20] world, the leaven of malice and evil, as Paul talks about, the leaven of sin and sexual sin.
[01:05:27] We are called to be holy before a holy God.
[01:05:34] And we are called to shine this holiness to the world around us.
[01:05:40] You know, the Corinthians had misunderstood Paul from an earlier letter when he told them not to
[01:05:45] associate with the sexually immoral. They thought that meant kind of bar themselves off from the
[01:05:48] sexually immoral of the world. And Paul says, what are you talking about? How would anyone else come
[01:05:52] to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ if you isolate yourself from the world? No, you're
[01:05:56] supposed to reach out to the fallen of the world. They don't know what's holy and what's right. They
[01:06:01] need you to do that. But within your congregation, within your church, within your church, within your
[01:06:04] number, if there is someone who is celebrating their sexual immorality, you are not to associate
[01:06:10] with that one, not even to eat with that one, so that they can feel the weight of their sin
[01:06:17] and by God's grace be restored to Jesus Christ and to the fellowship of the believers.
[01:06:25] Friends, I'm not suggesting that this is an easy topic for us. It's not an easy topic to preach.
[01:06:31] but god is holy and he has given us a holy standard and by his grace through jesus christ
[01:06:40] he has called us holy and we are called to uphold that in our lives not only as individuals and
[01:06:46] within our families but as a church family as well as a congregation and so may it be then that by
[01:06:52] god's grace we will always honor the lord jesus in our hearts as holy and we will strive for
[01:06:59] holiness as individuals and as families and as a congregation let's pray together
[01:07:05] indeed oh lord you are a holy god and we are a sinful people and the fact that you tolerate us
[01:07:17] is only evidence of your amazing grace in jesus christ of your great love for sinners
[01:07:27] lord would you give us then a similar
[01:07:29] holiness as individuals and as families and as a congregation let's pray together
[01:07:29] heart for sinners lord the sinners that are out in the world who are lost who even now are
[01:07:36] part of a kingdom of darkness give us a heart that breaks for them that we might shine the
[01:07:40] light of the gospel to them that they too may know your grace and your love and your holiness
[01:07:46] the father also give us hearts of love for those within our number who
[01:07:52] who perhaps are in a state or a season of unrepentant sin help us to love them well
[01:07:59] by speaking truth your truth into their lives give us boldness and courage in this
[01:08:06] for the sake and the honor and the glory of the name of jesus christ and his church
[01:08:11] we pray this in jesus name amen
[01:08:15] our closing hymn this morning is really a prayer and it follows well on the subject matter
[01:08:25] of the sermon this morning please note we're going to sing the first hymn of the day
[01:08:29] the first five verses of jesus with thy church abide let's stand together and sing

[01:08:34] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
jesus
[01:08:47] jesus with the church
[01:08:50] abide
[01:08:51] be her savior lord and good
[01:08:56] while on earth
[01:08:58] our faith is thine
[01:09:01] we beseech thee hear us
[01:09:07] keep her life and doctrine pure
[01:09:12] grant her patience to endure
[01:09:17] trusting in thy promise sure
[01:09:22] we beseech thee hear us
[01:09:28] amen
[01:09:28] may she one in doctrine be
[01:09:33] one in truth and charity
[01:09:38] many loves and faith in thee
[01:09:43] we beseech thee hear us
[01:09:49] may she guide the poor and blind
[01:09:54] seek the lost until she finds us
[01:09:58] may she be the light
[01:09:59] may she be the light
[01:10:00] may she be the light
[01:10:02] and the broken hearted mind
[01:10:05] be beseech thee hear us
[01:10:09] we beseech thee hear us
[01:10:11] save her heart from rolling cold
[01:10:15] make her watch and song in bold
[01:10:20] lend her round thy peaceful fold
[01:10:25] be beseech thee hear us
[01:10:27] bring her in her place

[01:10:28] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
hear us friends as you go this morning go with the blessing of god almighty may the grace
[01:10:36] of the lord jesus christ the love of god the father almighty and the fellowship of
[01:10:40] the holy spirit be with each and every one of you now and forevermore amen
[01:10:58] amen