ESOCS Devotional 20 September
TEXT: 1 Corinthians 5:1-13 KJV
MEMORY VERSE: “And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you.” 1 Corinthians 5:2 KJV
The Church is a school where Christians are to be taught in a systematic way. The intent of all proper church discipline is that temporal punishment might lead to eternal good. Discipline by God is done in love and for the best interest of the believers. Paul spoke about this seriously. The Corinthian church had a specific sin in their midst, and they refused to deal with it. In this case, a man was having an affair with his stepmother, and the members were trying to ignore the situation (1 Cor. 5:1, 2). Paul condemned this and told them that they had a responsibility to maintain the standard of morality found in God’s word. He warned that if they failed to address it, it could affect the whole church (1Cor.5:6). But some of them justified their sins saying that (i) Christ had taken away all sins, so they had complete freedom to live as they pleased, or (ii) that their act was not strictly forbidden by the scripture. But Paul debunked this strongly (1 Cor.6: 9, 10).
However, the challenge is how discipline should be carried out in the church such that the offender is not “delivered unto satan?” To “deliver unto satan” means to exclude the person from the fellowship of believers. Without spiritual support, the fellow would be left with the sin and Satan. Like Paul did, Church discipline should be out of love (and not with vengeance); motivate the member to repent of the sin and return to the fellowship of the church. Furthermore, address the issue immediately, address it with the right spirit, encourage a response, explain why the act committed is damaging to the offender and the Church. Putting the person out of the church should be the last disciplinary action.
Read yesterday’s ESOCS Devotional here
Today, immorality is the order of the day in many churches. Immorality is now defined or “baptized” to suit fleshy desires. Some Church leaders accommodate such immorality contrary to the teachings of the Scripture. In the same vein, discipline is done out of vengeance, hatred, and at the end of the day, the victim(s) fall out of faith. Paul did not teach so; rather, he condemned the act and encouraged change in a friendly manner.
The lessons from the above are: (i) Sin will continue to abound till Christ comes. (ii) Sin must be condemned. (iii) Correction must be done with love. (iv) The Church must never forget that the Bible is her manual for discipline. (v) The Bible makes the Church responsible for disciplining its members. (vi) Discipline should be instant (and not delayed unnecessarily). Jawaharlal Nehru said; “evil unchecked grows, evil tolerated poisons the whole system.” This is in agreement with 1 Corinthians 5:6.
CHALLENGES
- Is immorality going on in your local church left uncondemn? How do we discipline offenders?
PRAYER POINT:
- Ask for boldness to condemn immorality, and ability to discipline people in the right way.
FURTHER READING: 1 Corinthians 5: 1-6; Jeremiah 10: 23-24; 30:11
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ESOCS Devotional 20 September
