1 Corinthians 5-8 – November 29

In chapter 5, Paul addresses a situation where a man is living in continued sexual immorality. He is shocked that that the church is continuing on like nothing is happening. He tells them to yield this person over to Satan; in other words, to dismiss this person from the church in hopes that they will repent. When a person is living in sin, we shouldn’t pray that they would be blessed, happy and comfortable. When someone refuses to repent and are continuing to willfully walk in sin, we hope that dismissal from church fellowship eventually brings them back to Christ.  He clarifies this point more in verse 11 by saying, “I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner—not even to eat with such a person.” This is righteous judgment that the church should participate in; judgment out of love and not pride. 
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Often Christians seem to focus on the same things the world does. They may not be wrong things, and they are things that should be pursued with God’s wisdom, but let’s remember that this life is a vapor that is passing away. Paul says to the church in 1 Corinthians 7:29-31 “…the time is short, so that from now on even those who have wives should be as though they had none, those who weep as though they did not weep, those who rejoice as though they did not rejoice, those who buy as though they did not possess, and those who use this world as not misusing it. For the form of this world is passing away.” It’s foolish to focus all our attention on decisions that only affect the few years we are a part of this age and not focus on the decisions that affect eternity.  If our priority is on only having a happy marriage and the “American dream,” we will be deceived.