I Cor 5--What to do with sinners in the body

There was sexual sin among the Corinthians. Corinth was a port city--very wealthy and full of all kinds of temptations. As you can see on the map, Corinth is located at the point where the land masses come to at point in the middle. There was a one mile strip of land where the boats could not go through. At firs they carried the boats across this strip of land. But later they dug a canal. Quite an amazing feat!

This was a very lucrative business for the Corinthians. And because all kinds of people were there on business, sin abounded. Many of the rebukes from Paul were related to the sexual impurity that was prevalent.

One such judgment was on a man who was committing adultery with his step-mother. Paul passed judgement of the sinner. And the church was asked to do the same.

I think in the day that we live in, we tend to tolerate all kinds of sin in the name of not judging others. But Paul did not let sin continue in the body without addressing it. Of course, confronting sin should be done with the utmost humility and kindness and spoken in much love with the intent on bringing a brother or sister back to fellowship and right standing before the Lord. After all we all tend to have blind spots. And is it not kinder to tell someone that that they are in sin than to allow that sin to destroy and hurt them and others?

When you are gathered together (assembled in church), along with my spirit with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, deliver the sinner to Satan for the destruction of the flesh (sickness, even death) that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.

Sin affects the whole church body. It should be purged from the body.