Somebody Loves You

Raul Ries: And it's important that we understand the reason for Christ's death: to get rid of sin. The cross was the instrument of death and curse, and yet Jesus was hung on the cross. Jesus says to the disciples in Matthew 16, if any man wants to come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. You want to follow Christ, you've got to die to yourself in order to be a disciple of Jesus Christ.

Guest (Male): Welcome to Somebody Loves You Radio, the Bible teaching ministry of Raul Ries in Diamond Bar, California. Today's lesson continues our deep dive into First Corinthians with a challenge to take an uncompromising stand against sin. Zeroing in on the problem of sexual immorality within the church, Raul will urge us to guard against temptation in our own lives while also being careful not to condone sinful behavior in the lives of fellow believers. Let's join Raul Ries now in First Corinthians chapter 5.

Raul Ries: One of the things about chapter five now is that the church at Corinth was not only a divided church, but they also was a disgraceful church. They had a lot of problems. I've been to Corinth probably five times, and it's interesting when you go to Athens and you go up on top of Athens where Paul the apostle preached. It's pretty interesting to see the place where he chose to give the gospel to the Greeks.

Then about another hour ride, you go over to Corinth where the peninsula is, and they actually carved out this great channel where you had from one side of the ocean to the other side to bring ships through there. So you would have a lot of activity going in Corinth. It would be an activity where they had about a thousand priestesses that were prostitutes, and they lived up on top of this little hill and they worshipped Aphroditus, the goddess of sex.

When I read about Corinth, it really reminded me of our past life and the way that it is today. Not only in Corinth were these heathens being really insulting and at the same time very loose with their lives, but the problem was in the church. Paul, even though he's not there in his spirit, he hears about everything that is happening in the church. This church here had an assembly of sinners that had been touched by the Holy Spirit, but they were compromising their position in Christ. They were allowing themselves to walk by the energy and the power of the flesh.

Paul's going to really hit here because the main sin that he's going to talk about is sexual sin. That's a big one in the church today. Not only drugs, alcohol, but sex is one of the biggest things. The reason is because we have the internet. Think of all the people today that have these computers. Computers can be good or they can be evil depending how you use them.

I have never gone to any of those websites and I'm not interested in them. I use my computer for my sermons and the information that I need, but I will not allow myself to go into those websites. When I was in the world, that used to be one of my problems. I was introduced to pornography when I was five years old by my dad. It's really important for me to understand that it almost destroyed my whole life.

Many of you that are here tonight, if you've been in those websites where there's pornography, you know what it does to you physically and spiritually. It actually grieves the Holy Spirit of God in your lives. It can ruin you fully, completely. So Paul is writing this letter perfectly for us today. One of the things that we don't see today is a true holiness in the church separated to God, really seeking to please God with my life in everything that I do before the Lord in order for me to be blessed by God.

Yet, no church is perfect. We know that. But human imperfection must never be an excuse, never be an excuse for sinning. Yet, think how many people excuse themselves from sinning against God when we should never ever use excuses, but repent from our sins and turn from our sins and don't go back to your sins because eventually it will destroy you.

So Paul here is going to be teaching us concerning these things. Let's begin in chapter 5, verses 1 to 2, where here we are to mourn over sin. There was no mourning over sin. He starts out, Paul begins this chapter in verse 1. "It is actually reported," notice, common knowledge, "that there is sexual immorality," we get our word sexual immorality from porneia, the word pornography in the Greek, that's where the word comes from. He says that there is sexual immorality among you, and such sexual immorality as is not even named among the heathens, that a man has his father's wife. Notice that, that's a big problem. Yet, it happens in the church.

And yet here Paul is sharing with us concerning these problems in the home, in the church. Think of fathers molesting their daughters, molesting their sons. Shame on them. Child molesters are sad. Yet, it happens in the church, and the church allows it to happen because they're afraid not to lose people and they don't take action against these child molesters. If you come to us and we find out you're a child molester, we will press charges against you and put you in jail if you were ever to molest one of our kids here. I would personally take that privilege to do that.

So it's really important that we understand that this is a problem. Not only homosexuality, lesbianism, he's going to mention them in a moment, but the problem is in the home where parents are molesting their children. And here a young guy sleeping with his mother-in-law in the church, and coming to church and praising God and glorifying God, and the church and the leadership were doing nothing about it. Paul really gets mad, really gets mad.

Check this out, verse 2. He says, "And you are arrogant, you're puffed up, and have not rather repented." You should have repented and mourned, that he who has done this work might be taken away from among you. Why do you allow him to go to church? He should be kicked out of the church.

So here Paul is really pouring out not only his anger, but he's pouring out concerning the doctrine. Why are you allowing this guy to be in the church and to worship with you when he should be kicked out of the church? Then check this out, verse 3. He's going to judge the sin. For indeed, as absent in the body but present in the spirit, even though I'm not there, you guys, I'm praying and the Holy Spirit's speaking to me and I'm with you in the Holy Spirit. I'm with you in spirit. I know exactly what's going on because I'm connected to God, he says, and the Holy Spirit has spoken to me.

Then he said this: "For I indeed absent from the body but present in the spirit, have already judged as though I was with you presently him who has so done this deed." Notice what he says. Even though I'm way out here, I already have judged that person and I'm telling you what to do as an elder and as a leader of the church.

Then he said in verse 4, "In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together along with my spirit and with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ." You see, one of the problems about the Corinthian church, like the church today, it was a carnal church, not a spiritual church. There was no fear of God. No fear of God, so people did their own thing. When they come to church, they come with all their baggage of sin, and this is why God can't move in the church. He's going to tell you in a moment because a little leaven leavens the whole lump. Your sin, my sin will grieve the Holy Spirit of God.

God can't move the way he wants to move in the church. We are the church of Jesus Christ, not this building. We are the living church, members of the body of Christ, you and I. Look what he says again, verse 5. He says in verse 4, "In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you gather together along with my spirit with the power of the Lord Jesus Christ, deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus Christ."

Notice what he's saying. This guy is ruled by his flesh. The works of the flesh are mentioned in Galatians chapter 5, verse 16 to 23, and then again in the book of Ephesians, chapter 5, 1 through 4. Read what it says, the works of the flesh. That is talking to Christians, not non-believers. He's going to talk in a moment. That if you don't repent as a Christian and return to the Lord, you're on your way to hell. I don't care how many times you've come forward. It doesn't matter because you're still practicing sin willfully, openly. You see? God won't put up with that.

Then he says this in verse 6. He says, "Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?" Leaven is a type of sin. Leaven is a type of sin, and what's amazing here is that he's talking about this little sin that's allowed into the church, which makes it another sin to other people to sin. So sin is not taken away, but the whole church now becomes polluted and the Holy Spirit cannot move in that type of an environment. The Holy Spirit wants holiness unto the Lord so that he can empower people and use people's lives to bring glory and honor to his holy name. So here he's talking about this little leaven, this sin that is in the church, and the sin that is in the church, the leaven, what does it do? It infects the church and infects people.

Guest (Male): You're listening to Somebody Loves You Radio with Raul Ries. We count it an honor to help equip you with the truths found in God's word. Visit somebodylovesyou.com for resources including Raul's practical 11-lesson study "Unity, Holiness, and Love." It's available on CD or USB, and we'll tell you how you can get your copy in just a few moments. Now back to more of our study "Sexual Immorality in the Church."

Raul Ries: Paul says in verse 6, "Your glorying, your pride is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven will leaven the whole lump?" And then he says, "Therefore," now because of all this I told you, he says what? "Therefore purge out the old leaven that you may be a new lump." Notice that. Remember in the Old Testament, Achan in Joshua chapter 7. They went into the camp in Jericho and Achan went in and he saw the spoils, the gold and silver. He took them and he buried them in his tent.

The children of Israel went out to fight another battle, and when they went out, 25 of them got killed. So they ran back to Joshua and said, "Joshua, we're winning all the battles but we lost this one. 25 are dead." And Joshua went before the Lord and said, "Lord, I thought you said you're going to give us victory." And God says there's sin in the camp. The sin in the camp. I'm not going to bless you. You're going to be defeated until you take care of sin in the camp. One person, Achan.

When they finally went to Achan, Achan confessed he took the spoil, gave it to Joshua. You know what they did? They took his wife, they took his children, and they took him and they stoned them to death and then they burned them with a fire. They cremated them, the whole family, to get rid of leaven, and then God blessed again.

In the Old Testament, the Bible is full of examples, full of examples of people that thought they were walking with God, but they were not walking with God. They wouldn't repent. So we have these things, Paul says, to make an example so we can learn from these people not to make the same mistake, but to do what's right. So Paul says, "Therefore purge out, get rid of the old leaven." What's that? Get rid of sin. "That you may be a new lump since you are truly unleavened. For indeed Christ our Passover was sacrificed for us." He says don't forget what Jesus did for you, how he redeemed you, how he died on the cross and he went and gave his life for you and I when he went to the cross of Jesus Christ so that he could get rid of sin.

And it's important that we understand the reason for Christ's death: to get rid of sin. The cross was the instrument of death and curse, and yet Jesus was hung on the cross. Jesus says to the disciples in Matthew 16, if any man wants to come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. You want to follow Christ, you've got to die to yourself in order to be a disciple of Jesus Christ.

So here again he brings up that fact that Christ died and was sacrificed for each one of us individually. And then verse 8. "Therefore," again because of this, "let us keep the feast not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice or wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth." Notice what he's saying. Hey, be upfront with God. Don't lie to him. Don't play games with him. He's not going to put up with it. You don't play with God. God always wins. We always lose.

So it's really important for me as a child of God to every morning check my heart with God. Check my heart with God. No drugs, no alcohol, no sexual adventures, stuff like that, but to keep a clean heart and a clean life. Clean hands, clean lips, clean eyes, clean ears. Paul says in Ephesians that if we don't listen to the Holy Spirit, then we grieve the Holy Spirit of God. What grieves the Holy Spirit? Sin. Sin. Why? Because the Holy Spirit is a person, and the word to grieve in the Greek means that you bring pain to the person of the Holy Spirit because he's a person and has feelings. He gets hurt. He cannot be effective in your life, I don't care what you do, until you repent. Until you repent, he can't do nothing for you.

Then Paul says this amazingly, verse 9. "I wrote to you," why? "In my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people." Now check this out. He's going to warn you. If you have friends that are homosexuals, lesbians, fornicators, adulterers, liars, whoremongers, whatever sin they're into, you're not even to have lunch with them. You're to separate yourself from them and to pray for them. Watch what he says. He says, "I wrote to you Corinthians, the believers, in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people. Yet I certainly do not mean with sexually immoral people in this world." He makes a distinction, you see, between the Christian and non-Christian. I'm not talking about a non-Christian. I'm talking about Christians, believers.

Look what he says. He says, "Not the people of this world or with covetous, extortioners, idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world." I mean, you work with non-believers that are homosexuals, lesbians, fornicators, adulterers. Of course, you're in the world. But you don't keep company with them because you're not like them.

But what about those in the church? Check this out, verse 11. "But now I have written to you," he clarifies it here so there's no confusion. "But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother or a Christian who is sexually immoral, covetous, an idolater, a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner. Don't even eat with such a person." Wow. Underline it. That's the word of the Lord. Don't even have lunch with them, breakfast, or dinner. You have no business being with them. Break fellowship with them until when? Until they repent.

You see, God doesn't want you to do that. Anyone in the church, he says, that is living a life according to these sins, Christians, has to be expelled from the church. He has to be excommunicated. He has to be gone, and we as believers cannot fellowship with them at all. Not even eat with them or do anything with them. Nothing at all.

So it's important for me, when I came to Christ, I made sure that my friends, my friends that I had, there was no homosexuals, but they were all drinkers and they were druggies. And I took myself and separated myself until I was rooted and grounded in God's word, being able to go to them and share the gospel with them, but I never partook of their sins, never. And slowly but surely, what happens? I tell you what happens, slowly but surely. One by one, I made a list of my friends the time I started praying for them, and the day they got saved. Over 30 guys got saved in the last 10 years, 15 years. Over 30 of them. Think about that. Why? Because they've got to see the example. They've got to see you. If you're a hypocrite and you're trying to convert your friends, which number one, you can't convert them, it's the Holy Spirit, then you're not going to be believable. They're going to laugh at your face and say, "Listen, before you preach to me, you'd better preach to yourself. You'd better look in the mirror."

And that happens so much in the church today, that's why so many people are turned off to religion. And we're not a religion. We have a personal relationship with God. But if you continue in sin that grace may abound, God forbid, Paul said, because people will be surprised and shock when they find themselves in hell and they attend the church, and they came forward, and they carried their Bibles and they had stickers in their cars, and they talked spiritually, but they will not inherit the kingdom of God if they're practicing sin. Paul made it very clear in chapter five. They will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Look what he says, verse 12. "For what I have to do with judging," okay? He says what am I doing? I'm judging you. Those non-believers also who are outside? He says, "If I'm judging you, think how the world looks at you." You see, he brings it up. If I'm a Christian and I watch Christians do these kind of things, what do you think the world thinks of us? There's no power. We're a bunch of hallelujahs and we're a bunch of fakes. Bunch of fakes. And that's what Paul is saying here. He's very careful what he says.

Look what he says. "For what have I, Paul, to do with judging those also who are outside? Do not judge those who are inside?" Why should I judge people outside when there's people inside in the church that are living horrible lives just like people in the world? There's no transformation. There's no regeneration. No power. And then he says this: "But those who are outside," check this out, underline, "God judges." They're going to stand before God at the white throne judgment one day. They're not getting away with sin. You think they are, they're not. They're going to be judged. They may make fun of you and they drink and they party every weekend and they take drugs and do whatever they want to do like the homosexual community, same thing, they're going to be judged one day. God's going to judge them.

And he says this: "But those who are outside the non-believer God judges, therefore," notice because of this, "put away from yourselves that evil person." Who's he talking about? Christians. If you have anybody in the church that doesn't want to repent, get rid of them. Because of leaven, sin in their lives. They're not welcome to the church unless they want to repent. Non-believers are welcome to the church to get them saved, but a Christian that continues to willfully sin against God and remain in his sin, he's not welcome in the church. God says throw them out and don't let him back in until he repents. Until he repents, and that's the word of the Lord. That's God's word for us tonight.

Guest (Male): As we've heard today, upholding God's word isn't always easy, especially when our brothers and sisters in Christ choose sometimes to challenge his commands with willful disobedience. You're listening to Somebody Loves You Radio with Raul Ries. If you'd like to hear today's lesson "Sexual Immorality in the Church" in its unedited form, we'll be happy to send a copy to you for a donation of five dollars or more. Simply call us at 800-634-9165.

And as you think about how to honor the Lord in your dealings with others, we'd like to tell you about Raul's 11-part series "Unity, Holiness, and Love." It's available on CD and USB. Every lesson in this series underscores the importance of grounding your life in scripture, allowing its truths to fill your heart and direct your steps as you navigate relationships, steward resources, and serve in ministry. Visit somebodylovesyou.com or call 800-634-9165 to order Raul's 11-message study "Unity, Holiness, and Love." We'll send you the CD set for 23 dollars or if you prefer the thumb drive for just 14. That's 800-634-9165.

Our mailing address if you'd like to order by writing us is Somebody Loves You Radio, Post Office Box 4440, Diamond Bar, California 91765. Visit iTunes or Spotify to get podcasts of all of these radio programs, and join Raul for straight talk every Tuesday at 10:00 a.m. West Coast time on the Somebody Loves You worldwide YouTube channel. This channel also features a comprehensive selection of livestreamed messages powerfully illuminating the truths of the word of God. And if you have Bible questions you'd like to share with Raul, his email address is pastorraul@somebodylovesyou.com.

Thank you so much for your partnership. We are grateful for the tax-deductible gifts that enable us to keep sharing the good news of the gospel with people far and wide. Join us again next time as we continue this series exploring the practical wisdom found in First Corinthians. We'll consider how society teaches us to respond to major conflict with a lawsuit, but the Lord calls us to resolve issues with our fellow believers in a private, peaceful way. This program is sponsored by Somebody Loves You Radio in Diamond Bar, California.