1 It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and such sexual immorality as is not even named among the Gentiles—that a man has his father’s wife! 2 And you are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he who has done this deed might be taken away from among you. (1 Corinthians 5:1–2, NKJV)
Two transgressions are rebuked here, sin between a Christian man and his father’s wife, and the church’s arrogant indifference toward the man’s sin. The church failed to apply discipline (in an attempt to save the sinner and to protect the church from additional sin, 1 Cor. 5:4-7). Today, churches are accepting all forms of sexual immorality in the name of tolerance and inclusivity. Yet, the Bible still condemns these sins and calls on fornicators and adulterers to repent (Heb. 13:4; 1 Cor. 6:9-11). Churches of Christ have joined the ranks of these compromisers by refusing to apply corrective church discipline to Christians who sin and refuse to repent. This comforts sinners in their sin while it weakens the faith of others (1 Cor. 5:6). It is not easy or pleasant to apply corrective discipline, but is the faithful thing to do. Its purpose is to “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” (1 Cor. 5:5). When the Corinthian church followed the apostle’s teaching and disciplined the sinner, it prompted the man’s repentance and restoration (2 Cor. 2:3-11). Furthermore, the church was vindicated of its previous sin in the matter (2 Cor. 7:9-11).
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