3:17

We discovered that the fire is not to cast into hell, but to refine, so what about this verse?

Tonight we're going to look at a specific example of how Paul applies these principles of foundation and fire. Commitment and correction.

Read 5:1-8

Is this sexually immoral fellow destroying the temple?

What part of him is to be destroyed?

So we have Paul up in arms about a situation in Corinth. And he introduces a word picture to explain the principle that has him so excited. What is it? yeast in dough. The principle? A little yeast will leaven an entire batch of dough.

The facts:

1 In light of the situation, what does Paul tell the Corinthians to do, and why? Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump

2 What interesting note does he add about their condition? just as you are in fact unleavened Did you hear that? He just said, get rid of the leaven, and now calls them unleavened.

3 What teaching does he bring in next? for Christ our passover has been sacrificed.

Notice the "Therefore" what then should we do? Therefore let us celebrate the feast not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

Interpretation:

Context:

1 From the context, What does it mean to clean out the old leaven (yeast) so that you may be a new lump (batch of dough)?

--expell the immoral man from among you--don't even eat w/ one who claims to be a brother but is not living it.

2 Why does Paul tell the Corinthians to remove the old leaven and then tell them that they really are unleavened? Scriptural answer. Christ has been sacrificed! So many think that their salvation is dependent at least in part on something they do themselves. What is this saying to you?

What is the motivation for living with sincerity and truth rather than malice and wickedness?

Tell me, what would cause a Christian to be insincere or less than truthful, malicious or wicked? Why would a Christian need to be insincere? We don't have anything to prove! What if a Christian thought he or she had something to prove?

(optional) 3 How do malice and wickedness compare and contrast with sincerity and truth? How do the fit with foundation and fire?

4 Those of us who have grown up in the Adventist Church know that SDA's have not always understood the principles behind church discipline. We've either used disfellowship as if it meant. We're condemning you to eternal death. Or we fail to discipline at all because we've read passages that say, "Do not judge."

Why is it so vital that we do "judge those within the church?"

What principles really are at the heart of this practice?

1 for the church? --leaven principle, the health and growth of the church is impaired by one person's life if they are living a contradiction.--what sort of people do you want to surround yourself with if you are going to grow? Notice something. If this is going to work it's not just talking about attending a church where people are not involved in immorality, but surrounding yourself with these people in a spiritual assembly-- this works only on the level of actual relationship, not by having your name on the right books!

2 for the person? --the process of not associating with a person who is living a contradiction is for their good--it could lead to their salvation!--what else could we call this principle? I'm being convinced more and more that we have a false concept of love. Many think love is a vague good feeling that one can have toward any number of people, but for Paul, love demands relationship. It is impossible to love someone whom you do not even know. We'll come back to that, but I think it is one of the biggest causes of frustration in church discipline. Discipline must be done in love, and often it is done by people who don't even know the one being disciplined

Application:

Do the people in your "church" actually affect you? Do you know them well enough to know if they are living a contradiction? Do their actions actually affect you spiritually? Are you aware of it? For Paul when he was writing the book of Corinthians there was no such thing as what we think of now as the "universal church" all those who believe, everywhere around the world. He is not talking about some vague group of people whose names are on some paper somewhere, he is talking to an assembly of people, those that actually gathered together in Corinth. We've lost the perception that the spirituality of others affects us or the church--but it still does.

What has our study tonight convicted you of? Maybe some of you need to take action on these principles for the love of one near you, and for your own spiritual growth and the health of your spiritual support system. I'm wondering about family members as I ponder this issue. Is it possible that God would have us send a strong message to some family members who profess Christianity but are immoral, idolatrous, or swindlers? It's a touchy issue. What did Jesus say when his family was at the door? Those who do the will of my Father are my family! This could be uncomfortable, but take five minutes and ask yourself, is there anyone who is close to me who damages my spiritual support system? --Put down some ideas and pray over them, this is not something to be entered into lightly. If God is still convicting you in this matter after 3 days of prayer, read Matt 18:15-18 and write down a first step and when you will do it. I hope this is not for everyone, but it may be, and since we're in the business of acting when God convicts us, I have to ask these questions.