by: Dr. Allen Domelle
1 Corinthians 5:1
“It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father’s wife.”
Several years ago, I worked for the county coroner as a side-job. When we picked up a body, we were instructed to put on surgical gloves. In rare cases, when we picked up someone who died of a communicable disease, we were required to put on full surgical gear so that we didn’t get infected with the same disease. Donning the scrubs didn’t mean that we were better than the person who that body represented, it was simply a precaution to keep us from acquiring the same disease.
The Church of Corinth was the most worldly church you will study in the Scriptures. The verse above shows that they allowed gross sin to take place in the church. In the next few verses, you see that Paul tells the church how to deal with sin. It was as if he was telling them to don the scrubs so that they wouldn’t get infected from the same sin. The four pieces of instruction he gave on how to deal with sin were given to keep them from committing the same sins. You would be wise to follow this instruction and don your spiritual scrubs so that you can keep yourself from sin. Let me show you how to don your spiritual scrubs.
First, keep a right spirit towards sin. Verse 2 says, “And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned…” Instead of gloating about sin, you should mourn that sin has been committed. Be careful about to make sin sound as bad and as ugly as it is. Never laugh or make light of sin; instead, deal with sin as you would deal with a communicable disease.
Second, discipline sin with the right intention. The right intention of discipline is found in verse 5 when it says, “…that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.” The purpose of disciplining the sinner is to get them to come back to Christ. You have to deal with sin. To not discipline sin is to tell everyone that sin won’t destroy. You have to punish the sinner, but do it with the attitude to keep them from further sin and to restore them back to Christ.
Third, guard your personal life. Whenever dealing with sin, you must be careful that you don’t fall into the same trap as did the person with whom you are dealing. Verse 6 warns, “Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?” Don’t think that your little sin is not as serious as another’s “big” sin. All sin grows; therefore, all sin must be dealt with as big sin. You have a better chance of staying away from sin if you will look at the littlest sin as dangerous.
Fourth, keep the right company. Paul warned the church not to “keep company” with those who commit sin. Just like I donned scrubs when picking up diseased bodies, you must learn to stay away from those who openly commit sin. You can’t run with those who commit sin and think they will get better; it never happens that way. The sinner will pull you down to their sin rather than you pulling them up to righteous living. God’s Word is clear when giving the safety warning to not “keep company” with those who openly commit sin.
These four instructions are the spiritual scrubs you should put on when dealing with sin. If you practice God’s directives in these four areas, you will have a better chance of bringing the sinner back to Christ and keeping yourself from sin.