1 Corinthians 5:1-13

Get Rid of the Old Yeast

1 Corinthians 5:1-13, NIU UBF 10-11-09
Key Verse: 5:7
"Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.”
Everyone wants to be healthy. We want to have a healthy body, we want a strong family, and a healthy church. And we know that there are some things that we should do to get healthy and stay healthy. In today’s passage, we learn the secret of being truly healthy. Paul says, “Get rid of the old yeast.” This is the key to attaining spiritual heath. May God help us to learn more about how Christians can be strong and vigorous in this world and how we can be a good influence to our culture rather than being influenced by it. This is going to be a very hard lesson today. I hope I don’t loose anyone by it, but it something that needs to be said. May God guide our hearts.
Part l: Hand This Man Over To Satan (1-5)
To start with, Paul confronts an outrageous problem that happened within the church. Let’s read verse 1. “It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that does not occur even among pagans: A man has his father's wife.” The influence of the godless culture in Corinth had infiltrated the Corinthian church to the extent that a man had his father’s wife. It sounds like it was a man and his step-mother. If a man had his father’s wife then she could be both his girlfriend and his mother at the same time. That is just weird! This is the kind of thing that we may expect would happen among hamsters, but not among Christians. Not only that, if the man’s father was still alive he would be so hurt, and his siblings would hate the man who did this. It would tear the family apart. Even the godless Romans and Greeks thought such incestuous acts were wrong. How could this occur in the holy church of Jesus Christ our Lord? How could this act not be addressed by the Corinthians until they received Paul’s letter?
Paul rebukes the church for this problem, not just those who committed the sin. Verse 2 says, “And you are proud! Shouldn't you rather have been filled with grief and have put out of your fellowship the man who did this?” What were they so proud about? Maybe they were proud that their church was strong in the grace of God (Romans 6:1). They were proud that their church was tolerant, compassionate, non-judgmental and progressive. But Paul rebuked them for their pride. They ignored the teachings of the Old Testament and that of Jesus Christ and the Apostles. If they upheld the word of God, they should have been filled with grief and followed God’s command to challenge the man to repent of his sins. Leviticus 18:8 forbids a man to be with his step mother. In Matthew 18:17 Jesus said, “…if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector.” Sin in the church must be systematically and swiftly dealt with. If there is no repentance, according to the Bible, the perpetrator must be kicked out of the fellowship.
According to verse 3, Paul said that he already passed judgment on the one who did this. What does this mean? How could Paul pass judgment on the man when Jesus said that we should not judge? (Mt 7:1-5, 1 Cor 3:3-5) It is because the kind of judgment that Jesus forbids is hypocritical judgment based on a standard that we don’t even judge ourselves by. It is judgment that ends in self righteous condemnation rather than prayer for and shepherding of the fallen brother. As Christians we can certainly be honest about the facts of one’s conduct so that we can pray for others and counsel them. This kind of judgment is discernment. The man in this passage clearly committed a great sin in the sight of God. If he had repented, the matter would have been dealt with quietly and the man would have received the help he needed.
But apparently he refused to repent. Paul called for the Corinthians to assemble in the name of and the power of the Lord Jesus to deal with it openly. What were they to do in this public assembly? Look at verse 5. “hand this man over to Satan, so that the sinful nature may be destroyed and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord.” Paul regarded the church as a community, not a group of individuals. He wanted the whole church to co-work together to help the man repent by cutting him off from the church and the warmth of Christian fellowship. This would send a clear message to the whole church community that sin is very serious, and that they should have one opinion about the matter. If the church did not all have the same mind, the man could go around and get sympathy from various people. There could divisions in the church. Co-working to help people is important. For example, parents should co-work in helping their kids so the kids can’t play one parent against the other. When this man was expelled before the whole church, it was called “handing him over to Satan.” He would have to struggle in the world all by himself. In this way, he could plunge into the depths of misery like the prodigal son who wallowed in the mud among the pigs. (Luke 15:15-17) In this situation he could seriously think about what he did. Hopefully he would come to his senses, repent and come back into the loving arms of the Father. (Luke 15:11-32)
Today people don’t want to confront anyone about their sin. They want to be politically correct and not hurt anyone’s feelings. Sometimes we think that love means tolerating everything someone does gracefully (though we may not like it). However, the deepest love involves discipline that doesn’t feel very good at times. Ask any parent or any coach of a winning team. Hebrews 12:11 says, “No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” Moreover, Proverbs 12:1 says, “Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates correction is stupid.” Discipline is a key to healthy churches, healthy families and healthy individuals. Correction is also necessary to get on the path to eternal life. Let’s take sin very seriously and be willing to rebuke those who sin, counseling them to repent. Let’s bring back true love rather than superficial love. Let’s also accept correction and discipline humbly as God’s great love for us so that we may be blessed.
Part l: Christ Our Passover Lamb Has Been Sacrificed (6-8)
Paul goes on to explain why such sin is so serious. It has to do with influence. Let’s read verse 6. “Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough?” Yeast is a small micro organism. Yet when a small amount is mixed with sugar and heated, it grows quickly. While it multiplies, it emits a gas that makes dough puffy. Likewise, sin spreads quickly among a group and makes people “puffed up”…that is…proud before God and boastful. Sin also spreads rapidly like a small amount of yeast through dough. Can you see the parallel? At first, sin seems like a small matter. But once it is compromised with, it becomes an insidious problem. It is not just a personal matter. It becomes a bad influence among the whole fellowship, like an infectious disease that corrupts many. In the case of the Corinthians, when they began to compromise with the immoral culture around them, corruption infiltrated their fellowship and spread until finally a man had his father’s wife.
There are many “yeast-like” sins. Laziness, complaining, greed and pride spread among other’s very easily. But Paul specifically addresses the yeast of sexual immorality. It must be very serious. Let’s think about the root of the matter. In Genesis 2, God made man and woman in paradise. When he brought them together they were very happy. God established the family as part of his greatest love and blessing on mankind. A man and woman, loving each other and getting married, is really a beautiful thing. That is why some of the best music, the best movies and the best literature, and indeed some of the best things in life, are related to a man a woman getting together and loving each other. But, sadly, it is often the best things that God made that are eventually twisted and perverted and become the most grievous of sins. The yeasts of sexual immorality especially influence us and grip our hearts. They may seem to be a small thing, like drinking a Mountain Dew. But they can ruin people and families and can make society like the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah which fell under the wrath of God. This is why we pray for many joyful and blessed families of faith, “Jesus centered” house churches, in our land. From these house churches, many people can grow in the love of God and share God’s blessing to those around them. Yesterday, Julie and the kids attended the marriage of Matt M. and Christian N. They had a very beautiful wedding. It was artistic with a Victorian flare. God has placed his hope in this family. May this new family be a joyful and loving house church which helps students see the blessing and love of God. Actually families like this are being formed by God around the world. Jennifer said the favorite part of the UBF World Mission magazine is to see the latest wedding photos of couples from far away lands. They look very happy and this makes us smile too.
God established the church to be a good influence to the world. Jesus said in Matthew 5:13-14, “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.” Salt spreads among food to enhance its flavor. Salt has a specific purpose. But if looses that ability to serve that purpose then it must be discarded. Likewise, instead of being a good influence, the Corinthian church was being influenced by the world and was being rendered useless. We need to be careful that we don’t loose our spiritual influence in this world. We can do so by getting rid of the yeast of sexual immorality through repentance and a commitment to live holy lives of mission in this world.
How can we overcome our evil desires and the influence of the sinful world? These things seem so strong. Let’s read verse 7, “Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast- as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.” The blood of the Passover lamb was the turning point between the old life of the Israelites in slavery in Egypt and their new life as God’s holy people. Likewise, the blood of Christ, who was crucified on Passover, is the turning point between our old life of sin and the new life in God’s grace, full of God’s salvation and hope in the kingdom of God. But to reach this point, we must get rid of the old yeast, which represents our old lives of sin and be a new batch without yeast as we really are.

Consider St Augustine. Before he met Christ, Augustine enjoyed many kinds of sexual immorality and had a child by a mistress. When he first heard the gospel he liked it but also liked his sin. So he said, “Lord, grant me chastity, but not yet.” ( wels.net/cgi-bin/site.pl?2617&contentID=83222&...&seq= ) Then one day, God convicted him through Romans 13:13,14, “Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.” When his mistress called out, “Augie” he ran the other way and in doing so he became one of the most influential Christian intellectuals in all of history. The blood of the Passover Lamb has power to forgive anyone no matter who they are.
At 22 I was a hedonistic, “headbanger” who was indifferent to God and lived as if he did not exist. Although I worked hard to get a college degree in Chemical Technology, all I wanted to do is to live a “partying” lifestyle and be perceived by others as a “cool guy.” I was thoroughly infected by the yeast of sin. But by the blood of Jesus, I could get rid of the old yeast of hedonistic pleasure seeking, and became a shepherd of God’s flock, with a beautiful wife, five of the best children in the world, a nursing career. Mine is not just an isolated case but many of us here have experienced the life-changing power of the blood of Jesus which enabled us to get rid of our old sinful lives and live new lives in Christ. May the forgiving blood of the Passover lamb Jesus give many more people the power to get rid of their old lives of sin and live a new life under Jesus’ grace.
When we get rid of the “old yeast” of sin then our lives can be joyful. Look at verse 8. “Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with bread without yeast, the bread of sincerity and truth.” According to this verse, Christian life is like one continuous Festival. In the Old Testament, the Feast of Unleavened Bread extended for one week, starting on Passover day. Along with the sacrifice of the Passover Lamb, God commanded the Israelites to eat bread without yeast and rid themselves of yeast. It was an assembly which joyfully celebrated God’s grace through the Passover in Egypt. Here Paul says that with Christ as our Passover Lamb, the Passover festival of celebrating God’s grace does not last just one week but our entire lifetime.
So we must replace the yeast of sin with bread of sincerity and truth. If we are sincere and truthful, we know that we cannot hide our sins before God. The yeasts of malice and wickedness should be confessed and God will take them out and help us to live the life of faith. 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” When we are sincere and truthful we maintain our love relationship with God. We can follow God’s leading out of sin and into the light and joy of Jesus. May God help each of us to keep the Festival continually, getting rid of the yeast and sincerely celebrating the grace of Jesus.
Part lll: Love People With God’s Love (9-13)
Getting rid of sin does not mean to isolate yourself from the world. Verses 9-10 say, “I have written you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world.” By being so uncompromising with sin, they might have misunderstood that he was saying that they should separate themselves from all immoral people, such as the greedy, swindlers and idolaters who are everywhere. On the contrary, God called Christians to live in this world among sinful people and make friends with them. Jesus himself spent time with tax collectors and sinners to save them. When he was criticized by the Pharisees for this he said in Luke 5:31-32, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." God has left us here in the world to associate with people in the world and be a good influence on it. May God bless our campus ministries to help many young people to experience the grace of Jesus that is greater than all kinds of sin.
While loving people, we have to hate sin and not compromise with it. Paul says in verses 12-13, “What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked man from among you.” For those in the church who sin and should know better, they need to know that the way to truly love people is by being strict at times. It sounds extreme but Paul again asserted that they should purge evil among them. When we are clear with sin in the church, it is painful in the short term. But it is the best medicine. The command to expel the immoral brother made the Corinthians very sorrowful, and the man who was expelled had a very difficult time. But we know that the man who was handed over to Satan finally repented his sin and was changed by the grace of God. In the letter of 2 Corinthians, Paul asked them to accept and embrace the man who repented. In 2 Corinthians 7:9,10 Paul said, “For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us. Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.” Helping people to repent is very difficult. Often people get mad and try to retaliate when they are asked to repent. But even though it is very difficult, it is a very joyful thing to see people come to God.
Through this passage we learn of God’s love to send Jesus to cleanse our sins and make us pure. May God also give us a clear attitude towards sin so that we may not be influenced by the world, but be strong and healthy Christians who can be a good influence on the world. May our lives of faith be a Festival as we celebrate with joy our Passover Lamb Jesus with pure lives of sincerity and truth.
1. What disturbing report about the Corinthian Christians did Paul receive? (1) What should they have done about it? (2b) What did they do? (2a) Why?

2. How had Paul immediately taken action? (3) On what basis did he do so? (4) What did he command them to do (see also verses 2b,11b,13), and why did they need to deal with this publicly? (4,5) What was Paul’s purpose in casting him out? (5b)

3. How did their pride lead them to be negligent about this man’s sin? (6) How serious is one person’s sin within the Christian fellowship? (6) Think about the importance of influence.

4. Read verses 7–8. What were they to do, and for what purpose? To what does “the old yeast” refer? (Ex12:15; verse 8) How could they become “the new batch without yeast”? (7b) How did Christ’s sacrifice change them? (8) How can we be a good influence?

5. How had they misunderstood Paul’s instructions? (9–10) What did he really mean? (11) How should a Christian deal with immoral people outside the church and inside the church? (11–13)