5/31/26 “The Elephant in the Room”
“The Elephant in the Room”
1 Corinthians 5:1-13; 6:9-20
Perhaps some of you have noticed the picture on the front cover of today’s bulletin....it’s a picture of a well.
The well is an important image for us today....on a couple of levels.
First and foremost, as the devotional on the back of the bulletin explains...
Jesus offers us “living water”....New life through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit....Salvation in the name of Jesus Christ.
This is the meaning of ‘living water’ that Jesus describes in John 4:14 “But whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
Jesus offers us water that will quench our spiritual thirst once and for all...
Unlike this water here (Water bottle) that only temporarily quenches our physical thirst...
Well....there’s another important reason why this passage from John is important to us today...
And it has to do with who Jesus is talking to when he’s conveying these words about the living water of salvation.
Many of you are familiar with this person – she's been known for the past 2,000 years simply as ‘The Woman at the Well’
...a Samaritan woman who had been married five times....and who was now living in adultery with a 6th man....
Someone who will always be remembered for her life of sexual immorality...
...That is.... until she has a conversation with the Messiah....the giver of ‘Living Water’....the author of truth.
After speaking with Jesus, the woman rushes back to her village and tells everyone about this man at the well who knew everything about her....
...Jesus stays with the people in the village for a couple of days, telling them about the Kingdom of God....
....about how to drink of living water....and many who heard his message came to believe in him....
It’s interesting how Jesus approaches this woman.
He engages her in conversation...he teaches her truth by revealing things to her...he uses the well right in front of them to paint a beautiful picture of God’s saving grace...
....Jesus doesn’t begin to bring about change in this woman by addressing her most obvious sin...that of sexual immorality...
....He brings about change in her by inviting her to repent....and to partake in the spiritual deliverance that he was offering her...
He doesn’t spend much time addressing the woman’s physical sin...
Jesus spends most of his time addressing the root problem behind the physical sin....specifically, that she lacked genuine faith.
...the woman was spiritually broken...and she needed to be spiritually healed...
And once she experienced spiritual healing...her physical actions followed suit.
Today’s passages from 1 Corinthians chapters 5 & 6 also deal with the subject of sexual sin....which had found its way into the church....
If you recall, the 1st century city of Corinth was a cesspool of sexual immorality and debauchery...
There was – of course - the temple of Aphrodite, home to 1,000 prostitutes –both female AND male prostitutes
Its citizens were widely known for their promiscuous sexual lifestyle...
Corinth was full of Adultery, homosexuality, bisexuality, incest, pre-marital sex....
....these all fall under the category of fornication....Now that’s an old-fashioned word we don’t hear much anymore, isn’t it?...
When’s the last time you used the word ‘Fornication’ in a sentence?
....Fornication is basically defined as “any sexual relationship outside the bounds of a marriage between one man and one woman”
...and, today, we can add things like pornography and AI generated avenues of sexual gratification to the list of activities that are in opposition to God’s design for human sexuality.
Chapter 5 of 1st Corinthians begins with Paul expressing his concern that some of these sexual sins were finding their way into the church there in Corinth...
...This broke the apostle’s heart...because he knew how devastating these kinds of sins could be when they infiltrate a congregation.
Verse 1 (1 Corinthians 5:1-2) says, "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. (continuing with verse 2) 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?”
Apparently, there was a man affiliated with the church who was sleeping with – what's believed to be - his stepmother...
But regardless....Step-mother or not.... it would fall under the biblical category of an incestuous relationship.
Paul uses the phrase ‘Sexual Immorality’ many times throughout his writings, such as here to describe this specific union.
That word ‘immorality’ comes from the Greek word ‘porneia’....
From which we get the word, ‘Pornography’
But ‘porneia’ in the 1st century referred to any illicit sexual activity...
Paul was shocked to hear that this man – a professed Christian – not only had committed these acts of sin with his stepmother...but that they were continuing to happen.
As far as we know, the woman was not a professed believer, otherwise Paul would most definitely have had some harsh words for her as well...
In verse 2, we read that this unrepentant man – if he remained unrepentant - needed to be removed from the body of believers until he repents and flees from these willful & sinful actions...
...Just as Joseph fled from the advances of Potipher’s wife....
Church discipline of this magnitude where disassociation is involved doesn’t happen often...but it reminds us of the seriousness of sexual sin within the church....
....and that – when discovered – it must be dealt with in order for the church to remain effective in carrying out its mission...
Matthew chapter 18 lays out what church discipline should look when done in a proper, biblical way.
....Initially, it should involve only one other person coming along the sinning individual....
....but - eventually - winding up with the willfully sinning individual being put out of the membership if that person defiantly refuses to repent of the sin in which they are participating...
In the case of this incestuous sin, the church should have taken measures to do this, but, they did not.
In fact, Paul says in verse 2 (1 Corinthians 5:2) that the church was turning a blind eye to what was happening....even pridefully boasting about it!
For them, this situation was the ‘Elephant in the Room’....
Everyone knew it was there...but no one was willing to address it head-on.
Maybe the man was well respected in the church and people feared confronting him...
Perhaps people saw sin in their own lives, and this made them reluctant to address sin in another’s life...
Or maybe people just didn’t want to upset the apple cart.
...Things are going fine...things are comfortable....why introduce turbulence into an otherwise pleasant, peaceful flight?
But Paul is indignant with the church for tolerating the unrepentant sin that was in their midst...
They should have been grieving over this situation....rather than tolerating – even - celebrating, it!
In verse 6 (1 Corinthians 5:6) Paul compares tolerance of known sin within the church to that of yeast working its way through a batch of dough...
In scripture, leaven usually represents influence – specifically – the influence of evil...
The ‘Whole batch of dough’ here in verse 6 represents the church....
So, Paul is saying that – if given the opportunity – sin will permeate an entire church....just as leaven permeates an entire loaf of bread.
The nature of sin – especially sexual sin – is to ferment, corrupt, and spread.
For the believer, leaven represents our old life before we came to Christ...
Since we are new creations in Him....Our old habits and willful sins – the “ways of the world” – they have no place in the church...
As redeemed children of God, we have the ability through the Holy Spirit, to choose righteousness in our daily lives...
Paul is telling us that we must continue to choose the path of holiness...over that of evil...
Both individually – and corporately.
The remainder of chapter five describes how – as believers – we are to associate with those in – and outside of – the church.
Paul’s point in verses 9-13 is that when someone becomes a believer....when they profess to know Jesus and follow him....
...there should be a marked difference between their lifestyle....and the lifestyle of the sinful world around them
Romans 12:2 reminds us that believers are not to conform to the pattern of this world....but be transformed by the renewing of our minds...
1 Peter 2:9 defines Christians as a “holy nation” and a “Royal priesthood” ...distinct for God’s purposes....
Galatians chapter 5 highlights the ‘Fruit of the Spirit’....which stand in direct contrast to worldly behaviors.
1 John 2:15 drives home this truth when we read, “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
As followers of Jesus Christ, we submit ourselves to His standard of conduct...
...and if a professed believer is willfully living in disobedience to God’s commands...if he or she willfully shows no fruit of a changed nature in their life...
....If sins – like the kind we see happening here in the Corinthian Church - are consistently occurring in one’s life without repentance taking place....
Paul tells us in verse 11 (1 Corinthians 5:11) to – as a congregation - no longer associate with that individual.
This sounds harsh, right?
But sometimes the best thing for an unrepentant individual is for them to experience life outside of the protective spiritual hedge of the church....
And the love of its members....who are an extension of the love of Christ.
And – yes – this does involve the church making a difficult judgement toward such an individual...
Some of you are already thinking it....
But, pastor Andy.....Who are we to judge another person?.....
Didn’t Jesus say, ‘Do not Judge, lest you be judged’?
Yes...he did. More on that in a minute.
When it comes to those within the church....those individuals who have made a profession of faith in Jesus....and to follow his commands...
We also make a commitment to allow other believers to watch our conduct...
...and - if necessary – to call us out on conduct that is in opposition to the one in whom we profess to follow....
When Jesus says in Matthew chapter 7 that we are not to judge...he also goes on to say that we must take the plank out of our own eye before helping our brother remove the speck in his eye...
This involves making a judgment concerning the behavior of another believer....
Jesus is saying that we are not to judge anyone else’s salvation....
....but he also grants the church a license to address blatant and unrepentant sin within the walls of the church...
This is how the church remains pure....
This is how the church remains grounded in God’s Word....
This is how the church remains healthy and effective for the savior....
The leaven of sin must not permeate through a body of believers....otherwise that body will become sick...and spiritually diseased...and ultimately become completely ineffective and dead.
Paul wraps up chapter 5 by reminding us that – although believers can use discerning judgment within the church – we are not to utilize that same level of judgement on those who do not profess to follow Jesus.
Verse 12 (1 Corinthians 5:12) reads, “What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church?
...and in verse 13 he goes on to say that it is God’s job to judge those who do not profess to be followers of Christ.
So, when an unbeliever comes up to you and says “You can’t judge me”
Well....In a way...they’re right.
We are not to judge the unbelieving world.
That is God’s job to judge the hearts and motives of those who make no proclamation of allegiance to Jesus Christ.
That is His lane...not ours.
We expect to see sin run rampant in individuals – and societies – that live according to their base instincts of self-gratification and self-glorification.
....like 1st century Corinth....and - dare I say – like 21st century America....
These people have made no proclamation of allegiance to Jesus...therefore we – as Jesus followers – have no foundation of shared principles in which to pass judgement upon...
Does that make sense?
It doesn’t mean that we condone sinful lifestyles....it just means that we cannot expect an unsaved person to live as though they are indwelt with the Holy Spirit.
We are to witness to unsaved people....but we cannot expect them to walk in the truth.
Think of it this way....
I know next to nothing about welding....nor do I profess to know anything about welding
So...if I went over to Dewey’s shop...or Jeff’s shop....or Frank’s shop....these guys who weld all the time...
...and I grabbed their welding tools and began trying to weld something...I’m sure I would do more damage than good...
But Dewey....of Jeff....or Frank...they wouldn’t expect me to know what I’m doing....
....so they would probably sit back and laugh at how my ignorance of welding was obvious....
...But they wouldn’t get upset with me because they would know that I have no idea what I’m doing...
This is how we are to look at the world when it comes to moral behavior...including sexual behavior.
They have no idea what they are doing....the “code of ethics” that unsaved people follow are nothing more than the whims of their sinful desires....
....not the righteous, transcendent truth of an all-powerful, all-knowing God.
Paul continues the discussion of sexual sin in the back half of chapter 6.
Beginning with verse 9, Paul begins to list groups of sinful behaviors, including those within the area of sexual immorality...
Including adultery, prostitution, and homosexuality.
...and even though the winds of cultural acceptance change from time to time, God’s Word never changes.
These things were sins 2,000 years ago....and they are still acts of sin today.
Jesus reminds us in Matthew 24:35 that “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.”
1 Peter 1:24-25 read, “....The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the Word of the Lord stands forever.”
What was sexual sin back then....is still sexual sin now....no matter what the culture....or even certain churches and denominations say today to the contrary.
Sin is sin...no matter what excuses we try to conjure up to justify the behavior.
I see this all the time when it comes to what I see as today’s ‘Elephants in the Room’ regarding the church...
The sin of viewing pornography.....and the sin of sex outside of marriage.
Both of these activities have become an epidemic in the church....and the church too often turns a blind eye to them...
...or we make excuses for why we feel as though we are entitled to partake in these things without feeling the need to repent and turn from them.
The pornography argument goes like this....”But I’m not hurting anyone else simply by watching people have sex”....or, “I have a need that my partner isn’t fulfilling, so what do you expect me to do?”
And the premarital sex argument usually goes like this....”Since we both have a desire to make our relationship physical, why wouldn’t God want us to be happy in that way?”
...or “We’ve both been divorced and we need to still have that sexual component as part of our lives”
All of these arguments are based on the faulty assertion that sexual activity is a need...like water....or food....or shelter....or air.
When it comes to sex, however, Scripture tells us something quite different.
In verse 13 (1 Corinthians 6:13) when Paul talks about “food for the stomach and the stomach for food”, he is paraphrasing this faulty assumption.
People in Paul’s day were lumping sexual wants in with needs such as food and water...something we hear a lot today as well...
But we are also told in verse 13 that “The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.”
We are not to treat our bodies like pieces of meat used for sexual gratification outside the limits of biblical marriage....it's as simple as that.
Paul reminds us in verse 15 (1 Corinthians 6:15) that our “bodies are members of Christ himself”...
...and in verse 18 (1 Corinthians 6:18) that sexual sins are a uniquely dangerous sin because “...he who sins sexually sins against his own body.”
In other words, we bring devastating dishonor to our savior when we use our bodies in a sexually sinful way....
Finally, in verse 19 (1 Corinthians 6:19) we are told that the “Body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you....”
All of these verses drive home the point that there is a special spiritual connection between our physical bodies...and the Holy Spirit living within us.
A connection that we have the choice to either honor with our bodies...or dishonor with them.
We’re reminded in the last verse of chapter 6 (1 Corinthians 6:20) that we were “Bought at a price....”
It means that no matter what the culture preaches about sexuality....as believers....we will strive to live in such a way as to honor the divine presence of the Holy Spirit who has made his home within the members of our physical existence...
....Because Jesus gave his body for us on the cross...he ‘paid the ransom for us’
We have no option but to give our bodies to him through our choices of obedience.
Why?...because our bodies aren’t really ours....they belong to our Savior.
The one and only wellspring of living water.
The one and only path to life eternal.
Let’s Pray.
