No Man Is an Island


1 Corinthians 5:1-5
1It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans, for a man has his father’s wife. 2 And you are arrogant! Ought you not rather to mourn? Let him who has done this be removed from among you. 3 For though absent in body, I am present in spirit; and as if present, I have already pronounced judgment on the one who did such a thing. 4 When you are assembled in the name of the Lord Jesus and my spirit is present, with the power of our Lord Jesus, 5 you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.

While it seems many in our culture are obsessed with sex, none one really wants to discuss it. Paul seems to have no such qualms. He dives head first into an issue that is plaguing the Corinthian church – sexual immorality. It seems someone within the congregation is having sex with either their step-mother or father’s concubine. No matter who you ask, the Roman authorities, the Jewish laws, or even the Greek philosophers, this is unacceptable. And yet, the Corinthian church seems to be turning a blind-eye to this practice. In a city known for rampant sexual activity, it seems odd that this particular practice would garner such attention, but it does – especially from Paul who rightly points out that allowing this person to continue in the church as if nothing wrong is happening will poison the whole congregation. Almost more concerning to Paul than the sin itself is the congregation’s attitude toward it.

Greek philosopher Demosthenes said, “Mistresses we keep for the sake of pleasure, concubines for the daily care of the body, but wives to bear us legitimate children.” So, the Greeks were used to having several women warm the bed of one man. But at the same time, Greco-Roman law as laid down in the Institutes of Gaius (1.63) stipulated: “Neither can I marry her who has aforetime been my mother-in-law or step-mother, or daughter-in-law or step-daughter.” The standard punishment was banishment to an island.

The Jews had strict laws concerning these types of sexual activities, laid down for them by God. And the sentence for these sins was stoning.

Leviticus 18:6
None of you shall approach any one of his close relatives to uncover nakedness. I am the Lord.

But the Corinthians justified these attitudes of acceptance because it meant they were being open-minded and accepting of others. Does this sound familiar?

It seems the Corinthians were priding themselves on their openness, broadmindedness, and tolerance (their “inclusiveness,” in modern parlance), and specifically with regard to this case. They thought they were practicing and celebrating their Christian freedom in the Spirit; after all, they reasoned, “all things are in my power”.
Lockwood, G. J. ©2000. 1 Corinthians (p. 167). Saint Louis: CPH.

Paul speaks to the condoning of sin in his letter to the Romans. We might find these ideas familiar as well.

Romans 1:29b-32
They are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32 Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.

John Donne has noted that “no man is an island”. And that is particularly true and relevant to this passage. Our actions and decisions have impact on those around us. You cannot live in a sinful situation without impacting the lives of your community. But Paul has a remedy for this situation. The offending member is to be removed from the congregation until such time as they repent and cease the activity. It is imperative that we note that the goal of the removal is first and foremost an action that will hopefully gain the attention of the ones involved and bring about repentance. Restoration is the ultimate goal. But - in the meantime, the protection of the community is equally important.

Taking that idea in the opposite direction, we can recognize that our positive, life-affirming, Christlike activities also impact the community. We are agents for God’s love and mercy when we live as He calls. This concept can also be a call to action.Tenth Avenue North grabbed this idea and created a song that might lead us to think about ourselves as agents for positive action in our communities. Maybe we try to share our God-led actions rather than our sin and see what happens.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zlw3jG2pE8w

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