Lesson 460

(Lesson 460)(11-18-12) 1 Corinthians 5:8-13, "Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators: Yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world. But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat. For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within? But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person."

Today's lesson is intermixed with yesterday's. The merging of the two lessons is established when Paul refers to the "old leaven", which represents the law, in comparison to the actions of the Gentiles. Paul was telling the Church that they should not govern themselves with the rules of the old law or Jewish tradition, and neither were they, within the Church, to tolerate the sins (leaven) of the Gentiles, the "leaven of malice and wickedness". He said they were to, instead, govern themselves with "sincerity and truth" (the pure gospel of Christ).

The following quote is complex and can be hard to understand without proper consideration. Paul said, "I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators: Yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world."

My understanding of this text is that members of the Church should disassociate themselves from those within the Church who commit fornication, while still associating with those outside the Church who commit the sins (leaven) of the Gentiles, sins which probably includes fornication. In order to judge the sins of the Gentiles, "then must ye needs go out of the world.".

I believe this means that to disassociate oneself from those sinners, including fornicators outside the Church would be to abandon the commandment in Matt. 28:19, in part, "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations", seeing that you can't teach someone with whom you can't associate.

Paul goes on to, again, say, "For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within? But them that are without God judgeth.
Therefore, it is the obligation of the individual Church member to shun those who are evil, within the Church, and to abide the sins of those outside the Church, leaving them to the judgment of God.
This lesson applies especially to those who teach that Christians are to disassociate themselves from sinners (the lost). To adhere to such a policy makes absolutely no sense, seeing that one cannot teach those with whom one cannot associate.~