1 Corinthians 5:1-2, Fornication and Pride!
1 Corinthians 5:1-2 (KJV) 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. 2 And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you.
The Apostle Paul pointed out there is gross immorality that is tolerated in the Corinthian Church. Fornication (sexual immorality) in the sight of God is likened to idolatry. There is a man within the congregation that has laid with his father’s wife, that is, his step-mother. And this sin has not been dealt with. The offender continues to live in sin. Moral purity, he reminded them, is what brings glory and honour to God. The exercise of great spiritual gifts without moral purity is a mockery. We serve God in holiness. This is true worship and service. Sin must be repented of and the offender disciplined.
In their pride, the Corinthian church has allowed such immorality to cripple God’s witness. He urged them to be awakened to their folly and mourned for the sin that is in the camp. He asked them to deal with it.
When Achan took of the accursed thing in the conquest of Ai during Joshua’s time, Israel suffered great defeat. God instructed Joshua to find the culprit to be identified and be dealt with (Joshua 7:10-13; 19-21, 25-26). It was only after the accursed thing was removed that God began to give Israel victory against their enemy in their conquest of the Promised Land.
May God be merciful to preserve the purity of His church through the purging of sin. Amen.