The Danger of Tolerating Sin in the Church

“You must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler.” – 1 Corinthians 5:11

Like a parent who desperately wants to correct someone else’s wild child who’s acting up in public – that must be the way the Apostle Paul felt when he observed the Church in Corinth. One of their members was WAY out of line, and the entire Corinthian church had failed to discipline him.

 

Sadly, many Christian churches today are equally bad at carrying out church discipline. But there is hope for us in 1 Corinthians 5. Here, the Apostle Paul teaches the Corinthians, AND us,  how to more effectively carry out church discipline. I’d like to share three important implications of his advice from verses 9-11:

 

IMPLICATION #1: For Christians, sin INSIDE the church is much more dangerous than sin OUTSIDE the church. John MacArthur puts it this way: “No church is healthy enough to resist contamination from persistent sin in its midst, any more than the healthiest and most nutritious bushel of apples can withstand contamination from even a single bad one. The only solution in both cases is separation.” Now, if someone were to ask you, “Is it okay for Christians to discriminate?” I’m guessing that your kneejerk response would be “No!” But notice what Paul clearly implies in verses 9-11:

 

IMPLICATION #2: When it comes to close fellowship with other Christians, we must discriminate between believers who sin and repent and those who sin and don’t repent. Preben Vang puts it this way: Christians “are to discriminate within the church for the sake of their identity as a Christ community…. What Paul encourages is not isolation from the world but identification with Christ.” Each Christian should find their true identity, first and foremost, as a follower of Jesus. That being the case, we can’t ignore unrepentant sin in our church family. We are not to be a church full of active sinners; we must be a church full of reformed sinners.

 

IMPLICATION #3: Disfellowship isn’t only for Christians who are engaged in gross sexual sins. Disfellowship is appropriate for ANY Christian who refuses to repent and persists in their sin. In verse 11, Paul mentions six lifestyle sins that are grounds for disfellowship: sexual immorality, greed, idolatry, slander, drunkenness and swindling. Most of the time, when a Christian needs to be rebuked, it’s not because of a gross sexual sin. There are plenty of other sins that defile you and those around you. ALL of these sins need to be rebuked and purged from the church.

 

But every church has been tempted to compromise its holiness by caving in to the sinful culture around it. Chuck Swindoll writes: “In [recent] decades, the general perception of God has dramatically changed. Now He’s seen as a gentle father figure who loves people so much that He would never think of judging anybody for anything…. Paul’s brief discussion of church discipline in 1 Corinthians 5 challenges head-on the notion of unchecked tolerance for sin.”

 

As Christians we must be intolerant of unconfessed, unrepentant sin in ourselves AND in each other. At that same time, if we rebuke a fellow Christian, it should be done out of love for our sinning brother or sister, in prayer, and with clear support from Scripture. Ultimately, a loving, biblical rebuke demonstrates a deep love for God, His Church and His Word.

Dane Davis is the pastor of Impact Christian Church, meeting Sundays at 8:45 a.m. at 17746 George Blvd in Victorville. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.

How to Handle Sin in the Church

“If they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’” – Matthew 18:16

In 1 Corinthians 5, Paul finds himself forced to address a big problem in the Corinthian church: Tolerance of gross sexual sin.

 

A member of the Corinthian church was involved in an ongoing, incestuous relationship that, as Paul says in verse 1, “does not occur even among pagans.” But even worse, the rest of the church was turning a blind eye to the moral cancer in their midst.

 

Unrepentant sin in the church is like severe gangrene or a cancerous tumor in your big toe: You can either cut off your toe, or you can ignore it and lose your whole leg – or worse. If only the Corinthians had known that the Bible provides a procedure for rebuking and disciplining sinning Christians in the church before it’s too late.

 

Here is God’s 5-step process:  

 

Step #1: One-on-one: The Holy Spirit rebukes a sinning Christian discreetly (Heb. 4:12, 2 Tim. 3:16). Each of us must attend a church that faithfully teaches God’s Word, and we must allow the Holy Spirit to do through His Word what He does so well: to expose our sin, teach us, rebuke us, correct us and train us in righteousness. And if you listen to the Holy Spirit, allow Him to rebuke you, and repent in response to His rebuke, you don’t have to suffer the embarrassment and pain of other Christians needing to rebuke you.

 

Step #2: One-on-one: A fellow believer rebukes a sinning Christian discreetly (Matthew 18:15). Most of us HATE confrontation. But biblical confrontation is often the most godly way to show love to a fellow Christian. If you see another believer sinning, pray about it, find the appropriate Scripture to share with them, then talk with them – one-on-one. If the sin isn’t addressed swiftly, it will likely get bigger and cause greater harm to both the Christian who’s sinning AND to the rest of the church.

 

Step #3: Two or three believers rebuke a sinning Christian (Matthew 18:16). If a sinning brother hasn’t responded to Step 1 and Step 2, it’s time to bring in some reinforcements to speak with him. This follows the biblical principle: “Let every matter be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.” Make sure the witnesses are believers—ideally, mature Christians who care about the person. Go to the sinning Christian, open God’s Word and pray together. Then rebuke the sinning brother or sister together.

 

Step #4: The church leaders meet with the sinning Christian to rebuke and discipline him/her (Matthew 18:17). If a sinning brother doesn’t respond humbly to the rebuke of the Holy Spirit or his concerned brothers or sisters, it’s time for the pastor and/or elders to speak with him. If the sinning Christian truly repents at this point, the leaders should lead him through the repentance process. In most cases, the brother can continue to attend church, but he’ll need to step down from any ministries he’s involved in so he can focus on receiving God’s Word and living a holy life.

 

Step #5: As a last resort, the sinning Christian is disfellowshipped from the church (Matthew 18:17 & 2 Cor. 5:1-5). This step should only be taken when the previous four steps have failed to convince the sinning brother or sister to repent.

 

Remember, Hebrews 12:5-6 says: “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when He rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those He loves, and He punishes everyone He accepts as a son.” Whether in the family or in the church, rebukes CAN be very loving. In fact, when a Christian brother or sister is caught up in a sin, a biblical rebuke is one of the most loving gifts that you OR the Holy Spirit could ever give them.

Dane Davis is the pastor of Impact Christian Church, meeting Sundays at 8:45 a.m. at 17746 George Blvd in Victorville. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.

Are You a Good Role Model?

“In Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. Therefore I urge you to imitate me.” – 1 Corinthians 4:15-16

 

In the book of 1 Corinthians, the Apostle Paul spends a lot of time rebuking the Corinthian Christians for their pride and divisiveness. As Paul confronts them with the Word of God, the sinful thoughts and attitudes of their hearts are being exposed, which is uncomfortable—even painful. That’s why Paul says what he says in 1 Corinthians 4:14: “I do not write these things to shame you, but as my beloved children I warn you.”

 

In the first three chapters of his letter, Paul has called his Corinthian readers “brothers” three times. But here in chapter 4, he basically says: “I don’t just think of you as my ‘brothers.’ I also consider you to be my own dear children whom I love.” Isn’t that something? Regardless of how messed up the Corinthian Christians were, Paul didn’t reject them. Instead, he tenderly reminded them that they were his spiritual kids. Paul didn’t hate them. He actually loved them.

 

Part of what Paul is saying is that he encourages and mentors those he pastors in much the same way that a father would encourage and mentor his own son. But it’s more than that. As Pastor John MacArthur puts it: “A father, by definition, is a man who has children…. Every believer should be a spiritual father, God’s instrument for bringing new lives into His kingdom.”

 

In verse 16, Paul takes the next logical step: “Therefore I urge you to imitate me.” Think for a moment about how many dads across America tell their kids, “Do as I say, not at I do.” For Paul it was never, “Do as I say, not as I do.” It was, “Do as Jesus says, and I’ll show you by MY life how to do it. By God’s grace, I’m walking the walk. So, follow in the footsteps of your spiritual father. I urge you to imitate me.”

 

Whether or not you realize it, you have followed in someone else’s spiritual footsteps, and somebody else is following in yours. Every one of us needs to have a spiritual father in our lives, and each of us needs to be a spiritual father to at least one other Christian. 

 

Now, we can’t just step it up at church. John MacArthur reminds us: “Our children … know firsthand if we are living up to what we are trying to teach them…. Discipling is more than teaching right principles; it is also living those principles before the ones being discipled” (cf. 1 Tim. 4:12). Christian parents MUST set a godly example for our kids and grandkids of how to live out our faith. If we teach with our words, but not with our lives, we should not be surprised if our kids and grandkids end up walking away from the church.

 

As Christians, every one of us needs to, in the words of theologian Preben Vang, “be in both camps at the same time.” You and I need to FIND good Christian role models to follow while BEING good Christian models for others to follow. One of the greatest joys in ministry is to see your spiritual children following Jesus every bit as well as you follow Him.

Dane Davis is the pastor of Impact Christian Church, meeting Sundays at 8:45 a.m. at 17746 George Blvd in Victorville. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.

Are You Arrogant or Humble?

“What do you have that God hasn’t given you? And if everything you have is from God, why boast as though it were not a gift?” – 1 Corinthians 4:7

Are you an arrogant Christian?

 

Of course, our kneejerk response is to say, “I’m not an arrogant Christian! I’m a humble Christian!” But not so fast. Let’s allow the Holy Spirit to reveal any trace of pride or arrogance that we’re still harboring in our hearts.

 

In 1 Corinthians 4:6, Paul writes: “Dear brothers and sisters, I have used Apollos and myself to illustrate what I’ve been saying. If you pay attention to what I have quoted from the Scriptures, you won’t be proud of one of your leaders at the expense of another.”

 

Pastor John MacArthur writes: “God’s faithful servants are to receive proper honor and respect…. But they are to be honored only within such bounds of Scripture. Godly respect turns into ungodly exaltation when we exceed what is written…. As is often the case, the leaders were exalted [by the Corinthians] for the followers’ own sakes, not for the leaders’ sakes.”

You see, when we boast and brag about how amazing our pastor is or how much better our church is than another Christian’s church, we aren’t just lifting our pastor or our church on a pedestal; we’re really lifting OURSELVES on a pedestal. At the root of church disunity and division is selfish pride and arrogance.

 

To find out which type of Christian you are, Paul asks three tough questions in verse 7:

 

Question #1: “For who regards you as superior or what sets you apart as special?” (Amplified Bible translation) Paul’s implied answer is, “No one! If you think you’re superior to other Christians, or if you think your pastor and your church are superior to every other Christian pastor and church, it’s just your pride-filled imagination.”

 

Question #2: “What do you have that you did not receive?” And Paul’s implied answer is … “Nothing! Everything you have, you have received. Everything you have is a gift from God.”

 

Question #3: “If you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?” Everyone and everything in the Corinthians’ church was a gift from God. They didn’t EARN their church leaders. They didn’t DESERVE their salvation. It was all GOD’S doing, not their own. So, what was there for the Corinthian Christians to brag about? Nothing! 

 

So, what kind of Christian are you? If you have a tendency to lift up your pastor and/or church higher than God ever intended, you likely have more pride in your heart than you imagined. May each of us check our egos at the door and strive to be a humble servant whose only concern is to serve the Lord Jesus Christ faithfully.

Dane Davis is the pastor of Impact Christian Church, meeting Sundays at 8:45 a.m. at 17746 George Blvd in Victorville. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.

Who’s Judging You?

“Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes.”
– 1 Corinthians 4:5

In the first three chapters of 1 Corinthians, the Apostle Paul addresses one of the biggest problems in the Corinthian Church: They were cliquey and judgy. Some of their pastors and leaders, they treated like royalty. Others, they pushed aside like last week's garbage. 

 

So, in 1 Corinthians 4, Paul tells the Corinthian Christians – and you and me today – the proper way for us to view our church leaders: “as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God” (v. 1).  In other words, church leaders are the lowest slaves … while at the same time being the most trusted stewards.

 

As a pastor – Jesus’ servant and a steward of God’s Word – Christ hasn’t called me to be popular. He hasn’t even called me to be successful. He’s simply called me to be FAITHFUL. And the same is true of God’s calling on YOUR life. On Judgment Day Jesus won’t say to us, “Well done, popular and successful servant.” If we are faithful to our calling, He will say, “Well done, good and FAITHFUL servant.”

 

In verses 4 and 5, Paul describes three different judgments that he was subjected to:

 

#1: The judgment of OTHERS. Paul makes it clear in verse 3 that it bothers him “very little” when he is judged by others. As one translation puts it, “I couldn’t care less if I’m judged by you or by any human court.” Paul wasn’t living for the praise of man. He was living for the praise of God. And he understood better than most that man’s evaluations of his life and ministry were flawed. So, when Paul was in the center of God’s will, and he KNEW he was in the center of God’s will, he ignored the judgments of others.

 

#2: The judgment of HIMSELF. Paul didn’t stop there. He even ignored his own judgment of himself for the same reason. He understood that his own evaluation of his life and ministry could be just as tainted and flawed as others’ evaluations. As a pastor I’ll admit that at times, I’m my own worst critic. But even I won’t get to chime in and criticize myself when I stand before God on Judgment Day. What a relief!

 

#3: The judgment of GOD. On Judgment Day, others’ opinions of your life and ministry will be irrelevant. Even your OWN opinions will be irrelevant. The only evaluation that will matter is the evaluation of Jesus. That’s why we must faithfully carry out our assigned duties as servants of Jesus. That way, when you’re criticized by others, you can stand with Paul and say with faith and joy: “It is the Lord who judges me.”

 

Like Paul, I have decided to leave the judging up to the Lord. He is my perfect Judge. And He’s your perfect Judge too.

 

Dane Davis is the pastor of Impact Christian Church, meeting Sundays at 8:45 a.m. at 17746 George Blvd in Victorville. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.

Are You Neglecting God’s Temple?

“God’s temple is sacred, and you together are that temple.” – 1 Corinthians 3:17b

In 1 Corinthians 3:16 Paul uses a powerful metaphor that speaks volumes about how vital Christian unity is: Together, we are God’s Temple.

 

Most of us are familiar with the passage that tells us our own individual bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). But did you know there are more Scriptures in the New Testament that speak about the Church being the temple of the Holy Spirit (see 1 Cor. 3:16, Eph. 2:21 and 2 Cor. 6:16) than there are about our individual bodies being the temple of the Holy Spirit? Most Christians overlook this clear teaching of Scripture … because, deep down, many Christians in America believe that while Jesus is necessary, the Church is expendable.

 

And for Christians who DO prioritize the Church, we avoid teachings about the Church being God’s temple because it’s uncomfortable. We don’t like to talk about the damage we’ve done to God’s temple through our infighting and complaining. Like the Christians in 1 Corinthians 3, we defile the Church – the temple of the Holy Spirit – when we sow seeds of disunity and division among Christians.

 

Fortunately, in verses 18-23, Paul tells us how to gain and maintain unity in our church … in four steps:

 

Step #1: We must have a proper view of ourselves (vs. 18-20). Many of the Corinthian Christians were intellectual snobs, still chasing after worldly wisdom and holding themselves above other Christians. So, how do we keep from being intellectual snobs? Paul answers, “View yourself as a “fool so that [you] may become wise” (v. 18). To “become a fool” means to check your ego at the door and be humble enough to learn.

 

Step #2: We must have a proper view of our leaders and teachers (vs. 21-22a). The Corinthian Christians were caught up in the cult of personality. They argued and boasted that their leader was the best, whether it was Paul, Peter or someone else. And Paul responds in verse 21, “No more boasting about men!” Paul urges Christians to stop placing their favorite leaders on pedestals and shining a spotlight on them. Only Jesus Christ deserves the spotlight.

 

Step #3: We must have a proper view of the world (v. 21-22). Paul tells us, “All things are yours, whether … the world or life or death or the present or the future.” Christians SHOULD enjoy life and the beauty of God’s creation. But Christians should also enjoy death (in God’s perfect timing), because when our physical bodies die, we remain spiritually alive – transported to be with Christ. That’s why Paul ends verse 22 by pointing out that the future is ours to enjoy. Because of Christ, we don’t just have the gift of the present – we also have the gift of the future.

 

Step #4: We must have a proper view of God (v. 23). It is in Christ that we find our proper view of everything. Only when we fix our eyes on Christ—the author and perfecter of our faith— can we truly eliminate division in the church and be the temple of the Holy Spirit that Jesus has called us to be.

 

Dane Davis is the pastor of Impact Christian Church, meeting Sundays at 8:45 a.m. at 17746 George Blvd in Victorville. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.

Are You Building With Straw?

“No one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.”
– 1 Corinthians 3:11

When they started building the famous Leaning Tower of Pisa in 1135, it was never intended to lean. But five years into construction, the building began to tilt. The architect and engineer tried to correct the lean by making the remaining stories shorter on the uphill side, but it just kept getting worse.

 

Over the next 600 years, engineers realized that the tower wasn’t just leaning. It was actually FALLING, at a rate of 1 to 2 millimeters per year. Finally, from 1990 to 2001, a team of experts worked together to save the tower. If something hadn’t been done, the tower most likely would have toppled over by now.

 

Do you know WHY the leaning tower leans? It has a weak foundation. The foundation is only 10 feet deep – far too shallow for such a tall building. To make matters worse, the tower was built on spongy marsh soil.

 

In 1 Corinthians 3, the Apostle Paul speaks of laying a foundation and constructing a building. But he’s not talking about building a chapel, a prayer room or a cathedral. He’s talking about building the Church – the body of believers who follow Jesus Christ. Together as a church, you and I – and Christians all over the world – are a building under construction. We are God’s building.

 

And Paul makes it very clear verses 10 and 11 that he laid a rock-solid foundation for the Church. Its foundation was and is Jesus Christ, and that foundation can NOT be changed. Even if someone WANTED to change the Church’s foundation, he/she couldn’t. The foundation of Christ crucified is firmly set in place.

 

However, there is still a way to sabotage Christ’s great building project. All you have to do is construct a shoddy building on top of the quality foundation. Therefore, Paul writes in verse 10, “Each one should be careful how he builds.” In verse 12, Paul gives three examples of quality building materials: gold, silver and costly stones; and three examples of substandard building materials: wood, hay and straw. Bottom line: There are wood churches filled with hay Christians, and there are gold churches filled with precious stones.

 

As we work together to serve God, we need to ask ourselves: Are we building something of quality that will last, or are we building something shoddy that will topple? Contrary to popular belief, a solid gold church isn’t necessarily one that is big and looks successful to the world. Many big, successful-looking churches are wood, hay and straw in God’s eyes. They are built on the solid foundation of Jesus Christ crucified, but because they don’t preach, teach and uncompromisingly live out the enduring word of the Lord, they are wood, hay and straw.

 

In God’s eyes, quality building is building that centers on the Word of God, especially the gospel. In Matthew 24:35, Jesus says: “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.”

 

Therefore, as you serve Christ, give Him your very best. And as you serve Him with your church family, give Him your very best. Build on the solid rock foundation of the Lord Jesus Christ and proclaim the enduring Word of God that is more precious than gold, silver and costly stones.

 

Dane Davis is the pastor of Impact Christian Church, meeting Sundays at 8:45 a.m. at 17746 George Blvd in Victorville. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.