1 Corinthians 5:1-13 It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles… I. THE DEPLORABLE. Self-inflation, viz., when the Church prides itself on the gifts, wealth, &c., of its members, and when the members boast of the prestige and power of their Church. This is deplorable — 1. In itself. (1) It is opposed to common sense. What has a Church which it has not received? The richer its gifts the greater its indebtedness. (2) it is a flagrant transgression of the law of Christ. "He that would be chief among you let him be your servant."(3) It is opposed to the example of Christ who "humbled Himself." 2. In its consequences. (1) A man who carries his head too high is apt to overlook matters that may bring both his head and himself to the ground. So with an inflated Church. The Corinthians, through obliviousness of the immorality practised by some, it may be, of its gifted members, have been a bye-word for nineteen centuries. (2) A man inflated by his self-conceit of health, strength, &c., may easily overlook humble facts and conditions which may easily prove fatal to the strongest and healthiest. So a Church conscious of its antiquity and connection may ignore certain little sources of weakness which in their after flow cover it with infamy. A little leaven leavened the whole lump. What is the reputation of the Church of Corinth to-day? II. THE COMMENDABLE is set before us rather by implication. 1. Humility. "He that humbleth himself shall be exalted." The Church must stoop to conquer. Absolute subordination to and reliance on its Divine Head is the secret of its triumph. 2. Repentance for shortcomings. The manifest duty and interest of the Church is to face the facts. A fool's paradise is a desirable abode neither for the individual nor the Church. Having faced the unwelcome facts it is the duty and interest of the Church to lament and confess them. 3. Reformation. "That he that hath done this deed," &c. Without this repentance and humility will be vain. When abuses exist the Church must not think its duty is done when the members recognise and deplore existing evils. Those evils, whether they consist of customs or persons, must be rigorously expelled. (J. W. Burn.) Parallel Verses KJV: 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. |
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