Home Group Material on
Getting it wrong over Sex
1.
Starter
2.
Bible
Reading
Sexual immorality seems to be the thing the press jumps on when it is
looking for a way to criticise the church. Discuss why this is. We seem to
be condemned if a church leader commits a sexual sin; yet we are also
condemned as intolerant for holding to God’s standards of morality.
Consider why sex is such a big issue.
1 Corinthians 5
1
It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a
kind that does not occur even among pagans: A man has his father's wife.
2
And you are proud! Shouldn't you rather have been filled with grief and
have put out of your fellowship the man who did this? 3Even though I am not
physically present, I am with you in spirit. And I have already passed
judgment on the one who did this, just as if I were present. 4When you are
assembled in the name of our Lord Jesus and I am with you in spirit, and the
power of our Lord Jesus is present, 5hand this man over to Satan, so that
the sinful nature may be destroyed and his spirit saved on the day of the
Lord. 6Your boasting is not good. Don't you know that a little yeast works
through the whole batch of dough? 7Get rid of the old yeast that you may be
a new batch without yeast—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover
lamb, has been sacrificed. 8Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the
old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with bread without yeast,
the bread of sincerity and truth.
9
I have written you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral
people— 10not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or
the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave
this world. 11But now I am writing you that you must not associate with
anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an
idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler. With such a man do not
even eat.
12
What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you
not to judge those inside? 13God will judge those outside. "Expel the wicked
man from among you."
3.
Background
Corinth was a city notorious for licentiousness. Indeed, “to live like a
Corinthian” was a description of a life of debauchery. It was also a place
where sex was glorified. The 1000 priestesses (or sacred prostitutes) from
the Temple of Aphrodite plied their trade in the streets. The temple of
Apollo encouraged male worshippers to practise homosexuality. Little
wonder then that sexual deviation had entered the church, and this is what
Paul addresses in chapter 5.
4.
Study
Questions
a.
The major problem addressed is expressed as “A man has his father’s
wife”. Commentators say this means that the man was having a sexual
relationship with his stepmother while his father was still alive. [We
may be shocked by this, yet similar things happen in the church today.]
Why do you think the church had not dealt with this matter? It is this
lack of disciplinary action which concerns Paul more than the sin itself.
Why is this?
b.
The judgment Paul pronounces (v5) seems very harsh, yet it is to
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preserve the man’s spirit for eternity. What do you think this means?
Are we more concerned with how things are now than with how they
will affect us in eternity? If so, why do you think this is? Why was Paul
so concerned with eternal salvation?
5.
Reflection
6.
Prayer
c.
Paul’s criticism is directed at the whole church and not just at the
leaders. What responsibility do we have to keep the church pure and
how much can we expect our leaders to do that for us? Is there a
danger that our desire to show Christian love causes us to ignore the
need for Christian discipline? How do we get the balance right?
d.
Paul is very concerned about the effect this sin of immorality may have
on the church as a whole. He makes reference to the Jewish
preparations for Passover when no yeast was used and, for seven days
before the sacrifice, all leaven was cleared out of the house. Paul’s
point is that our Passover sacrifice has already been offered (when
Jesus died as the Lamb of God) and therefore there should be no
“leaven”, i.e. no deliberate sin, in the church. Why do you think Paul is
so concerned about this? Are we equally concerned about not
hindering the fellowship and witness of the church?
e.
How important is it that Christians are seen to live by God’s moral
standards even though these are at odds with society’s views? What
happens when someone in a relationship which offends God’s
standards but not society’s becomes a Christian? When does the
church bring the matter to their attention –
straightaway/never/sometime in between? What are the dangers in
each of these positions?
f.
Paul makes a sharp distinction between the conduct expected of a
Christian and that of the rest of society (v11). Why is this? Do we
make the same distinction? Why do you think Christians are often
seen as judgmental? Jesus wasn’t seen in this way (rather the
opposite as far as the Pharisees were concerned), so how do we get it
so wrong?
g.
Paul lists greed, idolatry, slander, drunkenness and swindling together
with sexual immorality as equally dreadful sins. Does this surprise
you? Consider how prevalent they are in the church in the West today,
even if in very subtle forms. Would you consider some of these as
“less serious” sins than sexual immorality – or “more serious”? How do
you think God regards sins? Does he have a “rating” system?
h.
Since we are told not to disassociate ourselves from sinful nonChristians, should our friendships be more inclusive than they are?
How do we balance the need for healthy Christian fellowship with the
need to be salt and light in the world? Do church activities sometimes
squeeze out our opportunities for “friendship evangelism”? If so, what
should we do about this?
i.
Verse 12 sums up Paul’s argument: we should not be judgmental
towards non-Christians but we must exert discipline on church
members who continue in deliberate sin. Are you comfortable with this
idea, or are you tempted to be non-judgmental as the Corinthians
were? Will our attitude to this influence the effectiveness of the
church?
In the light of Paul’s teaching, perhaps we each need to examine our life to
ensure we are not guilty of the sins he lists which should exclude us from
church fellowship.

Thank God for the fellowship we enjoy at All Saints.
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
Ask God to keep us from all sins which spoil that fellowship.

Pray for wisdom to get the balance right between Christian and nonChristian friendships.
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