Twin City church of Christ Blog
“March 25, 2024 - A Time to Mourn”
Categories: 2024 Reading DevotionalsA Time to Mourn
Reading: 1 Corinthians 5:1-2
Paul has heard some bad news about the Corinthian church. “It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans, for a man has his father’s wife”(1 Cor 5:1). The term “actually” conveys Paul’s shock. Can it be that the broader Gentile world condemns an immoral practice that Jesus’ disciples accept? A man “has his father’s wife,” indicating an ongoing sexual relationship with either his mother or stepmother. The Corinthians have a severe misunderstanding of God’s will on “sexual immorality,” as the coming chapters will illustrate (5:9-11, 6:12-20, 7:1-5). Everyone recognizes this is evil, yet they are tolerating it.
Paul seems more scandalized by the Corinthians’ attitude than by the sin itself: “And you are arrogant! Ought you not rather to mourn? Let him who has done this be removed from among you”(1 Cor 5:2). Just as they are puffed up about their teachers (4:6) and arrogantly asserting Paul is scared to visit them (4:18-19), so they are also arrogant about this man and his sin. It might be that the Corinthians are arguing that they are free to indulge such sexual immorality (see 6:12). They also seem to have felt that sex is just something the body does without affecting the soul (see 6:13). Whatever the precise reasoning, their reaction is tragically backward. Rather than arrogance, this man’s sin should produce mourning and a desire to remove him from their midst.
“Ought you not rather to mourn?” There is a time to mourn. While Christians are a joyful people, the discovery of sinful relationships among us does not bring joy. We know what sin does to our hearts, our relationships, and especially to our God. We know what it cost to take away even one sin. We know God’s will that sin not reign in his people. We still love our brother and want him to change, but we cannot act as though his sin is unimportant. Sin makes us sad.
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One Thing to Think About: Do I ever overlook sin in my brothers, in my family, or in myself?
One Thing to Pray For: The appropriate reaction to sin—and to those in sin
