Why I am no longer in the Church of Scotland (6)

Why I am no longer in the Church of Scotland (6)

In 1995 I produced a small booklet on biblical separation. This is the sixth extract from that booklet:

1 Corinthians 5:1,2,4,5

1 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. 2 And you are arrogant! Ought you not rather to mourn? Let him who has done this be removed from among you.

4 When you are assembled in the name of the Lord Jesus and my spirit is present, with the power of our Lord Jesus, 5 you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.

Here is a clear case of corrective discipline exercised against someone engaged in an immoral sexual practice, in the hope that they might repent. If, as some argue, “tares” are never to be removed from the church, then why did Paul call for this man to be put out of the fellowship?  If what happens in another congregation is none of our business, why is Paul intervening in the internal affairs of the congregation in Corinth? If the local church had decided that this sexual morality was acceptable in their fellowship, why did Paul not accept this diversity of practice, “allowing limited departure from the practice of the Church when a Kirk Session decides to depart in order to permit the membership of an individual in a civil partnership” with his father’s ex-wife? No, Paul not only asks the church to remove this individual from membership, but to deliver him to Satan in the hope of repentance leading to restoration.

1 Corinthians 5:9-13

9 I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— 10 not at all meaning the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. 11 But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one. 12 For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? 13 God judges those outside. “Purge the evil person from among you.”

Rather than advising the church to welcome into membership or office those who are sexually immoral, Paul instructs it not to associate with them in church fellowship.  These men may claim to be “brothers”, but if their conduct is contrary to biblical morality they are not to be accepted in fellowship, but expelled from the church until they repent. Would Paul not also have applied these strong words to those who condoned sexual immorality and justified unnatural practices? Is it not equally true that if they persisted in defending these practices they too were to be expelled and disfellowshipped. [Note – when first written in 1995 there were none openly and publicly engaged in homosexual practices, although I believe they were there but not “out”, keeping their conduct secret. In 1995 the principal public problem was that there were those who were promoting, defending and encouraging homosexual practices.  By failing to deal with the promotion of homosexuality the Church of Scotland ended up defending the practice of homosexuality.]

1 Corinthians 15:33, 34

33 Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.” 34 Wake up from your drunken stupor, as is right, and do not go on sinning. For some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame.

The “bad company” to which Paul refers is the company of those who denied apostolic teaching and gospel truths, in this particular case the bodily resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.  By associating with such teachers the church had lost it senses, it needed to “sober up” and recognise the harm to which such associations led. Such an association was sinful, (“stop sinning”), hence Paul’s command to stop doing what was wrong. The church should have been filled with shame at keeping such company.

Does not denominational fellowship with those who reject apostolic teaching and ethics amount to keeping “bad company”? If so, it is sinning! It is not  a mere compromise, or an acceptable flexible practice – IT IS SIN. It is not a legitimate option, if we are biblical Christians, to keep on sinning and we cannot justify such conduct on the grounds that there may, perhaps, be some future benefit from this temporary sinful conduct.

(To be continued.)