The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Corinthians — Section 186

subversive of family and social relations; and anything approaching to the toleration of it in the Christian Church would seriously imperil its character, and give at least ,pparent ground for the shameful accusations which its enemies brought against it. for the Levitical law upon the matter, see Lev. xviii. 8. In advising the Church ag to its mode of dealing with this erring brother, there is an unusual severity in the apostle's language ; and this is accounted for rather by the attitude which he understood tbe Church had taken towards the offender, than by his sense of the enormity of the offence. St. Paul's supreme jealousy was ever concerning the purity, good order, and moral worth of the Churches. He seems to ha.ve highly valued character-in the individual and in the Church-as being the best witness among men for Christ. He strondy affirmed the absolute necessity of the connection between morality and Christianity, and based his argument on this foundation-principle-our. whole being, spirit, mind, and body, is the Lord's ; and this whole being is redeemed in Christ, and is to be, in actual fact, wholly won and held for Christ. It may also be noted, in introducing the subject, that our idea a.s to the purity, unity, and model order of the early Church is quite a fanciful one. Probably there was no separate Church of those times that came anywhere near realizing the Christian idea.1., We consider, from these verseiJ, two things. L 'l'HE SIN OP A CHRISTIAN FROFESSOR. It may be shown: 1. Wnence it may come. (1) from relics of old evil; (2) from circumstances reviving old feeling; (3) from neglec~ of due self-watchfulness and culture; (4) from undue fulness of eating and drinking; (5) from the friendship of those who may lead astray; (6) from sudden influx of bodily passion ; and (7) from actual occasions of temptation. Though regenerate in will and life-principle, the Christian must never forget that he is not free from the relics of evil in his nature and habits, or from the influence of evil in his surroundings; and therefore he constantly needs the counsel, "Watch and be sober." It should be especially pointecl out that the most perilous temptations to which Christian professors are snbj~ct are those which come suddenly, reaching them at moments when some unguardedness or some self-confidence lays them open to assault. 2. How it may gain its support. Here only one point is dwelt on. The apostle is anxious about the perversion of Christian doctrine to the excusing of sin. In many ways what is known as the antinomian spirit has been made the excuse of sin. It cannot be too constantly affirmed that, so far from releasing its members from the claims and obligations of the moral Law, Christianity presses them with tenfold urgency, for it demands an obedience that shall not be merely formal, but one that concerns motive and feeling and will. Seo the teaching of our Lord in Matt. v. 17--48. II. THE RELATION OF FELLOW-PROFESSORS TO BUCH BIN. No doubt, at Corinth, each individual Christian would strongly and decidedly condemn this erring brother, but pa1ty spirit was so rife in the Church, that some took his side, and laboured to find excuses for him, or to secure the continuance of his membership. It is still found most difficult to carry out the due discipline of the Church, seeing that party feeling gathers round even the drunken, the dishonest, and the immoral. It is, indeed, important that all judicial action should be taken by the Church itself, and that. individuals should not have independent authority to exclude or to punish, but only right of speaking and of acting in the Church's name. St. Paul urges: 1. '!'hat every ~tfort should be made to cherish and to inculcate right sentiment concerning the sin. 2. That action should be taken which would clear the Church of any suspicion o[ complicity in or approval of the sin. It must be made quite plain that the sin is the sin of an individual, and is an outrage on the Church's principlts and purity. 3. And the action must be taken in such a way as may hopefully bear on the recovery of the sinner from his sin. This appears to be the idea of St. Paul in the figure of" delivering to Satan." The sinner was to be given over for a while to suffer the miserable conse- quences of his sin, but only in the hope that he would be humbled and brought to penitence and confession; and this seems to have been the result in the case of the Corinthian offender. In conclusion, press that (1) the moral purity of the Christian Church· should be tho supreme anxiety of every member of it; and (2) that the maintenance of such purity is quite cousistent with the fullest Christian charity, which, through all its dealings, keep! steadily in view the reformation of the offender.-R. '1'. 188 THE FIRST EPISTLE 'l'O 'l'lIE CORINTHIANS. [oa. v. 1-13.