Sometimes it is good to get back to basics, go back to the beginning and re-affirm what it is we believe, how we’re supposed to behave, go back to the things that truly matter. It looks like the church at Corinth have forgotten some very basic things when it comes to their walk.  

Maybe the man in sexual immorality has forgotten how to behave, maybe he wasn’t taught that it’s not okay to do what he is doing as a follower of Christ, another option is that they could be relaxing their views on certain topics to be more appealing to outsiders which is possibly the worst of all the options, this is another one of those times where it’s really hard to know because we don’t have the back-story of why Paul is writing this letter.

Paul has covered in chapter 4 that we need Fathers (and Mothers) in Christ to help us - to teach and guide us, and this man needs such a mentor to come alongside and admonish him, gently at first, and then in a more severe way.  Yes, we want people to come into the church, but we can’t falsely welcome them in by allowing them to continue doing things the Holy Spirit has clearly shown to be unacceptable because behaviour like this could then encourage others to act inappropriately for believers who think they are committing ‘lesser sins’ - saying  “well, at least I’m not as bad as THAT guy” - no, it’s all unacceptable and there needs to be firm, but gentle voices teaching and guiding these people.  

It could be that it puts people off church, and although we are called to be loving and welcoming, it cannot come at the expense of what we believe and how we have been called to behave because if we don’t live any differently to the world, what makes us different.  We are called to live in a different way to those around us, to be an example of how the world should be, that is all of our callings, that is all of our ministry and to help any of those around us in church who might be struggling.

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Action:

Read the book of Ephesians which is a good ‘grounding’ of what we believe.  It’s always good to go back to basics and remind ourselves what we believe and how to live.