Scripture to Read: 1 Corinthians 5:6
God wanted the believers in Corinth to understand the effect this sin would have, not only on the unrepentant man, but also on the church. God had Paul write this to the Christians in Corinth in 1 Corinthians 5:6: “Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough?” God had Paul point out to them that their boasting, as far as we can tell, was over how spiritual they thought their church was but that this boasting was not good, that it was offensive and unbecoming among believers. Then, God had Paul use the illustration of how a little bit of leaven was able to ferment an entire batch of dough. In the same way, just a little sin is able to corrupt a whole person, and a little sin is capable of corrupting an entire body of believers. God used Paul to point out the obvious, but it was not obvious to the believers in Corinth at the time this was written. If it had been obvious, the believers in Corinth would have dealt with the man living in sexual immorality according to Galatians 6:1–2, but they had not done that. God had Paul write something similar in Romans 6:16, “Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness?” We can become slaves of whatever we choose to obey. We must choose to obey our Lord.
Challenge & Application
How will sin within a believer’s life affect not only them but also the body of believers they are involved in?
What must we choose to do daily so that sin does not get a foothold in any area of our lives?
Don’t forget to pray using the A.C.T.S. (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication) method!