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. -1 Corinthians 5:5

This is an extremely powerful section of scripture. To most it may seem very harsh and it might even be that many would just pass over it as if it had no relevance to our day. But the full authority of scripture tells us that this verse is still relevant and that there might be situations in our modern church that call for these kind of drastic measures.

What is Paul saying?

We have to get a bit of background to properly understand what it is that Paul means by handing this person over to Satan. Paul is writing his letter to the church at Corinth. If you were to read through the letter in one sitting you would discover that it is one that is largely filled with rebuke. Well this is one of those rebukes. There was a man that was in the church at Corinth who “had his father’s wife” (1 Corinthians 5:1). Most speculate that this wasn’t the man’s mother but rather his step-mother. Either way the situation is disgustingly sinful. What makes the situation even more grotesque is the fact that the Corinthian church is “arrogant” when they ought to be “mourning” over this grievous sin. Thus we have Paul’s command that this man must be removed from the church at Corinth.

Drastic measures

It stands to be true that sometimes drastic situations call for drastic measures. This instance in 1 Corinthians is one of those instances. I am certain that the decision Paul made was not a whimsical one. You can hear the anguish in his voice as he says that there ought to be mourning over this sin. I am sure that Paul spent hours in prayer asking God what was to be done.

Pastor’s have been entrusted with a job that can be extremely difficult at times. We have been given the responsibility to “shepherd the flock of God” (1 Peter 5:2). Sometimes this task is horribly hard and involves going so far as to removing someone from the church for a time. We must protect the sheep from the wolves.

Recent experience

This is an experience that I have recently had to go through along with one of the other pastor’s at LCF. We had a person attending church who was adamant about persisting in their sin. It seemed that their purpose for being at church was to distract and tear down other’s who were actually there to grow in Jesus. We talked with this person numerous times explaining to them their need for repentance and a change of heart. We gave them temporary detention twice, removing them from the group for a month. But the person would return and every time with no change of heart. Finally it came to the point where we decided this person couldn’t be at LCF anymore. Thus we told them that they were not welcome until something truly changed in their heart.

It has now been nearly a year since the removal of this person. And I am hear to tell you that God is faithful. This person is in a stage of absolute brokenness. This person’s life has essentially gone as far down as it possibly could and now this person is crying out for help and showing a need, and even a longing for God! This person wants a change and no longer wants to be a slave to sin.

The reward of rebuke

I know that many didn’t understand why it was that we “kicked” this person out of church. The common thought was “we’re a church and I thought we allowed sinners to come in”. This is true, we are in the business of being with sinful people and growing in sanctification together with them. But something drastic needed to happen. Over much, much prayer we came to the decision to rebuke and remove this person the way we did. The blessing is that we are now beginning to see fruit. We are seeing the effect of “handing someone over to Satan so that their flesh may be destroyed.” Though it was difficult salvation is the long-term result.

I tell you this story because I want you to see that what the Bible says is true and sometimes the most loving thing we can do is to rebuke someone in such a way that allows them to hit rock bottom. Because in the end it might result in their eternal salvation! So hold fast to the word of God and know that He is faithful. We are continuing to pray for this person and I invite you to join me so that we might continue to see a heart seeking for God.

May God continue to enrich your life with His glory.

Mike