“Sin in the Camp” sermon. Sunday, 5/17/2026.

Church Discipline

Tolerance in Today's World

Fellowship in the Church

Pastor Greg Wiest

Scripture Series: I CORINTHIAN SERIES

Scripture Title: Sin in the Camp

Scripture Reading: 1 Corinthians‬ ‭5‬:‭1‬-‭13‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that even pagans do not tolerate: A man is sleeping with his father’s wife. And you are proud! Shouldn’t you rather have gone into mourning and have put out of your fellowship the man who has been doing this? For my part, even though I am not physically present, I am with you in spirit. As one who is present with you in this way, I have already passed judgment in the name of our Lord Jesus on the one who has been doing this. So when you are assembled and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present, hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord. Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough? Get rid of the old yeast, so that you may be a new unleavened batch—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old bread leavened with malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. But now I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. Do not even eat with such people. What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked person from among you.””

Sermon Summary:

Today’s sermon is about church discipline. In the church, the goal of discipline is correcting ungodly behavior so that the church member can become spiritually healthy and have a better relationship with Christ and their fellow believers. Church discipline is only exercised with sin that is publicly known and deeply immoral, and where the person committing it is ongoing and unrepentant. The church exercises discipline so that the church can be healthy and accomplish its mission of bringing people to faith in Christ and helping them to be better disciples of Jesus. Disobedience on the part of Christians in the church distracts from and sometimes impedes the mission. Ultimately, the goal of church discipline isn’t to punish, but to bring people back to Christ and to restore fellowship with the church.

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