Thank you very much.
1 Corinthians chapter 5, the Bible reads in verse 1,
it is reported commonly that there is fornication among you and such
fornication is not so much as named among the Gentiles that one should have
his father's wife and you're puffed up and rather have not mourned but he that
had done this deed might be taken from away from among you.
For I verily absent in the body but present in the spirit have judged
already as though I were present concerning him that hath so done this
deed. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ when you are gathered together in
my spirit and the power of our Lord Jesus Christ to deliver such in one unto
Satan for the destruction of the flesh that the spirit may be saved in the day
of the Lord Jesus. Your glorying is not good know ye not that a little leaven
leaveneth the whole lump purge out therefore the old leaven that you may be
a new lump for as ye are unleavened for even Christ our Passover is sacrificed
for us. Therefore let us keep the feast not with old leaven neither with the
leaven of malice and wickedness but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and
truth. I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators yet not
altogether with the fornicators of this world or the covetous or extortioners or
with idolaters for then must he needs go out of the world but I have written unto
you not to keep company if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator or
covetous or an idolater or a railer or a drunkard or an extortioner with such in
one one know not to eat what have I to do it to do to judge them that are also
that are without do not he judge them that are within but them that are
without God judgeth therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person
and what I want to preach tonight is go through this of course a very famous
passage and I want to start a series on several of these sins here that are
listed that would actually get you kicked out of church and I think we're
gonna focus obviously first this morning on the first sin that's mentioned which
is fornication and you know this doctrine of people being kicked out of
church or as the Bible puts it to be put out from among the congregation is a
very important doctrine you know it's not something that we're totally
unfamiliar with here at faithful word this is something that we practice it's
something that has gone on from the very inception of this church but something
that we always need to keep in front of us because of the fact that we're living
in a day when many other churches are downplaying this and many other you know
Christians they don't believe this doctrine or they simply just don't
understand it and you'll even have people when you preach this kind of when
you preach this doctrine or put this teaching out there that will come back
at you and say well this this is unloving you know kicking people out of
church you know that's so unChrist like they'll say you know would Jesus do
such a thing you know but the Bible is very clear here they mean these are the
writings of the Apostle Paul and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit that
there are certain sins that God would say that if a person is found guilty of
them they're here to be put out of the local church until they repent and cut
and get right and then they should be allowed back in but these people you
know this is they'll claim you know this is so unlike Christ like this is so
unloving how could you teach such a doctrine but and that's the reason why
we need to kind of review these things and keep these things in front of us
especially in a time that we're going through right now such as we are where
you know for the sake of the safety and health of people in our congregation
we've gone to a live stream only we've limited severely limited the number of
people that can come to the actual preaching service you know when people
get in a situation like that when they start you know they're they're not in
physically in church and they're not there they might have a tendency to
backslide they might have a tendency well maybe you know the authority of the
church somehow has been nullified during this time look if even in a time during
like during such as we're in right now going through this this crisis you know
these rules still apply you know God hasn't suspended his judgment God hasn't
suspended chastisement God hasn't put the authority of the local church on
hold this is not a time for us to get lax this is not a time for us to get
loose and our Christian living if anything it's a time to tighten it up
it's time to walk even straighter than when we before to walk even in a more in
holiness of life not that we weren't before but the danger is is that during
a time like this people could begin to develop a very lax attitude towards the
things of God so I think that's why it's important we should maybe take some time
to remind ourselves of these things the authority of the local church and you
know some specific sins that God you know calls out and says look these are
worthy of being put out from the local church and people will say things you
know and if you would keep something in 1st Corinthians for the more this
afternoon but we're gonna be coming back there several times but go over to John
chapter 2 because that is the objection that we hear it's like oh that's so on
Christ's like would Jesus do that well actually yeah Jesus did kick people out
of church Jesus did run people out of the temple on more than one occasion you
know if you'd read your Bible you probably would understand you would know
that without even having to point it out but if you look there in John 2 you know
you're just you know the second chapter into the book of John you know the
gospel you see Jesus you know doing this very thing and it says in verse 13 the
Jews Passover was at hand and Jesus went up to Jerusalem and found in the
temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves and the changers of money
sinning and we had made a scourge of small cords he drove them all out of the
temple and the sheep and the opposite and poured out the changers money and
overthrew the tables and said unto them that sold doves take these things hence
make not my father's house and house of merchandise and the disciples remembered
that it was written the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up then answered the
Jews and said unto him what signs show us unto us seeing thou doest these
things so it's interesting right there that the people that would criticize you
know enforcing a passage like first Corinthians 5 of teaching a doctrine of
Church discipline the irony of them coming back and saying oh well Jesus
wouldn't do that is that Jesus did do that you know and we're not instructed
to the New Testament to sit down and and make a you know basically you know
make a scourge make a small core you know make a whip is basically what he's
doing here you know and we we read over these words but think about what's being
that how the story plays out Jesus goes there he sees what's going on and he
doesn't just blow up in a rage you know he doesn't just lose his cool he's not
just you know lost a temper this isn't him just being hot-headed this is a very
deliberate thing that Jesus did this required you know intention and
forethought this is something that he took his time doing because of the fact
we know that he it says in verse 15 when he had made a scourge of small cords he
didn't have one on hand when he went there he went oh I see what's going on
here let me step back from the situation let me make this whip I don't know how
long it would take to make a scourge of small cords but I can't imagine it's
something you know as matter of just pulling your shoelace off and there you
go you probably have to sit down and do some braiding you have to get the
materials so Jesus this entire time is thinking about what he's going to do why
he's going to do it and then when it come time comes proceeds to go ahead and
do it so we see that you know Jesus he didn't fact practice this you say well
that's not the local church well of course not but it's a perfect example
that there are certain things that God would run people out of his house over
you know we're not instructed to do that you know you won't see any any anybody
you know any pastor hopefully I that I know of you making a literal scourge of
cords you know and chasing some fornicator out of the church but all the
same you know we have that authority the pastors the local church has that
authority to execute and to carry out first Corinthians chapter 5 and in fact
a church that fails to do this they're really the ones that are unloving and
we'll see here why in a minute but I also want to point out there in John
chapter 2 is notice who it is that's criticizing Jesus for doing this you
know wasn't his disciples his disciples step back oh yeah then they
remembered the scripture the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up they're
saying wow he's zealous for the things of God you know they're being confirmed
by this they're being reminded of God's holiness and righteousness and when we
see Church discipline take place you know that should be something we should
reflect in the same way we see first Corinthians 5 carried out for any one of
these sins that it lists on somebody that we know a fellow church member you
know it should cause us to fear also cause us to step back and remember oh
yeah you know our pastor has zeal according to knowledge and should cause
us to walk in a right in a right way but notice who the critics are it's the
unbelievers right it was the Jews it was the Pharisees who are stepping back and
saying hey who are you to do that you know that's that so who is who's what
side of this story are you falling of which side are you coming down on in
this story when you're going to start criticizing a pastor or attacking a man
of God for carrying out clear instructions such as are found in first
Corinthians 5 you're not coming down on the side of Jesus Christ you're not
coming down on the side of the disciples in the story you're coming down on the
side of the unbelieving Jews those that would later attack and crucify the Lord
now that's you know that's the reason why we need to preach this you know for
several reasons one because a lot of Christians they don't believe it they'll
even go on the offensive and attack this doctrine so maybe be simply because they
don't understand it and they'll make outlandish claims saying that it's on
Christ like another reason we need to preach on these subjects and this is all
introduction leading into it is that a lot of Christians understand this they
believe it but they still don't take heed to it and that's kind of a danger I
feel like we might be going into with this you know this temporary hold on
church services is that Christians they could maybe not take heed to the
warnings in the Word of God and find themselves on the receiving end of this
punishment if they're not careful you know they hear it preached they they
hear it read they read it themselves and yet Christians who still understand that
this is the way it is even you know in this church you know many there's been
Christians even believers in this church that have seen other people suffer this
church discipline but then they still insist on doing it themselves and also
are you know are chastised in this way as well so we need to be reminded of
these things so that why so that we take heed to this so we don't allow these
Luke Luke warm and watered down churches and preachers you know cause us
to get a lax attitude towards church discipline and sin in our lives and and
and then or even just not taking heed to what's being taught because here's the
thing it's important because of the fact that you know when you commit the
specifically this sin that we're going to talk about today a fornication it has
great consequences it's you know that's why this is something that we need to
preach because of the fact that fornication has severe consequences I
mean think about being being kicked out of the local church you know that should
strike fear into the heart of every believer that should cause us to want to
walk up rightly and to live right and to not suffer that you know if we're have
this flipping attitude will like of church if I could take it or leave it
you know you're probably less likely to to mind your P's and Q's or to keep
yourself from sin now I understand nobody's perfect and then you know the
the sins that are listed here are very specific you know we all have sin we all
mess up but we're not all fornicators you know we're not all extortioners and
drunkards and idolaters and covetous and so on and so forth but we should always
understand that if we do suffer these consequences that you know these are
grave consequences these are not things to be taken lightly you know that being
kicked out of church that would be one of my worst fears you know I mean to
find myself outside of faithful word Baptist Church or any other church that
has sound biblical preaching in it because quite frankly they're getting
fewer and far between and harder to come by you know and not to mention the fact
that you know that would be the that I you know what's over is bound on earth
is bound in heaven you know if I'm being punished by the local church you know
God's probably not too happy with me either so these things are serious this
is why we need to review these things we've probably all heard sermons on
fornication and other these other topics but we have to keep these things in
front of us we have to be reminded of them because of the grave consequences
that come I mean look there if you're still in 1st Corinthians chapter 5 he
says in verse 5 to deliver what such in one unto Satan you know it's not just
you know you deliver you unto you're you're not welcome at the potluck you
know sorry no Sunday you know no birthday donuts for you that's not the
punishment oh so you know that is a form of punishment oh you don't get to
have any fellowship it's not just that you're not included in everything that's
going on a local church you have been delivered unto Satan for the destruction
of the flesh that's that's frightening where God's just gonna say oh my child's
misbehaving he's being kicked out of local church and just kind of drawback
his hand of protection say well have Adam teach him a lesson you know this
reminds me of you know this is kind of a side note here but especially with
everything that's kind of going on with the the corona virus and everyone kind
of being afraid of things and apprehensive and having all this
anxiousness about what's going to happen or isn't going to happen and so on and
so forth is we know ultimately behind all this is it's Satan that's behind it
you know but I've all I've heard this illustration and I think it kind of ties
in here what we're talking about is that you know Satan is you know he what
Roman Roman about as a as a as a lion seeking who may be made of our you know
he is a fearsome foe you know none of none of us can can stand up to him on
our own you know he will have his way with us you know he says that those that
are there that are blinded by him that he is taking they are taken captive by
him at his will he's like a cat who just plays with the mouse before he kills it
I mean he has great control over them you know Satan he is he's like a like a
dog you know that's just just a rabid ravenous dog that just wants to you know
you ever see a dog that's just pulling at the leash just barking frothing you
think of these pit bulls or these these other war breeds that are just you don't
want to get out there and to attack a stranger attack somebody walking by you
know you could just see it these dogs are just hell-bent on on maiming and
mauling and destroying that's kind of like the devil you know he's pulling at
that leash and I feel like so often especially what's going on right now so
many Christians are looking at that dog and they see the fangs and they see the
drool and they see the fur up and they see the pawing at the ground and him
wanting to get loose and so afraid of that dog but what they should be looking
at is that who's at the other end of that leash and who's at the other end of
that leash is God God's the one that's holding the devil back so what you know
rather than sitting there and fearing this this mutt ultimately which is the
devil you should be fearing the one who has the control over that one you know
we should be more afraid of being put out of the local church not because
we're gonna miss out on what's going on because God's gonna let a little slack
out on that leash and let that dog get a little closer and you know let Satan get
a little closer and he just might take a bite at you if that's the case so that's
really why we need to preach about these things because if we find ourselves
in the receiving end of church discipline we have to understand the
consequences are grave they are not to be taken lightly and God doesn't you
know he of course the first Corinthians 5 and I believe there's other instances
what we'll talk about later where church discipline comes into play that's
outside of these specific sins I don't want to get ahead of myself there but
first Corinthians chapter 5 is limiting itself here to some very specific sins
right and that should show us that you know God doesn't just God isn't just
picking sins out of at random God's not just sitting here oh man I got he got
the first Corinthians 5 and like what are some things we should punish people
for oh I don't know I mean he names these sins for very specific reasons and
I believe he starts out with fornication because it has severe consequences to
those that practice it so that's what I want to talk about this morning this is
kind of all introduction but we'll move your through it this over a little
quicker but you know I want to talk about specifically the one of the sins
that's going to get you kicked out which is fornication and I've entitled the
sermon this morning get right or get out fornication okay so there's several sins
here that you either need to get right get out of your life or get out of
church that's that is a biblical doctrine and the first one on God's list
here is fornication now why is that is that because God just couldn't come up
with anything else is that just because God felt like that was a good one to
pick on or is it because fornication in and of itself has severe consequences
that come with it you know despite what Hollywood and the mainstream media and
and everyone's putting out there you know with all their movies and things
of people going to the bedroom together outside of marriage and then just being
happy and in love you know fornication has some very serious consequences that
come with it and I know the world through their ungodly methods have ways
to try to nullify some of these consequences but ultimately at the end
of the day you play that game long enough you are going to suffer negative
consequences one way or another be it physically or spiritually you're going
to suffer if you look there in 1st Corinthians go to chapter 6 1st
Corinthians chapter 6 excuse me 1st Corinthians chapter 6 verse 18 the Bible
says flee fornication flee it he didn't say you know see how close you can to it
and not actually go and go there he didn't say you know flirt with it he
said flee it you'll be like Joseph you know when when Potiphar's wife tried to
seduce him you know he didn't just you know oh no no I mean he he got out of
there he'd left his coat behind he's trying to get out of there so bad and
said keep the garment I'm out of here you know and he ran out of the room that
should be the attitude that we have towards this sin you know if we're a
single person in the room tonight and we ever find ourselves in a position where
you know we're being propositioned or the temptation to commit the sin is
there you need to flee that you need to run screaming in the other direction
because if you hang around long enough that kind of thing begins to wear you
down it'll begin to wear you down people don't just wake up one day and
fall into this sin I don't believe that I believe people have been thinking
about it maybe looking at things they shouldn't have looked at maybe thinking
about things they shouldn't be thinking about and they have allowed themselves
to be slowly just kind of lulled into this sin and then once the opportunity
comes BAM they fall for it they don't flee you know we should flee every
appearance of fornication we should flee things that are going to teach us to be
fornicators or show us fornication and especially the very act of fornication
itself is something that should be run from by every one of us they go why
because it says there goes on in verse 18 every sin that a man do with is
without the body but he that committed fornication sin it against his own body
he sent it against his own body what is he saying there you're gonna bring harm
upon yourself even physically you're doing you're not doing yourself it might
you say well it's gonna feel good or you know we can you know we have certain
measures that we can take now to minimize that the the negative effects
that come upon us physically but either the Bible's true it's not you know
you're going to suffer physically from doing this the Bible says in 1st
Corinthians chapter 10 you know maybe in verse 8 it says neither let us commit
fornication a son of them committed talking about Old Testament Israel in
their wanderings and fell in one day three and twenty thousand now do you
think they fell because they all contracted some deadly STD no it's
because God went and slew them because God went through the camp and killed
them you know so you might be able to you know through all these ungodly
means and things like that to try to minimize these effects with all the
devices that man has come up with but that's not gonna stop God from reaching
down and doing something show me what what man-made invention is going to
prevent God's chastisement it doesn't exist so we if we mess around with this
sin of fornication look friend it's only a matter of time before we bring harm
upon our own body not to mention the fact that the fornication itself has its
own built-in punishments I mean God sometimes with a lot of sins just has to
sit back and let let it take its course just let sin run its course and it's got
its own built-in punishment and I believe fornication is a great example
of that you know I don't want to go on and on with all the studies that you
know and all the statistics that are out there but you know STDs are on the rise
and they have been they've been surging for five straight years five years in a
row as of 2018 which is some of the most recent data that's available and the
CDC and it stated that that STDs such as chlamydia gonorrhea and syphilis which
are not things you want which are not things that are easily gotten rid of
some of these things are permanent you can't get rid of them and have a
terrible effects now I've talked about them in other sermons you know people
can literally go insane for some of these diseases if it gets into the
nervous system and it affects and get you get an infection in the wrong place
I mean it could cost you dearly but these things there's over 2.4 million
cases of this in 2018 in America there's 2.4 million cases and the number it
rises every year for the last five years it's going up you know you might
and here's the thing you know nobody's nobody's that has this is putting a bell
on themselves and you know covering their mouth and walking up and down the
street and saying unclean and clean you know you wander into one of these
nightclubs or bars or whatever and meet some you know loose woman or some
whoremonging man you know you just you might just wind up with one of these you
know they have already got it they don't really they might not even know
they have it they might not even care they might be even so callous to think
well you know I've already got it what does it matter so you know there's 2.4
million people wandering around and more and this is just three of the potential
diseases you could catch say they say nothing of HIV and herpes and all these
other things that are out there do you do you really want to roll the dice with
your body that way do you really want to see if maybe you know if you can
go out there you might you know roll those dice it might come up snake eyes
you know and you're gonna end up you know permanently damaged for the rest of
your life so why are you preaching on this morning because there's grave
consequences for this sin God didn't just put it in there willy-nilly you
know there's there's spiritual consequences there's God's chastisement
there's the chastisement of the local church and not to the fact and not to
mention the fact that if you get involved in the sin you could bring it
upon your own body and harm yourself with any one of these diseases think
about the fact that you know diseases like congenital syphilis is on the rise
meaning newborns children are being born with this disease they're not even the
ones that made this mistake they're not even the ones that went out and committed
the sin and yet they're built ones being born with some you know STD at birth
this is on the rise in our country now this is why these type of sermons need
to be preached this is why people need to give heed to this type of preaching
because of the fact that we see these things on the rise we should have no
part with this what are some of the other severe consequences that come with
fornication we've talked about STDs what about how about this one maybe you
won't contract an STD but what if you end up having an unwanted pregnancy does
that happen sure I could tell you people I know in my past that happened to and
they went on to live very miserable lives and that's that child was not a
source of joy that child was not a delight to them it was a burden it was
it was a source of heartache and pain because people people get in that
situation and they stop you know a lot of times they get together they have
their fun she ends up pregnant right and then she runs off to go you know take
care of this kid on her own and leaves dad in the dust or he says oh I don't
want anything to do with this kid that was you know I didn't mean to have him
too bad honey you're out on your own you know these aren't you know people
that typically get involved in this in they're doing it for selfish reasons
they just want to gratify their own flesh they just want to you know to you
know gratify that lust that they have in their hearts they're not interested in
taking care of that person or raising a child or starting a family they're not
interested in that so when that happens when that unwanted pregnancy comes along
they just assume that you go ahead and go live your life on your own and raise
that child on your own or you can't have any part in this child's life that's the
thing that happens and what it leads to is people who just look at their
children I can just think of scores of people that I've worked with or known
over the years that just view their children as nothing more than a
financial burden they just say well you know I got to pay child support for the
rest of my life for this kid and you know what often they don't even get to
see him they don't get to play a significant role in their life but
they've got to pay for it and then I don't ever want my children to be that
now our children are financial burden of course but when you've intended to have
those children when those children are bringing joy and delight believe me
friend it's worth the investment and that's a that's a burden I'm more than
willing to bear it because of all the return that you get from it it's worth
it what about the fact that these unwanted pregnancies often lead to
abortion often lead to just innocent blood being shed in this land to the
tune of 3,000 babies a day when you average it out you know that's innocent
blood that God is going to hold us accountable for even if it all stopped
today you know it's too late we that all that there's just a pool of blood that
still has that still cries out from the ground and God hears so we see that you
know I mean can you imagine that can you imagine being you know a young man who
just goes out and commits this sin with some some loose girl some floozy she
gets pregnant and you find out about it and she said well you know what I'm
gonna go have an abortion you can't do anything about it your own your own
child is just gonna be butchered in the womb so these are the severe
consequences that come with fornication can we begin to understand now why God
says kick the fornicator out he's not welcome you better go get it right that
he God when he says that the the fornicator is gonna be delivered unto
Satan for the destruction of the flesh God doesn't want these type of things
taking place not to mention the fact that if you maybe you maybe you'll skate
by maybe you won't catch some disease maybe you know you won't have someone
wanted pregnancy but do you really want to be lumped in as a fornicator with all
these on wicked other wicked people do you really want to be known as the guy
who's a fornicator I mean let's go over to go over to Rome Romans chapter 1
right everyone gets excited when you when you say Romans 1 right Romans
chapter 1 I mean what's what you know fornicator is a wicked person Bible
makes it very clear it's a very wicked sin and it's practiced by wicked people
look at Romans chapter 1 verse 28 it says and even as they did not like to
retain God and their knowledge God gave them over to reprobate mind so who are
we talking about here we're talking about reprobates people who God has
given over to do the most vile filthy disgusting imaginable acts that are out
there and and and and and God goes on here and says they're doing those things
that you're not convenient and what are these type of people filled with they're
filled with all in righteousness and what else fornication is that the type
of people you want to get lumped in I'm not saying if you're committing
fornication you're a reprobate you know that a fornication is at least a sin
that is common to man these people however have been given over to a
complete rapper reprobate mind do those things which are not convenient meaning
they do they do those things which you know sins which are not common to man
because of the fact that God has turned them over to give them heart of a beast
but do you want to be lumped in with that be guilty of some of the same sins
that people that are this vile and disgusting have been given over to
fornication I mean it's right there it's the second thing you list
unrighteousness and fornication go ahead and turn back to a first Corinthians
chapter 5 if you kept something there I'll remind actually what go to Jude
chapter 1 let's go there and look at it
you know maybe you won't catch the disease you know maybe maybe the odds
will be in your favor maybe maybe you know you won't have the unwanted
pregnancy but what about just being lumped in together with these people
when you're cut when you're found out when you're cast out of local church
when your reputation is ruined when you're known as a fornicator you want
it that I mean you're being lumped in with a very wicked people look here in
Jude chapter 1 even as Sodom and Gomorrah now we all know what they look
what Sodom was guilty of and in the wickedness that they practice and the
cities about them in like manner gaming giving themselves over to fornication
see we always like to focus in on that you know the act of sodomy that they're
involved with men with men we're doing now which is unseemly right but it says
also that they were given over to fornication because it says fornication
and going after strange flesh but they what they go both ways folks it's not
that I mean it's anything that moves with these people okay I mean is that
who you want to be lumped in with the sodomites who are given over to the same
just you know lustful desires now again I'm not saying that that's gonna make
you you know a reprobate but I'm saying you're practicing some of the same sins
that these wicked ungodly people are with are you know maybe that that person
you you know hook up with at the club you know you don't know who they've been
with how many different partners how many other people they hooked up that
week that month that year you don't know how many that is maybe they hooked up
with one of these people maybe they got together with some filthy disgusting
sodomite and now you're hooking up with them we don't want anything to do with
this this is a that's why God calls this a very unclean thing and churches need
to preach this today and you know we need to preach this here not because
it's not being preached but because even when it is preached people grow
dull of hearing and in a time like this when when when things are seen you know
are uncharacteristic when we're staying home for the sake and safety of others
you know people can get a very lax attitude and then and what people can do
is start to slip into these things and I want to warn us tonight or this
afternoon rather that you know fornication is something to be taken
very seriously and we should flee from it we don't want to get lumped together
we don't want to suffer these severe consequences churches need to preach this
look at 1st Corinthians chapter 5 because a lot of times it's not just
that churches aren't preaching this I'm telling you there's churches out there
that are perfectly fine with you being a fornicator they're saying come on in
come as you are and leave as you were and then they have they don't want you
to change a thing though though you can be a fornicating couple and have a Bible
study in your home and be an example to others how you live together outside of
and are sleeping together outside of marriage and they're perfectly fine with
that there's churches that are fine with that you don't have to look very far
look at 1st Corinthians chapter 5 verse 6 he says your glory is not good I mean
that's what was going on in 1st Corinthians that's why he had to write
that excuse me at the church of Corinth and the Corinthian people he had to
write this because of the fact that they weren't doing anything about it yeah
that's why he's sitting here admonishing I'm saying get you know put them put
them out from you put away that wicked person I mean if they were taking care
of business Paul wouldn't have to be that's the same situation we find
ourselves in today a lot of churches that are just glorying in it they're
they're they're just compliant they're just fine with the fornicators in their
church they couldn't even they you know kick somebody out out of church for
fornicating gasp how could you do such a thing well because the Bible teaches us
and people need to hear this preaching people need to be reminded of this and
they need to be made accountable to God and let me say this if you hear this
type of preaching if you're in a church like this where this is being preached
where this is being practiced where you know better you are all the more
accountable to God not less you know the servant that knew his Lord's will
and did it not shall be beaten with many stripes as opposed to servant who not
knew not as Lord's will and did not who shall be beaten with few stripes they're
both beaten friend but the person who knows more unto whom so much is given of
him shall also much be required if we understand these things and know these
things we should be even more afraid to cross God and to break these
commandments and too many day too many churches today they neglect to preach
this they neglect to practice this this doctrine of church discipline and they
say things like well you know we're not under the law we're under grace they say
you know go over to 1st Corinthians chapter 9 since they're right there 1st
Corinthians chapter 9 they'll say hey man you know that's all Old Testament
you know God's not like that anymore and I've heard it I've heard it you know
I've heard people preach this and talk about this and express this Christians
say you know hey there God's perfectly fine with what we're doing and when it
went with God's okay with us fornicating because you know what it's as if we've
never sinned you know the blood of Jesus covers it all yeah that's true you know
what you know God has forgiven us all our iniquities you know he and if we're
saved we believe on Christ we understand that God's not gonna send us to hell for
those sins but go read Hebrews 12 and come back to tell me that God doesn't
chase his children go read Hebrews 12 that where God says he chases every son
who receiveth and if you be without chastisement then you're bastards and
not sons you know God chases his children that's the point you want to
get across this morning not that you need to stop fornicating go to heaven
but you as a Christian need to not be involved in this sin so you don't suffer
the consequences it's like God doesn't have to bring the hammer down in your
life to get you to do right but too many churches today they just want to
say oh well God's not gonna do anything about it God's just as benevolent you
know just you know absent-minded old man in the sky who's just not paying
attention to what we do because we're saved that's not the case God is a
thoughtful careful and you know diligent father who's looking over the welfare of
his children and desires that they walk in newness of life and is willing to do
what it takes as any decent father would to get his children to do right and if
it means a beating if it means a spanking that's what he's gonna do now
God's obviously you're not gonna see some you know the hand of a man appear
and literally give you a whipping but God will call engineer circumstances in
your life God has given authority local church to enforce that that that
chastisement that he brings they'll say things like oh you know well we're all
things to all men it's okay for us to fornicate it's okay for us to go in
these bars and drink with these people because we're just trying to win them
you know it's okay for me to go in the club and you know and and and go out
there in the floor and do all these you know these these these lewd dances
because you know we what we got to meet the people where they're at you know we
got it we got to be you know with them you know we got to be all things to all
men but what does it say first Corinthians chapter 9 verse 21 he said
to them that are without the laws without being not without the law to God
but under the law to Christ you know this isn't a license for you to just
go out and live however you want you know salvation is not just and people
that we get criticized a lot for that saying oh well you you teach people you
can they can live however they want and go to heaven yeah that's true that's the
good news of the gospel that Jesus Christ did everything for us but they
somehow they misconstrue that in their mind to where they think we're saying
oh you can live however you want and not suffer any consequences that's not what
we're saying we're saying you can live however you want because Jesus paid it
all he is the one that lived a perfect and sinless life died for his sins was
buried again we can live however we want and still go to heaven if our faith is
in Christ but we can still suffer the consequences of sin along the way and in
fact we will and in fact because we are God's children it's guaranteed if we
want to disobey that we will suffer the consequences now one of the if you would
go over to Romans 8 I remember and I've shared this I don't know if I've shared
it here but definitely down in Tucson I've shared this story from the pulpit
before but whenever I get on this topic it always bring and it's always comes
back into my mind and I think it's a great illustration and reality check of
the fact that this is where a lot of churches are today I remember first
getting saved and going to this you know ecumenical Bible study you know they had
a lot of younger people in it and there was this one guy that I knew from junior
high high school and I and he was a Christian I didn't know that until I
actually saw him there but you know and then there was this other girl that was
coming you know and she's showing up and the tank tops and the short shorts you
know just there was no standards or anything like that and very slowly but
surely these two you know what they're there and then they're you know the next
meeting they're here the next thing you know they're walking around holding and
then you're seeing them out in public you know you know acting very
inappropriately towards one another and it became quite evident what was going
on and I actually had the you know the boldness to kind of go to this guy and
say hey you know the Bible says you shouldn't be doing that Bible says
that's a sin and he says well I talked to my pastor about it you know what his
pastor told him his pastor didn't turn him over to 1st Corinthians 5 friend
that's not where he took him he took him over to Romans chapter 8 and he read
verse 1 part of verse 1 and this is what this guy expressed to me he said hey
there's no there no for there's therefore now no condemnation of them
which are in Christ Jesus and that's where he stopped that's where he stopped
that sounds pretty good if you're in that situation doesn't it hey pastor
you know I've got this girlfriend and you know she wants to you know we want
to fool around and mess around is that okay well you know there's no
condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus you go right ahead what a wicked
doctrine what a wicked thing to tell somebody when the reality is that yeah
if you go ahead and do that God's going to chase in you that you might end up
suffering from an STD or an unwanted pregnancy or God just might you know
brain up and cloud on you what a wicked thing to tell somebody but a half truth
without a lying prophet that guy is and you know the rest I didn't really have a
good rebuttal at time I was pretty newly saved but I went home and read it looked
up the verse and it goes it goes on there do you know that verse doesn't end
there buddy the pastor didn't bother telling you the latter half where it
says who walk not after the flesh but after the spirit you know if you're
saved and you want to walk after the flesh you can mark it down that you know
you're gonna suffer for it after the spirit you gotta what you don't want any
condemnation your life you don't want any judgment in your life you don't want
God to come down on you then you need to walk after the spirit and if you're
gonna walk after the spirit you're not gonna be going running around committing
fornication so we could see why God you know he puts this on his list of sins
that get people kicked out it's a wicked sin that's practiced by wicked
people it has very severe consequences and God doesn't want a church filled
with diseases and let me just come out and use a biblical term for you bastards
okay and that's not it that's a harsh term just a lot of people today that's
the language the Bible uses and if we got back to using some biblical language
PME people would be a little bit more careful because they used to be a
shameful thing it used to be something that you didn't go around you know
bragging about it wasn't something that you know churches they had a whole
ministries to single mothers of bastards and that's you know that's
their big outreach and they glorify the single mom she should be ashamed not
lifted up and praised although the hardest working person is the single
mother give me a break you know the hardest person is the woman who was
maintaining a marriage and a household and doing all these things doing things
the right way that's who we should be lifting up that's who we should be
glorifying not these people who want to go out and just make a mess out of their
lives and then suffer the consequences for it then we're all just supposed to
break and have our have a little broken hearts for them and just reach out those
poor little things I'm not saying we shouldn't be out compassion and people
need to you know be forgiven for the mistakes that they made but we need to
preach these things so that those mistakes aren't even made in the in the
first place and if you started using a word like bastard to describe your
unwanted pregnancy you know you probably be a little bit more careful not to have
one and then maybe you wouldn't have a child growing up without a father
growing up and becoming some kind of a derelict I'm not saying you know that if
there's people in the room I don't know everyone here you know if that's you
that you're without hope you know God God can still use any one of us but the
fact is God does not want his church filled with these people he doesn't want
fornicators running rampant and just you know causing all this disease causing
all this on I mean what do you think was gonna happen in first grant and
excurs you in first Corinthians what do you think was gonna go on in that church
if Paul just was like well there's no condemnation then what you're in Christ
Jesus what if Paul had that attitude I mean the guy's sleeping with his mother
in law and then what and then everybody else in the church is looking at go oh
well your Paul's okay with it nothing everything seems fine that church would
just be filled with all kinds of sin that's why he said a little leaven
leaveneth the whole lump and tell them to purge that lemon out you know it's
God's will that you do not fornicate and if you would turn over to first
Thessalonians chapter 4 we'll wrap this up first Thessalonians chapter 4 why
does God you know punish fornicators why does God have them kicked out of the
local church because God doesn't want you fornicating there are constant
because of the consequences that come with it the Bible says in Ephesians 5
you're going to first Thessalonians 4 but fornication and all uncleanness he
calls it uncleanness and all uncleanness or covetous not it let not let it not be
once named among you not one time don't let it go on don't let it carry become a
thing in your church you know don't become the church that's just okay with
fornicators so don't let it be named once among you as become a saint look at
first Thessalonians chapter 4 verse 3 for this is the will of God what's the
will of God for my life what does God want me to do even your sanctification
the people get so worked up about finding out what it is what God wants
them to do you know it's really not that much of a mystery you know God wants you
to get the sin out of your life and keep yourself pure that you should abstain
from fornication you're not in the will of God if you're committing fornication
period you're just not you can't sit there and tell me that you know God's
pleased with you if you're a fornicator you should abstain from it that every
one of you should know how to possess his vessel and sanctification and honor
not in the lust of concupiscence even as the Gentiles which know not God there he
is again lumping them together with people that don't even know God that no
man go beyond and to fought his brother in any matter because the Lord is the
Avenger of all such as we have also forewarned you and testified for God
hath not called us unto cleanness but unto holiness he therefore that despises
despises not man but God who get hath given also also given unto us the Holy
Spirit his Holy Spirit so you get mad at the preacher you get mad at the church
that's practicing this and saying fornications wrong and that you should
be kicked out of church for it you know you despise that person you better be
careful who it is you're really despising is what he's saying here you
despise this teaching you criticize it you attack it you call it on Christ like
you call it loving you know who you're really attacking you're despising God
that's who you're really despising you're saying oh I don't like first
Corinthians 5 well welcome to Christianity welcome to New Testament
biblical preaching where you believe everything where you can't just pick and
choose what you like out of this book where it's the whole thing or nothing
else it's the whole enchilada that's what you get with Christianity true
Christianity and if you got a problem with it you know that's your problem is
with God it's not with me it's not with the pastor it's not with any preacher
it's not with any man of God it's with God himself that's what he's saying
there read it again he therefore that despises despises not man I can't
believe that preacher I can't believe that church look you're not despising me
you're not despising this church you're despising God so you said well I don't
want to be a fornicator what are my options you got two options that's
really it you have two options marry or contain marry or contain that's it those
your options not well you know every so often I'm just gonna go out and commit
this in and then I'll get right it'll be okay again no that's not how it works
you have two options if you would go over to 1st Corinthians chapter 7 1st
Corinthians chapter 7 1st Corinthians chapter 7 I'll begin reading in verse 1
it says now concerning the things where he wrote unto me it is good for a man
not to touch a woman nevertheless to avoid fornication let every man have his
own wife and let every woman have her own husband there's your option right
there you know and that's it that's the that's the option that 99% of people
need to pursue in their life because we all have this God-given natural desire
to that those feelings that we have those physical impulses are God-given
God gave us those those they in and of themselves are not wicked they're not
bad those physiological impulses that we have are God-given and God wants to
satisfy those needs but not through fornication the only way that God
allows us to satisfy that need is through marriage and and we could see
why because if it's you know you want to cure all these the STDs you want to cure
them overnight you want to you want them to see and just eradicate it off the
face of the earth you want all these unwanted pregnancies you want all these
abortions to end how about how about one man one woman for life and you could
I mean other than the fact that they're letting the homos donate blood I mean
they'd still leak over it from there that's another sermon right well here's
the thing you could you could drastically cut it down you know there
wouldn't be any problems you know if you got married and you had that that that
need satisfied right there you're you know what you're not gonna have to worry
about any of that you're not gonna have to worry about getting caught and kicked
out or catching a disease or knocking somebody up none of that those are your
options to to have our every man his own wife and every woman her own husband
you know rather than just satisfying our flesh through you know instant
gratification you know we should be preparing and seeking for we should be
preparing for and seeking a spouse rather than you know just you know
looking at things we shouldn't look at or going to places and hooking up with
people that we shouldn't be hooking up with you know we should spend that time
you know preparing ourselves for marriage preparing ourselves for our
spouse you know getting better our jobs so that you know we can get married if
we're men you know we can get married and provide for the children that we
have you know women could be preparing to be a homemaker learning skills
cooking cleaning the sewing you know I know that's not a popular message in the
world today but that's Bible you know that they should be keepers at home that
they should learn to love their husbands and their children you know that's the
things that we could be focusing on as single people you know I'm praying and
seeking a spouse and going out there and finding them and you know what as I've
heard said and I believe it I and I and I've been there I know what it's like to
go years wondering if you're ever gonna have somebody and and eventually they
kind of come out of the blue that at least that's the way it was in my
experience but I believe this that there's a lid for every pot I believe
that that if you're faithful to God and then if you're if you're you know
living for the Lord that you know God will provide that spouse in time you
know it might not come when we want it but you know I believe that if we seek
it and we're preparing ourselves God will provide if we ask the Bible says
marriage is honorable in all and the bed undefiled you know that it's a blessing
you know it's a blessing to be able to meet that need to share that with
somebody and to have that for your whole life and to develop that
relationship even beyond just the physical to where and so on and so forth
but what does the rest of this verse say but whoremongers and adulterers God will
judge he said he will judge it's not a maybe it's not a gray area where well
maybe if I commit a fornication if I go around and be a whoremonger I might get
away with it no God will judge and that's why we need to preach this that's
why this is why we need to keep these things in front of us because of the
severe consequences that come upon us physically and spiritually you know you
might be able to avoid some of the physical ones but God will judge you
know and if we choose to just disregard God disregard the warnings of Scripture
you know disregard God's method of satisfying these natural impulses we
will suffer punishment and you know that punishment is going to be carried out
you know it through circumstances in our life but most certainly in any Bible
believing church that actually practices what the Bible teaches that
punishment will be carried out through the form of local church discipline of
being put out of the body and to what end so that you'll get right okay so
that's the message this morning get right or get out let's go ahead and pray
dear Lord again thank you for the Bible Lord thank you for the many warnings
thank you for Lord not sugarcoating things for us but looking upon Lord our
lives and and speaking very plainly about them and and warning us of the
dangers that are out there and Lord not only that but also providing us a way to
escape Lord every temptation that we have Lord if we would just seek you or
you'd help us to overcome that there's no content temptation that has taken us
but it's such as is common to man Lord help all of us to to be faithful to our
spouses and Lord those that are not married to be faithful to you and Lord
to keep ourselves in holiness Lord and I pray that you would just let not let
these sins be once named among us be praying ask these things in Christ's
name amen all right thanks for coming we are dismissed
you