1 Corinthians 5:9-13
The church does not withdraw from the world but must remove persistent, unrepentant sin from its own fellowship.
9 I wrote to you in my letter to have no company with sexual sinners;
10 yet not at all meaning with the sexual sinners of this world, or with the covetous and extortionists, or with idolaters; for then you would have to leave the world.
11 But as it is, I wrote to you not to associate with anyone who is called a brother who is a sexual sinner, or covetous, or an idolater, or a slanderer, or a drunkard, or an extortionist. Don’t even eat with such a person.
12 For what do I have to do with also judging those who are outside? Don’t you judge those who are within?
13 But those who are outside, God judges. “Put away the wicked man from among yourselves.”
The church does not withdraw from the world but must remove persistent, unrepentant sin from its own fellowship.
Paul clarifies his earlier instruction about association with immoral people, directing the church to exercise discipline toward unrepentant believers rather than withdraw from unbelievers in the world.
After addressing the specific case of sexual immorality and explaining the metaphor of leaven, Paul clarifies a misunderstanding from a previous letter. The Corinthians had apparently interpreted his instruction to avoid immoral people as a command to withdraw from all sinful individuals in society. Paul corrects this misunderstanding by distinguishing between relationships with unbelievers and fellowship within the church. Believers inevitably interact with people outside the faith, but those who claim to belong to Christ must live consistently with that identity. The passage concludes with a call to remove unrepentant sin from within the church community.
The Corinthian church existed in a morally complex urban environment. Believers were surrounded by cultural practices that conflicted with Christian ethics. Some members misunderstood Paul’s earlier teaching about avoiding immoral behavior, assuming they should separate completely from society.
Purge the Evil, Keep the Feast, and Guard the Holiness of the Church
Because Christ our Passover has been sacrificed and the church is called to be a holy people, believers must not tolerate unrepentant, scandalous sin in the body but must exercise disciplined holiness for the purity of the church and the possible restoration of the sinner.