“It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you and such fornication as is not so much named among gentiles, that one should have his father’s wife” – 1 Cor 5:1 (KJV).
The exact sin here is not very clear. Paul’s reference to “his father’s wife” probably means the offender was sexually involved with his stepmother. Paul was horrified that the Church would tolerate such immorality. He views this ungodly acceptance of this sin in the Church to be as serious as the actual sin itself.
The permissiveness (i.e., willingly acceptance of something as right that God disapproves of) of the Corinthians speaks to our situation today. Many Churches are tolerant of and silent about immoral behaviours among their members, including adultery and all forms of sexual impurity. Premarital sexual activity is not only tolerated but at times justified as expression of love and commitment.
Many leaders fail to challenge the unhealthy and often immoral dating habits common among many of today’s youths. Like the Corinthian leads, they refuse to grieve over the spiritual corruption within the Church. As a result, the believers become more and more like the society in which they live.
Pastor Lawrence Chiazor