Wouldn’t they know it was wrong through the Old Testament? Though Leviticus 18:8 expressly forbids a man to have sex with his stepmother ( The nakedness of your father’s wife you shall not uncover), some rabbis, such as Rabbi Akibah, said such a relationship was permissible for a Gentile convert to Judaism, because they were a completely new person, and their old family relationship didn’t count at all.
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Greek culture could matter-of-factly say: “Mistresses we keep for the sake of pleasure, concubines for the daily care of the body, but wives to bear us legitimate children.” It wasn’t hard for a Corinthian to think you could be religious, yet still act any way you pleased when it came to sex. Remember that Corinth was a city notorious for sexual immorality, and the pagan religions did not value sexual purity. Why not? How could this kind of thing be allowed? Yet, the Corinthian Christians were not doing this. That he who has done this deed might be taken away from among you: Clearly, this was Paul’s solution to the problem – to take this notoriously unrepentant man away from the protection of the fellowship of God’s people.
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But the two are connected their moral problems come because they aren’t thinking right about God and His world.ī. Now Paul starts to deal with their “moral” problems. Previously in the letter, Paul dealt mainly with the “mental” problems of the Corinthian Christians: their wrong ideas about God’s power and work and His servants. And you are puffed up, and have not rather mourned: As bad as the sin itself was, Paul was more concerned that the Corinthian Christians seemed to take the sin lightly, and they were unconcerned ( have not rather mourned) about this behavior. ( 1Cr 5:2) The reaction of the Corinthian church to the sin.Īnd you are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he who has done this deed might be taken away from among you.Ī. It should have been enough that this is declared sin by the Bible ( Leviticus 18:8, Deuteronomy 22:30 and 27:20) it should have been enough that the worldly culture itself considered it sin, but the Corinthian Christians didn’t seem bothered by it at all.Ģ. Truly, it was not even named among the Gentiles. The ancient Roman writer and statesman Cicero said this type of incest was an incredible crime and practically unheard of. And such sexual immorality as is not even named among the Gentiles: Paul understood that this kind of incestuous relationship was considered taboo even among the pagans of their culture, yet the Corinthian Christians seem accepting of this behavior. The verb to have is a euphemism for an enduring sexual relationship, not just a passing fancy or a “one-night stand.”Ĭ. The woman involved must not be a Christian, for she isn’t even addressed. That a man has his father’s wife: Apparently, someone was having an on-going sexual relationship (either as married or living together) with his stepmother ( his father’s wife). Sexual immorality was an accepted fact of life for the common person in Greek culture, but it was not to be so among the followers of Jesus.ī. Instead, it is because the area of sex was one of the most dramatic places where the ethics of Greek culture clashed with the ethics of Jesus. “ Porneia” so often appears first in New Testament “sin lists,” but not because the first Christians had a lot of “hang-ups” about sex.
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Commentators on the word porneia: “The Scripture by this word comprehends all species of unlawful mixtures.” (Poole) It “must be understood in its utmost latitude of meaning, as implying all kinds of impurity.” (Clarke) Originally, “ porneia” just referred to going to prostitutes but before New Testament times, the Jewish community used the word to refer to any kind of extramarital sex, including homosexuality. The term sexually immorality is the ancient Greek word “ porneia.” It broadly refers to all types of sexual activity outside of marriage (including homosexuality). It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and such sexual immorality as is not even named among the Gentiles that a man has his father’s wife!Ī.
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( 1Cr 5:1) The sin of an unnamed Christian in Corinth.