Too long for Twitter

…you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord. 1 Corinthians 5:5

This is not a verse that’s alone in the New Testament, the one that champions love, forgiveness and grace; as compared to the wrath and anger of God which we always see in the Old Testament. Paul does this in atleast half of his letters - delivering people to Satan that they may be saved.

Don’t be fooled, however - Paul does not recommend a deal with the devil, or indeed any shenanigans involving the Father of Lies. This deliverance to Satan is an exclusion from the church. Kick him from within the confines of his comfortable place to a place that is no longer part of God’s love, to the destruction of the flesh, which could mean his own veritable downfall into the trap of living by the flesh.

Yet, two things.

This is a serious and grave sin that the sinner is not struggling with despite repeated rebukings and warnings. It is probable that it ‘is wrong but feels right’. Paul doesn’t recommend kicking people out of the church the moment they are wrong, but when they treat the church as a country club and not as a collection of worshippers on the same path towards a relationship with God.

The second is a little more interesting - you see there is no doubt in his mind that this exclusion will save the sinner rather than condemn. It is not bitter hate and anger that motivates this exclusion, but rather, Love. Love that’s so significantly divine it probably wept at the sinners defiance, but knew that this is the only way. A Love divinely inspired by a God who so Loved us, sent his son to die on a cross for our sins.