Purged by Christ’s Precious Blood

5 It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans, for a man has his father’s wife. 2 And you are arrogant! Ought you not rather to mourn? Let him who has done this be removed from among you.
3 For though absent in body, I am present in spirit; and as if present, I have already pronounced judgment on the one who did such a thing. 4 When you are assembled in the name of the Lord Jesus and my spirit is present, with the power of our Lord Jesus, 5 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.
6 Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? 7 Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. 8 Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
1 Corinthians 5:1-8
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Purged by Christ’s Precious Blood
These words confront us with the seriousness of sin within the body of Christ. Paul speaks of the need to remove sin like leaven from the church, lest it spread and corrupt the whole. This passage reminds us that sin is not just an individual matter but affects the entire community of believers. Yet, Paul’s exhortation is not one of despair but of hope rooted in the cross. The blood of Christ, shed for us, cleanses and purifies His church. Just as the Passover lamb was sacrificed, Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed for us. His blood covers our sins, and through His sacrifice, we are made new. As we strive to live in sincerity and truth, we remember that our sins are purged not by our efforts but by the precious blood of Christ, which sanctifies us and binds us together as His holy people.