Introduction: Just before writing this introduction, I had a wonderful discussion with my granddaughter. She is about to become a teenager, and we spoke about the importance of choosing her close friends carefully. Everyone who is reading this has been influenced by friends. Some, because of bad influences during their youth, have had their lives permanently changed. I recall a mother calling me about her son. He had been in a car when his friends decided to bully another young man. Things got out of hand and the victim died. In circumstances like this, friends can get you convicted of murder. Life-altering choices are often made when a person is young. The influence of our friends continues throughout life. Our study this week is about the influence that tolerated sin can exert within a church and about how Christians should resolve conflicts with one another. Let’s plunge into our study of the Bible and see what lessons we can learn for today!

I. Sexual Immorality

A. Read 1 Corinthians 5:1-2. Last week we discussed how sexual sins create division in a church. What related problem does Paul raise here? (Paul writes about a church that not only tolerates sexual sin, it is proud (arrogant) about its tolerance.)

1. Is that a problem today? (Yes, some churches take pride in tolerating what the Bible calls sin.)

2. What is the proper approach to unrepentant sin in the church? (A professing church member who openly and unrepentantly persists in serious sin should be removed from the church’s fellowship.)

3. Let’s discuss this. Today’s argument is that it is better to retain openly unrepentant members in the church because they may be convicted of sin and repent. What do you think about that argument?

B. Read 1 Corinthians 5:5. How does this answer the question about retaining the open sinner in the church to increase his odds of being converted? (Paul says just the opposite. Delivering the man to Satan may save him.)

1. How do you think this delivering to Satan works? (Being tossed out of the church, as opposed to being supported by the church, focuses the person’s attention on the seriousness of the sin. That might cause repentance.)

II. The Church and Sin

A. Read 1 Corinthians 5:6-7. What does this suggest is the problem of tolerating open sin? (Sin, like leaven, will influence others in the church.)

B. Look again at 1 Corinthians 5:1 where Paul says that this sin is “not tolerated even among pagans.” What problem with retaining open sinners does this raise? (Paul is not only concerned about the influence on other church members; he is concerned about the reputation of the church.)

1. Suppose the surrounding culture accepted this kind of conduct. Would cultural approval make it appropriate for the church to retain this man as a member? (No. The church’s standard comes from God’s Word, not from the surrounding culture. The pagans’ disapproval merely made the Corinthians’ tolerance even more damaging to the church’s witness.)

C. Read 1 Corinthians 5:9-11. Does Paul’s advice apply to more than merely sexual sins?

D. Read 1 Corinthians 5:12-13. How many times have you been told regarding sin in the church that we are not “to judge?” What does Paul say about the propriety of us judging fellow members? (Paul says that the church must exercise moral judgment regarding those inside the church, while leaving the judgment of outsiders to God.)

1. Paul calls the person we should judge an “evil person.” Is this important? (I think it is. We should not be tossing struggling sinners out of the church. The focus is on a believer openly and unrepentantly persisting in serious wrongdoing.)

III. A Deep Dive into the Nature of Sexual Immorality

A. Let’s skip ahead and read 1 Corinthians 6:12-14. Why is Paul telling us that food and stomachs will be destroyed?

1. What argument is Paul making against sexual immorality that he is not making about food? (Paul tells us that some decisions are more important than others.)

B. Let’s re-read 1 Corinthians 6:12. Does this remind you of Deuteronomy 4:2? (Deuteronomy tells us to refrain from calling things sinful when they are not. Paul explains that some things, while not sinful, are not helpful.)

1. Does this discussion have anything to do with Paul’s discussion about the stomach? (I think Paul is saying that when it comes to eating we have many choices, some better than others. But when it comes to sexual immorality, wrong choices have serious consequences.)

2. John MacArthur’s commentary says that God forgives all sins, and cites Ephesians 1:7. Someone once told me this in the context of sexual sin and my reaction was that some sin is more serious than others. Do you agree that some sins are more serious than others?

C. Read 1 Corinthians 6:15-18. How does the Bible answer the question about some sins being more serious than others? (These verses state that sexual sins are more serious. Sex sins are “against” our own body, while all other sins are “outside the body.”)

1. What do you think that means?

2. How does Paul explain it? (The person who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with Him. Because the believer’s body belongs to Christ, the believer cannot rightly join that body to a prostitute. Sexual intercourse creates a ‘one flesh’ union even when that union violates God’s design for marriage.)

D. Read 1 Corinthians 6:19-20. How many of you have heard someone quote “our body is God’s temple” as an argument about diet? Is that appropriate? (This is an inversion of what Paul writes. He says that food and the stomach are not important compared to sexual choices.)

1. I recall an unfortunate instance in which the church asked me to meet with a prominent member who was involved in adultery. She said to me, “This is none of your business.” Is that true? (Being a member of the church made her actions the “business” of the church. But more importantly, this harms the glory of God contrary to 1 Corinthians 6:20. The church should address such a matter confidentially, humbly, and with restoration as its goal.)

E. Some readers may ask why sexual immorality is unique because it is a sin against the body? After all, our present bodies are mortal and we will get new ones. And how does sexual intercourse join “the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute?” Are these your questions? (I think we need to step back and look at the larger picture to understand this.)

F. Read Proverbs 5:15-18. The Bible compares the sex act to sharing water. Can you fit this into our discussion so far, or does this make no sense to you? (Water represents life. When Paul talks about us becoming “one” in sexual intercourse, he reflects the Genesis 2:24 “one flesh” statement and the Genesis 1:26-28 statement about Adam and Eve becoming as life creators. The reason why sex outside marriage is a unique category of sin is that God gave us life. He gave humans the power to create life. When you join that life-giving power to someone who is not your spouse, you have now sinned against your own body and against your special relationship with God and your spouse.)

IV. Conflict Resolution

A. Read 1 Corinthians 6:1-3. What problem is Paul addressing? (Members of the church suing each other in civil courts.)

B. Read 1 Corinthians 6:4-6. Why is suing fellow church members a problem? (It embarrasses the church. It suggests the church has no one wise enough to settle disputes.)

C. Read 1 Corinthians 6:7-8. Are you willing to be defrauded to protect God’s reputation? (My wife had a claim against our church that, if pursued, could not have been controlled by us and could have cost the church millions of dollars. We pursued it internally, and the response was that making things right would cost too much. We decided to “suffer wrong” instead of harming the church.)

D. Friend, when it comes to sex outside of marriage, when it comes to dealing with fellow church members, will you commit to the course that brings glory to God? Why not ask the Holy Spirit to enable you to do what glorifies God?

V. Next week: All to the Glory of God.

Copr. 2026, Bruce N. Cameron, J.D. Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Suggested answers are found within parentheses. If you normally receive this lesson by e-mail, but it is lost one week, you can find it by clicking on this link: http://www.GoBible.org. Pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit as you study. 

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/4-sin-in-the-church-1-corinthians-5-and-6-sabbath-school-lesson-teaching-outline/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=4-sin-in-the-church-1-corinthians-5-and-6-sabbath-school-lesson-teaching-outline

Oh, the beauty of studying this quarter’s lessons. We will learn so much of the Love of God (and our Saviour, Jesus) which stands out in so many pages of this quarter. Trying to choose just one hymn for the Theme Hymn was almost impossible, but these ones stood out all through the lesson pamphlet from which you may choose: 
Hymn 79 – O Love Of God, 
Hymn 349 – God Is Love and then in seeing God’s amazing love we can 
Hymn 600 – Hold Fast and 
Hymn 602 – O Brother, Be Faithful.

Another great resource is for when there is a hymn you wish to sing but can’t find it in your hymnal. Go to https://www.sdahymnal.org/Search and in the search bar type a special word in that is in the hymn. I am sure you will be amazed at the help you will be given.

 2 Timothy 2:15 KJV – “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/4-sin-in-the-church-singing-with-inspiration/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=4-sin-in-the-church-singing-with-inspiration

Prepared for Sabbath School class on July 25.

Photograph by William Earnhardt

Key Text: “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20, NIV).

Read in Class: 1 Corinthians 5:1-13.

Study: What scandalous situation does Paul describe in this passage, and why is it so disturbing? How does Paul tell them to deal with this situation?

Apply: What things are clearly condemned in Scripture that we, as a church, are in danger of tolerating, all in the name of “love” and “acceptance”?

Share: According to Matthew 18:15-17, share how you would counsel a friend to deal with someone living in open sin in their church. See When is it a Good Idea Not to Follow Bible Counsel?

Read in Class: 1 Corinthians 6:1-13.

Study: What is Paul trying to teach the Corinthians and us?

Apply: Think about Paul’s catalog of vices in 1 Corinthians 5:10-11 and 1 Corinthians 6:9-10. Why does he list sexual sins along with other sins such as idolatry, thievery, greed, and extortion?

Share: Your friend says she no longer believes in the Bible because it is hate speech against homosexuals. What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8.

Study: What does this passage say about the connection between sanctification and abstinence from sexual immorality?

Apply: Think about the wreckage that sexual sins have brought upon humanity. What should this tell us about how serious this issue should be for the Christian?

Share: Your close friend confides in you that it would be a lot easier to live a sexually pure life if he were married, but he is older now and tired of waiting to find someone who will marry him. What do you tell your friend? See Overcoming Sexual sin When you are Single.

Read in Class: 1 Corinthians 6:19-7:9.

Study: How does this passage shed light on how one can put into practice the commandment to “flee from sexual immorality” (1 Cor. 6:18, ESV)?

Apply: How can we, as a church, protect ourselves from the deviant views of sexuality that dominate the culture?

Share: A teenager in your family confides that he is struggling with a deviant behavior. He has talked to his parents about it, but all they do is tell him it’s wrong. They do not help him overcome. He already knows it is wrong, but can’t help himself. What do you tell your troubled teen?

Mission: Speaking of Jesus, we read in Desire of Ages, 

“Often He met those who had drifted under Satan’s control, and who had no power to break from his snare. To such a one, discouraged, sick, tempted, and fallen, Jesus would speak words of tenderest pity, words that were needed and could be understood. Others He met who were fighting a hand-to-hand battle with the adversary of souls. These He encouraged to persevere, assuring them that they would win; for angels of God were on their side, and would give them the victory. Those whom He thus helped were convinced that here was One in whom they could trust with perfect confidence. He would not betray the secrets they poured into His sympathizing ear.” –Ellen White, Desire of Ages, Pages 91-92

Can you speak encouraging words this week to someone who is fighting a hand-to-hand battle with the adversary of souls?

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/4-sin-in-the-church-sabbath-school-lesson-teaching-plan/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=4-sin-in-the-church-sabbath-school-lesson-teaching-plan

Daily Lesson for Sunday 19th of July 2026

Throughout Christian history, theologians, pastors, and laypeople have studied the New Testament in order to determine what the church should look like. We marvel, for instance, at the church of Acts. But we quickly lose sight of one significant element: people have problems. It seems that we can also read the New Testament to see what the Bible says about what a church should not look like. Paul’s letters to the Corinthians are a good starting point.

The expression “his father’s wife” (1 Corinthians 5:1) suggests that Paul refers to the incestuous relationship between a man and his stepmother. This situation was probably reported “by those of Chloe’s household” (1 Corinthians 1:11, NKJV). Incest was reputed as such a terrible sin that it was “not tolerated even among pagans” (1 Corinthians 5:1, ESV). And yet, it is now happening in an early Christian church? Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 5:1-2 show that he is in shock at the report that a church member was doing this.

Image © Providence Collection at Goodsalt.com

However, this bad situation gets worse. Paul is more stunned when realizing that, rather than feeling sorry about the situation, the Corinthians were even proud of themselves for tolerating such a sin (1 Corinthians 5:1-2, NIV). Thus, he intends to correct not only the immoral man but also the church for its apparent dissonance between faith and practice. In fact, Paul makes it clear constantly that the church’s indulgent attitude toward the incestuous man demanded a correction. But being proud of such a sexual scandal, and even boasting of it (1 Corinthians 5:2,6)! This was too much for Paul to bear. What was wrong with these people?

We don’t have an explanation for why the church in Corinth was so tolerant of the incestuous man. Perhaps he was a wealthy member from whom the church benefited? Or, maybe, because “all things are lawful” (1 Corinthians 6:12), they didn’t deem it the way that they should have. We just don’t know.

Whatever the true reasons, they became blind to a flagrant violation of the Scriptures (Leviticus 18:7-8). And they were even proud of it.

<–Sabbath Monday–>

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/26c-04-dissonance-between-faith-and-practice/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=26c-04-dissonance-between-faith-and-practice

Is this True, Somewhat True, or False: Spiritual Maturity can be gauged by how one engages with others in the church? Join the Hit the Mark panel as they discuss Sabbath School Lesson 3 – Unity in Christ. It’s the fastest hour of the week! Get this week’s keyword workbook HERE.

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/unity-in-christ-hit-the-mark-sabbath-school/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=unity-in-christ-hit-the-mark-sabbath-school