Dissonance Between Faith and Practice

Good morning, everyone.
When people think of 1 Corinthians 5, they usually focus on the shocking sin. Paul does too—but only after addressing something even more disturbing. His first concern isn't simply that a man was living in incest; it's that the church knew about it and was proud instead of heartbroken.
Even the pagan world condemned such behaviour, yet the church had become comfortable with it. Their failure wasn't merely moral—it was spiritual.

Paul says they should have been mourning instead of being "puffed up." Why was their attitude so serious?

Because the church's response revealed that something deeper was wrong. They had separated faith from practice. They believed the gospel, but their lives no longer reflected its transforming power.
Paul then uses the image of Passover. "Clean out the old leaven... For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us." Since Christ gave Himself to make us a holy people, deliberately tolerating open, unrepentant sin contradicts what the Cross represents.

But isn't the church supposed to be a hospital for sinners? How can discipline fit with grace?

The church is absolutely a hospital for sinners—but hospitals also treat disease. Paul isn't rejecting a struggling believer who longs to change. He is addressing someone openly persisting in serious sin while the church accepts it as normal.
Notice Paul's goal. Even the difficult instruction to remove the man from fellowship was given "that his spirit may be saved." Discipline was never revenge; it was a severe act of love intended to awaken repentance and protect the church.

The lesson suggests there may have been reasons the church tolerated him. Perhaps he was influential or wealthy. Or perhaps they misunderstood Christian freedom and believed "all things are lawful."
We don't know the exact reason. But whatever it was, they became blind to something Scripture clearly condemned.

Exactly. Paul isn't asking the church to become harsh or judgmental. In fact, he says we are not called to judge those outside the church. His concern is with those who claim to belong to Christ while openly rejecting His ways.
Ironically, churches often reverse this. We can become very critical of the world while ignoring obvious sin among ourselves. Paul calls the church to honest self-examination before looking elsewhere.

What about the "old leaven"? Why is that image so important?

Because leaven spreads. Paul reminds them that one tolerated, unrepentant sin affects the whole body. Sin is never purely private. It influences the church's witness, weakens believers, and dishonours Christ.
This is why Paul urges decisive action—not because restoration is impossible, but because genuine restoration begins with repentance. Sometimes love must confront before it can comfort.

So church discipline is actually meant to restore?

Yes. Paul's purpose was never to destroy the man but to save him. In his second letter to the Corinthians, he urges forgiveness and restoration after repentance. Discipline and mercy are not enemies; they are partners in God's work of redemption.

The greatest tragedy in Corinth wasn't only the immoral act. It was that the church no longer grieved over what grieved God. They celebrated what should have broken their hearts.
That remains a danger today. Love never asks us to approve what God has condemned. True love speaks the truth, calls for repentance, and rejoices whenever grace restores a fallen brother or sister.