THE NUCLEAR OPTION

 

Tuesday, April 25, 2023

 

THE NUCLEAR OPTION

 

1 Cor 5:1-5

5 It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father's wife.

2 And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you.

3 For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, concerning him that hath so done this deed,

4 In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ,

5 To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.  KJV

 

1 Tim 1:19-20

19 Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck:

20 Of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme. KJV 

 

          Generally, ministers and listeners prefer the softer approach to “reproof, rebuke, and exhortation” but there is a nuclear option which Paul used on at least two occasions.

 

          Within the Corinthian church there was a man who “had his father’s wife.” Couched in gentle language is an act that Paul described as worse than the sinful acts of the “Gentiles.” So, yes, it was bad, and the church had taken no action to remedy the situation. The action Paul prescribed was not to punish a transgressor but to purify the church. What was that action? It was to DELIVER this young man, officially, to Satan. I will deal with the word in a little bit.

 

          The second time Paul used the nuclear option was to DELIVER Hymenaeus and Alexander to the control of Satan because of their opposition. They had made their own faith a “shipwreck” and were threatening to shipwreck the faith of others.

 

          The word DELIVER is the Greek word paradidomi which means “to surrender, yield up, and transmit.” This is the nuclear option because it is the most powerful thing that might be done. If you read Job, then you know that Satan’s power is limited by God. The believer is protected from much of Satan’s destructive evil. However, on two occasions, Paul, as a judicial act, asked God to remove this protection so that Satan might have freedom to act. It is nuclear! It is reserved for hard cases.

 

          We do not know the outcome of Hymenaeus and Alexander, but we are told in Second Corinthians that this option was effective. The sinning man repented of his sin and abandoned his actions resulting in a “clearing” of the situation. (2 Corinthians 7:11) The intention of all corrective actions is for restoration.

 

Thank you, Lord, that all the fury which should have rightfully been directed at me was poured out upon the Perfect Sacrifice. AMEN