1 Corinthians 5:11

but as it is,. wrote unto you not to keep company, if any man that is named. brother be. fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or. reviler, or. drunkard, or an extortioner; with such. one no, not to eat.

'but as it is' -'But actually' (NASV); 'Now what. really meant.' (Wms) We should note that Paul doesn't stop to apologize for lack of clarity found in his previous letter. He doesn't say, 'I'm sorry, the misunderstanding on this subject was caused by my inability to write clearly.' "If any one doubted the purport of the former letter, it shall be impossible to mistake my meaning now.' (Gr. Ex. N.T. p. 812)

'keep company' -(1 Corinthians 5:9), and further defined at the end of this verse. 'Clearly signifies not to hold fraternal, friendly commerce with.' (Gr. Ex. N.T. p. 812)

'if any that is named. brother' -'The man professes to be. Christian but lives an ungodly life.' (Willis p. 174) 'Those who persist in that former way of life, not those who simply struggle with former sins.' (Fee p. 224) (Luke 17:3) 'Anyone who calls himself. Christian but lives in sexual sin.' (Beck)

'fornicator' -'The root cause of sexual immorality is. wrong view of man. In the end it views men as beasts; it declares that the passions and instincts which they share with the beasts must be shamelessly gratified. It regards the other person merely as an instrument through which that gratification can be obtained..if men regarded themselves and others as the sons and daughters of God then moral laxity would automatically be banished from life.' [Note:. Barclay pp. 52-53]

'covetous' -'a miser' (Nor) 'The more surprising items are "the greedy and swindlers", surprising because to our way of thinking such sins seem less egregious (yes. had to get the dictionary out on this one too, it means "remarkably bad, flagrant") than sexual immorality or idolatry...means not just to desire what is not one's own, but often carries the sense of carrying through on the desire to the point of defrauding or taking advantage of someone else.' (Fee pp. 223-224)

'If we judge things by purely material standards there is no reason why we should not judge them by the standard of self-interest, there is no reason why we should not dedicate our lives to the task of getting. But Christianity introduces the spirit into life which looks outwards and not inwards. It makes love the highest value in life and therefore service the greatest honour. When the love of God is in. man's heart he will find his joy not in getting but in giving.' (Barclay p. 53)

'an idolater' -'There was idolatry. Ancient idolatry paralleled in modern superstition...it is. basic rule of life that. man must worship something. (Romans 6:13; Romans 6:16) And unless he worships the true God he will worship the gods of luck and chance. Whenever religion grows weak superstition grows strong.' (Barclay p. 53)

'It should be noted that all three of these sins--sexual immorality, idolatry, and greed--were particularly prevalent in the Corinth of the mid-fifties A.D.' (Fee p. 224)

'reviler' -'a man with. foul tongue.' (Phi) 'Covers all forms of verbal abuse--to malign, revile, slander--and reflects the kind of coarse talk often associated with the rabble.' (Fee p. 225) 'the foul-mouthed abuser of others.' (Gr. Ex. N.T. p. 812)

'drunkard' -'Notice that the New Testament does not treat drunkenness as. sickness, but as. sin.' (Willis p. 175)

Considering the fact, that 'the pagan world in general had very little to say in. negative way about drunkenness, except as it led to other vices--violence, public scolding of servants, unseemly sexuality.' (Fee p. 225) This demonstrates that right and wrong are not determined by the culture in which one lives.

'extortioner' -'thief' (Phi); 'swindler' (Nor)

Point to Note:

Since other sins, which are not mentioned here, also are said to exclude one from heaven (1 Corinthians 6:9; Galatians 5:19; Revelation 21:8). The above specific sins, are not the only sins that one can be withdrawn from for. Any persisted in sin, can become grounds for withdrawal. (Matthew 18:15 ff)

'not to eat' -"It is arguable that limiting it to the Lord's Table would make the 'not even' unnecessary, that is, one may assume that he would not partake of the Table; they are 'not even' to carry on ordinary social intercourse with him.' (Fee p. 226) (2 John 1:10; 2 Thessalonians 3:14)