Bad company corrupts and leads a person away from God, so the biblical call is to separate from it.
Paul uses the absence of resurrection to show how people fall into 'eat, drink, and be merry.' He then commands believers not to keep company with a professing brother who lives in sin. Les explains the goal is restoration, not cruelty.
1 Corinthians 5:11 — Directly instructs believers not to keep company with a professing brother living in sin.
1 Corinthians 5:10 — Clarifies that avoiding all immoral people in the world is not the point; the command targets those inside the church.
1 Corinthians 15:32 — Shows the 'eat, drink, and be merry' mindset that takes over when the resurrection is removed.
The Bible is direct about company. 1 Corinthians 5:10 says a command against associating with fornicators cannot mean the world's immoral people, or a believer would have to leave the world. 1 Corinthians 5:11 then names the real issue: if a man is called a brother but is a fornicator, covetous, idolater, railer, drunkard, or extortioner, believers are not to keep company with him, 'no not to eat.' 1 Corinthians 15:32 shows the world's philosophy: if the dead rise not, 'let us eat and drink; for to morrow we die.' These verses reveal that unchecked bad company pulls a person into a life lived only for today.
Les ties this to the Epicurean mindset that says, 'Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow you die' — no thought of meeting God or eternity. He points out that this is the direction the world is heading. He says that once a person is genuinely saved, the whole circle of friendships will probably change, because the believer occupies a different world; however, that does not make him so heavenly minded that he is no earthly good. Les emphasizes Paul's instruction in 1 Corinthians 5 concerns not the unsaved people at work but professing believers living in sexual immorality or other open sin. With such a person, the believer is not even to sit down and eat. The point is to make that person feel set aside so he will be brought to his senses. A saved person living in sin is miserable, and when fellow believers shun him, the reality comes home. Les also warns against self-deception and the speed with which a reputation can be destroyed.
No. Paul makes it clear that if the instruction meant avoiding every fornicator, covetous person, extortioner, or idolater in the world, you could not leave the world. The command is specifically about someone who claims to be a brother, a member of the believing company, and is living in open sin. With such a person, the believer is not even to eat.
It is not cruelty. The separation makes the person feel set aside and excluded from Christian company. This is designed to bring him to his senses, especially because a genuinely saved person who goes into sin is miserable at heart — he knows he is wrong and the Lord is dealing with him.
Les says when you become a believer, the whole circle of your friendships will probably change. The believer's desires begin to change because there are two totally different worlds. But this does not mean being useless on earth; the believer still works, functions, and plans.
When people remove the resurrection and eternity from their thinking, the natural result is living for immediate satisfaction — eating, drinking, having fun, and satisfying the flesh. Les identifies this as the Epicurean outlook, and it is the mindset that bad company encourages.
The Epicurean Mindset
Les describes the pagan outlook that says eat, drink, and be merry because death is the end — the kind of attitude bad company promotes when God and eternity are ignored.
Separating From a Sinning Brother
Paul's command is not to keep company with a man called a brother who lives in sin — not even to eat with him — so that he will feel set aside.
Not About the World's Sinners
The instruction only applies to immoral people inside the church; avoiding all sinners in the world would require leaving the world.
Friendships Change at Salvation
When salvation happens, the believer's circle of friendships should change because he now belongs to a different world — though he still functions in daily life.
Carnal vs. Spiritual Priorities
The world is consumed by salary, homes, cars, and boats, but when these blind a person to spiritual truth, the result is spiritual death rather than life and peace.
Don't Be Deceived
Les warns against self-deception: the person who thinks he is wise by the world's standards must become a fool in the world's eyes to gain real wisdom.
The Goal of Separation
Shunning a sinning believer is not nastiness; it is a loving discipline meant to bring him to his senses, because a saved man living in sin cannot truly be happy.
Reputation Destroyed Quickly
Les quotes his mother: a lifetime to build a reputation, five minutes to destroy it — unguarded association with sin can bring moral collapse.
1 Corinthians 5:10: Yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world.
This clarifies that the command against company is not about avoiding every sinner in the world, but about the church.
1 Corinthians 5:11: But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat.
This is the central command: believers must not keep company with a professing brother living in open sin.
1 Corinthians 15:32: If after the manner of men I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantageth it me, if the dead rise not? let us eat and drink; for to morrow we die.
This shows the worldly philosophy of living only for today when the resurrection is removed.
1 Corinthians 3:18: Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise.
This warns against the self-deception that comes from trusting worldly wisdom and bad company.
Romans 8:6: For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
This is the ultimate consequence of a life governed by fleshly, worldly company versus spiritual priorities.
Both, but Paul's command in 1 Corinthians 5 is specifically about a person who claims to be a brother yet lives in sin. He clarifies that avoiding all immoral people in the world is impossible; the instruction is about the church.
No. The purpose is to make that person feel set aside and bring him to his senses. Les points out that a sinning believer cannot really be happy because he knows he is doing wrong and the Lord is dealing with him.
Les says yes — the whole circle of friendships will probably change because you now belong to a different world. This doesn't mean you stop functioning in daily life; you still work and plan.
Watch the Teaching: Why Paul Said "I Die Daily" — 1 Corinthians 15:31 Explained