1 Corinthians 5

1 Corinthians 5:9-13  I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people--  ¹⁰ not at all meaning the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world.  ¹¹ But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler--not even to eat with such a one.  ¹² For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge?  ¹³ God judges those outside. "Purge the evil person from among you."

The other day I had the opportunity to walk into a situation where family members were discussing family problems.  They weren’t yelling or arguing, they were genuinely discussing challenges their family was facing.  The language was colorful and the images were crude, but they were being real and honest.  They were open about what was bothering them and they were suggesting possible solutions to consider…not that all solutions recommended were good ideas or even legal, but at least they were striving to help and support one another.

A Christian friend of mine also witnessed this encounter.  Afterward, she asked me why I put up with that.  I asked her to clarify what “that” was.  She asked how I could listen to such garbage, gossip, cursing, and all around immoral conversation…especially since I’m a Pastor.  I told her these people are not Christians, how can I expect them to act like Christians?  They are acting worldly because they are.  It’s not for me to judge them, just to love on them and support them in their time of struggle.

Now those who are in the church and claim to be Christian, that’s a different story.  Paul encourages us in today’s Scripture to take a hard look at everyone within the church who claims to be Christian (some folks in the church are just checking things out and are exempt from this scrutiny).  We are to look for those who have fallen off the narrow road.  We need to approach them and encourage them to repent and turn from their sinful ways…we are called to judge one another.  If this person does not turn from their ways, we are to turn from them.

This may seem harsh, but Paul understood how quickly sin can take hold.  Sin has been compared to weeds; they can grow with little nourishment and will spread until out of control if left unchecked.  We need to allow those not in the church grace while keeping an eye on our brothers and sisters in Christ, being quick to address any sin we observe.  We need to be more focused on destroying sin within the church and less concerned about offending.  Sin needs destroying before it takes hold. 

Turn from sin in your own life, seek Him to shine a light on areas that might need attention.

I’m praying for you!

Pastor Amy