When I wrote to you before, I told you not to associate with people who
indulge in sexual sin. But
I wasn’t talking about unbelievers who indulge in sexual sin, or are greedy, or
cheat people, or worship idols. You
would have to leave this world to avoid people like that. I meant that you are not
to associate with anyone who claims to be a believer yet indulges in
sexual sin, or is greedy, or worships idols, or is abusive, or is a drunkard,
or cheats people. Don’t even eat with
such people. It isn’t my responsibility to
judge outsiders, but it certainly is your responsibility to judge those inside
the church who are sinning. God
will judge those on the outside; but as the Scriptures say, “You must remove
the evil person from among you.” 1 Corinthians
5:9-13
Paul
was consistently misunderstood and criticized for his teaching on sexuality. The apostle was even mentioned by his fellow
apostle, Peter, as being somewhat hard to understand, but acknowledged that Paul’s revelations were from
God, and delivered with the authority of Scripture. Peter further stated that only the twisted
mind (of false believers, not true Christians) mocked what Paul was preaching,
and God would take them to task for it.[1]
So…what
was it Paul taught that was so controversial?
It’s the very same thing you hear as a criticism (mostly from those outside the church), that Christians are judgmental, and critical of anybody
who isn’t as holy as they consider themselves.
It is a blanket condemnation, by unbelievers, that all believers are blanket-criticizers. It’s a little like the pot calling the kettle
black!
Now,
if that’s the misunderstanding of what Paul taught, what is it, precisely, that Paul did teach? He taught just
the opposite – that Christians ought not to judge those who are outside the church. Paul said
expressly that he left that to God. The
responsibility of judging (not of motives or ethical commitment) but behavior of
Christians within the church is necessary, for the purity of God’s bride.
While Paul
focused on sexual sins (sex outside of marriage, including unmarrieds, same-sex,
and adultery), because that was rampant in the Corinthian church, he pointed to
other gross sins that were demeaning to the character and moral ethic of the
people called “Christian”. Among those
were greed, cheating and idolatry.
Without
raking-over the lewd details of any of that list, let me cut right to the chase
this morning. I am not lambasting 21st-Century
culture for being immoral, and un-Christlike; the apostle Paul’s injunction
against pointing fingers at those outside the church still stands. It
is the sin within the camp that strains credulity.
Today’s church (in large percentage) has identified more with the
surrounding culture, than what Scripture identifies as the Bride of
Christ. It is the church’s lukewarmness in embracing those who profess Christ as Savior, but live in open, and unapologetic opposition to moral and
ethical Christian standards.
Sexual
sins, including all forms of homosexuality, and heterosexual activity between unmarried
people, along with every other kind of sin, must be held to accountability within the church before anyone outside the church will seriously take the church as something God-ordained. You clean your own house first!
For You Today
I am not proposing a witch-hunt to weed out the church membership rolls. I am suggesting, however, that pastors had
better quit trying to fill the seats and grow a Corinthian-infested
organization they call a
church. In place, it would be better to
return to the practice of the mourner’s bench, to wait awhile until the fruits
of true salvation are exhibited in the life of those who profess their faith. Otherwise Pastors and elders who ignore this might
hear from Jesus on that Great Judgment Day:
Depart from me…I
never knew you!
There are about 2,000 devotional
posts and 400 sermons in the Rocky Road Devotions
libraryI. To dig deeper on
today’s topic, explore some of these:
The
Third Day and Living
in Sodom
[1] Images: Pixabay.com Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation©
[1] See 2 Peter 2:1-22 and 2 Peter 3:15-16
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