TO JUDGE OR NOT TO JUDGE   -  1 Corinthians 5.7-13

Paul continues his message about sin among the believers:

  Get rid of the old “yeast” by removing the wicked person from among you.  Then you will be like a fresh batch of dough made without yeast, which is really what you are.  Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed for us.  So let us celebrate the festival, not with the old bread of wickedness and evil, but with the new bread of sincerity and truth.

  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 Scriptures say, “You must remove the evil person from among you.”    1 Cor. 5.7-13, NLT

Good Day!

Ah . . . what to do with Paul’s strong words as we read them in 2010~

That is the question, isn’t it?  Are Paul’s teachings ‘yesterday’s news’, or do they apply to believers today?  Excommunication.   I do not remember the last time I heard of church discipline, though that is clearly what Paul demands be exercised in the case of immoral behavior of one of the church  members.  This passage is a complement to Matthew 18, where protocol is given by Jesus for handling personal concerns between two individuals, usually within the confines of a church. The person who feels he has been sinned against is urged to confront the person privately. If this fails, he is to bring a witness. If this attempt fails, the next step is to bring it to the church. If the person continues in sin, he is to be publicly rebuked and may be excommunicated. “In the church” are key words here; Paul is not suggesting we should be attempting to correct the immoral behavior of outsiders.  Goodness knows, the church has her hands full with her own!

From the outset of Paul’s letter to the Corinthian believers, he says Christians are “called to be saints,” called to be holy.  We are to be different from ‘the world’.  You know, word of sin spreads like wildfire in the church community—especially sexual sin, so it must not go unaddressed by the body.  Otherwise, the church of God is blemished, her people painted as hypocrites and her witness rendered useless and ineffective.

No, we are ‘called out people’—a chosen generation - 1

         lifted up  - 2

                  to put away the old, and

                                    become new creations,  - 3

                                             empowered to be his witnesses. - 4

“So, you’re saying we should judge sin?  What about when it says, ‘judge not, lest ye be judged’?”  This mandate from Matthew 7 has to do with refraining from judging the motives of the hearts of others, which is not the same thing Paul is discussing.  Paul is talking about overt immoral behavior that must not be tolerated.

Stepping back from this fifth chapter of 1 Corinthians, I feel a little unsettled.  Realizing I could come across as haughty and sanctimonious, I am keenly aware of my sin.  I look back over my shoulder at times gone by, (thankfully, quite a long time gone by!), and recall when I chose to sin and ‘feel good at the time’, with careless disregard for my Lord.  I do not want to be ‘there’ again.  What’s to prevent that?  Awareness.  Remembering.  Commitment.  Discipline.  Grace is free to me, but it cost the Passover Lamb, Jesus, everything.  I just don’t want to spit all over that…do you know what I mean? 

To judge or not to judge?  Yes, I will judge me—by his standards. 

Grace to you,

Christine

1  1 Peter 2.9

2  Psalm 40.2

3  2 Corinthians 5.17

4  Acts 1.8