1 Corinthians 5:9-13 says
" I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people- 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. 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. For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those ISIDE THE CHURCH who you are to judge? God judges those outside. " Purge the evil person from among you".
Wow, is it just me or are we lacking this today? Are we really turning our association from the "brother" that is in sin or are we tolerating sin in the church in the name of grace? Why do we occupy ourselves with judging those that do not claim Christ and are outside the church?
These were just a few thoughts that have come to my mind w/ the above passages.. Any other thoughts?
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4 comments:
In everything there is a balance, of course. We are not to simply "stop being friends" with Christians who are in sin, but that friendship needs to change from "everything's hunky-dory, let's hang out" to "there's sin in your life, and I want you to be restored".
"Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ." (Gal 6:1-2)
Other relevant passages:
Mat 18:15-22
2 Thes 3:14-15
Heb 12:11-17
James 5:19-20
I think the worst thing that a community of Christians can do is to ignore sin, but a close second is to simply send those who are in sin somewhere else as if they aren't their problem anymore; as if the body of Christ were not one, and one member suffering were irrelevant as long as that suffering occurred elsewhere.
2 Cor 2:5-11 is the follow-up to the passage that you quoted from 1 Cor 5. The person in immorality was excommunicated from the Church (not just the local church, btw), and as a result of others taking his sin seriously, he had repented of his sin.
The Corinthians were therefore instructed to receive him back as a brother, since the requisite repentance and restoration had taken place. Since Paul had pronounced judgement on him in his first letter, they were waiting for his approval to restore him, and since Paul couldn't be there, he included it in his letter.
It would seem that they swung the pendulum too far in both directions, looking for a rule instead of a principle. They were initially operating on the rules of "liberty" and "acceptance". When Paul corrected them, they started operating on the rule of "judgement".
What should have guided them was love: not a sentimental tolerance for bad behavior, but a true desire that they would see their brother walking in righteousness, because that is what is best for him, and therefore best for the Church.
That is the guiding principle of all godly church discipline and restoration.
Thanks for your thoughtful response Tim :)
I whole heartedly believe in forgiving and restoring those who have repentant hearts...
Let me give you more of a picture of what I was thinking w/ this post.
When I was in high school I was the President of the Christian Club and I invited everybody of course but I wanted to find out who the Christians were so they could help me out.. I decided to visit a church that was across the street from my high school to try and accomplish that goal.
When I arrived I saw several guys who were well known on campus for the party and sex life (not only by rumors but hearing unwanted stories from their own mouths).. I wouldn't even guess they were "Christian". In fact, I assumed they were visiting too.
When the worship began these very same guys had their hands lifted up, eyes closed, and knew all the lyrics to the songs.. that's when I almost fell over :)
After observing their behavior at church and on campus I decided not to invite them to the Christian club. I learned that they identified themselves as Christian but in all reality there was nothing in there life that said they were and I didn't want non-christians to get the idea that their lifestyle was the normal Christian standard. I did not know the 1 Cor. passage at the time but something inside me could not and did not want to associate with them.
But, I would conclude that there is a process in which forgiveness and restoration is always available (we wouldn't want to take away from God's grace ).. I think most people would agree with that.
It's the first, intial part of church disipline as we call it that I feel is lacking in our modern day and age.
Good job standing up for good, reputable Christian behavior. I think in this case, with the information you've given, you did the right thing. We should not participate in giving the impression that recurring unholy behavior without repentance is acceptable.
I think this is a really good topic to discuss because very rarely do we see this kind of intra-church discipline and restoration being practiced. Most often we see one of two extremes: either the behavior continuing unchallenged or the person is cut off from fellowship like a leper.
As someone who has experienced the confrontation and restoration process laid out in Matthew 18 first hand with a very dear "brother" I really want to emphasize that the motive behind it all is love.
First, we are to act on first hand knowledge about a brother's sin. Gossip or hearsay doesn't count because the accusation is not reputable and the motive does not involve love. Then there are further steps of slowly adding reliable witnesses before anything is made public in an attempt to keep the issue to the most intimate and supportive environment as the brother will respond to.
Taking accusations of a brother in sin to the church or even church leadership without going through the earlier steps is not acting in love. Nor does it reflect the process the Holy Spirit allows us.
Let me tell you that a successful confrontation and restoration is a beautiful thing! After using the Bible as a guide on the steps to take with this dear Christian it occurred to me that they were very common-sense steps besides reflecting the work of the Holy Spirit in our own lives. What a privilege to participate in such a process!
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