1 Corinthians 16:13-14
Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. Do everything in love.
Reading the Chronological Bible?
I'd really like to know your thoughts... Double click on the Title of today's blog and scroll down to the comment section. There you can share!I've hesitated to share today... It's heavy. And it's a hard message that I'm still working through. That's why I'd love to hear your thoughts. (Your God thoughts - not your flesh thoughts. I've got enough of those for both of us!)
Have you ever read Paul's message to the Corinthians - specifically chapter 5? In this passage, Paul is specifically speaking to believers... He's telling them to, "Grow up!" And he's defining the code of behavior. Behavior believers are to have toward other believers and unbelievers.
1 Corinthians 5:9-13, NLT (bold mine.)
"...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."
Whew! Is that strong or what? Remember: this is believer to believer. And the underlining theme is, "grow up!"
After reflecting on this passage, I realized I've fallen for some of the lies from Satan:
- The lie of maintaining political correctness at all cost. Paul in essence says, "Call sin what it is and do not associate with that believer."
- The lie of, "you aren't allowed to judge me." A mentality that much of our country hides behind. Believer to believer - Paul says judge. But those who are not believers - leave judgement to God. (Would love to learn more of your thoughts here.)
- The lie of, "God is a God of grace, grace and more grace. Even if that means turning a blind eye to sin amongst believers." hum... Paul says remove this person from among you! Don't even eat with them!
In the past, I have spoken up. And one time when I gently spoke up, I lost friendships. Women who were in Bible study with me - no longer really wanted anything to do with me. But sin was being coddling. When I spoke out - you could feel the air in the room change.
It was not a warm fuzzy moment. And yes, estrangment from beloved friends hurt. But truly, as hard as it is sometimes, God is not always the warm, fuzzy God we want Him to be.
What does this passage look like in your world??? I'd love to know.
I am convicted again of my "fears" and encouraged to be on guard, stand firm, be courageous and strong but in LOVE. Thank you for always pointing us straight to God's Word.
ReplyDeleteI think we must be careful here. We must remember that most of the time when we read about Jesus' frustrations, it was directed toward the religious leaders....the people who were trying to uphold the law, the people who were judging and condemning...the people who were trying to be God himself. When asked, Jesus said everything really came down to this: Love God and love one another as you love yourself (Mat 22:36-40). Yes, God hates sin. But he loves the sinner. We must be careful to find the very tricky line between acknowledging sin as sin and also loving the sinners. We are all sinners. And Satan will use anything he can to divide us...And have us lose faith. (Hebrews 3:13
ReplyDeleteNew International Version (NIV)-13 But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.)
We are called to encourage our fellow believers...(Heb 3:13) to love them and to encourage them.
Again, I want to reiterate that we are not called to look the other way when one is sinning. And it is true that our relationships are critical ("he would walks with wise men will become wise but a companion of fools suffers harm" prov 13:20....and "do not be misled, bad company corrupts good character"- 1 Cor 15:33).
But being a Christian may just not be so black and white. I am just asking us to consider that God, above all else, is LOVE. And he wants us to be that also.
Amanda Daniels
Amanda, well said!
DeleteAmanda, I appreciate your perspective. You are right that love must prevail and Jesus' harshest criticism was reserved for hypocritical religious leaders. This passage is addressed to those in the church, those who claim Christ, those who "bear the name brother." The issue is brought up because there is a man in the church who is sleeping with his father's wife. He professes Christ, but is living in extreme immorality.
ReplyDeletePaul's pretty clear that the immoral people he is speaking of are those who claim Christ yet are unrepentant of sin. All of us have blind spots, but these folks, particularly this one man, are ones who are blatantly living dual lives, claiming Christ, but serving the flesh.
Of course, we all have sin in our lives. Sanctification is a process and won't be complete until the day we see Jesus face to face. The question here is whether or not our hearts are tender to the Spirit and open to correction by a loving sister or brother.
Matthew 18 is a key passage for me as I consider how, when, and most importantly why to confront. I've got to be sure to check my motive. And this is where love comes back in. Am I really being motivated by love? Love for God and his glory? Love for the person who is in sin? Love for the people who are being impacted by her actions? Humility is next. I've got to examine my the log in my eye. Pride is so very dangerous. If there is any part of me that is delighting in someone's struggle, I have disqualified myself from being able to confront in love. I need to repent. Verse 2 of this passage is so helpful. "And you are arrogant. Ought you not rather to mourn?" My heart should be saddened and truly longing for this person to experience the grace and mercy of the Lord .
I agree with you, Amanda, that following Christ is not black and white. The journey is messy and fraught with danger. We do need to encourage one another, which really means to place courage into one another's heart. We need to encourage one another to keep our eyes on the prize and move forward, sometimes soaring, sometimes stumbling, sometimes crawling, but still moving forward.
Thank you, Cindy. Agree wholeheartedly. :)
ReplyDeleteAmanda
I have really been pondering this verse for the past few days now and the verses within the comments as well. I appreciate ALL of the Knowing God Ministries Team for posting real truth.
ReplyDeleteI have enjoyed my time of studying this passage and my view (for what it's worth) is that we are to make sure the church stands pure before the Lord and outsiders looking in. We all need to reflect the love of Christ and the Freedom that can be found through His salvation. If we are muddling it down with sin, then our lights are being hidden rather than on a stand. We are called to be salt and in order to do so, we have to continue to be set apart and live a holy life to lead others through our example, even fallen believers, back to the cross.
If we tolerate sin and allow sin to grow we are allowing lukewarm Christians and I for one, do not want to be spewed out of Christ's mouth... but rather on fire and pointing to Him.
Thank you for always helping me to continue to search my heart and examine my own self. May the Lord bless your faithfulness to Him.
You're right, Tara...this is heavy! It's taken me a few days to just try to wrap my brain around it, and I certainly don't have it figured out. God's timing is amazing, as this is reflecting a situation in my circle of friends right now. I so thankful to those of you who have shared your thoughts - you are friends of God, and I'm blessed to learn from you.
ReplyDelete