Today we’re reading 1 Corinthians 5 together. Let’s talk about a few things:
- Paul jumps right to the point in this chapter. There are reports that a man is sleeping with his mother (or step-mother) and some of the church in Corinth are proud of it. Sounds very gross right? Paul says this is repulsive even to people who don’t follow God. He says that this man clearly knows what he’s doing is wrong and doesn’t care; so they should kick him out of their group.
- Paul’s reaction sounds harsh right? Aren’t Christians supposed to be loving? Well, Paul is acting in love, for whole church here. Obviously, anyone would think that sleeping with your mom is wrong (and extremely gross!). Since, he knows and just doesn’t care it wouldn’t help to try to reconcile with this guy. Sometimes “tough love” applies in church. Paul tells them if they let this guy stick around he could influence others to sin and that can’t be allowed.
- In verses 10 and 11, Paul makes it very clear he is passing this “judgment” only because this man claims to be a follower of Jesus. Paul says he doesn’t consider it his business to judge people outside of the church, only those inside. This practice keeps followers of Jesus accountable to other followers but prevents us from becoming judgmental of people who choose not to be a part of church.
Does Paul’s harsh tone with the guy in this chapter sit wrong with you? If so, can you understand it from the perspective that Paul is trying to protect the other people in the church? Also, note that Paul is not advocating Christians becoming judgmental of others; it’s accountability of people inside the church. Do you have anyone in your life to help keep you accountable?
Did you know that there are usually three things that make people repulsed by Christians? Seriously, there’ve been lots of studies by Christians and non-Christians and the results are the same. The three things are that Christians are: hypocritical, judgmental, after your money. That’s the three biggest reasons people refuse to entertain the thought of a God who loves them. Not because of something God did but because of how people who say they follow him live their lives. Crazy huh? If you’re reading this and are still skeptical of God and church do these three things sound about right? If so then I apologize. Sometimes (often unfortunately) people who say they follow Jesus don’t live how Jesus lived.
The weird thing is we can simply just about all of the things Jesus taught down to three words too; integrity, love, generosity. Notice how these contradict the things people hate about Christians today? That’s why Paul’s words in this chapter are so applicable to us still today. We’re to help other followers of Jesus live a life that please God but we can’t tell people who don’t follow Jesus that they’re wrong. It’s not our place and they haven’t chosen to follow the same path in life you have. So just live a life of integrity, show love to everyone and be generous. That’s how we can turn people’s opinion of Christians, the church and God back into something positive.
No comments:
Post a Comment