Yesterday we looked at two reactions we tend to have toward sin—letting it slide or focusing on it too much. Paul advocates for balance. As those who have received God’s grace, we need to take sin seriously.
Read 1 Corinthians 5:9–13.
According to Paul, whom should Christians avoid? How does that sit with you?
9When I wrote to you before, I told you not to associate with people who indulge in sexual sin. 10But 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. 11I 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. 12It isn’t my responsibility to judge outsiders, but it certainly is your responsibility to judge those inside the church who are sinning. 13God will judge those on the outside; but as the Scriptures say, “You must remove the evil person from among you.”
Paul doesn’t beat around the bush. He says the church should not associate with sexually immoral people who claim to be Christians. In verse 11, he broadens the command to include many more types of Christians.
So, does that mean we can’t hang out with anyone? We all have some sort of sin we’re dealing with, right?
Paul isn’t saying we should avoid all people with sin in their life. For one, he goes out of his way to say he’s not talking about non-Christians. We should hang around people who don’t know Jesus. That’s often how people become Christians.
But he’s also not saying shun someone who slips up or who actively seeks help with a sin problem. We all mess up. It’s part of being human. The beauty of being a member of the family of God comes when we help each other turn away from sin and toward God.
But part of membership in God’s family is that we, together, live like Jesus. That means we don’t tolerate persistent, unrepentant, habitual sin. People who actively rebel against God will damage the church.
It’s as if you are holding hands in a line of ten people and one person tries to pull the group in a different direction—the line could eventually split apart or change its course.
That’s why Paul wants the Corinthians to be proactive about this man’s unrepentant sin. It’s for the sake of the entire group of Christians and it’s for the benefit of the man—a wake-up call could bring him around.
It’s all a part of the backward-to-the-world life Paul’s been talking about in 1 Corinthians. The church should be different. If we hold each other to Jesus’s standard, we stand out.
So how are you doing with all of this? Does Paul’s aggressiveness toward sin bother you? Or is it more normal to you?
Close your time today in prayer. Express what you’re feeling to God. Ask him questions.
And then take five minutes to listen to Him.
If you had a chance to ask God about what you read today, what questions would you have, and how would He answer?
Text your response to the above prompting questions to your group and/or share it as a comment below
With everything Paul is saying does not bother me at all. I can see why we need to pluck out any sins in our family. Because one, although small thing can spread potentially. It could be almost like a Trojan horse for the devil. We cannot allow for any of that trespassing. At the same time though I also see the perspective of we are called to love onto others and how much loving would we be doing if we just let them slide and continue to be bondage and chained to the sin they are struggling with. The only way to really make light of the sin to just say it like it is. Essentially nowadays, call you out on it. Now in terms of how God will speak to me is up in the air. From my experience, I have seen God work in mysterious and crazy ways. I also know God not only speaks to us through his word, but through the Holy Spirit within us and also his people that he’s out around us. In my silent time I did not hear God. Partly because I was just trying to clear my head from everything else I’ve been just thinking about in terms of family, work, school, and finances. I know God will speak to me in some form, one way or another if he has something to tell me.
Paul’s attitude and actions towards sin is a good example of confrontation and accountability. As members of the church we ought to practice similar actions to help our brothers and sisters to grow. It is of course easier said than done. We need to pray about it and our motive needs to be out of love. We need to first check ourselves I pray we can grow to have that kind love and courage to care as Paul does for the Corinthians.