1st Corinthians 5: Expel the Immoral Brother

Lately I've been having some thoughts weighing heavily on my heart because of all of the rumors and struggles I've come to realize that the church has flowing through it and around about it. The concept of judgment and hypocrisy seem to be on the minds of all of the non-believers. This troubles me because as "Christians" we should be beacons of Jesus' love and the fruit of the Spirit should be flowing out from us. The fact that all of these awful stories about our brothers, and maybe even about some of us, are circulating is a surefire sign that these things are happening in and among us.

"The single greatest cause of atheism in the world today is Christians who acknowledge these with their lips and then walk out the door and deny them by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds...Unbelievable."

I feel that there is a need for some perspective here regarding the issues of judgment on sinners and Christians alike. Here is the truth of the matter for those that are willing to ponder it.

Jesus spent His time with the worst of the worst, and why? Because He was "here for the sinners of the world, not for the saved". When we look at Jesus' life we find a rather incredible characteristic. He surrounded Himself with the most "unholy of the unholy", in the eyes of Christians, and He still remained flawless. What's worse, the words that He spoke with the most passion, and the strongest tones of judgment were those aimed at the one's that believed they were holy, but were so lost in their own power and self-righteousness that they completely missed all of what God really intended for them. Jesus' comment about creating sons that were "twice the sons of hell as you are" were directed at the Pharisees, the "holiest of the holy". Does this strike you as backwards? Those who were on a path destined to hell, were less damaging to the world than those who believed they were on the path to righteousness.

So why didn't Jesus pass judgment on the sinners of the world, but He did pass it on those who believed they were holy? The truth of the matter was, they didn't need judgment and accountability in the same terms as the Pharisees, because they weren't even on the right path to begin with. He didn't concern Himself with constantly condemning people based on things they had never heard, He showed them the truth...The truth that the "holiest" were missing and outright neglecting. If there were any life in all of history to emulate, it would be that of Jesus...so why don't we? We, as Christians, should not be passing judgment on those that have yet to hear the truth! If you never tell someone to do something you can't hold them accountable for not doing it. If you noticed Jesus showed the people the truth, and then He showed His strict and passionate judgment towards those who thought they knew the truth but were really lost.

Paul clearly addresses this in 1st Corinthians 5:12-13 when he states, "What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside. 'Expel the wicked man from among you.'" Now I think a little elaboration about this is in order because I think this is where the church begins to seriously slip up. So often the church begins to do exactly what Jesus criticized the Pharisees of which, as we all know, is a very, very dangerous place to be. They began to rely more heavily on human tradition rather than the truths that God had given them. They actually became walking contradictions to God's law because of their dependence on man's traditions which were based on proper terms, but had now been given more authority and caused a blindness to the actual truth placed plainly in His Word.

If a man's faith is weak Paul urges us not to condemn him, but to help build him up and brace him so he may stand up again. It is our job as the body of Christ to encourage one another when we stumble and we fall (which is inevitable). Here is where the tightrope walk begins. There is a fine line between passing judgment that is necessary and getting caught up in overly self-righteous, discouraging behavioral patterns. When someone makes a minor, or even a large mistake we are to demonstrate love and compassion for those that fall as long as the will to repent is there! It is not for us to judge unless they are living an immoral life with pride, and then still continue to parade around with the name of Christ. Paul warns us so starkly about having fellowship with someone who takes the good name of Christ and slanders it with is lifestyle that he flat out says, "With such a man do not even eat!" Even if someone slips into adultery and falls flat on his face, it is our job as the body of Christ to help him up and to encourage him as long as he is willing to repent and move forward in Christ and leave that life behind him. How often to we miss these opportunities? We literally drop the ball as the body of Christ so often that we drive people to leave the church which is the absolute antithesis Christ's ministry.

In the very first sentence of verse 2 Paul says the key to the whole concept, "AND YOU ARE PROUD!..." This is the key to the whole concept. If a man falls on his face, but is willing to repent, acknowledges his sin we are to embrace him as a brother and build him up just as Christ would do. How many of us view David as "A man after God's own Heart"? Do we ever really think about how many times that man fell flat on his face, yet God always picked him back up? God brought him out of more despair than maybe any other man in all of existence. He wrote more of our peace giving psalms than maybe any other man in history. If we view this man so highly, despite his flaws, should we not prize our brothers who fall in the same manner, as long as they repent and turn back towards God's love? We need to get off our high horses of righteousness and realize that we are all under the same grace as the worst of the worst. In God's eyes we are all equally putrid comparatively, but His infinite grace covers us all the same way. I know for a fact that I have done far more horrible things than many other people that I know, but I am covered by the same grace as they are. Paul said in Romans 5:20, "...But where sin increased, grace increased all the more." It's time we start living under Christ's concept of grace which is given through repentance, for none of us are righteous.

Another really important concept that I will leave to a snippet is this...When those of us do fall flat on our faces it is vital to Christ's body not to all jump on the person and make them aware of their sin. Only speak truth into the lives of those who give you access or it will fall on deaf ears regardless. We as Christians always seem to feel obligated to pass judgment and assume the worst of every situation for everything and everyone, but the real test is always, "How would you feel if this were happening to you." Right and wrong is perfectly demonstrated through your reaction to equal circumstances. We are vessels of encouragement, love, and peace NOT judgment, condemnation, and brimstone. Keep in mind who the judge is, and remember that we will be held to the same standards that we judge others according to. Judge by grace and you shall be judged by grace.

I really hope you learn from this what has been demonstrated to me. And remember, these are God's words...Not mine. None of us are anything but vessels.