1 CORINTHIANS 5
6 Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? 7 Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. 8 Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.9 I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— 10 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. 11 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. 12 For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? 13 God judgesthose outside. “Purge the evil person from among you.”– 1 Corinthians 5:6-13
1 CORINTHIANS 5 JUDGE ONLY THOSE INSIDE THE CHURCH
A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses
The Lord God gave all believers canons of holiness in his laws
If you claim that you are a servant of God, be ready to judge
Judge the believer according to the requirements of God’s commands
Do not judge them based on the world system or your own standards
When you hold the saints accountable for their sins, you show them love
When you ignore the wrongdoing, you will compromise the body of Christ.
Many people misuse the word “judge” and take it out of context. In this letter, Paul actually challenges the Christian church to judge those who belong to the church in verse 12. He also lays the boundary in the same verse that he has nothing to do with judging those outside of the church. Perhaps if we use the word “discern” it will be less jarring to hear. When Paul tells us to judge one another in the church, he is holding us all accountable to follow the laws stipulated by God himself. Why do you think he asks them to do this? I think it is out of obedience and accountability to God that he challenged them to use their judgment to call out sin among the saints. Since God is holy, he expects his people to stay pure and undefiled as well. There are no expectations for outsiders.
REFLECTION
- Why do you think some Christians are afraid to call out sin amongst the church?
