God judges those outside the Body of Christ we are to judge those inside who claim Him as their own.
Paul is not referring to the sexually immoral people of the world (his mission field), but to those who call themselves Christians and participate in sexual immorality. He views such people as dangerous to the overall health of the congregation since they may entice others to follow them in sin.
Paul intends for the immoral believer to be expelled so that he may repent and then be restored back to the community. Faithlife Bible.
Christians are called to influence the world, not run away from it. They are agents of God to carry the light of Jesus Christ into a dark world. Eating together is a key part of fellowship and closeness with others. The Corinthians were not to have fellowship with those who claimed to be Christians but whose lives were dominated by sin.
The church’s responsibility is to discipline its members while trusting the Lord to judge the world. NKJ Bible.
1 Corinthians 5:9–11 (NKJV)
9 I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people. 10 Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. 11 But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner—not even to eat with such a person.
1 Corinthians 5:13 (NKJV)
13 But those who are outside God judges. Therefore “put away from yourselves the evil person.”
2 Corinthians 6:14 (NKJV)
14 Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?
No comments:
Post a Comment