I wrote to you in my
epistle
to keep company with
sexually immoral
people.
Yet I certainly did
not mean
with a 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.
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 extortion or --
-- not even
to eat with such a
person.
1 Corinthians 5: 9 --
11
Paul advises
Christians to be discerning in regards to who are attending the church. It is extremely clear that the Holy Spirit
inspired Paul to write how we are to judge with whom we associate. Are we to simply become acetic as did many
people and monks who separated from the world in monasteries, that is, to
cloister, that means to live in a place or state of seclusion usually defined as
a walled area with open spaces. The
Christian monk embraced this of monastic life as a vocation for God and his
goal was to attain eternal life in the presence of God. What is missing here is that God is with His people wherever they are and we need not do anything to be in His eternal presence. Monasticism is not confined to just
Christianity for there are similar forms of this type of religious life that
exist in other faiths, most notably in Judaism, also in Hinduism, and Jainism,
although the expressions differ considerably.
Monasticism formed early in the Christian church and even Tertullian (ca. 150-225), one
of the early Church fathers and a noted Christian apologist in his later years
became even more disturbed over the complacency that he saw in the church
leadership. Tertullian, who was
trained in law, and spoke Greek and Hebrew fluently, and with this disturbance
in regard to church leadership and the fact that many were concerned over the
fact that Jesus had not yet returned to Earth as promised wrote his apologetic
works that defended orthodox Christianity against various heretics. Tertullian
much of his writings were to help the Christians understand what it meant for
the return of Jesus Christ and who Jesus Christ was as the second person of the
Trinity. It is true that Tertullian
joined the charismatic Montanist sect as they also shared many of his views
regarding the ecclesiastical complacency and their strict moralism and their
early Christian hope of the imminent return of Christ. Unfortunately the Montanist sect became
extremely radical if not outrightly heretical. Tertullian removed himself from their radicalism.
This is not what Paul was advising so that many would become secluded
and cloistered in monasteries as the monks or nuns, rather he was writing to
the Corinthian Christians in regards to how they were to handle immorality in
the congregation and not to be separated from the world which they cannot
be separated from. It would be stupid to
say that even in a monastery you are separated from this world for you are not,
you are still part of the world only you are not participating necessarily
outrightly. Therefore, Paul is telling
us that we are to keep our congregations morally clean and we do this by not
keeping company with anyone that is a name to a brother who is involved in
immorality. How are we to handle such a
situation? Jesus told us exactly how we
are to go about handling those Christians who are going or have gone astray: "Moreover if your brother sins against
you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained her
brother. But if he will not hear, take
with you one or two more that by the amount of two or three witnesses every
word may be established. And if he
refuses to hear then, tell it to the church.
But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a
heathen and a tax collector" (Matthew 18:15 -- 17). The Bible is very clear on this matter
that we are discussing. Unfortunately
within the church today seldom, if ever in some cases, is this rubric followed,
and the immoral people are allowed to continue with in the church. That is
definitely in total contradiction to what Jesus said and what Paul wrote to
the Corinthian's who had this problem. Is the Bible is your guide for life or are you following some other
teaching. The goal is not to be hateful
for what we are doing when we excommunicated person due to their immorality as this is
to make cause for them to repent. But do
not let this one fact goes unnoticed: "... not even to eat with such a person." Did
I say it takes courage to be a Christian?
Yes! Does it take holding fast
to their convictions in regards to what Jesus has instructed us and to us
becoming in the image of Jesus Christ?
Yes! Are we to be committed to
our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ?
Yes! We are to judge those
inside of our congregations: "For
what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside? But those who are outside God judges. Therefore "put away from yourselves
that you will person" (1 Corinthians 5: 12 -- 13; Deuteronomy 17: 7). This may be hard to digest what we must
digest it if we are to grow in our sanctification, that is from milk to meat,
to be mature, to grow in our faith so that we are able to not only answered
questions forwarded to us by others, but also to be able to keep our
congregations clean from immorality.
Question: how will you handle Paul's instruction?
The heart is
deceitful above all things,
and desperately wicked;
who can know it? I,
the LORD, search the heart,
I test the mind, even to give every
man
according to his
ways, according to the fruit of his doings.
Jeremiah 17:9 -- 10; see, Romans 2:6
God our hope, and
our salvation
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