1 Corinthians 5 – 6

Verse 5:1 hit home to many churches today:

Because of my deep love for you, I must express my concern about the report brought to me regarding the lewd and immoral behavior exhibited in your community. This scandal has come to my attention because this kind of thing is unheard of even among the outsiders around us: I understand a man is having sexual relations with his father’s wife.

This is something I can see happening often in churches. We get into a trap where say someone is a great teacher and then divorces for an affair. Do we just say ok, he’s a great teacher and ignore that sin or do we oust him from his position? As you read deeper Paul is not saying salvation is lost, only that Satan is in control of this man and that his spirit “might” be saved on Jesus’ return (v5:5). Again it’s not clear his salvation is secure, just that he is following the wrong leader.

Verse 5:10 is interesting in this translation:

Don’t misunderstand; I’m not telling you to hole up and hunker down from the rest of the world. That’s impossible. The world is filled with immoral people consumed by their desire for more; they steal from one another without hesitation and will worship man-made idols with no shame at all. If you attempted to avoid these people, you would have to leave the world itself.

I can’t imagine Paul saying “hunker down” without a deep slow southern drawl. I first read this and got an image of “Larry the Cable Guy” speaking. I did go back and check the NKJV, NIV and NLT to ensure something was not being lost or added. In this case the italics help clarify the meaning quite well. Paul is not saying avoid the sinful in the world, heck we have to interact to ensure salvation of the lost. They key is not to allow the evil to corrupt the body. Again I use the example of pastor who commits adultery, giving this a pass in the body is like allowing a wound to fester. If you go too long it will kill you, it’s best to clean it out immediately before allowing it to destroy anything.

We have to wait 8 more months before I get to talk about Malachi, but you may want to read it now. You will see a church that has disintegrated because of allowing just this action. It’s an interesting book to review in light of what Paul is saying today.

Verse 6:2 was on that got me wondering and concerned:

Don’t you know that His people are destined to judge the world? If you have the authority to judge the world, can’t you handle these small matters and render a better judgment than the civil courts?

This thread is logical since we, as a body of Christ, should police our own before going to the “earthly authorities” but what got me was the first sentence of this verse. Where does it say that “His people are destined to judge the world”? Where? I tend to like the KJV more that say “the saint will judge” and not the people. Sorry, but I don’t think any living person is really qualified to judge the world outside of Jesus! This has been one of the only points in the Bible I have to take Paul to task for and believe it’s was wrong to say.

In context we need to judge our own, to a point. But we are in no way “destined to judge the world”. Heck we can’t even come to a consensus on what is wrong in the world right now. Homosexuality is one that gets everyone’s knickers in a twist. The Bible is clear it’s a sin, in the OT and NT, but it breaks down from there. If it was a sin that why did God make people that way, since it does appear to be something people are “born with”? Or we are not to judge others (directly in conflict with this statement). I have even heard that Paul was not talking about loving homosexual relationships, but rather promiscuous “bath-house” acts. Heck, I have even heard the “thorn” in Paul’s side was homosexuality.

I pick this because I don’t know the answer. I am leaning towards it being a sin since the fall created a sin nature and flaws in our character, doesn’t matter if we are born with it or not, we need to control it as Christians. Now if I am not a believer or follower of Jesus is this allowed? Or is this part of the world we block for our walls? Again, I am personal not sure since I know a few homosexual who profess Jesus, but not the church.