Suggested Reading: 1 Corinthians 5:1-13
The 2013 Boston bombings stirred up a lot of feelings for
people. The fact that those bombings were once again committed by Islamic
Jihadists upset many people. More than once I heard
people lament that, in their opinion, moderate Muslims had not spoken up
enough to condemn acts of violence committed in the name of their religion,
that their alleged silence not only condoned these heinous acts but encouraged
future atrocities. Whether those complaints had much merit or were simply
voiced by people who hadn't listened to Muslim condemnations of the violence
is a matter that could be debated at length, but the issue itself points to a
problem within the Christian community, especially in America.
American society, and much of the American church has taken
Jesus' and James' call to refrain from judging people and applied it everywhere
but in the appropriate context. Why do I say this? Because of what Paul also
has to say in 1 Corinthians 5:9-13: I wrote to you in a letter not to associate
with sexually immoral people. I did not mean the immoral people of this world
or the greedy and swindlers or idolaters; otherwise you would have to leave the
world. But now I am writing you not to associate with anyone who claims to be a
believer who is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or verbally abusive, a
drunkard or a swindler. Do not even eat with such a person. For what business
is it of mine to judge outsiders? Don’t you judge those who are inside? But God
judges outsiders. Put away the evil person from among yourselves (HCSB).
Jesus and Paul had two different contexts as Paul makes
clear in the opening verses of this passage. We are not supposed to judge the
people of this world, no matter how sinful their behavior appears. We cannot hold outsiders to the same standards to which we would hold
ourselves. We are supposed to provide loving witnesses to those people so that
nothing we do will keep them from coming to God. But for believers, the
standard is entirely different. We are supposed to hold believers (or those who
claim to be) to a higher standard. When we see them living in ways that are
consistently opposed to the teachings of Christ we are to let everyone
know that they don't represent us and to have nothing to do with them until
they get their acts straight. Not because we are better than them or above
them, but because condoning their sinful behavior with our silence and
acceptance provides a very bad witness to the people we are trying to reach.
We are not supposed to judge sinners. We are supposed to
love them. Sometimes that means loving them enough to condemn the actions of
those who should know better so that the damage to the Church's witness is minimized.
Remember, even Jesus judged the religious people of his day for their
hypocrisy.
