When It's Loving to Judge Other Christians (1 Corinthians 5:9-11)

I. A Strange Statement?

I don't think it would sound strange to us, when reading over a church website or through a welcome brochure of some sort, if we read something like, “We are a committed community of believers who seek to love others according to the will of God and the example of Jesus.” Amen? Yeah, I suspect that would sound biblical to you, and if you happened to be 'church shopping', I would also think that statement would be attractive. But what if you came across this statement: “We are a committed community of believers who seek to... judge others according to the will of God and the example of Jesus.” Hmm. Amen? Okay. Something sounds strange about that state- ment, doesn't it? And in all likelihood, it's not a statement that you're going to find on any church's website or welcome brochure.

But why not? Is it because the statement is built on a false belief? On teaching that is unbiblical? Or, if the strangeness (or discomfort) of that idea is not about Scripture, could it have something to do with us? With our personal preferences or experiences, or maybe our church culture, or our evangelical culture, or maybe the wider culture? Let's consider those questions by again considering God's word together in the book we know as Paul's first letter to the Corinthians.

II. The Passage: “[Judge] Those Inside the Church” (5:9-13)

As we continue in our ongoing study of God's word this morning, we find ourselves in 1 Corinth-ians 5, vs. 9-13. Since this is the last third of chapter 5, let's take a minute to orient ourselves in terms of the context of this passage. Verse 1 of this chapter makes it clear that there is a doubly shocking situation happening within the Corinthian church: first, a man is sleeping with his step-mother, and second, the other believers and leaders are doing absolutely nothing to address this man's immorality. In fact, in arrogance, the church may have been holding this situation up as an example of just how tolerant and open-minded and sophisticated they were.

But Paul wastes no time in correcting these disciples. As soon as verse 2, Paul makes it clear what should be happening in their fellowship in response to this unrepentant man and his public sin: “Let him who has done this be removed from among you.” Now in the very next verse, 5:3, Paul speaks about how he has “already pronounced judgment” on this man. Do you see that?And along those lines, if we look down at our main verses for this morning, 9-13, we find the words “judging”, “judge”, and “judges” in those final two verses. But the judgment referred to in verses 12 and 13 is now a judgment from the church, not the apostle.

Okay. So before we going any further, I think it's extremely important that we 'define our terms'. When Paul speaks here about biblical judgment from God's people, the context helps us understand that what he has in mind is the church both passing sentence and carrying out that sentence on an unrepentant individual. This is not being 'judgy' or judgmental as most people might envision that kind of attitude and behavior.

So what does this look like then? Well, the first thing Paul does is explain what this doesn't look like. If we go back to our main text, we see right away, Paul makes it clear that, number one, we are not to judge the world in this way.

As Paul continues his counsel about judgment in verses 9-13, notice that he begins this final section by referring to an even earlier letter (thus “First Corinthians” should really be called 'First-Preserved Corinthians'). He reminds them in v. 9 that, “[he] wrote to [them] in [his] letter not to associate with sexually immoral people”. Now, he may go on to clarify here because he had some notion that they misunderstood that teaching (from his first letter) to mean that they should not associate with (v. 10) “the sexually immoral [people] of this world” (i.e., those outside the church). But as is evident in verse 10, that is not what he meant, “since”, as he goes on to explain, “you would then need to go out of the world”.

But wait a minute. How can we reconcile this with what Paul tells them ten chapters later in 15:33... “Do not be deceived: "'Bad company ruins good morals'"? Should we or should we not associate with sinful people outside the church? I think when Paul uses the word “associate” here, he simply means (to use a diplomatic phase) “normalized relations”. Since God's word never teaches us to move to an isolated location and cut off all connections with sinful humanity, then it's assumed that we will associate with our auto mechanic, for example. Or our doctor. Or our teacher or therapist. Or our neighbor, or our city council member, or our supervisor, or who-ever. We will have a 'normalized' relationship with them, even though may be sinful unbelievers.

But having a 'normalized' relationship with my auto mechanic, for example, means I pay them to fix my vehicle. It does not mean me normalizing (or even adopting) his or her sinful lifestyle. Now, it's clear from God's word that we are still called to make judgments about right or wrong. But in light of the definition I gave you earlier, we are not called to judge these people. Look again at verse 12. Paul writes, “For what have I to do with judging outsiders?” I think he's saying something like, “As disciples of Jesus, it isn't my job or your job to spiritually pass judgment on those in the world. And it isn't my job or your job to somehow carry out divine consequences against them.” As Paul says clearly in verse 13, “God judges those outside.”

Sadly, throughout history (and even today), too many who name the name of Christ have ignored these words and crossed that line (or at least flirted with it). Through personal (some-times violent) action or political means, some have sought to do what only God can do: to pass a divine sentence on unbelievers and then carry out that divine sentence, even executing people in the name of Jesus. But again, verse 13 couldn't be any clearer: “God judges those outside.”

So it's clear that we are not to judge the world in this way. But, number two, we are to judge the church in this way. This isn't my idea. It's God's. Look again at verses 12 and 13: “For what have I to do with judging outsiders? [writes Paul] Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? God judges those outside. [But if we are to judge those inside; then we must—using a phrase repeated throughout the book of Deuteronomy (13:5; 17:7; 21:21)...] 'Purge the evil person from among you.'” Just as Paul made clear in vs. 2-5, this unrepentant, sexually immoral man needs to be disciplined by the church. This is in keeping with what Jesus himself taught in Matthew 18. If a disciple is walking in sin, but continues to refuse the counsel of brothers/sisters who are calling him or her to repent, then you must (as Jesus explained)...

...tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector [that is, treat him as a disobedient outsider—someone to be called to repentance and faith]. [Now please don't miss this language of divine sentencing and divine consequences] Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” (Matthew 18:17-20)

And what do the consequences of this discipline look like? Verse 11: “Do not associate with any-one who bears the name of brother [or sister]”, but continues, unrepentant in a sinful lifestyle, even after the appeals of God's people. This means, (again v. 11) “not even to eat with such a one”. That is, no 'normalized relations'. In Romans 16:17, Paul talks about 'avoiding' such people (i.e., steering clear of regular interaction with them). In 2 Thessalonians 3 he uses the phrases “keep away from”, and “have nothing to do with”, when talking about these kinds of individuals.

But here's the question so many will ask in light of these hard passages: is this kind of judgment really loving? Brothers and sisters, friends, not only is this judgment loving, but it's the most loving thing we could do for an individual who is caught in the deceptive and destructive grip of sin. We don't have time to really unpack these, but let me share three biblical reasons to explain this kind of loving judgment. First, loving judgment is for the sake of the sinner. Remember verse 5 of this chapter? They were to cast this man out into the world for “the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.” As James reassures us, “...whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.” (James 5:20) Second, loving judgment is for the sake of the church. As Paul asked in verse 6, “Don't you know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?” If these believers really cared about the church, then they would protect its purity by standing up for what is good and identifying sin as sin. It is not loving to lie about sin and its consequences. Third, loving judgment is for the sake of God's name. Paul spoke regularly about our witness to a watching world. When we do not walk in the truth by treating sin as sin, we hurt that witness. As Paul told his younger associate in 1 Timothy 6:1, let God's people do what is right, “so that the name of God and the teaching may not be reviled.” It is always loving to put God's glory first, no matter the situation.

III. The Hardest Thing, The Greatest Love

Now, on one level, when thinking about practical application here, it's a blessing if this is not presently applicable in terms of situations in our faith family. We thank God for that! But we need to understand this, don't we. More than that, when situations like this arise, we need to be fully committed to this. But if we back up a bit and think about the general principles here, I think it would be relevant for all of us to ask, “Am I willing to do hard things in order to truly love my brothers and sisters?” It's easy to love when people and circumstances are easy. But when it's messy, when it's uncomfortable, when it's unpredictable, when it's costly, when it's time-consuming, are you prepared to love according to God's word? As we've seen, to be a loving church is to be, when necessary, a judging church. Can judgment like this be abused? Can it be unloving? Absolutely. But the two things are meant to go hand in hand. And any discomfort we feel with these categories may be the very reason we struggle to do hard things when it comes to truly loving one another. Think about it: the failure in Corinth began when not even one brother or sister was willing to obey Jesus and go to this man about his sin. Was there no one walking with and watching over this man?* May that no be true of us, Way of Grace. What should be true of us, and I believe is true of us, is that we are willing and able to do hard things to love one another because we are looking to Him who did the hardest thing in order to express the greatest love. The cross is where God lovingly judged sin. It's where Jesus gave his life for the sake of the sinner, the church, and God's name. And it's where the heart and power to love like this comes from. What we're talking about is gospel-shaped love. As we cling to Jesus and die to self, God positions us to truly love others, even when that love is costly. Therefore, given their distortions of the cross, maybe this Corinthian failure shouldn't be surprising. Again, may this not be true of us. Please examine your heart this morning in light of the word, and ask God for that gospel-shaped heart to love others, even when its difficult. And may we stay humble, remembering the judgment we deserve, and looking to the One from whom all true judgment comes.

* Here I misspoke. It's very likely that several believers in Corinth had gone to this brother about his sexual immorality. If Paul was advising this man be put out of the church, then in light of Matthew 18:15-20, it would seem others did confront this brother, only to find him unrepentant. A small group (like "Chloe's people" in 1:11, for example) seem to spiritually healthy and to share Paul's heart from the church. The point I was attempting to make was to stress the overall unhealthiness of the majority, evident in their inaction and arrogance in the matter.