Shouldn't this person [involved in scandalous sex] and his conduct be confronted and dealt with? (5:2)
You must not simply look the other way and hope it goes away on its own. Bring it out in the open and deal with it in the authority of Jesus our Master. (5:3)
Hold this man's conduct up to public scrutiny. Let him defend it if he can! But if he can't, then out with him! (5:4)
Your flip and callous arrogance in these things bother me. You pass it off as a small thing, but it's anything but that. (5:6)
But I am saying that you shouldn't act as if everything is just fine when a friend who claims to be a Christian is promiscuous or crooked, is flip with God or rude to friends, gets drunk or becomes greedy and predatory. You can't just go alone with this, treat it as acceptable behavior. I'm not responsible for what the outsiders do, but don't we have some responsibility for those within our community of believers? (5:11-13)Paul says a lot of uncomfortable, counter-cultural (Christian and non-Christian culture!), and challenging words about correcting behavior within the church. As much as I'd like this to be about the sin I see in my community of believers, God isn't letting me off the hook today.
Rather than looking around and judging everyone else, God is asking me to look at myself first, to take the log out of my own eye:
- Shouldn't I confront and deal with my sinful patterns and quit ignoring them?
- Isn't He telling me to bring my sin out in the open and deal with it in the authority of Jesus?
- Why have I been reluctant to let others into what I'm struggling with, not wanting to hold it up to public scrutiny?
- Haven't I been passing my sin pattern off as "a small thing" and "no big deal," treating it as acceptable behavior?
Honestly, my pride has kept me from bringing my sin fully into the light. It's embarrassing. I "should" be able to deal with it myself, and I'm not as bad as others I know who deal with the same thing. (Yeah, right.)
I haven't wanted to admit that my struggle with anger seems to be getting worse. I feel overwhelming rage welling up in me more than I'd like, triggered by seemingly insignificant things, and I don't know what to do with it. I've tried to get a handle on it, but I'm stuck in a pattern I don't necessarily understand. I don't want to be angry, but I am. The root appears to be far deeper than I thought, and I don't know how to unearth it.
So I'm finally dealing with it.
I'm not just going it alone anymore and treating it as acceptable behavior. It's not. My family doesn't deserve a wife and mom who walks around with a black cloud over her head, angry over whoknowswhat, and missing out on the joy that Jesus promises.
"First Corinthians 5 is devoted almost entirely to correction. There's a relentless quality to the Word of God, which we find here in this chapter, that insists we face up to our sin. Whether that sin is indolence, idolatry, or immorality, we must face it squarely and deal with it decisively. For if that diseased part of the body is not dealt with, not only is the individual member of the body at risk of dying, but it also puts the entire body at risk." Eugene Peterson, Conversations, pg. 1777I keep reminding myself that God's timing is perfect, never early, never late. There's a reason all of this is rearing its ugly head. Now is the time for me to deal decisively with my sin. The stakes are high. I don't want to put myself and my family at risk by allowing the enemy to continue to have a foothold in my heart.
Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner.
What about you? What is God prompting you to unearth in your own heart?
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