I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people—not at all meaning the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one. For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? God judges those outside. “Purge the evil person from among you.” | 1 Corinthians 5:9–13
In the sermon on Sunday, we saw Jesus eating a meal with the tax collectors and sinners. The scribes were upset about this, and Jesus replied:
“Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” | Mark 2:17
This is such an amazing answer. In it, Jesus addresses both the foolishness of their judgmentalism, but He also invites them to the table. Jesus is encouraging the scribes to stop hiding behind their stature, to recognize that they are sick, and to join the sinners in celebration. This is Jesus revealing His plan of restoration through the analogy of dining with deabauchery. Jesus has not come to call the righteous, because there are none; those who recognize their need will respond to His offer with gratitude. They are unworthy and yet He shows them grace.
What I did not address was the example that Jesus is setting for how we should interact with the sinful in our own world. The main reason that I did not get into this extremely secondary part of this story is because it tends to bury the lead. The application (how I can apply it to my life) becomes louder than the exaltation. We, like the scribes, become more concerned about doing the right thing, than the joy of having Jesus as Savior.
I want to address this second part, because we are all trying to figure out what it means to be dual citizens of earth and heaven. Also, in the last 24 hours I read an article that used this story to justify sinful action AND one that dismissed Jesus’ action to defend a position that sounded a lot like the scribes in Mark 2. It is also common for people to point to this interaction as an example of Jesus loving sinners more than the religious. It is worth spending a minute discussing the topic of how Christians should and should not choose who to spend their time with. To do so, I am going to pivot to a section of scripture that is actually about who we choose to associate with.
In 1 Corinthians 5 (at the top), Paul is answering a question that the church in Corinth had sent him. Their clarifying question was based on a challenge that he had made to them: not to associate with sexually immoral people. While this is the first letter to the Corinthians that is in our Bible, it is based on an ongoing conversation between the Apostle and the church that he had planted. It is a conversation rooted in how God revealed Himself to His people.
In the OT, we see God establishing a people set apart as: a kingdom of priests and a holy nation | Exodus 19:6
God then commands His people not to intermarry or even live amongst the people of Canaan, lest they take on the idols and worship of these others. The purpose of this is to set a clear standard of God’s holiness and what is required for people to be in His presence. The people of God have been set apart as His and given the means to remain in a state of purity so that they can remain in relationship with Him. Of course, they cannot maintain this holiness; they must recognize their inability and turn to God for healing (the law gives them a means to do this). This was all a preparation for the coming of the Messiah.
As we turn over to the NT, the Savior has come and has done the work of redemption. God’s people have been purified once and for all. They still need to keep watch over themselves and to be discerning about their witness on behalf of Christ. In all of this, God’s people often struggle to figure out the correct balance of being in the world, but not of it.
Which brings us to Paul’s imperative. He tells the church at Corinth not to associate with sexually immoral people, because their association was seen as approval for their actions. The church’s response to Paul must have been about what it would look like for them to have no contact with any sinners (similar to what the scribes expected of Jesus). Paul makes it clear that he was not encouraging them to cut all of the sinful people out of their life, since then you would need to go out of the world. Instead, this is an issue of witness. God’s people need to be amongst those who need to hear the gospel, but they need to live in a way that reveals who He is. Paul then gets to the heart of the matter:
I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality
The church in Corinth – as we see later – is steeped in sexual immorality. They have allowed those who sin openly to be part of God’s people without being called to repentance (as a matter of fact, they have celebrated their love and tolerance for accepting it). Paul calls this out. He says that those inside the church should hold one another to the standard set by God. We should ‘judge’ those who have committed their lives to being set apart. The church’s reputation – and the reputation of the God we serve – is severely damaged by not being a pure light to the world around us.
But we are also salt. To be salt means being in the world, amongst the sinful and depraved, sharing the love and grace of Jesus Christ. We are not to spend all of our time and energy judging outsiders – not because what they are doing will not be judged – but because we should be primarily concerned with them meeting Jesus, experiencing His grace, and committing their lives in sacrificial worship to Him.
While the Bible gives us all of these principles, it does not tell us exactly where these lines are drawn. Where does trying to love those in sin move from being gracious to seemingly approving of it? How much time can we spend with foolish friends before it begins to rub off on us? It isn’t obvious, and it isn’t easy; we shouldn’t act like it is. Trying to maintain our calling to be set apart and sent out is going to lead to Christians drawing lines in different places. Some will lean a bit more towards purity and some will exercise mercy more freely. While there is definitely a place where the lines go too far, the Bible leaves some space for individual conscience and varied contexts to have a different approach. While we should debate and argue on these issues, as iron sharpening iron, they should not be what divides us. We must always be speaking the truth in love, so that we grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ (Ephesians 4:15).
The question we must constantly be asking is: does my approach to this situation help me to grow in my love for Christ as I live as a steward of the grace shown to me? If it does, then this light will shine out from you and others will see your good work and glorify God (1 Peter 2:12). Rather than looking for a rulebook to follow to the letter (as the Pharisees did to justify themselves), we should lean into the Spirit’s leading as He guides us to the good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them (Ephesians 2:10). This keeps us connected to God in all things, rather than resting on a law that can applied apart from Him.