Tag: judging others

A Brother in Sin

1 Corinthians 5

June 6

As we continue past the previous chapters of 1 Corinthians, that of leadership in the church and the nature of true apostleship, we enter a new section that is initially and seemingly unrelated to the current mood of Paul’s letter. It feels kind of awkward to talk about certain sins and topics, today’s being incest, because it is so obviously horrendous that it almost feels like a waste of breath to talk about. However, this negligence is precisely why we need to discuss such things, so that they do not become the normative culture. (As is seen with a plethora of “hot-button” issues the modern church has just accepted due to ignorant doctrine.) Additionally, as we’ll see with what Paul wrote, these topics are also excellent gateways for further understanding other applications of the word: true faith in action.

Paul begins by calling out the sin of incest between two members of the Corinthian church, fixating the blame on the man responsible, and seems to be most uproarious about how proud the offenders are in their sin. Verse 2 reads, “And you are proud! Shouldn’t you rather have gone into mourning and have put out of your fellowship the man who has been doing this?” It appears as though, while the act of incest itself is an egregious sin, being boastful in it simply exacerbates its severity. This claim is supported by the next six verses and subsequent pseudo-parable. Verses 6-7 read, “Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough? Get rid of the old yeast, so that you may be a new unleavened batch – as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.” A little yeast, the parabolic equivalence of humility (i.e., the absence of excessive boasting), is sufficient to make useful bread. Old yeast is to be thrown out, as it makes bad bread and is useful for nothing; just as we need not boast at all, Jesus is our supplement for humility. We are called not to boast in our accomplishment or our sins, but to attribute all that we have done that is good to God.

Returning to Paul’s initial command to extradite the man from the church, does that not seem antithetical to the accepting nature of faith? Perhaps upon an initial reading it may, but Paul acknowledges this and says in verses 9-11, “I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people – not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. But now I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolator or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. Do not even eat with such people.” Paul is entirely aware that man is a sinful being, and that there was only one man to walk the earth who was blameless: Christ. Instead, in this passage, he makes the clarification that the people we are to not associate ourselves with are those who claim to be brothers and sisters in the faith, and STILL are boastful in their sin, unapologetic about their openly sinful life, perhaps even going as far as claiming that their actions are biblically justifiable. These are the people we are to lovingly rebuke, as they claim to live by the word and yet blatantly do not. So often, Christians are seen as judgmental toward outsiders. Unfortunately, this is not wholly unreasonable. Our issue is that we judge those who do not live by the law for not living by the law, while simultaneously turning a blind eye to those who CLAIM to live by the law and openly do not. Paul writes in verses 12 and 13, “What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside. ‘Expel the wicked person from among you’.” Our responsibility is to spread the good news to those who do not have it, and to lovingly keep ourselves accountable.

-Mason Kiel

Questions for Reflection and Discussion

  1. Sin is sin. Why is there a difference between how we view, judge or treat various sinners?
  2. Are you personally more apt to spread more judgment to those outside the church or load on the mercy to those inside than Paul would recommend? What is the danger in each of these?
  3. What is the purpose of expelling a brother in sin?
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A Different Approach to Judging

1 Corinthians 5-8

Hello friends! 

What a year we have had… and that’s about all I am going to say on that 😊

Diving into the chapters for today I am reminded how many good bits Paul has in these letters!  Sometimes I envision Paul as a public speaker just because his words can pack such an impactful punch that makes me stop and go, “Woah.”

In all the great one-liners throughout these chapters I was made aware of one theme that Paul was trying to get the church in Corinth to understand.  Ultimately, Paul was trying to get the church to look at themselves introspectively and fix their body of believers.  1 Corinthians 5:12 sums his idea up nicely as he writes “For what business is it of mine to judge outsiders?  Don’t you judge those who are inside?” 

Here Paul is basically calling this church out for being self-righteous.  He explains to them the difference in expectations for those who are called believers and those who are not (1 Corinthians 5:11; 7:15).  Paul is not saying anything in these few chapters about how the church should be bringing outsiders to truth or spreading the Gospel (but don’t worry, that Good News message is coming later) because he knows that they will be ineffective in that area until they can rebuild and refocus their own body of believers. 

When I look at our global Church today, I think we need to take this same introspective approach before we can be as effective in spreading the Word.  While every individual church looks different, globally the Church has been struggling to balance the extremes of our world.  Some churches are hateful and judgmental to those unlike them, while others celebrate and condone individual choices that directly go against what the Bible says is righteous.  Both kinds of churches are ignoring the message from this particular passage; Show respect and love to all while keeping believers on the path of righteousness.  It is as simple, and as complex, as that. 

When you look at your own church, or even your own family, where do you see room for improvement within this message?  Our world is hurting right now, and clearly in need of grace, hope, and redemption that Jesus offers.  Are you in a position to show this same grace, hope, and message of redemption to outsiders?  If you are, are you acting on that?  And if not, what needs to happen for you to get to this place? I encourage you to take time today to consider where you stand on this area and ask God to show you where He wants you to be instead.  I know for myself I always have room to grow.

I look forward to journeying through these letters with you over this next week!  I am always struck by how much God can speak through these devotions, and I hope you are too.

-Sarah (Blanchard) Johnson

Today’s Bible reading passage can be read or listened to at BibleGateway here – 1 Corinthians 5-8.

Tomorrow we continue with chapters 9-11.

2020 Chronological Bible Reading PlanDownload

2 Fathers?

John 7-8

Okay, let me start by saying, it was SO hard deciding where to even start when I was writing today’s devotion. There is just so much meat in these two chapters, and I highly recommend that you set aside enough time today to really dig into these scriptures.

In today’s first chapter, John 7, we watch as Jesus instructs his disciples to go to the feast without him, because the Jews do not hate the disciples as they do Jesus. Eventually Jesus goes, but in secret. He went to the temple and began teaching, aware that if he were to make himself known to too many people, things wouldn’t end well. Which of course, in the long run, they didn’t – but let’s not get ahead of ourselves. As Jesus said, his time had not yet fully come. This is one of the reasons he was often so discreet. He couldn’t yet draw too much attention to himself, because he knew that would almost immediately lead to his death. This is important to note because he was not done with his time on earth; he knew there was more to accomplish before fulfilling the prophecy. And so he did, showing as much love and kindness as possible,
and bringing thousands and thousands of people into the light. (And in doing so, setting an example for us to do the same.)

We could, of course, continue to talk about this one chapter for days and days,
however, there’s also a ton of good stuff worth addressing from the next chapter, John 8. This one’s actually jam-packed with wise words and food for thought… so let’s dive in.


The first little section in John 8 is the story of the adulterous woman, which is
definitely a good one and can teach us a lot. However if you don’t know already, this story was not in early manuscripts of the book of John, and was likely not written by him. Regardless, the important take away of this story is that none of us have the right to judge another, for we all sin, and we all deserve forgiveness. What stood out to me most though, is that Jesus said “I do not condemn you, either. Go…” which of course is the point of the story, but then he said, “From now on sin no more.” We can’t forget this part in Jesus’ line of thinking. Yes, we can be forgiven, but that doesn’t mean just getting away with something and then going and doing it again. It’s also about repentance; turning yourself around and doing things different from there on out. That’s maybe the most important step: what you do after the fact.


In the next few sections of chapter 8, we’re walked through a series of conversations between Jesus and the Pharisees/Jews. Repeatedly, Jesus (humbly) says something authoritative, and repeatedly, the Pharisees have some illegitimate reason to disagree. Jesus describes himself in many ways over chapter 8: the Light, the Son, the Truth, etc. This is who he is, always, but it is in this chapter that these attributes resulted in so many people coming to believe in him, and so many people coming to hate him. What the Pharisees failed to understand was that Jesus truly did have authority over them. He is the Mediator between God and man. When he claims all these things about who
he is, it’s not to glorify himself, it’s simply the truth, God’s truth. As the Son of God he speaks God’s truth, not on his own initiative, but as the Father teaches him (John 8:28).


Jesus has to repeat himself many times in chapter 8, because his audience is really not getting it. At one point he even asks, “Why are you not understanding what I am saying?” which I always imagine was said in slight exasperation. From this point on, he really begins spelling it out for them, and for us. In verses 38-47 Jesus refers to two fathers, ours and his. At first the Jews think he means their descendant, Abraham. He proceeds to tell them that if they were truly children of Abraham, they would be acting like Abraham, but they’re not. Then they try to refute this by saying, oh well actually no, God is our one Father. Jesus then replies with, well if God was your Father, you would love me, because He’s the one who sent me. Then he reveals that the father he was really referring to as theirs was the devil, which had to have stung, but should
really make us think. Who are we allowing to lead our lives? As children of God, are we fully giving ourselves to Him- our Creator, our Potter, our Abba.

Lastly I want to quickly mention something about 8:58. Jesus says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am” (NASB). Many times trinitarians take this verse and try to claim that this means Jesus was around forever, making him one with God. However, it was really translated wrong, (as many verses are, due to the overwhelming amount of biased translators) and if translated correctly, would read something more like, “I am he,” or “I am the one,” which in this context, would just be referring to himself as the Messiah, existing not physically in Abraham’s time, or before, but in God’s plans for the world.

As you go through the rest of your week, pray that, being of God, you may hear the word of God, because followers of God WILL hear Him, and will know the truth (John 8:45-47), and the truth will set you free (John 8:32).

– Isabella Osborn

It’s a treat to hear from Isabella today. She is a wise and caring home-school student from South Carolina who loves loving God and others.

Today’s Bible passage can be read or listened to at BibleGateway here – John 7-8

Tomorrow we will read John 9:1-10:21 as we continue on our journey through God’s Word. Come follow along!

2020 Chronological Bible Reading PlanDownload

No Partiality

Romans 1-3

romans 2

Tuesday, June 13

Have you ever asked yourself; “What are you storing up for yourself?”  There will be a day of judgement concerning how each of us lived our lives.  Did we store up incorruptible treasures in heaven as it says in Matthew 6:20 ““But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal;”  or have we stored up wrath determined by the righteous judgment of God as it says in Romans 2:5-6, “But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who WILL RENDER TO EACH PERSON ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS:”

 

We will all be judged and held accountable.  It is so easy to judge others; almost without thinking, we label, categorize, and take measure of others.  Oftentimes, people are cruel and harsh in their snap judgement of others.  Maybe you nudge your friend when you are on line at a store and slyly point out the haircut that is out of style or the clothes that don’t fit right.  Because of this, we can also fall into trying to please the whims of the world.  We bend and yield our convictions to be liked and accepted.  Perhaps we join in with verbal jabs or we enjoy the latest juicy gossip.  With God, there is no partiality (Rom. 2:11).  What does this mean?  Partiality as defined by Merriam Webster’s Learner’s Dictionary says:

 

1  : an unfair tendency to treat one person, group, or thing better than another

2  : a tendency to like something or someone — often + to

 

As it says in the first definition, we have an unfair tendency to judge certain groups of people more favorably than others.  God doesn’t do this.  He can’t be bribed, bought, or persuaded from what is right and true.  He sees us for what we are and judges us accordingly.  He knows the secret depths of our hearts, even the parts we don’t want to admit are there.  In light of this, we should recognize that what we do and how we live our lives, matters.  What we watch and put into our hearts also matters.

 

Matthew 15:18

“But the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man.

 

I grew up in New Jersey and moved to New York shortly after college.  After Sean and I married, we moved to Georgia and attended the Atlanta Bible College.  I had never been to the South for any length of time and was struck by how friendly everyone was.  Cashiers would have full on conversations with people in line and they would take their time with each customer.  I liked how friendly people were but found myself annoyed and impatient when their friendliness cut into my efficiency.  Yet, when I went home to New Jersey and New York after being in Georgia for a while, I was startled by how quickly people would yell, honk, and gesture at one another.  There was a harshness to the North that I had not noticed before.  Regardless of where you’re from, God’s word teaches us how we should be.  That is what we should put in our minds and what will consequentially come out of our mouths.

 

Guard your mind and keep your thoughts on the things that are above.  Do not allow yourself to become a harsh critic of others but love and reserve the judging for God and our Lord Jesus Christ.  While you still have breath and you are alive, ask for forgiveness for the times you have fallen short and sinned, and then start again with renewed vigor.  The Bible says in Romans 2:8 that there is eternal life for those that persevere or persist in doing good seek after the glory and honor and immortality.  Let’s encourage each other to persevere in doing good!

-Ruth Finnegan

 

Millstones, Specks, and Planks

Luke 17-18

luke17-1

Sunday, May 21

            This chapter of Luke opens as such; with Jesus saying, “Temptations to sin are sure to come; but woe to him by whom they come! It would be better for him if a millstone were hung round his neck and he were cast into the sea, than that he should cause one of these little ones to sin.” Jesus often reserved his rebukes and warnings for the Pharisees who sought to undermine him, but here he warns his own followers about not just how they conduct themselves, but warns them about how their conduct is influencing those around them.

An easy way to compare this verse to real life is when a young child behaves badly in public. Often, you’ll hear those nearby make remarks condemning the parents of the child. Well, you could simply leave it at that and go on thinking that Jesus was condemning those who directly influence young ones to behave badly. Like most of Jesus’ teachings, however, it’s not that simple. He follows this line up directly with an analogy of a man who sees a speck of wood in his brother’s eye, but does not see the “plank” in his own.

They say it takes a village to raise a child, and so in keeping with the example of a misbehaving child, we should perhaps temper our own knee-jerk criticisms of people whom it is easy to scapegoat issues onto. Perhaps those commenting around the misbehaving child should ask themselves who they’re influencing, and what kind of example they’re setting when concern for someone’s child turns into gossip about their family. This seems to be Jesus’ point in relaying the analogy of the two brothers. On the one hand, he calls us to avoid setting a poor example, but on the other, he warns us against “witch-hunting” others whilst failing to examine ourselves.

-Dillon Driskill

 

(Photo Credit: https://reversingverses.com/2013/03/17/luke-171/)

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