Don't Associate With People Who Sleep Around?!?!

Don't Associate With People Who Sleep Around?!?!?! from Axis on Vimeo.

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[Matthew]

To clarify on the earlier submission, I believe what Paul is speaking to is albeit a rare occasion in the church, when a believer must be left to navigate on his or her own. Rarely will you find a person who affirms such contrary views as “Jesus Christ is my Savior” and “I have sex with my mother” (1 Corinthians 5:1). If you are indeed a follower of Jesus you want to grow closer in a relationship with him, and in doing so he convicts you in areas of your life through his Spirit. It does not mean we do not fall short continually, it simply means that our response to G_d’s grace should be humble thanks, not proud capitalization or outright denial. It is not that the church is to cleanse its body of all transgression for the sake of aesthetics or to achieve G_d’s favor— we are all wicked and full of sin, which is why we need Jesus’ sacrifice. The problem arises when you are too stubborn to mortify your own glaring wrongdoing and instead choose to celebrate in it.

Consider this as an example; I will use myself as a character. Let’s say, hypothetically, I began a homosexual relationship with another man. In this relationship, I brought my boyfriend into the community and began to share stories of how in love we were and how great our sex life was. Maybe I even found part of a verse or took a verse out of context and proclaimed that G_d was in support of what we were doing. What I don’t think you would say is “Well, Matthew is happy and who are we to judge?” (I hope not, at least.) I think you would respond with a loving, yet frank reprove, perhaps citing a text such as 1 Corinthians 5. In fact, I know the brothers in the faith I have around me would do exactly that. However, if I were to continue in a sexual relationship with this man, even after admonition from other believers, then the church would have no choice but to respectfully ask me to leave.

In this example the anticipation is that eventually the person would grow weary of their rebellion, and that the Spirit of G_d would convict. It is not malicious or hateful. It is actually precisely the contrary. If indeed they acknowledge their disobedience and come back to the community, of course they should have him or her back and celebrate just as the father did in the parable of prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32).

By the way, if you are one who somehow takes pleasure in rebuking another, then you are absolutely not the right person to carry out this task. This should be done with tears in your eyes, in great anguish at what needs to take place. If someone shows even a hint of self-righteousness in their rebuke another, that person shows just how little they understand the gospel. This is the hypocritical judgment that Jesus warns about in Matthew 7.

Further reiterating a point in the text, this “judging” of sin is only to be done unto fellow Christians. 1 Corinthians 5:12-13 says we have no jurisdiction to play judge and jury with those outside of the faith. That is for G_d to decide. To unbelievers we should afford great friendship and forbearance, while to our fellow believers caught in destructive patterns we should render vigilant correction and chastisement— both are acts of love.