Reading through the Bible-God judges

1 Corinthians 5:9-13, "I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people.   Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; not even to eat with such a person. For what have I to dowith judging those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside? But those who are outside God judges. Therefore "put away from yourselves the evil person."

I wrote to you in my epistle: Where is this previous letter from Paul? The apostles wrote many letters to church which we no longer have. Certainly such letters were inspired to speak to that specific church at that specific time, but not to all the church for all time. So, such letters were not preserved by the Holy Spirit, through the church.

Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world: Paul did not want the Corinthian Christians to expect godly behavior from ungodly people. To disassociate from sinners in a sinful world would mean we would need to go out of the world.

Surprisingly, this is exactly the approach many people take to holiness and Christian living - to get as far away from the world as possible. This was the whole spirit behind the monastic movement in the early and medieval church.

Instead, without approving the sin of sinners in this world, we should expect that they would be sinners!

It should not surprise or offend us that those who do not know Jesus yet are covetous; literally, the word means those "who must have more."

It should not surprise or offend us that those who do not know Jesus yet are extortioners (harpax in the original Greed); the word describes those who steal by violence.

It should not surprise or offend us that those who do not know Jesus yet acts as a reviler, describing a person who is a character assassin.

But the Corinthian Christians were to expect Christian behavior from their fellow Christians, and they were not doing this!  Instead, Paul commands that they not even to eat with such a person.

In the culture of that day (and in many cultures today), eating with someone is an expression of friendship and partnership. In some cultures, if a man eats at your table, you are bound to regard him as a friend and a partner. Paul is warning the Corinthian Christians they cannot continue in Christian fellowship with a notorious sinner who calls himself a Christian.

What have I to do with judging those also who are outside? … those who are outside God judges: Unfortunately, too many Christians are busy judging those outside of the church (which is God's job only) and are neglecting purity within the church.

Do you not judge those who are inside? … Therefore "put away from yourselves the evil person": The Corinthian Christians were failing to judge where they should have made judgment. They should not have "winked" at the notorious sinner in their midst, and they should not have considered themselves "loving" for doing so.

Dear God, I pray that I will trust you to judge those who are not in a personal relationship with you through faith in Christ.