1 Corinthians 5:9-13
I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral persons—not at all meaning the immoral of this world, or the greedy and robbers, or idolaters, since you would then 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 or sister who is sexually immoral or greedy, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or robber. Do not even eat with such a one. For what have I to do with judging those outside? Is it not those who are inside that you are to judge? God will judge those outside. "Drive out the wicked person from among you. (NRSV)
I tend to stay out of political conversations. Not because I don’t have an opinion nor because I’m convinced that things are going well in America. Neither is true. But I stay out of those conversations mainly because I believe that, as believers, most Christian Americans are on the wrong track. We are fighting battles we cannot win, in fact, battles we were told to avoid. And we are avoiding battles we were told to fight.
Exactly the kind of tactic the enemy—Satan—would use to undermine the Church. And it’s working. We are losing the battle because we are fighting on the wrong front.
Recently, there have been a number of articles (and news reporting) about how Christians have lost the culture war. Todd Starnes of Fox News recently reported:
"Seventy percent of senior pastors at Protestant churches say religious liberty is on the decline in the United States, and 59 percent of Christians believe they are losing the culture war. Eleven percent considers that war already lost." (http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2014/02/20/have-christians-lost-culture-war/)
But the fact is, that isn’t even the war! Satan has deluded us into focusing on what’s not real and to be convinced that we are actually losing something when that’s not what we have lost! What we have lost is the true focus of where the battle actually is. And while our eyes are on the wrong "battlefield," Satan may very well be winning where the true battle is waging.
The battle is all about focus . . . where we should focus our attention . . . and how we should interact with ourselves, our Christian brothers and sisters, and the world.
Currently, many fundamentalists are bemoaning the fact that American culture has taken a turn that is uncomfortable for them. Public schools are teaching evolution; 40 million children have been aborted since Roe v Wade; same-sex marriage is becoming legal in an increasing number of states. America is making a moral shift and many Christians are screaming about bad that is, how horrible the people are who are creating this shift. The problem with this thinking is that these people who are creating this shift are not the enemy. They are, in fact, the very ones that our Lord Jesus Christ died for.
"For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places." (Ephesians 6:12 NRSV).
Satan very cleverly allowed the United States to become a bastian of Christianity and to allow us, as Christians, to become comfortable with our lifestyles. We became, as it were, cultural Christians rather than focused, strong believers. And when the culture began to wan, rather than to look inwardly at our own sin, we have risen up in anger at those who would shake us from our comfortable existence. Being a Christian has never been about creating a culture. It has been, rather, about proclaiming the good news (the gospel) of the salvation of Jesus Christ. And what is that good news? It is that "God shows his love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8 NRSV).
First came love. God loved us. And then came sacrifice. Christ died for us. THEN came salvation. We were changed into His image. And as His Church, our mission is to live out Christ in the world today. We cannot change the culture until we are willing to love—to sacrificially love—those around us who are not saved. And we cannot love them by demanding that they change their lives to suit us. Rather, as Paul explained in 1 Corinthians 5, we are expected to be out among the unsaved non-believers who live immoral lives. We are expected to love them, to minister to them, to reach out to them while they are living as sinners, just Christ died for us while we were yet sinners.
We were never given permission to judge the world. God has reserved that privilege (and duty) exclusively for Himself. What we are to judge is the Church within—beginning with ourselves!
Paul talks about this in Galatians 6:
"My friends, if anyone is detected in a transgression, you who have received the Spirit should restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness. Take care that you yourselves are not tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. For if those who are nothing think they are something, they deceive themselves. All must test their own work; then that work, rather than their neighbor’s work, will become a cause for pride. For all must carry their own loads. . . . Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for you reap whatever you sow. If you sow to your own flesh, you will reap corruption from the flesh; but if you sow to the Spirit, you will reap eternal life from the Spirit. So let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up. So then, whenever we have an opportunity, let us work for the good of all, and especially for those of the family of faith." (6:1-5, 7-10 NRSV).
• Let us not grow wear in doing what is right . . . don’t give up.
• Restore, in a spirit of gentleness, those are who detected in sin (within the family of God)
• If we sow to the flesh, we will reap corruption.
The focus is not about battling the evil that is without. We are expected to live among that evil, in fact, to preach the gospel both with words and deeds. To give a cup of water, to turn the other cheek, to give both coat and cloak, and to walk circumspectly.
We are also to judge within, first ourselves and then our brothers and sisters in gentleness lest we also be tempted and fall into their sin.
So, to my fellow Christians who own businesses, rather than turn away gay nonbelievers, why not give them the best service you can, emulating our Lord Who gave His finest—His very life—for us?
And, to my fellow Christians who are continuing to embrace all kinds of sexual sin, turn away before the sin consumes you and you draw those around you into its abyss.
This is the kind of U-turn that we need to make as Christians. We need to begin to be harsh with ourselves. I need to look at my own life and tear out all that is displeasing to my Lord and Savior. But rather than be angry with my unsaved neighbors and colleagues, I need to further reach out to them in love, to sacrificially serve them until they can’t help but see Christ in me. If we want to win the war, this is how the battle must be fought. There is no other way to gain victory.
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