Hey everybody,
I was reading 1 Corinthians 5 and there are a couple verses that I didn't understand.
"For I indeed, as absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged (as though I were present) him who has so done this deed." - 1 Cornthians 5:3
This verse says that St. Paul has judged people who are sexually immoral. Aren't we told not to judge other people? So why is St. Paul judging other people?
"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." - 1 Corinthians 5:11
In this verse, St. Paul is basically telling us to stay away from sinful people. Aren't we supposed to reach out to the sinful people? Jesus ate with sinful people, so why are we being told not to eat with sinful people?
Thanks in advance for your answers and God bless.
Comments
As such, Saint Paul necessarily needed to cast down their compliance towards the vile act, claiming that he had already judged the individual. In essence, he was decreeing the universal corruptness of such an act through the example of the individual who had sinned. Paul was declaring that any man who engaged in such previsions was befallen by such a corrupt state of being; that it would be impossible for him to enter the kingdom of Heaven. Thus, through reasoning and spiritual calculation of the man's future Saint Paul was able to place “judgment” on any man who engaged in such an act. If you know that a+b=c and are told that in the future b will be added to a, then you can logically conclude that the result will be c. Similarly, we place judgment on a man who has commited suicide since the very nature of such sin equates into spritual damnation, according to the Biblical truth. The fatal state of the man already condemed him beforehand; making judgement a most practical response. In other words, if your actions are leading you to death, then being judged as a "dead man" is a means of expressing to others the ultimate outcome of your existence. You can change it....only if you are first aware of your wrong actions. The Corinthians had prevented such change through accepting the act as a natural "norm".
This is not to suggest that Saint Paul believed redemption was expurgated from the reach of the man he had condemned. This is clearly not the case when one considers the statement made in verse 6 of the epistle: “In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together, along with my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.” The apostle was imploring the Corinthians to publicly decree this man’s sinful act as an act of abomination that was deserving of Hellfire, so as to compel him to repent.
In essence, they had readily tolerated the man’s sinful act and state, thus, reinforcing his immoral behavior--they were befriending the very sinful state of the poor man (This should help to answer your second inquery). It is no surprise then to find an apostle, as sincere and adamant as Paul, call judgment upon a member of the church whom he undoubtedly had cared for. Even our Lord demed those who refused to believe in Him “condemned already” (John3:18). The very hope of renewing one’s spirit through empathetic chastening and rebuke was and still remains to be an integral facet of the Christian faith. Saint Paul was then merely perpetuating the natural outworkings of a sincere Christian father who was concerned over his spiritual son..... a lamb that was indirectly forsaken by the remaing flock.
God Bless