1 Corinthians 5:11 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 idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler. Do not even eat with such people.
Have you ever met anyone who wasn’t what they claimed to be? The Ponzi schemes of this world are based on being able to keep external appearances a certain way despite the lie that stands at the bottom of the heap. And the lies of political systems that promise “equality” in outcome for all, like Communism, lie when those at the top, in a supposedly topless society, live by a very different standard from those at the bottom.
We all put on masks, to one degree or another, when we interact with others. We hold some things back, not revealing everything about ourselves. Others don’t need to know all the details of our lives. As teenagers, we didn’t share the number and severity of our pimples everyday with everyone. We just keep that to ourselves.
Even as actual adults, we don’t share everything with everyone everyday. Life couldn’t happen, because we would all be sharing about our sharing about our sharing. There would be no time and energy to do anything else. So we hold back most of life to ourselves.
But to claim one thing, like being a follower of Jesus, and then to live a life that doesn’t reflect the relationship we have with the Holy God, that would unacceptable. The best sleight of hand trick is still a trick. And the Christian life is about integrity, consistency, and holiness. Without these we are charlatans at best, imposters and deceivers at the worst.
That brings us to our text. If the claim is present that someone is a Jesus-follower, and their life does not reflect that change in character and behavior, then our relationship with them must change. That is because our character gets tied to theirs, since we both claim Christ as Lord. Outsiders will see the hypocrisy and we will get painted with the same brushstroke label. Our Christ will be associated with hypocrisy.
Notice that the list of sins starts with sex. It is amazing that so many of the lists of sins in the Scriptures have sex between anyone outside of marriage included, and often right near the top of the list. I think this is because in God’s eyes, sexual intimacy is near the top of the list of actions that can bring us close to the intimacy God has with Himself and with us.
So if we know of people actively involved in one of these listed sins, we are to withdraw our Christian fellowship from them. We switch from dealing with them as one inside the tent, to one that is outside and therefore must be won back into the fold. There is no option of ignoring the person and the behavior. We must act.
Eating is such an important part of life. We eat with family and friends. We don’t generally invite strangers into our homes and share a meal with them. We prepare the meal, putting some of ourselves into the mix, and then it gets served, usually with a smile and sense of openness. Food is an invitation to come into family.
This was even more so back when Paul was writing. Most people lived from day to day with little reserve. They had no “emergency fund” or “welfare system” to help them in times of need. All they had was each other. So to cut someone off, to stop associating with them placed them in a much more vulnerable position. If they didn’t have this extended family in a time of crisis, it could be catastrophic.
Perhaps we need to do a bit more non-association with those who claim Jesus, but their lives don’t reflect that reality. We are talking about those who claim Christ, not those who make no claims. Those outside the tent don’t need us to point out their sin. They, instead, need to hear the Good News that they can be set from from their sin and its consequences by beginning a relationship with Jesus. That is what they need.
The Arnold Journey 