Today's scripture: 1 Corinthians 11:33-34
Communion or the Lord’s Supper is not a time to get together and socialize.
It’s not a time to eat and drink for pleasure:
They
were to eat for hunger and pleasure only at home, and not to change the holy
supper to a common feast; and much less eat up the provisions before those who
could bring none did partake of them, lest they should come together for
condemnation … Holy things are to be used in a holy manner, or else they are
profaned. (Matthew Henry Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible)
And that’s the bottom line, isn’t
it? "Holy things are to be used in a holy manner..." And guess what? When we
accept the gift of salvation through the death, burial, and resurrection of our
Lord Jesus Christ, we are holy. And so we also should behave in a holy manner.
Loving our God—heart, soul, mind, and strength. Loving others as ourselves.
(See Mark 12:30-31)
Demonstrating the fruit of the Spirit: joy, peace, patience, kindness,
goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). Avoiding the “deeds of the flesh”: immorality,
impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts
of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and
things like these (vv. 18-21).
Striving to live like Christ in all we say, do, or think. Being lights in a
very dark world (see Matthew 5:14-15; Romans 2:19; Philippians 2:15).
Again I have to ask the question: How are we different from unbelievers? Are we
holy people acting in holy manners? Or are we just like them … except we say we
love Jesus?
Something to think about … and I hope you do.
Today's scripture: 1 Corinthians 5:3-5
Many people say the Bible is full of contradictions, and this very well may be
one of those passages that cause issues. Elsewhere, the Bible says “Do not
judge so that you will not be judged” (Matthew 7:1). Yet here, Paul writes that
he judged the one who had sinned with his father’s wife.
First, we need to look at Matthew 7:1 in context. It’s really talking about
hypocrisy. We shouldn’t be judging others in arrogance. Verse 3 of that same
chapter asks the question, “Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s
eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?”
The
Bible does allow for discipline of our Christian brothers and sisters. Jesus
Himself talked about this very thing in Matthew 17: “If your
brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you
have won your brother. But if he does not listen to you, take one or two
more with you, so that BY THE MOUTH OF TWO OR THREE WITNESSES EVERY FACT MAY BE
CONFIRMED. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he
refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax
collector” (vv. 15-17). However, it’s important to remember that the goal here
is reconciliation, not excommunication. Just as we’d share truth with a
nonbeliever, we should continue to share truth with a wayward brother.
Now this idea of “delivering such a one to Satan” also causes a bit of
controversy. Was Paul really turning this man over to Satan? A commentary
responds: Paul “put forth an act of extraordinary power, and gave him up to
Satan, nor for his destruction, but for his deliverance, at least for the
destruction of the flesh, that the soul might be saved … that [his] spirit may
be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus” (Matthew Henry Complete Commentary of
the Entire Bible).
We should not arrogantly judge our
brothers and sisters, ignoring our own sin. However, we should lovingly,
compassionately, and mercifully guide those who are willfully sinning back to
God’s truth.
Today's
scripture: 1 Corinthians 5:1-2
In the name of tolerance, have we become arrogant? Have we accepted “immorality
among [us]”? Have we become immune to sin and its repercussions?
I listen to my younger Christian friends (and some of my not-so-younger friends),
and they’re so accepting of behavior that isn’t Christ-honoring. They post
verses on Facebook, and then the next moment, they’re posting something that
isn’t, as Paul wrote in Philippians 4:8, true, honorable, right, pure, lovely,
excellent or worthy of praise.
Living with one’s boyfriend is okay. Divorce for reasons other than those given
in the Bible is okay. Gossip. Pride. Anger. Greed.
They’re all okay.
Well, they’re not, and I can only imagine how Christ’s heart must be breaking
to see the actions of those who claim to be His followers.
Believe me. I’m not perfect. I struggle with some of the very behaviors I
mentioned above. But I seek the Lord’s help every day to live as He would have
me live. I study His word every day. I spend time in prayer every day.
Because I don’t—I do not—want to break His heart any more than I already have.
Is there anything you’re dong to break Christ’s heart? Give it over to Him.
Today—and every day.
