The Real World: Corinth - "Jesus and Non-Christians"
[powerpress] One of the great imperatives of the Christian faith is to learn how to interact with a world that does not share the same beliefs, convictions, or values. The Bible speaks of two categories of people in the world: those who belong to Jesus and those who do not. In the next two chapters of Corinthians, Paul specifically addresses how to interact with each. This week, we will discover how Jesus relates to those who are not His followers, and how the church is to follow suit.
What follows is an excerpt from the apostle Paul's letter to the Corinthian church:
It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that even pagans do not tolerate: A man is sleeping with his father’s wife. And you are proud! Shouldn’t you rather have gone into mourning and have put out of your fellowship the man who has been doing this? For my part, even though I am not physically present, I am with you in spirit. As one who is present with you in this way, I have already passed judgment in the name of our Lord Jesus on the one who has been doing this. So when you are assembled and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present, hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord. Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough? Get rid of the old yeast, so that you may be a new unleavened batch—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old bread leavened with malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. 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 swindler. Do not even eat with such people. What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked person from among you.” (1 Corinthians 5:1-13 NIV)
Paul came to Corinth ministering to a community and a culture in flux. What we see immediately is that the church is not an institution where you merely come to receive a set of lifeless doctrines, but it is a family (I Corinthians 4:14-17) that encourages and facilitates your dynamic walk with God. It is a community together fulfilling the purposes of God within cities around the world. In Paul's first letter to the Corinthians, he responds to the specific issues with which the Corinthian church finds itself dealing. Here in the epistles, you see people's changing times and circumstances being addressed with the unchanging nature of God. This is the same confidence that we have today - that our times' are changing, but God's Word is forever active, immutable, and applicable.
Your word, Lord, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens. Your faithfulness continues through all generations; you established the earth, and it endures. Your laws endure to this day, for all things serve you. If your law had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction. I will never forget your precepts, for by them you have preserved my life. Save me, for I am yours; I have sought out your precepts. The wicked are waiting to destroy me, but I will ponder your statutes. To all perfection I see a limit, but your commands are boundless. (Psalm 119:89-96 NIV)
People throughout history have been proud of and run quickly to rally behind things that God calls sin. It is not enough to have mere sincerity in your devotion to God. He expects sincerity and truth.
“Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” (John 4:21-24 NIV)
People in our culture, like the pluralistic Corinthians, want to be spiritual, but not commit to any one doctrine or truth. Jesus said that because what we examine as metaphysics is ultimately about a relationship with the one God who has lived eternally, walked among us historically, and proved His authority by His life, miracles, death, burial, and resurrection, truth is an imperative. He is a singular entity with likes and dislikes, things that He will and will not tolerate, based on His character and design.
What we see is that before God is concerned about how we are relating to the world around us, He is first concerned about the way that we are relating to Him and one another.
Excommunication was prescribed by God and enforced in the church because the habits of the few rebellious that are ignored or overlooked can embolden the sin in the hearts of the many in the community when left unchecked. Forgiveness is offered to the repentant.
If anyone has caused grief, he has not so much grieved me as he has grieved all of you to some extent—not to put it too severely. The punishment inflicted on him by the majority is sufficient. Now instead, you ought to forgive and comfort him, so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. I urge you, therefore, to reaffirm your love for him. Another reason I wrote you was to see if you would stand the test and be obedient in everything. Anyone you forgive, I also forgive. And what I have forgiven—if there was anything to forgive—I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake, in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes. (2 Corinthians 2:5-11 NIV)
The point of excommunication is that if you are going to continue to live like a non-Christian, thus encouraging people to continue in or return to their bondage, you need to be separated from the group so that it is not infected. Your repentance is your re-entry card to the fellowship.
The Passover description is found in Exodus 12. The summary of the Passover is that God will punish the world for its evil and rebellion but will deliver His people out of their slavery into a life full of His promises. God provides salvation through the sacrifice of our Passover Lamb, Jesus Christ, who paid the penalty of death for our sins. This is what makes way for our forgiveness.
Here is the point: God will judge those outside of the church.
How did Jesus deal with people who were not yet His followers? He loved them, calling them to faith and repentance.
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. (John 3:16-18 NIV)
This is true, because both Christian and non-Christian alike are guilty of breaking God's laws, His commands that He gives for order and the flourishing of the world. It is the Christian who has submitted to the grace given through Jesus' necessary substitutionary sacrifice as the Passover Lamb that we might go free. Without that substitute, we are all held responsible and guilty for our wrongdoing and will be self-condemned by our own actions.
We see the same heart of God reflected in the Exodus account following the Passover:
Many other people went up with them, and also large droves of livestock, both flocks and herds. With the dough the Israelites had brought from Egypt, they baked loaves of unleavened bread. The dough was without yeast because they had been driven out of Egypt and did not have time to prepare food for themselves. (Exodus 12:38, 39 NIV)
In the church, we are to hold one another accountable to the love, humility, forgiveness upon repentance, and holy living which Jesus himself displayed.
The things toward which we need to be intolerant as Christians are the habits within ourselves that would bring defamation to the name of Jesus. Let us not participate in the very activities that the Bible calls sin while holding out a condemning word to non-Christians who are trapped in their rebellion. Let us instead, as Jesus exhorted us, come fully to the repentance to remove the planks in our eyes, that we might see clearly to help someone who may have sawdust in their own. In this way, the cross of Jesus which we preach will become a place of second chances, life, and freedom as we turn away from lifestyles that come to steal our time, kill our consciences, and inevitably destroy our relationships with God and His people.
At the heart of the Christian’s view of spiritual reality is a man who gave his life in sacrifice for people who did not believe in him, a man who died asking for forgiveness for the people who were killing him. Therefore, Christianity is an exclusive claim, but it is the most inclusive exclusive claim because it wants you to exclusively believe in this man who died for his enemies, and asks you to love and care for yours.
So, does the message that Jesus is the only way to God necessarily lead to intolerance? Christians can only become intolerant to the degree that they misunderstand the heart of the gospel – namely, the good news that Almighty God himself came to serve us and die for us, so we could be saved not because of our right beliefs and behavior, but by the gift of his unmerited grace. That message, rightly grasped, cannot lead to coercion or intolerance. The gospel has within it deep resources for humility and respect. It is up to Christians to prove this assertion with their lives. -Timothy Keller, The Reason For God
When not steeped in immorality, what is the church supposed to spend its time and energy doing?
You must have a long-term vision to plant roots and be a blessing to this city - to Christians and non-Christians alike (Jeremiah 29:4-7 NIV)
When the prophet Isaiah spoke about true spirituality, including humbling ourselves with fasting and prayer in hopes of God moving amongst the people of our cities, he spoke about it in these terms:
“Shout it aloud, do not hold back. Raise your voice like a trumpet. Declare to my people their rebellion and to the descendants of Jacob their sins. For day after day they seek me out; they seem eager to know my ways, as if they were a nation that does what is right and has not forsaken the commands of its God. They ask me for just decisions and seem eager for God to come near them. ‘Why have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and you have not seen it? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you have not noticed?’ “Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please and exploit all your workers. Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife, and in striking each other with wicked fists. You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high. Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day for people to humble themselves? Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed and for lying in sackcloth and ashes? Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord ? “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter— when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I. “If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk, and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail. Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings. “If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath and from doing as you please on my holy day, if you call the Sabbath a delight and the Lord ’s holy day honorable, and if you honor it by not going your own way and not doing as you please or speaking idle words, then you will find your joy in the Lord, and I will cause you to ride in triumph on the heights of the land and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob.” The mouth of the Lord has spoken. (Isaiah 58:1-14 NIV)
The community that was the church was a sign and a wonder to behold, even amongst the Roman community.
32All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. 33With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all 34that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales 35and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need.36Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means “son of encouragement”), 37sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles’ feet. (Acts 4:32-37, NIV)
Why do we not observe that it is their [the Christians'] benevolence to strangers, their care for the graves of the dead, and the pretended holiness of their lives that have done most to increase atheism [unbelief of the pagan gods]? For it is disgraceful that, when no Jew ever has to beg, and the impious Galileans [Christians] support not only their own poor but ours as well, all men see that our people lack aid from us. Teach those of the Hellenic faith to contribute to public service of this sort. - Emperor Julian
“The Roman Emperor Julian, writing in the fourth century, regretted the progress of Christianity because it pulled people away from the Roman gods. He said, 'Atheism [I.e. the Christian faith!] has been specially advanced through the loving service rendered to strangers, and through their care for the burial of the dead. It is a scandal that there is not a single Jew who is a beggar, and that the godless Galileans care not only for their own poor but for ours as well; while those who belong to us look in vain for the help that we should render them.” ― John Piper, A Godward Life: Savoring the Supremacy of God in All of Life
Make no doubt about it. Sin steals your life, your strength, and weathers you like a rag. Think of the people that you know who've aged rapidly while living wildly sinful lives. They often seem worn and abused as a result of the decisions that they make and the consequences that ensue. God calls you to something different. Many Christians treat the world that does not believe in Jesus or the gospel of God as enemies. You are called, however, as a Christian and in this church to love, serve, and be a blessing to the entirety of our city and all who are in it. You are to promote the well-being of our city and make ways for it to prosper and flourish in every sphere of society, including business, government, law, entertainment, medicine, academics, and the family unit, all while preaching the unadulterated gospel of Jesus Christ, believing for thousands upon thousands to come into saving relationship with Him.
Practicals: 1) Come to Jesus in faith and repentance if you do not know Him. 2) Join a community group with which you can grow if you do. 3) Begin to serve the city in and through the church as you grow.
Second City Church- The Real World: Corinth Sermon Series 2013