Real or Reprobate?

So if you have such cases, why do you lay them before those who have no standing in the church?
(1 Corinthians 6:4 – ESV)

Paul is talking about being real, not just saying that we believe in Jesus for our salvation and then living just like we used to. No, we have different way now. The gospel means our salvation and it also means we as brothers and sisters are one in Christ (1 Corinthians 6:17) and that we will all be together forever in heaven, and so that has implications for how we live here on earth.

When Paul describes the Roman judges as unrighteous (vs.1), he is not suggesting that they are unjust in their judgment. The term simply means non-Christian in contrast to the saints, the believers who are part of the family of God. Paul is saying why are you, the justified, trying to find justice among the unjustified? You say you trust Christ but not those He has entrusted His life to? Why go to the courthouse before the church house?

This passage and its implications about nominal Christianity speak volumes. The principle derived from God’s character applies. For example, it should be obvious to Christians that they cannot just claim, “God hates divorce”, etc., etc, when a man beats his wife, uses all the money to buy drugs, abandons her for days on end, and then won’t submit to church discipline. Then that man wants to believe he can claim scriptural warrant? Preposterous! If the man willfully does these things, he may have a problem and may be able to be rehabilitated, brought to repentance, and restored, reconciled, etc. The man or woman is not free in the Lord to divorce without consent of the church. However, if a person won’t even submit to God’s way through the process of a restorative church discipline model, he is either fooling himself, or lying to God and us about his supposed conversion to Christ. He would then be considered as an unbeliever and be rightly charged with abandoning his wife.

This is what Paul was talking about in 1 Corinthians 5, 6, and 7, he is describing the fact that although these people may have been believers, they weren’t acting like it, they were still caught up in resolving things like unbelievers. They were not living out the implications of the gospel, of being a part of the body of Christ. The scriptures are replete with the idea that we must not use the bible as a cloak for sin, and also that we must not use the bible as some sort of justification for our wanting to do things our way first and appealing to the Word of God second, as some sort of defense mechanism. Paul contests this ill-informed logic in verse 12 of chapter 6.

This passage cannot be used like some try and use the “you have to forgive me” bible backup for their obvious, willful injustice. It is amazing how many so called “Christians” have no interest in doing the will of God in their daily lives, but who somehow become bible scholars when it suits their agenda. These types of people will be far worse off on judgment day than your garden-variety pagan. They took the name of the Lord in vain.

“Living For Today With An Eye For Tomorrow”©