September 30, 2024

Passage Read: 1 Corinthians 4-5
Meditation Verses: 5:9-11

Thought

There are two standards: one for how we treat brothers and one for how we treat unbelievers. The brother we hold to a high standard of righteous behavior, because he has claimed to believe in Christ and therefore has been changed and made to walk in righteousness. The unbeliever needs the Gospel; we have no expectation that he can walk in righteousness so we must go to him and teach him about Christ. Until he believes, we should not be surprised at anything he does. But the believer, we're not to tolerate sinful behavior in him, even to the point of cutting off fellowship if he will not repent of sin.

Application

There is actually only one standard of righteousness, and all men are exhorted to repent and live by it. But not all men have repented, and the unbelievers need me to take the Gospel to them to be saved, so I must connect with them, regardless of how they behave. But those who have believed must learn to walk in Jesus' ways and are expected to conform their lives to His teachings. If they don't, they must be disciplined, which includes cutting them off from fellowship if they refuse correction. As a believer, I'm not permitted to live like an unbeliever, though I am commissioned to preach the Gospel to them. I'm expected to live in the righteousness of Christ, and to strongly rebuke those who claim Christ but violate His commands.