Behavior
I learned many years ago the difference between good behavior and bad behavior. I was taught as a child the difference between right & wrong. I’m sure I “pushed the envelope” many times with my parents and others in authority over me. I know I that my behavior was bad at times because I was there. I’m thankful that for a gentle loss of memory in this case so that all of those times I behaved badly don’t’ come rushing back in to haunt me. There are people I know who have big time regrets with their behavior. I believe what Paul says in Romans that “all have sinned and fallen short of glory of God”. Everyone I know (including me) has misbehaved. I’m profoundly grateful for grace. My behavior should reflect what I believe in my heart, but that is certainly not always the case.
Paul takes behavior a step farther – He says you should remove the people who are boasting and flaunting their evil while calling themselves Christ followers. His analogy makes perfect sense. Check this out….
6 Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little leaven leavens the whole batch of dough? 7 Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new unleavened batch, as indeed you are. For Christ our Passover lamb has been sacrificed.8 Therefore, let us observe the feast, not with old leaven or with the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. (1 Corinthians 5:6-8 CSB)
I was taught years ago that I could be “guilty by association” if I hang out with friends who are misbehaving. My reputation could be tarnished. Paul is speaking of “hanging out” with bad people who are calling themselves Christians, but they are known for all sorts of sin and unrepentant behavior. The Lord forgives sin. His Grace covers sin. If I repent of a sin and continue in that sin – I’m not repentant at all. Paul is calling out people who are openly sinful and still being part of the church. He is instructing the church to remove such a person from the fellowship. If every person who sins is removed from the church, there would be no church. Paul is targeting the people who are arrogant and boastful about their sin and not repentant at all. The church is a hospital of broken and sinful people who are seeking restoration and forgiveness from the Savior of our souls. It is about accountability and grace. The church is to be protected of malice and evil. We are to cultivate relationships of honesty & truth seasoned with a lot of grace!
Pressing On!
Dwayne