May 15, 2022

I Corinthians 5: 12, 13 (NIV)

What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? . . . God will judge those outside.

Let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion.*

Paul poses a very good question. Why are we so outraged at the behavior of those outside the church? They are lost sinners so our expectations of them should be pretty low. We should redirect our wrath and judgment towards those who are in the church – those who should know better and whose lives should reflect their desire to please the Lord.

I am not advocating for Christians to be uninvolved in current issues, but I would caution us to look at Paul’s example. You won’t see any instances of Paul preaching morality to nonbelievers or attacking their sinful behavior;* he preached Jesus. Becoming a follower of Jesus leads to higher moral standards so that matter pretty much becomes a nonissue.

There is no evidence that Jesus ever expected Rome to enact legislation to change people’s behavior.* There is no point in trying to “legislate morality” – we should be preaching the gospel if we want people to change – but a government run amok can pass laws that hinder our religious freedom, thus the need for Christians to participate in community and government affairs. We can’t be salt and light if we hide in the "church house."

The promotion of human rights is not a substitute for the message of cross-bearing as a universal rite of passage for believers.*