Tough Love
As most know, Judas was a disciple of Jesus who ultimately betrayed Jesus. Nothing in Scripture indicates that Judas had any type of problem in those three years of discipling with Jesus. There’s no indication that the other disciples even suspected Judas would be the one to betray the Lord. For all appearances sake, it would seem Judas is not seen as a potential problem at any point along the way.
But we all know now, looking back, that it was Judas who betrayed Jesus.
Should we even begin to imagine that if Judas had given strong implications of having an idolatrous heart that pursued money over anything and everything else, it would have been considered a light thing among the disciples? Would we imagine that nothing would have been said about it if that were the case? I know these are hypothetical questions, but they are the kind of questions that come up in our lives from time to time when we face difficulties.
How do you reconcile the things Paul speaks to the Corinthians with some viewpoints regarding what love is meant to look like?
1 Corinthians 5:9 When I wrote to you before, I told you not to associate with people who indulge in sexual sin. 10 But I wasn’t talking about unbelievers who indulge in sexual sin, or are greedy, or cheat people, or worship idols. You would have to leave this world to avoid people like that. 11 I meant that you are not to associate with anyone who claims to be a believer yet indulges in sexual sin, or is greedy, or worships idols, or is abusive, or is a drunkard, or cheats people. Don’t even eat with such people. 12 It isn’t my responsibility to judge outsiders, but it certainly is your responsibility to judge those inside the church who are sinning. 13 God will judge those on the outside; but as the Scriptures say, “You must remove the evil person from among you.”
In this moment of correcting their way of thinking in Corinth, Paul even uses Scripture from Deuteronomy 17:7 to reinforce his position with them regarding the need to rightly assess a situation involving a person who claims to be a believer but insists on sinning in one or more of the ways described. Paul is not bringing the Corinthians back under the law by referring to a practice established by the law. He is using the principle of that aspect of the law to reinforce the importance of discernment and proper handling of situations such as these among believers. A little leaven can leaven the whole and thus bring harm on a much larger scale.
Sometimes, a person wishes to hold fast to a claim that they belong to Jesus while engaging in a pattern of sin that is denounced by the word of God. They wish to hold to a confession of belonging while behaving like a rebel in areas deemed inappropriate and dangerous not only to themselves but to others.
In this passage, Paul clarifies that indulging in these behaviors for those without Christ in the world is an expected thing and even, to a degree, understandable. Because we exist in the same world as them, we must do our best to navigate these situations with wisdom and patience. But then Paul shifts the application to someone who claims to believe in Jesus and indulges in these behaviors. Our behavior towards people of the world in such sins and those claiming to be Christians in such sins are not meant to be the same.
In other words, context matters. It is not giving the world permission for the church to be unable to judge them in such acts and invoke discipline upon them. But it would be unloving of the church not to utilize this practice of judging within its ranks and thus protect the fellowship of believers and set a proper example for those who look on. There is such a thing as tough love. God so loved the world, but that same world He so loves will one day face judgment, and those who refused Christ will be eternally punished as they are cast into a lake of fire. His patience at this moment is to give time for others to repent and come to Christ, but the moment is fast approaching when the end of all things will come. If we truly love others, we will desire to do according to His counsel what is needed so that they might come to their senses, repent of sin, and turn to Jesus. Indulging in sin in the world is expected, but doing so within the church should not be. It is not loving to pretend it doesn’t exist. Sometimes, love has to be tough.
