When the world is in the Church

As Christians, we are called to be in the world, but not of the world. The world, however, has no business being in the Church, or of the Church. It is an unfortunate fact of life that unless we take a somewhat monastic life, we will always live among sinners. You will see and hear some very terrible things. Our culture even flaunts its sins proudly, and demands you accept, even celebrate them. But these are the very people we are here to save. We have a message from God, and they are the recipients.

But what about when those people start claiming to be brethren? These, Paul says, we have the right to judge. "But the Bible says don't judge!" When you find someone who says that, you have probably found someone with whom Paul says to not even eat with, as those who say we are not to judge are probably doing something that is absolutely worth judging.

There are some very good reasons for this, not least of which being bad company corrupts good habits (1 Corinthians 15:33). We start to resemble the people with whom we spend the most time. If we share our tables with a potty mouth, we become potty mouths. If we tolerate idolatry, we start to celebrate it. If we bear with sexual immorality, it begins to tempt us.

There is also the issue of guilt by association. Of course it is illogical to judge a man by the company he keeps, or an organisation by those who claim to be of it, but be assured, the world will always make this fallacy. The world will see Jesus as they see the worst of His children. Consider the reputation of the Catholic Church. Even I, a vocal anti-Catholic apologist, have been accused of personally being a paedophile, just because of the sex scandals that are so prominent among its clergy. If we can barely clear our name from the soil of those outside of our Church, how do we expect our reputation will grow when we welcome those same people among our ranks?

Now, to be sure, Paul isn't telling us that if someone has so much as a hint of sin, cast them out. Every Christian, from the newest convert to the most experienced pastor, sins. Remember, we're talking about a God who plainly tells us that to look with lust at a woman is adultery (Matthew 5:28), and so I think it's safe to say everyone is sexually immoral to one degree or another, even if it's only because we happened to notice the seductively dressed woman advertising cologne on the giant billboard just outside our supermarket. But what is your attitude to sexual immorality? Is it so bad that even unbelievers would agree you've got a problem (1 Corinthians 5:1), or is it something you wrestle against it, to the point where it is something you hate, yet do (Romans 7:14-15)?

If the latter, congratulations, you're human. It sucks, but perfection is a gift we don't get to unwrap until this life is over. But there are those who don't make much effort to change. They sin consistently, often openly, and may even boast about it. I even remember hearing about a gay couple who were specifically told that their congregation did not hate them, but they were nevertheless no longer welcome until they repented. Their response was to take it to the media. They were in the Church, but of the world, and so when the Church sent them out, they summoned the world for aid. When the congregation obeyed God, the couple snitched to Satan.

As Christians, we should beware of the company we keep. The world needs Jesus, and we reside in it to spread that truth. But we need not accept them among our ranks until they are willing to act like they are. If Satan wants to enter our churches, don't hand him the keys, let him break down the door. There is a time to judge, and that time is when a self-proclaimed Christian has merited it (Matthew 18:17).