Daily Devotion with Pastor Tong Liu: Today's Passage

1 Corinthians 5:9-13

I have written you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people- not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. But now I am writing you that you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler. With such a man do not even eat. What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside. "Expel the wicked man from among you."

Paul specifically mentioned here that the church has the responsibility to deal with the problem of morality within the church. But we also know that in this entire chapter, while Paul mentioned that we need to confront the sinner, he also mentioned that in the process, there is a key principle, which is not to condemn. When we do so, on the one hand, we destroy his sinful nature, on the other hand, his spirit saved on the day of the Lord.

In other words, we need to ask God to help us help us to restore the sinner to Himself. When the Lord Jesus was on earth, He rebuked sin, but He loved the sinners. No matter where He went, when He went into the city, he was together with sinners, and was looking for sinners. Even the Pharisees thought that it was ridiculous that Jesus was always among the sinners. Jesus hated sin, but loved sinners.

But the church today often rushes to convict others, without the mercy or love of Christ. When the Lord was on earth, he saw many who were lost, like sheep without a shepherd, and He had compassion on them. This is because it is easy to pass judgment, but it is hard to restore. When I see how the church deals with the weak, or preachers who have stumbled, I am sad to say there is sometimes no love in the church. It seems that the church is also a place where only the fittest survive and the weak ones are purged. I have a deep prayer in my heart: Lord have mercy on us, so that the church is never a place of condemnation, but a place of healing and restoration for the weak, because this is the heart of God. Ask the Lord to help each one of us, so that we do not rebuke others, but learn to show the love of God in our daily lives so that we may cause those in sin to repent, and restore the weak.

Pray with Pastor Tong

Lord, we thank you again because your will is not to condemn us, but it is to restore us. May your mercy and love once again fill our hearts, so that in the body of Christ, we may learn to love and support each other, and grow spiritually in Christ. We thank you and pray in the victorious name of Jesus, Amen!