Keeping Company....inside or outside?

The Corinthian church had lots of problems, problems that the apostle Paul dealt with in his letter of 1 Corinthians.  In chapter 3, he says:

"I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people.  Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out to the world.  But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is a fornicator, or covetous, or idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner--not even to eat with such a person."

We see here a distinction being made between people who are in the circle of brotherhood, people who are considered Christian brothers or sisters and those people who are outside this circle.  He is reminding them that they cannot remove themselves from the world, from worldly people, and cannot be an influence for good if they do not associate with all kinds of people.  But he goes on to say:

"For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside?  Do you not judge those who are inside?  But those who are outside God judges.  Therefore 'put away from yourselves that wicked person.' "

He makes it clear that it is not our place to judge those who are outside.  Oh, we will notice their evil lives, but not to judge, not to condemn; God will see to that.

On the other hand, we are not to tolerate open sin among our fellow Christians.  There are a number of other passages/teachings in the New Testament that indicate that we must not accept freely those who are claiming to be Christians but are openly living in sin.  And realize that we all sin and fall short of the glory of God.  But those who simply live in sin with no attempt to repent, to correct their lives, but live in sin, flaunting their sin, these must not be allowed to also openly claim faithful Christianity.

The Lord has given us great instruction for practical living.  He is to be praised!

Thanks for reading.  You are important.