Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Scripture
1 Corinthians 6: 7-11
7The very fact that you have lawsuits among you means you have been completely defeated already. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated? 8Instead, you yourselves cheat and do wrong, and you do this to your brothers. 9Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders 10nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
Reflection
First Corinthians, in my mind, is always associated with love, probably because of how well-known 1 Corinthians 13 is. In 1 Corinthians 6: 7-11, we are reminded that God loves us, and we are to love those around us. It is not our place to judge. In a world (and a very small school) where gossip is common and we frequently talk about the actions of our friends and neighbors in a way that implies our purity, it is important to remember that even we, even believers in Christ, have been wrong doers. Therefore, we do not have room to speak poorly of one who may be acting as a wrongdoer at the moment. We have all been there, and there is no guarantee that we will not go back to such a place of wrongdoing. The NRSV says,
"Do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Fornicators, idolators, adulterers, male prostitutes, sodomites, thieves, the greedy, drunkards, revilers, robbers- none of these will inherit the kingdom of God. And this is what some of you used to be. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God." 1 Corinthians 6: 9-11
This tells us, then, that we should reach out to those who are "wrongdoers" rather than excluding them for their actions. We should encourage them to be cleansed. None of us are pure, but we can all be clean. We can stay clean and love one another, become a larger, more improved body, and reach out to those in need. Perhaps "wrongdoers" are simply asking for help in a twisted way. Maybe they are not committing these actions for pleasure, but because they do not know how else to find what they need. Let us open our hearts to them and love them for who they are, hoping that they too will become clean in the name of the Lord, our loving God.
Written by a PC Junior
Today Please Pray For:
Champs, an afterschool program for Laurens County kids
I agree. It is important to reach out to members of our communities in love. Community is beautiful because we are at once reaching out to others and the object of other people's reaching out.
ReplyDeleteWhen reading the I Corinthians passage, I think it is important to note some translational discrepancies. In his book, Jesus, the Bible, and Homosexuality, Jack Rogers uncovers some truths about the original Greek language in I Corinthians 7-11. In this translation on the blog the words 'arsenokoites' and 'malakos' have been translated to mean homosexual offenders, and in other translations they have been translated as sodomites.
Rogers writes, “Brian Blunt, professor of New Testament at Princeton Theological Seminary, notes that the meaning of these words is not at all clear, and their reference to homosexuality as such has been challenged. Martti Nissinen observes that both words appear in lists of vices that seem to reflect general concerns of Hellenistic Jews about the deplorable state of Greek society.”
Rogers explains that some scholars believe that the Greek word 'arsenokoites' actually means people who take part in sexual exploitation for monetary gain. It is a significant point meaning that Paul is not condemning homosexuality.
Finally, Rogers quotes Martti Nissinen. “ ‘The meanings of the word are too vague to justify this claim, and Paul’s words should not be used for generalizations that go beyond his experience and world.’ ”