Rising Above the Fog of This Sinful World

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.”

 

St. Paul spoke the above verse to the Corinthians, as documented in today’s reading, 1 Corinthians 5:1-12.

 

It is rare for me to talk to a Christian who does not bemoan the moral deterioration of our world during the recent past. Christians are upset over the legalization of abortion. They are mad that our courts have defined an alternative definition of marriage. Many are irate that some of our civic leaders ignore our constitution and act unilaterally, while perhaps being more irate at many other civic leaders who refuse to speak out against such behavior. The list goes on.

 

Christians have a lot of reasons to be irate.

 

Paul’s words give us reason to pause and reflect. Our job is not to judge the world. That will happen on Judgment Day.

 

Our job is not to change the world. Satan is sometimes called the Prince of the World, and the world will follow Satan, its prince.

 

Our job is to share the Gospel with unbelievers. Armed with the Good News of Jesus Christ, we are to rescue people from Satan’s domain, not change Satan’s domain.

 

Paul gives us another responsibility. It is our job to ensure that the Earthly Kingdom of God, that is the Church here on Earth, is pure. The Church is holy; it is to stand out as being morally different than the rest of the world.

 

The Church is filled with sinners, so it is impossible for the church to be pure. That is not a license, however, to give up. Rather, Paul is telling the Church to obey and enforce God's Laws. Paul is not telling us we will not, or should not, sin. He really is telling us that it is a sin not to attempt to follow God’s Laws.

 

The Church is holy and is set apart. Christians must work for its purity.

 

The Church must be seen as rising above the fog of the sinful world.

Jesus Has Overcome the World

Our world has changed dramatically in the last few years and not necessarily towards the direction God intended.

No longer is there prayer in public schools. We not only allow abortions, but taxpayer dollars pay for them. Organs of aborted fetuses are harvested for sale on the black market. We have a new secular definition of marriage. Regulations, not free markets, are driving business decisions. Our world is beginning to despise the rich, even when they use their money for God’s purposes.

Some have opined that the end must be near.

 Well … maybe …  but history has heard this refrain before.

 Consider the plight of Europe during World War I and especially World War II. There was almost total devastation in many areas. Consider  Germany during the 30 Years War (1618-1648). Many southern German villages were wiped out, and the population of many German Duchies was cut to a third.

 The plague that began in 1346 reduced Europe’s population by over 30%. St. Augustine wrote that the end might be near as civilization collapsed along with the Roman Empire.

 It is true our world is changing and not for the better. History, however, has seen millions, perhaps billions, of people fear for their lives as their world changed. We are not close to that point yet.

 Today’s reading is John 16:19-33. Jesus told his disciples that he would soon die, and what to expect. He also gave them words of encouragement, “Take heart! I have overcome the world.”

 The Prince of the World is Satan (Rev 12:3,9). Satan was expelled from heaven and he wreaks havoc on the earth (Rev 12:9-12) today.

 It should come as no surprise that our lives, our way of life, and yes, our world, will be impacted by Satan from time to time. In fact, the world is driven – significantly -- by Satan.

 As Jesus said, he has overcome the world, that is, Satan. He also tells us that Satan will be condemned (John 16:11) and driven out (John 12:31).

 In spite of Satan's impact, Christ’s Church has proclaimed the Gospel for almost 2,000 years.

 We are being impacted again. Something tells me that Christ’s Church will continue to proclaim the Gospel.

 The world has changed, but we should take heart. After all, Jesus has overcome the world!