BRF -- 1 Corinthians 5-8

These are some tough chapters. Some of the issues here are heatedly disputed in the church and I have been called a legalist for going with some of it. I believe Paul is being extremely clear in these chapters of EXACTLY what he is speaking of. Those who say these are gray (or grey) areas are perhaps just looking to continue on with the status quo.
You can not act on 1 Cor 5-8 while still being tolerant of sin or politically correct. Its time to choose your side... or don't bother reading.

1 Corinthians 5:9-12 (New King James Version)
Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

9 I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people. 10 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 of the world. 11 But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner—not even to eat with such a person. 12 For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside?

We are to stay away from those who are sexually immoral and claim to be brothers. We aren't even to eat with them. (No pot lucks or home visits!!)
This is something "loving" Christians these days refuse to do. There is one "couple" at our church who are living together while waiting for each of their divorces to go through and then will get married and expect everyone to congratulate them... and people will!! They thought it would be wonderful to get to know Dave and I better and have invited us into their home for dinner. He is a Bible school/seminary graduate and happens to be familiar with this text. He is actually rather on the brilliant side. By getting us to eat with them we are also committing a sin. We declined the dinner invite. They are not upset as there are others who will go.
The general consensus to these type of situations is that in a few years everyone will forget that they had chosen this route and will just treat them as any other married couple in the church. In this case each of them has a daughter with the same name so there will always be questions from new people!!
The Bible says clearly... STAY AWAY!!!

We have no call to hold the world to our standard... that would be ridiculous!!! We need to be reaching out to those who are lost and in sexual sins.
We have every reason, even a mandate to recognize this in the brethren and expect them to wise up and be holy... not to make a mockery of God's holiness.... even if it isn't what the church people call "loving."
When you bring this up in your church.. and we must... and people say "We can't do anything. To not even eat with them is unloving." Tell them to take it up with God and His word... which is perfect and infallible!! What if some of these people are your best friends? Remember Jesus said He came not to bring peace but a sword. If we aren't willing to choose Him first, we show we hate Him and are friends of the world.
Also, those in sexual sins certainly know it and they KNOW there are always repercussions for the choices they make. We need to be wise enough to be able to judge these situations according to God's word.

In chapter 6 Paul is reminding us that we are going to be judging the world someday. We need to show discernment in judging now. Ch 6 vs 2b ".. are you not competent to judge trivial cases?" When Paul gives us an open and shut case for what we are to do, it should be a trivial matter to simply follow directions. Not even a lot of gray matter used here.

We also need to be able to judge disputes between the brethren. I love Ch 6 vs 5 probably because we have been looking for a wise person to help mediate the problems at the church and have come up pretty empty handed (though we may have found one this week, praise God!!)

"I say this to shame you. Is it possible that there is nobody among you wise enough to judge a dispute between believers?"
Can we all hang down our heads and admit that this is true? Are we wise enough? By God's grace soon we will have a resounding "YES!!!" from some ladies who are taking God's word seriously! We need to be wise. Our men need to be wise, not just in their individual business worlds, but in the Word of God. We need men that can stand up and say "Enough!! This is wrong and this is why. You can't do this and claim to be a disciple of Christ!!"

Someone who actually gets vs 12 ""Everything is permissible for me" -- but not everything is beneficial."
I've heard people quote the everything is permissible for me phrase... how many of them know that Paul was quoting what the believers in Corinth were saying and HE wasn't saying it I'm not sure. Yes, we have freedom in Christ. Freedom from the law. Freedom for what we eat, etc...
God still has reasons for laying things out the way He did though and we really should pay attention. For instance, God forbade eating pigs. It is not absolutely permissible to eat pork in any form. This is definitely NOT a sin. However, it is really hard on your body. We don't eat pork because it literally makes us ill. Ever tried the pouring coke on the pork roast and see what happens?? Little worms will make their way out!!
I guess we do eat some pig. We do enjoy ham.
Just not pork roast, loin or chops.
Definitely not chops.
How bout the shellfish thing? Another no-no according to the OT law. Those creeping things that creep on the bottom of the sea (lobster, crab, etc..) feed on dead flesh. Yep, if another creature dies, they are the vultures of the sea. Remember the Swiss Air flight that crashed off the coast of NS a few years back? That was also a bumper year for lobster. No joke. Dave still eats it, I am thankfully allergic and don't offend anyone at the dinner table by just sticking with the allergen thing. No one who just paid $30 for lobster in a restaurant wants to be told that they are eating sea vultures.

Moving on. (Thank goodness?)

Chapter 7

No one likes discussing this chapter with me... especially those who are in or have been in divorce proceedings. I simply don't care what their station in life is.. If I'm asked I state what I believe to be true.

Before Paul gets in to talking about marriage and when its ok to let your spouse go (very few reasons I might add) he gives this disclaimer.
Please read carefully.

1 Corinthians 7:10-11 (New King James Version)

10 Now to the married I command, yet not I but the Lord: A wife is not to depart from her husband. 11 But even if she does depart, let her remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband. And a husband is not to divorce his wife.

The Lord is commanding us not to divorce, but even if it happens (the next few verses say when it can happen with no guilt) we are to remain unmarried.

vs 39 states the ONLY exception to this rule... death of the spouse.

This corresponds exactly to what Jesus says in Luke.

Luke 16:18 (New King James Version)

18 “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced from her husband commits adultery.

I've been waiting for someone preaching on remarriage/adultery to connect these 2 verses. No one has while I've been sitting in the pew... but here ya go folks...
It doesn't matter if you do the divorcing or are on the receiving end of the divorce. If you remarry, you commit adultery. That is where the sin part comes in. Some reasons for divorce can leave you completely in the clear as far as sin goes, why mess it up by committing adultery afterwards?? Another marriage while the first spouse is alive is called adultery. Jesus said it. Paul (though not using the word adultery) makes it clear this is not to happen.

Chapter 8 and the weaker brother and I'm done.
Once again ... how did this get so long??

Vs 9 "Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak."
The youth pastor who has no problem with having a beer on the patio of the pub along the waterfront on a hot summer day.
The couple who make wine in their basement.
The woman who wears what she considers warm weather necessities such as tube tops and backless halters.
Camping every weekend in the summer so you become a 3 season church attender.
Are these sins? Probably not. Can they become a stumbling block for another and cause some to fall? Absolutely yes.
Lets just not go there.
There are so many really great things to do with the freedom we have in Christ.... like...
Actually visiting people on the Sabbath.
Resting when you can instead of having a prescribed day for it.
Speaking to others of different backgrounds and being allowed to go into their houses.
Not kissing your fingers to a wooden box every time you walk in and out of your house!!
Talking to God face to face.
Reading God's word and discussing it with fellow believers.
Having God speak directly to us as we open His word.
Having the Holy Spirit guide us to a divine appt with a stranger that changes your life.
Meeting strangers and finding them friends.
Having forgiveness from our sin and starting every day fresh.. and sometimes every minute!

Why go out of our way to do something that can cause a brother to fall?

That's my BRF for tonight. BRF could also stand for BRIEF... Not on this blog!!
Now I can read all of yours.... YEAH!!