God's Word to the Wise

“The Church for Everyone Who Wants the Church to be for Everyone.” I read this quote on the signage of a church I pass by regularly. Recently, there was a review posted that emphasized this. It read, “This is a church for everyone, and I mean everyone!”

The “Church” is for anyone, but not for everybody. “Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.” (1 Corinthians 6:9-11)

Yes, come as you are, but you cannot remain as you are.

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 of the world. But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother (Or sister), 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.

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. (God is more likely to show mercy than we are.) Therefore “put away from yourselves the evil person.”