I meant that you are not to associate with anyone who claims to be a believer yet indulges in sexual sin…. It isn’t my responsibility to judge outsiders, but it certainly is your responsibility to judge those inside the church who are sinning.
-I Corinthians 5:11a, 12, NLT
Adultery certainly qualifies as sexual sin.
What does the Apostle Paul here tell us we must do when someone claiming to be a believer is living in said sexual sin?
Are we to “forgive?”
Are we to “bless?”
Are we to celebrate?
No.
We are to judge those who are in such sin.
A Christian who is NOT judgmental in this sense is a Christian living in defiance of the Bible’s clear teaching on the matter. Any advice to not judge an unrepentant cheater for cheating is ungodly advice.
I realize this is shocking for some.
They have been wrongfully taught a passive Christianity full of cheap grace. It is faith devoid of holiness and righteousness. Such a faith is quick to pressure victims to forgive and slow–if ever–to call sinners to repentance.
This is not the true Christian faith.
God calls His people to judge lifestyles of sin so that the souls of those sinners–e.g. cheaters–have a chance of avoiding spiritual death. The purpose is not so much to condemn the person but rather to call them to responsibility and repentance from their sins.
That is true love.
