For a description of the (Y2) reading plan, see the “About” page.
1 Cor. 5
Why did Paul insist they remove this man from their church? What was his goal for the church? For the man? Corruption spreads like a disease. Never was any corrupt thing made pure by being placed with pure things. No – the one rotten apple will spoil the whole bunch. One bad ingredient will ruin a recipe. And one cancer cell will eventually spread throughout an entire healthy body. God alone is able to make a corrupt thing pure.
This is why it is so important for the Church – the body of Christ – to “expel the wicked person from among you” (1 Cor. 5:13b). The body cannot stay pure if there is wickedness in it. Don’t get me wrong. Even the most well-meaning of us fall into sin from time to time, but when someone has such a blatant disregard for God’s holiness as this man did, something needs to be done, both to preserve the unity of the Church with Christ and to give such a person the chance to recognize their need for repentance. As long as the Church accepts the wicked behavior, the person will continue in it. If, however, they are made aware that they cannot belong to God in such a state, there is hope that they will repent and be saved.
Josh. 13-14
What lessons can you learn from the example of Caleb in 14:6-15? Caleb gives me some idea of what it means to “follow the LORD my God wholeheartedly”. What I see in him is that his faith in God never wavered. When he was first sent to explore the land, his heart did not “melt in fear”, as was the case with the other ten men. And when Joshua was handing out land allotments, Caleb remembered God’s promise to him and never doubted that God would fulfill that promise, even though the challenge of the Anakites, with their large and fortified cities, stood in the way. Caleb’s response to this challenge was, “the LORD helping me, I will drive them out just as He said”. (Josh. 14:12b). Caleb never let fear take root in his heart and never turned to anything other than God for his help. That’s wholehearted.
Ps. 43
This Psalm presents yet another picture of God’s salvation; His redemption plan. “Send me your light and your faithful care, let them lead me; let them bring me to your holy mountain, to the place where you dwell.” (Ps. 43:3). When we were in need of rescue, oppressed by the enemy, He sent help to us. He sent His Son and His Holy Spirit – His light and faithful care – to lead us back to Him.