A few years ago, I moved across country, from my home state of Florida to Santa Fe, New Mexico. I left behind my fairly homogeneous background of conservatives, Christians and military kids for a city in which I was, for the first time, surrounded by liberals, Buddhists, and eco-centric pacifists. I cannot imagine a more radical change in environment, and in my first year there, I was in a state of chronic culture shock. So, being the good conservative Christian republican that I then was, I decided to see how Paul dealt with a similar situation: how does a believer live in a city which is radically non-Christian? What should my attitude toward my non-Christian acquaintances be? How do I convince them to observe the standards of Christian morality? How do I love them while keeping myself separate from them? And so I began a summer-long study of Paul's letters to the Corinthians. I didn't get very far, however, because my entire life was turned upside down by 1 Corinthians 5.9-13: I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people; I did not at all mean with the immoral people of this world, or with the covetous and swindlers, or with idolaters; for then you would have to go out of the world. But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he should be an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler -- not even to eat with such a one. For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Do you not judge those who are within the church? But those who are outside, God judges. 'Remove the wicked man from among yourselves.' I felt sick: everything I thought I understood about the universality of the Christian moral system was here completely overturned by the foremost expositor of the Christian faith! All my political beliefs collapsed in on themselves, and I stood helplessly before the twisted wreckage of my fortress. You see, I had been using the objective nature of the Christian truth as the measuring rod of my relationships: the commandments provided for scripture applied to everyone, and I was to avoid those who did not even try to live by them. (Needless to say, I was pretty lonely my first year in Santa Fe!)
What I learned from Paul forced me to re-evaluate my entire approach to people. No longer could I cast people out of my life for not accepting the Christian models of behavior. Rather, I had to allow people who made no claim to follow Christ to live as they chose. What did this mean? Why does Paul tell us not to hold our unbelieving acquaintances by the standards we are held to in Christ?
I believe now that the reason for this is quite simple: Christian behavior is only possible through faith in Christ Jesus. Only by the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit are we able to hold to the standards of behavior given to us in the Bible. To ask a professed non-Christian to attempt this standard of behavior is to ask the impossible: without Christ, they cannot do it. Asking them to live as we do only throws them into a cycle of works-righteousness, failure, guilt, despair, and rejection. Until they themselves believe in the power of Christ, they will not be able to live up to Christian standards.
Lest it sound as though I am saying non-Christians cannot be moral, let me point out that I do not think this at all! Unlike many of our founding forefathers, I do not believe that atheists are untrustworthy, unloving, and dangerous. What I do believe, however, is that the Christian standard of behavior is always higher than that of the surrounding society. Paul echoes this idea elsewhere: in Galatians 5.23, he points out that against the fruit of the Spirit, there is no law. If we are living as we ought, no one will have anything to say against us (Titus 2.7-8; also Rom. 12.17 and 14.17-18, and 2 Cor. 8.21; Peter also echoes this in 1 Peter 2.12).
This helps reconcile to me the problem of liberty and morality: all things truly are lawful for us, yet in deference to the witness of Christ, we willingly restrict our behavior so that no one will be able to speak against us. We are always to hold ourselves to a standard of behavior higher than that of those around us. But not so that we might be proud – the point of our higher standard is to show the power of God working in us, to show that with God, we become better people than we are without God. Our good behavior is not meant to judge those around us, but to point to the reality and power of God in the lives of those who believe – it is a witness of God's power to strengthen us in righteousness and faithfulness.
Because of this verse, my understanding of the relationship between Christianity and politics has changed drastically. I now recognize that politicians must not try to force our country to hold the traditional standards of morality. It cannot be done: only those who believe in Christ could possibly live up to them. The rest of the country has no hope of living accordingly. No, Christian politicians must find another way to exercise their faith in their work. They must continue to work for justice, for compassion, for mercy, for the building up of people. But they must reject the notion of legislating a morality that only makes sense to those of us who hold to the deity of Christ. I do not know what the solutions will look like, but I know I must now reject those who claim the scriptural guidelines for behavior as their authority for civic legalism.
Perhaps one day, Christian politicians will willingly incorporate 1 Corinthians 5.12 into their inauguration oaths: "What have I to do with judging outsiders?" in peace, |
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