Forefeast of the Procession of the Lifegiving Cross

I wrote to you in my letter to have no company with sexual sinners; ¹⁰yet not at all meaning with the sexual sinners of this world, or with the covetous and extortionists, or with idolaters, for then you would have to leave the world. ¹¹But as it is, I wrote to you not to associate with anyone who is called a brother who is a sexual sinner, or covetous, or an idolater, or a slanderer, or a drunkard, or an extortionist. Don’t even eat with such a person. ¹²For what do I have to do with also judging those who are outside? Don’t you judge those who are within? ¹³But those who are outside, God judges. “Put away the wicked man from among yourselves.”

¹Dare any of you, having a matter against his neighbor, go to law before the unrighteous, and not before the saints? ²Don’t you know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters? ³Don’t you know that we will judge angels? How much more, things that pertain to this life? ⁴If then you have to judge things pertaining to this life, do you set them to judge who are of no account in the assembly? ⁵I say this to move you to shame. Isn’t there even one wise man among you who would be able to decide between his brothers? ⁶But brother goes to law with brother, and that before unbelievers! ⁷Therefore it is already altogether a defect in you that you have lawsuits one with another. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be defrauded? ⁸No, but you yourselves do wrong and defraud, and that against your brothers.

⁹Or don’t you know that the unrighteous will not inherit God’s Kingdom? Don’t be deceived. Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor male prostitutes, nor homosexuals, ¹⁰nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor slanderers, nor extortionists, will inherit God’s Kingdom. ¹¹Some of you were such, but you were washed. You were sanctified. You were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and in the Spirit of our God.

Coming into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works? ⁵⁵Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother called Mary, and his brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas? ⁵⁶Aren’t all of his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all of these things?”

⁵⁷They were offended by him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor, except in his own country and in his own house.” ⁵⁸He didn’t do many mighty works there because of their unbelief.