Welcome to The Daily, where we study the Bible verse by verse, chapter by chapter, every day.

Read more about Project23 and partner with us as we teach every verse of the Bible on video.

Our text today is 1 Corinthians 5:12.

It's easy to get worked up about everything happening "out there." We shake our heads at culture, critique the headlines, and grow frustrated with people who don't follow Jesus—as if their choices should shock us. But before Paul gives direction, he gives clarity: you can't expect the world to live by a standard it never agreed to.

For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? — 1 Corinthians 5:12

Paul tells the Corinthians to stop policing people who don't claim Christ. Unbelievers behaving like unbelievers is not a crisis. It's expected. What is a crisis is when believers behave like unbelievers and no one says a word. When Christians focus more energy on condemning the outside world than shepherding their own community, everything gets upside down.

Jesus didn't police the world—He moved toward it. Paul didn't police the world—he preached to it. The early church didn't police the world—they loved it and reached it. But inside the church? They confronted sin, practiced discipline, and protected one another with humility and truth. They judged behavior not to shame but to restore. That's the difference.

Many believers today get trapped in endless cycles of judging outsiders. We complain about politics, cultural decay, Hollywood, the news, and the morality of people who don't even claim to follow Christ. Meanwhile, friends we love are drifting, compromising, and slipping into patterns that are far more dangerous—and we stay silent. We end up policing the wrong people and ignoring the ones God called us to shepherd.

The real problem isn't worldly people acting worldly. The real problem is God's people acting worldly and no one having the courage to intervene. Policing outside breeds resentment. Policing inside breeds restoration.

So what does it look like to lovingly "police" believers in a biblical way?

• Ask honest questions instead of assuming everything is fine: "Hey, you seem distant lately. How are you doing spiritually?"
• Address what you see, not what you hear: "This is something I've noticed myself, and I care too much not to bring it up."
• Correct gently and clearly: "I'm saying this because it's dangerous for your walk, and I want to help."
• Refuse to normalize what God condemns: "I can't pretend this is okay. I care about you too much."
• Aim for restoration, not embarrassment: "I'm with you in this, and I'm not giving up on you."

This is policing with a shepherd's heart—firm, honest, and aimed at rescue rather than ridicule. It's the kind of accountability that leads believers back to health and strengthens the whole church.

DO THIS:

Choose one believer in your life who may be drifting. Pray, reach out, and take a loving step toward honest conversation or gentle correction.

ASK THIS:

1. Where have I spent more time judging the world than shepherding believers?
2. Who in my life needs loving accountability right now?
3. What step could lead someone I love toward restoration instead of ruin?

PRAY THIS:

Father, help me stop policing the world and start loving, correcting, and restoring the believers You've placed around me. Give me wisdom and courage to speak truth with humility and protect the purity of Your church. Amen.

PLAY THIS:

"Take My Life and Let It Be"

Welcome to The Daily, where we study the Bible verse by verse, chapter by chapter, every day.

Read more about Project23 and partner with us as we teach every verse of the Bible on video.

Our text today is 1 Corinthians 5:11.

Before Paul gives one of the sharpest relational boundaries in the New Testament, he reminds us of something we often forget: love doesn't just embrace—it protects. And protection sometimes requires distance.

With that in mind, Paul writes:

But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one. — 1 Corinthians 5:11

Paul draws a line most believers today avoid. He doesn't tell Christians to distance themselves from the world but from those inside the church who claim the name of Christ while openly rejecting His authority. He says not to associate with them—not even to share a meal. The reason isn't superiority or harshness. It's because the table represents fellowship, unity, and spiritual agreement, and Paul refuses to let the symbol of unity become a place where rebellion is quietly affirmed.

This is where many Christians struggle. We soften. We overlook. We make excuses for people we care about. We keep sitting at the table, laughing, talking, and living as if nothing is wrong. And without meaning to, we enable them. Enabling is not compassion—it is participation in their destruction. Many believers have watched loved ones drift deeper into sin because the people closest to them confused silence with kindness. They avoided hard conversations. They feared losing the relationship. They didn't want to be labeled judgmental. And all the while, the person they loved took another step toward ruin.

But Paul's instruction turns that thinking upside down. Sometimes the most loving thing you can do is create distance—not abandonment, not humiliation, but a clear and honest boundary that says, "I love you too much to pretend this is okay." This kind of boundary isn't rejection. It's rescue. It's the same heart behind the last passages: the goal is never shame but repentance, never punishment but restoration. Enabling, however, numbs the sinner to their condition, cushions the very fall God may be using to wake them up, and convinces them everything is fine when it isn't.

Love doesn't enable destruction. Love intervenes. Love speaks truth. Love risks misunderstanding for the sake of someone's soul. The call of Christ isn't to protect comfort—it's to protect people from the destruction sin brings. That sometimes requires courage, clarity, and boundaries.

DO THIS:

Identify one relationship where your silence or closeness may be enabling destructive choices. Pray for courage, and take one loving step toward honest clarity or a healthy boundary.

ASK THIS:

1. Where have I confused enabling with compassion?
2. Who is drifting toward destruction while I remain silent?
3. What boundary might awaken repentance instead of reinforcing rebellion?

PRAY THIS:

Father, give me the courage to love others enough to stop enabling what destroys them. Help me speak truth with grace, create boundaries that honor You, and seek restoration over comfort. Amen.

PLAY THIS:

"Together"

Welcome to The Daily, where we study the Bible verse by verse, chapter by chapter, every day.

Read more about Project23 and partner with us as we teach every verse of the Bible on video.

Our text today is 1 Corinthians 5:9-10.

I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people — not at all meaning the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. — 1 Corinthians 5:9–10

Paul clears up a massive misunderstanding. The Corinthians assumed he meant, "Cut off contact with sinful people entirely." But that was never God's strategy. We don't reach the world by abandoning it, avoiding it, or hiding from it.

Paul's point is far sharper: Christians are not commanded to avoid the world. Christians are commanded to discern the church.

Jesus Himself ate with sinners, welcomed sinners, and loved sinners. But Paul warns believers to be cautious around professing Christians who live openly in sin without repentance—those who claim Christ while rejecting His authority. That's where the real threat lies.

Unbelievers acting like unbelievers doesn't corrupt the church. Believers acting like unbelievers without shame does. When the church begins to affirm what God condemns, the confusion spreads. The witness weakens. The church slowly becomes the very culture it's called to rescue.

That's why Paul says you'd "have to leave the world" to avoid sinners outside the faith. The danger isn't out there. The danger is when what's out there walks into the church, refuses to repent, and finds applause instead of correction. Your mission is in the world—your discernment is in the church.

So be wise about who shapes your spiritual life. Move toward unbelievers with compassion and conviction. But be cautious with believers who live in open rebellion while claiming the name of Christ. Discernment isn't harsh—it's holy. It protects your heart. It protects your relationships. And it protects the church you love.

DO THIS:

Evaluate your closest Christian relationships. Deepen connections with believers who strengthen your walk with Christ, and set boundaries with those who pull you away.

ASK THIS:

1. Who influences my spiritual life the most right now?
2. Are they pushing me toward Christ or pulling me toward compromise?
3. Where do I need to practice healthier discernment?

PRAY THIS:

Father, give me wisdom to love the world like Jesus did while discerning the church like Paul taught. Guard my heart, shape my relationships, and keep me faithful to You. Amen.

PLAY THIS:

"Build My Life"