Whatever the status of the malignancy of the heart, there is no hope for those who don’t love the Lord until and unless they have a change of heart. They must love what they do not love now.

Let anyone who has no love for the Lord be accursed. (1 Cor 16:22, NET)

This verse seems to dangle there with no immediately apparent connection to what precedes it or follows. Paul placed this thought in the very last handful of sentences in the first letter to the Corinthians. He’s given the readers some final punctuated reminders to end up his long epistle. It has a strength there, even if all alone.

But maybe it’s not totally alone. It’s followed by the exclamation “Maranatha!” This is usually translated “Come, Lord Jesus!” This Aramaic word can be divided differently however. It could read, “Maran atha” rather than “Marana tha” and therefore assert, “The Lord has come!”

Could Paul be saying, “The Lord has come. He’s to be contended with. Anyone who doesn’t love him is to be accursed!” Or, could he intend, “The Lord is coming, therefore let anyone who has no love for the Lord be accursed [when he comes].” We may not know for certain.

There is power in the sentence. Earlier he wrote the Galatian churches pronouncing “anathema” on those who were distorting the gospel of grace by adding the requirement of circumcision and the Mosaic Law. But in this statement is the anticipation of a curse on people who have simply failed to have something. Let him be accursed who has “no love for the Lord.”

Read More