1 Corinthians 5:9-13 “I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people. (10) Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. (11) But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner--not even to eat with such a person. (12) For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside? (13) But those who are outside God judges. Therefore "Put away from yourselves the evil person.”
So what should the church do if some saints become involved in sinful practices and refuse to repent? In the above passage of scripture the Holy Spirit through the apostle Paul counsels the church on how to address such issues, for he instructs the church not to tolerate sinful behaviour, listing some examples i.e. sexual immorality, covetous, idolatry, reviling, drunkenness and extortion. And so the Holy Spirit’s counsel to the church is to ostracise fellow Christians that choose to practice sin, by refusing to have fellowship with them, not counting them as enemies however but rather admonishing them as brothers in the Lord, thereby shaming them into repentance of their sin (2 Thessalonians 3:14-15). There are numerous reasons why the church is not to tolerate sin within her midst, and one reason is so that she can be used of the Lord to shine as His light in this world where sin is prevalent.
Michael E.B. Maher
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