“I’m Sorry, You Are No Longer Welcome Here,” Part 1

Remove the wicked person from among yourselves – 1 Cor. 5:13. 

One of the least practiced commands in the Bible that Christians often turn away from is the discipline of other believers. The church has gotten so far removed from this command we find in the Bible that when it is suggested that such a practiced ought to be implemented, there is shock, surprise, and utter disdained over such a thought.

The Bible is filled with this teaching and it is unavoidable.  But the church has managed to avoid it because she seeks to approval of man over the approval of God.

There are many passages we’re going to examine, but let’s go to the one we find in 1 Corinthians first.

Here is the context the Corinthians were facing. Someone in the church was sleeping with his stepmother (5:1).  To make matters worse, nothing was being done about it. The church decided to simply leave it alone. It was apparently too hot to touch.  Paul called this mindset, “arrogance,” because the church ought to be weeping over such a sin, not embracing it by having a do-nothing-attitude (v. 2). 

Now in the following verses, Paul exhorts this church to basically say, “I’m sorry, you are not welcome here.” 

Notice these passages:

5:2 – “the one who has done this deed might be removed from your midst”

5:5 – “deliver such a one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh”

5:7 – “clean out the old leaven”

5:11 – “do not associate with any so-called brother if he should be immoral”

5:13 – “remove the wicked man from among yourselves.”

It is as if Paul is telling this church, “Listen just in case you do not get it the first time when I tell you to remove the wicked person, let me tell you four more times for a total of five times so that there can be no question as to what I am commanding you to do!”

Most church leaders run from doing this. Why do you think this is so? Well, here are some reasons Paul mentioned:

First, arrogance (5:2).  Rather than mourning and seeking repentance, the church thought it would be better just to keep quiet, show love and hope it will all go away.   This is not love, Paul states, but arrogance. 

Second, a severe lack of spiritual backbone (5:3-5; 6:2-5).  The Corinthians had leaders, but not the kind with spiritual backbone. So Paul had to tell them, “Is there not among you one wise man who is able to decide such matters” (6:5).

Third, their practice of tolerance.  They had become proud of their tolerance in not disciplining the sinning member (5:2).  In such cases, by not doing anything about, it was being “reported” (see 5:1). Others were saying, “Wow, this kind of tolerance of sin is not even permitted among the heathen” (Gentiles, i.e. unbelievers).  

Fourth, perhaps they were more interested in numbers than in holiness.  This sinning person may have been someone in the church with great influence. To kick him out would upset a lot of people who may just jettison the church.  Maybe there would be a church split over this issue.  Whatever the case may be, tolerating this kind of evil is never in the best interest of the flock, nor is it in keeping with the glory of God and His honor.

Now often times, we hear this: “We are not to judge!”  This is so silly, and may I also add, “stupid!”

Read the text with me:

5:3:  “For I, on my part, though absent in the body but present in the spirit, have already JUDGED HIM who has so committed this.”  Paul says, “Even though I am not with you, I have already judged such a man to be wrong and I am more than willing to deliver him unto Satan. . .” (v. 5).

5:12:  “For what have I to do with judging outsiders?”  Answer:  Nothing, God judges those outside the church (v. 13).

Then Paul adds, “do you not judge those who are WITHIN the church?”  The answer:  Yes, you should, especially those within the church.

Serious sins carry serious consequences. It is funny, yet at the same time, not so funny how the word gets around concerning such matters. Others on the outside seem to know about it.  If others on the outside know about such things, how much more we need to be both careful and concern that we show the outsiders how God uses His people to handle such matters in a proper biblical and loving approach.

Remember, the goal of church discipline is to “restore” the sinner, not to punish him. But remember this, “punishment is a means toward the end” (which is restoration).  Punishment is only the means and never the goal. The absolute goal is to bring the sinning saint back into fellowship with God and with those whom he or she have offended and hurt.

“But Pastor Rich, we need to be forgiving.”  No we do not need to be forgiving.  Who came up with that idea? 

Tell God how He needs to be forgiving to all those whom He has already sent to hell!  Forgiveness apart from repentance is wishful thinking.  No one, with no exception has ever been forgiven by God apart from having repented of their sin. And there is no person who is of the exception.

Jesus said this, “unless you forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father in heaven forgive you” (Matt. 6:15).  When a person repents, we ought to forgive him or her. If we don’t, God will not forgive us.

“But Pastor Rich, Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing?’” (Luke 23:34). Jesus prays for their forgiveness, He Himself is not forgiving them. 

You want to make sure you are spot on when it comes to offering forgiveness?  Then remember Ephesians 4:32: “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ forgave you.”  How has God through Christ forgiven you?  When you first repented from your sin and sought His forgiveness.  Then do likewise to others – but ONLY when repentance is first offered by the offender. If the offender does not repent you are not obligated to forgive him or her, otherwise you would be doing something that God Himself does not do. Remember the last phrase in verse 32:  “ just as God in Christ forgave you.”

You know another reason why church discipline – the ministry of putting people out of the fellowship is not practiced in the church?  Because we too often have a man-centered approach.  We begin with man rather than beginning with God.

When Paul wrote to the Ephesians about their sin, he told them “not to grieve the Holy Spirit of God” (Eph. 4:30).  We don’t ask how can we please God and make Him happy? Instead, we ask, “What pleases us and makes us happy?” Whenever we approach church discipline with a man-centered approach, rather than a God-centered one, it will always lead us down the wrong path making wrong decisions.

Finally, what about the protection of the rest of the flock? Paul said, “Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough?” (1 Cor. 5:6).  Just a little leaven makes the loaf grow bigger. Leaven is a symbol of sin.  Just a little toleration of sin, not doing anything about it, closing one’s eyes hoping that it will go away, will affect everyone else in a negative sense.

So what is the solution?  Paul states, “Clean out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump” (5:7). In other words, the way to keep yourselves clean and pure is to purge the leaven from among you.  “I’m sorry, but you are no longer welcome here!”

You say, “Pastor Rich, that is so unkind!”

Who would you consider to be the most loving and kind person to ever step foot on this planet?  “Jesus!”  Yes, I agree.

One day, Jesus was talking to a rich young man (Mark 10:17-23).  The rich young man said to Jesus, “Lord, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus said to him, “Keep the commandments” (knowing it was impossible for man to do so).  The young man said, “I have kept them.” 

Jesus replied, “Great! Only one thing you lack.  Sell all that you possess, and give it to the poor.”

The bible says that the man owned much property.  With sadness, he walked away sad and grieved. 

Do you know what Jesus did?  Nothing!  He never ran after the man. He never said, “Hey, wait a minute.  Maybe I was a little too harsh and strong by telling you such things.  Why not start by giving away ten percent of all you have and let’s start there?”

Nope. The tender-loving all compassionate Jesus did not compromise one bit. The text says he LOVED this man (v. 21) and love always tells the truth, no matter how much it may hurt (his face fell and he was grieved – v. 22), and no matter what the consequences are (he walked away).

By holding back church discipline on a sinning saint, we are not showing love to him or her, but to ourselves. 

End of Part 1