Often, we hear people say:  Do not judge others, but should we?  Are we to judge when we are committing the same sin for which we are judging others?  We look at those individuals who are part of the church but who habitually practice sin.  What does the Bible say when it comes to judging those who are brothers in Christ?

Again, we hear people say:  Do not judge others, and should we?  Are we to judge individuals who are not believers in Christ?  What does the Bible say when it comes to judging those who are outside the church?  Should we judge them OR should we love them but hate their sin.

• ALL of mankind are sinners.  On this one fact, we can all agree.
• ALL of us are in need of Jesus.  There is no disputing this truth.

Continually, we battle with the flesh because, though our old flesh is dead and crucified with Christ, still the flesh lives on, now as a believer in Jesus. The Spirit of God dwells inside the person who has been saved.  Since we now are the temple of Christ, should we not behave as such?  Because we are one with Christ, should we not be in partnership with the world’s culture?

In our modern-day world, we are encouraged to accept people just as they are, trapped in their practice of sin.  However, this does not apply to those who faithfully attend church with us, who profess Jesus as their Lord and Savior, who are brothers and sisters-in-Christ.

When we look into God’s Word, we clearly see how believers in Christ Jesus are to live—counter-culturally to what the world is preaching as truth.

• We know the Truth, and the Truth has a name:  JESUS.
• We profess JESUS, and His Truth has set us free from our sin-soaked, old nature.

We read in the Bible how the early Corinthian church struggled to live counter-culturally.  The apostle Paul addressed this issue within his first letter, speaking about the importance of church discipline, of isolating an immoral person from the flock.

The problem, the issue, the sin was that the man was openly committing incest.  This brother-in-Christ was with his father’s wife, even while still attending the fellowship of the church, and the church was turning a blind eye.  In doing so, they were accepting the man’s behavior.

• Are we to just ignore the brother’s sin?  &
• If the brother refuses to face his sin, what should the church do?

The apostle Paul rebukes the behavior of the Corinthian church members, and writes how they should disassociate the man from the fellowship of the church.  Heavy stuff, I know.

The Bible speaks of the importance of assembling together.  Shouldn’t the person who is put outside the fellowship of the church miss something important by not being part of a church’s fellowship?  We assemble together for many reasons:  to edify and encourage one another, to study the Word together, and to prepare for warfare against our enemy, the devil.  To be disciplined by being disassociated should hurt to the very core of one’s being, and it would if we are in the right fellowship with the Lord.  If the one being disciplined by the church has not been redeemed by the Lord Jesus Christ, then the disassociation will not cause him to care or to stop committing his practice of sin.  At that point, the man’s salvation becomes the greater prayer concern.

Consider how a believer in Jesus would be affected if he were disassociated from our church family.  Jesus forbids hypocritical judgment because what right does a brother-in-Christ have to judge another brother in sin if he also commits that same sin.  Hum.  That should stop us in our tracks.

A brother & sister-in-Christ are certainly expected to be honest about a brother’s conduct that is immoral.  To understand exactly what the Corinthian church was dealing with, we need to be reminded of what they believed when it came to marriage and the intimacy of the marriage bed.  In that Greek culture, those early believers thought:

• Mistresses were okay, for they took care of the sexual pleasures.
• Concubines were necessary, for they took care of the body.  &
• Wives were necessary, for they provided the legitimate children.

They also thought their tolerance of such behavior of those inside the church was actually a loving gesture, but Paul reminds them how they should, instead, be grieved.  He writes that they should put the person away from the fellowship of the church.  So, again, I ask—

What does it say about our church fellowship if a brother or sister can be placed outside the assembling of the saints—and not miss something vital to their being, to their soul?

When we disassociate ourselves with brothers who willingly live & practice sin, Paul writes that his prayer is that this disassociation will lead the one to crucify his flesh and the passion to sin.  The goal of discipline is clear—the person’s salvation and then his restoration.  May we, the church, in brokenness of heart, approach brothers and sisters-in-Christ, seeking to lead them back to Christ, returning to the family of God.