PUT AWAY the Evil From Among You!

 Today’s topic is not a pleasant one, but it is a critical one, and the Word of God has much to tell us about it. It is a matter of spiritual life and death for all of God’s people!

It is about putting the wicked, the unrepentant and wanton sinners, out of our congregations. Paul exhorted the Corinthians, “put away from yourselves the evil person” (1 Cor. 5:13). Paul sternly rebuked the Corinthians for their tolerance of wickedness in their midst, telling them, “You are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he who has done this deed might be taken away from among you” (1 Cor. 5:2).

Many of us in the congregations of God today are no better than the Corinthians. We have tolerated wickedness in our midst just as much as they did. We have kept company with and befriended those whom God told us to shun, and have not rather mourned, that those who had done those deeds might be taken away from among us.

Many times in the Old Testament, God commanded that the wicked be purged from the congregation of Israel. Nine times in the Book of Deuteronomy alone, God said, “You shall put away the evil from among you” (Deut. 13:5; 17:7, 12; 19:19; 21:21; 22:21, 22, 24; 24:7). These are the passages that Paul quoted in 1 Cor. 5:13.

Now God only needs to tell us something once, and we ought to obey. But if He tells us something nine times, we can conclude it’s rather important!

So let’s take a look at when, how, and why God told us to do this.

A Step-By-Step Guide

Jesus Christ provided us with a step-by-step guide for handling sin and putting it out of our midst. In Mat. 18:15-17, He said,

15 “Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother.

16 “But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that ‘by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.’

17 “And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector.

This addresses the specific matter of one person sinning against another. Nevertheless, the principles established here also apply to dealing with unrepentant sinners in the congregations of God, as we’ll soon see. So the first question is, What sins was Jesus talking about?

What Sins?

Notice that Yeshua/Jesus gave His instructions for “if your brother sins against you,” not “if your brother says or does something you don’t like.” God’s Word defines what sin is: “Sin is the transgression of the law” (1 John 3:4; KJV). In fact, the very Greek word translated as “sin” (hamartano; Strong’s # G264) means, according to Thayer’s Greek Lexicon, to miss the mark or to wander from the law of God. So if your brother treats you contrary to God’s law — if he lies to you, tries to take advantage of you, curses you, or does anything else which God’s Word says ought not to be done — then he has sinned against you.

So then, what sins could potentially lead to putting someone out of the congregation? Paul gave us a partial list in 1 Cor. 5:9-11:

9 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.

This isn’t a comprehensive list, mind you; many other grave sins may warrant the same punishment. I would encourage everyone reading this to search God’s Word and see what sins God commanded the Israelites to expunge from their midst, whether by putting those sinners to death or by otherwise cutting them off from the congregation.

Remember, Paul was quoting the Book of Deuteronomy when he said “put away from yourselves the evil person” (1 Cor. 5:13)! If God commanded His people to put away these sins from their midst, then He expects us to obey. Though we, as God’s people today, obviously do not have authority to put anyone to death, we still have the same obligation to put the wicked out of our midst.

But merely from this list in 1 Cor. 5:9-11 that we just read, it’s immediately apparent that no one who is committing adultery ought to be allowed in the congregations of God. No one who is practicing homosexuality or crossdressing is to be allowed in the congregations of God. Unmarried couples who are shacking up and engaging in fornication are not to be allowed among God’s people. Blasphemers and revilers are not to be allowed among God’s people. If any of these people are in our congregations, they must be cast out and we are not even to eat with them until they repent!

“But wait a minute!” someone might say. “Didn’t Jesus eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

Yes indeed. But notice who they were and what His purpose was! They weren’t people who claimed to be followers of God, or who assembled in the temple or the synagogues to worship Him; they were the “immoral people of this world” (1 Cor. 5:9). And His purpose wasn’t to show them how tolerant He was; it was to call them to repentance: “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance” (Luke 5:32). He called them to change, in other words! To turn from their sins, humble themselves before God, and obey Him!

Nor is there any record of Jesus accepting openly immoral people among His followers and disciples until they had repented. Expressing remorse for one’s sins and yet continuing in them simply isn’t repentance. “Actions speak louder than words,” as the saying goes. But more on that later.

The truth is, anyone who is practicing sin and making no effort to change is a child of the devil and not of God. This may sound harsh, but these are God’s words and not mine! The apostle John wrote, 

7 Little children, make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous;

8 the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.

9 No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.

10 By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother. (1 John 3:7-10; NASB.)

Now, this naturally doesn’t apply to those who are trying to change and overcome their sins, or who have stumbled but repented. This is instead describing those who walk in sin, who practice sin, who have made sin their way of life.

All sin, if unrepented of, leads to death. “Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death” (Jam. 1:15); NASB). “For the wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23). This is why sin must be dealt with, why it must be put out of our lives and out of our congregations.

So let’s start with the first step.

Correction and Rebuke

The first step is to approach the person directly and privately. But before doing this, we must examine our own selves to ensure that our hearts are right, that we are not acting out of pride or selfish ambition, but out of love for God and our fellow brethren: “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit” (Phil. 2:3). We must also examine ourselves to see that we are not guilty of the same sin or worse. Jesus told us,

41 “And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not perceive the plank in your own eye? 

42 “Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me remove the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the plank that is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck that is in your brother's eye. (Luke 6:41-42.)

Many have twisted these verses to preach tolerance of sin, claiming that we should focus entirely on our own sins and pay no mind at all to the sins of others. But that isn’t what Jesus said! He said, “First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck that is in your brother's eye.” Nor, may I add, could sins such as sexual immorality, drunkenness, blasphemy, etc. ever be considered “specks”! Those obviously fall in the realm of planks, or worse.

Many verses drive home the importance of correcting those who have strayed from the path. The apostle James wrote, “Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins” (Jam. 5:19-20).

Again, the apostle Paul wrote, “Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted” (Gal. 6:1). And again, he exhorted Timothy, “And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth” (2 Tim. 2:24-25).

These verses show not only the importance of approaching and correcting the one who has strayed from the path, but they also show how we should conduct ourselves in our initial approach. We should be gentle, patient, and humble.

Now, what does that mean? Gentleness and humility are both commonly misunderstood. A first rebuke can be delivered with tact and concern for the other person, without hostility or emotional outbursts, but it must also be plain and straightforward so that there can be no misunderstanding. Each rebuke that you will find in the Bible is plain and unmistakable. As you read through each of Paul’s letters, his love and concern for his audience leaps from the page, but he doesn’t mince words. He exposes the sin, explains why it’s wrong, and tells the recipients to correct it. The passages in 1 Cor. 5 and 1 Cor. 11:17-34 stand out in particular.

Likewise, in Revelation 2-3, Jesus Christ offers both praise and rebuke to each congregation as appropriate. For Smyrna and Philadelphia, He had nothing negative to say, and for Laodicea, He had nothing positive to say. But in each of these, we can see that His intent isn’t to beat them down. It is rather to show them what they should keep doing and also what they need to change in order to be in His Kingdom.

If directly approaching the unrepentant sinner doesn’t produce change, then the next step is to take witnesses. As we read in Deut. 19:15, which Jesus quoted, “One witness shall not rise against a man concerning any iniquity or any sin that he commits; by the mouth of two or three witnesses the matter shall be established.” This same standard applies to everyone, including the leaders of the congregation: “Do not receive an accusation against an elder except from two or three witnesses” (1 Tim. 5:19).

The apostle Paul provided an example of this in practice, albeit on a much larger scale. He warned the Corinthians that, if they failed to heed his correction in his letters, he would take additional steps when he visited them in person. So, in 2 Cor. 12:20-13:2 (NASB), we read,

12:20 For I am afraid that perhaps when I come I may find you to be not what I wish and may be found by you to be not what you wish; that perhaps there will be strife, jealousy, angry tempers, disputes, slanders, gossip, arrogance, disturbances;

12:21 I am afraid that when I come again my God may humiliate me before you, and I may mourn over many of those who have sinned in the past and not repented of the impurity, immorality and sensuality which they have practiced.

13:1 This is the third time I am coming to you. EVERY FACT IS TO BE CONFIRMED BY THE TESTIMONY OF TWO OR THREE WITNESSES.

13:2 I have previously said when present the second time, and though now absent I say in advance to those who have sinned in the past and to all the rest as well, that if I come again I will not spare anyone.

If an unrepentant sinner has been approached privately and then with witnesses, but has still failed to repent, the next step is to “tell it to the church” (Mat. 18:17). This has often been misunderstood, so first let’s clarify what this means.

Who Is the Church?

Who or what is “the church”? Is it the elders? A corporate organization? No! As Kyle Bacher and I have both written previously, “the church” is actually the people. The whole congregation!

The word “church” in our Bible is translated from the Greek word ekklesia (Strong’s # G1577). Here’s how Thayer’s Greek Lexicon defines it:

ἐκκλησία, ἐκκλεσιας, ἡ (from ἔκκλητος called out or forth, and this from ἐκκαλέω); properly, a gathering of citizens called out from their homes into some public place; an assembly; so used

1. among the Greeks from Thucydides (cf. Herodotus 3, 142) down, an assembly of the people convened at the public place of council for the purpose of deliberating: Acts 19:39.

2. in the Sept. often equivalent to קָהָל, the assembly of the Israelites, Judges 21:8; 1 Chronicles 29:1, etc., especially when gathered for sacred purposes, Deuteronomy 31:30 (Deuteronomy 32:1); Joshua 8:35 (Joshua 9:8), etc.; in the N. T. thus in Acts 7:38; Hebrews 2:12.

3. any gathering or throng of men assembled by chance or tumultuously: Acts 19:32, 41.

4. in the Christian sense,

a. an assembly of Christians gathered for worship: ἐν ἐκκλησία, in the religious meeting, 1 Corinthians 14:19, 35; ἐν ταῖς ἐκκλησίαις, 1 Corinthians 14:34; συνέρχεσθαι ἐν ἐκκλησία, 1 Corinthians 11:18; cf. Winers Grammar, § 50, 4a.

b. a company of Christians

Contrary to what some may think or practice, “the church” is NOT the pastor, the elders, or what has been dubbed “the ministry” in any form. Never, in the entirety of the Bible, is ekklesia used this way.

As Thayer’s noted, the Septuagint uses ekklesia throughout the Old Testament in place of the Hebrew qahal, or congregation. Now, does “congregation” in the Old Testament refer only to Moses and the elders? No! It refers to the WHOLE CONGREGATION. God told Moses, “Speak to all the congregation of Israel” (Ex. 12:3).

So ekklesia does not refer to a church or organization in the way that we have become accustomed to think of it. It means the people.

And, as Kyle Bacher has pointed out previously, this means primarily the men of the congregation, the heads of each household. Most instructions in the Bible, both Old and New Testaments, are addressed directly to men because it is their duty to teach their families. For example, God warned the Israelites that if they oppressed widows or fatherless children in any way, “My wrath will become hot, and I will kill you with the sword; your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless” (Ex. 22:24). And during the reign of King Jehoshaphat, we read that “all Judah, with their little ones, their wives, and their children, stood before the LORD” (2 Chron. 20:13).

Likewise, there’s a common misconception that Jesus fed five thousand people with five loaves of bread and two small fish. He did not! Notice what we read: “Now those who had eaten were about five thousand men, besides women and children” (Mat. 14:21). Jesus didn’t feed five thousand people; He fed many more than that! He fed five thousand men with their families! Counting the men was simply a way of counting families. Each husband and father is the head of his family, the representative of his family, and God holds him accountable for them.

So when Jesus Christ told us to take certain matters before the ekklesia, He did not mean to go tell “the ministry,” but to take the matter before the whole congregation! Or, more specifically, the men of the congregation. The heads of each family.

Passing Judgment

When a matter is brought before the whole congregation, it becomes the congregation’s responsibility to pass judgment. This statement may take some folks aback, but it’s true. As God’s people, we must judge with righteous judgment. As Jesus said in John 7:24, “Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.”

We are not to judge with our own judgment or opinions, but with the Word of God alone. These are not to be our judgments, but God’s. We merely uphold His judgments. This is and always has been the Biblical standard of justice.

As Moses instructed the judges of Israel, “You shall not show partiality in judgment; you shall hear the small as well as the great; you shall not be afraid in any man's presence, for the judgment is God's. The case that is too hard for you, bring to me, and I will hear it” (Deut. 1:17). Centuries later, King Jehoshaphat gave them the same instructions: “Take heed to what you are doing, for you do not judge for man but for the LORD, who is with you in the judgment” (2 Chron. 19:6).

Let me repeat that God’s people have a duty to judge! To the Corinthians, the apostle Paul wrote that disputes should be settled within the congregation and not in the world’s courts:

2 Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world will be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters?

3 Do you not know that we shall judge angels? How much more, things that pertain to this life?

4 If then you have judgments concerning things pertaining to this life, do you appoint those who are least esteemed by the church to judge?

5 I say this to your shame. Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you, not even one, who will be able to judge between his brethren? (1 Cor. 6:2-5.)

Moments earlier, Paul had clarified that we do not have authority over the world to judge the world at this time, but rather over those among our congregations. He said, “For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside? But those who are outside God judges. Therefore ‘put away from yourselves the evil person’” (1 Cor. 5:12-13).

So when a matter is brought before the congregation, after private rebuke and witnesses have failed, the unrepentant sinner must be rebuked before the whole congregation. Paul instructed Timothy, “Those who are sinning rebuke in the presence of all, that the rest also may fear” (1 Tim. 5:20).

If this, too, fails, then the sinner must be expelled from the congregation. As Jesus instructed, “But if he refuses even to hear the church [ekklesia; congregation], let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector” (Mat. 18:17).

In the New Testament, the Corinthians failed to enforce God’s laws and standards in their midst. They allowed a man having sexual relations with his father’s wife to continue attending the congregation! They allowed the most vile and unspeakable wickedness to fester in their midst. Worst of all, they seemed to be proud of how they handled the situation, or rather of how they did nothing. They were proud of their tolerance and inclusivity!

And so the apostle Paul rebuked them and reminded them of their responsibility to uphold God’s law: “It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and such sexual immorality as is not even named among the Gentiles — that a man has his father's wife! And you are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he who has done this deed might be taken away from among you” (1 Cor. 5:1-2).

But Paul didn’t just remind them of their responsibility to put the unrepentant sinner out of their congregation. He also made it plain that the sentence must be handed down and enforced, not merely by the elders, but by the whole congregation:

3 For I indeed, as absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged (as though I were present) him who has so done this deed.

4 In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together, along with my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ,

5 deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. (1 Cor. 5:3-5.)

By the time of Paul’s second epistle to Corinth, the man had repented, so Paul told the people to welcome him back (2 Cor. 2:3-11). But we see once again that the punishment had been carried out, not by a few elders, but by the whole congregation: “This punishment which was inflicted by the majority is sufficient for such a man” (2 Cor. 2:6).

Throughout both Old and New Testaments, it’s unmistakable that God’s law is to be upheld and enforced not only by a few, but by all. It is the whole congregation’s responsibility. In the New Testament, if a man needed to be put out of the congregation, the whole congregation had to do it. In the Old Testament, if a man needed to be put to death, the whole congregation had to do it.

Here are just three examples from the Old Testament:

Leviticus 20:2 NKJV - “Again, you shall say to the children of Israel: ‘Whoever of the children of Israel, or of the strangers who dwell in Israel, who gives [any] of his descendants to Molech, he shall surely be put to death. The people of the land shall stone him with stones.’”

Numbers 15:35 NKJV - Then the LORD said to Moses, “The man must surely be put to death; all the congregation shall stone him with stones outside the camp.”

Deuteronomy 21:21 NKJV - “Then all the men of his city shall stone him to death with stones; so you shall put away the evil from among you, and all Israel shall hear and fear.”

Now, as a side note, if the congregation fails to uphold God’s law or conducts itself contrary to God’s instructions, that doesn’t absolve us of our own individual responsibility. Our allegiance is to God and not to any man or group of men: “You shall not follow a crowd to do evil; nor shall you testify in a dispute so as to turn aside after many to pervert justice” (Ex. 23:2).

We must remind the congregation of its responsibility, and we must also distance ourselves individually from the wicked. As we read moments ago, “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” (1 Cor. 5:11). Whether the whole congregation upholds God’s law or not, each of us must!

Why This Is Important

All too often, in fact, we are just the same as the Corinthians. We’re reluctant to follow God’s instructions and remove the wicked from among us. We do not want to confront people over grievous sins such as adultery, fornication, pornography, or other forms of sexual immorality. We do not want to confront people over drunkenness. We do not want to confront those who cause harm to other people. We do not want to bring these matters before the congregation when necessary, nor do we as congregations want to pass judgment.

We’d rather avert our eyes and pretend it isn’t happening. We’d rather be tolerant and try to be kind to the wicked and the immoral among us, telling ourselves we’re showing Christian love and mercy.

But this is neither love nor mercy, and this is NOT what God told us to do! “A righteous man who falters before the wicked is like a murky spring and a polluted well” (Prov. 25:26). As the prophet Jehu told King Jehoshaphat, “Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the LORD? Therefore the wrath of the LORD is upon you” (2 Chron. 19:2).

Brethren, we are not more merciful than God, nor do we know better than His Word. Tolerance of evil is itself evil! It is the sin of pride, of thinking that we know better than God and His Word. What could possibly be more proud than valuing our own judgment above God’s judgment, or thinking ourselves more merciful than He? Like the Corinthians, all too often we “are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he who has done this deed might be taken away from among you” (1 Cor. 5:2).

If God told us to do something, it is our duty to obey. We don’t always even need to know why; we must obey God even when we do not understand. Nevertheless, in this case, God gave us the WHY!

The first reason we must expel the wicked from our midst is for the good of the congregation. As Paul warned the Corinthians, “Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?” (1 Cor. 5:6). And again, “Do not be deceived: ‘Evil company corrupts good habits’” (1 Cor. 15:33). Or as the modern saying goes, “One bad apple spoils the whole bunch.”

We often have a highly exaggerated view of our own virtue and its effect on others. We want to believe that if we associate with the wicked, they will be awed by our good example and want to copy it. But bad examples are more contagious than good ones. A bad apple in the midst of good ones doesn’t make the bad one good, it makes the good ones bad. Putting a drop of sewage in a glass of clean water doesn’t purify the sewage; it ruins the glass of clean water. As King Solomon wrote, “He who walks with wise men will be wise, but the companion of fools will be destroyed” (Prov. 13:20).

And so it is with our congregations. Allowing the wicked in our midst doesn’t convert them; they must be converted before we embrace them as brothers and sisters. That doesn’t mean they have to be perfect before we can embrace them, of course, but they must have forsaken their old way of life and be striving to overcome their sins, not wallowing in them like a hog in the mud. Tolerance of evil doesn’t eradicate it, but only spreads it.

The second reason we must expel the wicked from our midst is for the good of that individual. When all else has failed, it is our hope that casting him out will at last bring him to his senses. As Paul told the Corinthians, “Deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus” (1 Cor. 5:5). Again, writing to Timothy, Paul spoke of “Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I delivered to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme” (1 Tim. 1:20).

Failure to enforce God’s judgments is not love; God’s law IS love! Failure to uphold God’s standards is cowardice and hatred. As King Solomon bluntly stated, “He who spares his rod hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines him promptly” (Prov. 13:24).

If we see someone walking on the train tracks, oblivious to the train bearing down on him, should we decline to warn him for fear that he may get angry? If a friend is ruining his life with drugs or alcohol, should we refrain from warning him for fear of losing the friendship? This is not love; it is cowardice and hatred! It is valuing our own comfort over the life of another human being. It is love of oneself, but hatred and disregard for the other person.

As God told the prophet Ezekiel,

18 “When I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life, that same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand.

19 “Yet, if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered your soul.

20 “Again, when a righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and I lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die; because you did not give him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he has done shall not be remembered; but his blood I will require at your hand.

21 “Nevertheless if you warn the righteous man that the righteous should not sin, and he does not sin, he shall surely live because he took warning; also you will have delivered your soul.” (Ezek. 3:18-21.)

Brothers and sisters, we are not Cain; we ARE our brother’s keepers! It is our duty to help one another as spiritual family, to warn one another when we see the danger of sin creeping in. If we do not uphold God’s standards and judgments, and someone perishes because of it, we will answer to our Creator for it!

Restoration

Some folks simply will not repent, even after being cast out of the congregation. They have set their hearts on evil, and will not be swayed from it. Some may not repent for a long time, but the Scriptural warnings we delivered will stick with them until at last they do.

When repentance comes at last, whether soon or much later, let us welcome them back with open arms, like the father welcoming back his prodigal son. As Jesus said, “I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance” (Luke 15:7).

The man who was having an affair with his father’s wife repented. We aren’t told how long it took, but sometime between Paul’s first and second epistles to Corinth, he repented. And so Paul wrote,

6 This punishment which was inflicted by the majority is sufficient for such a man,

7 so that, on the contrary, you ought rather to forgive and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one be swallowed up with too much sorrow.

8 Therefore I urge you to reaffirm your love to him. (2 Cor. 2:6-8.)

How do we know if someone has repented?

Suppose an unmarried couple is shacking up and engaging in fornication. They express regret over their actions, but they’re still shacking up and have not changed. Are they repentant?

How about a sodomite who tells you that he knows sodomy is wrong, but you also know that he’s still practicing it?

Or a so-called transgender — which is really just a crossdresser, because no one can change the gender God assigned at birth — who expresses regret over his or her choices, yet continues crossdressing? Remember, God said this is an abomination (Deut. 22:5).

How about a drunk who continually expresses remorse for his actions, and yet keeps drinking?

Are any of these folks repentant? Of course not! They’re still practicing sin! They’re still children of the devil and not of God. Someone who is practicing sin and making little or no effort to change is NOT repentant.

This is simple to understand. As John the Baptist told the crowd gathered before him, “Bear fruits worthy of repentance” (Mat. 3:8; Luke 3:8). Again, Jesus taught us,

16 “You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles?

17 “Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.

18 “A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.

19 “Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

20 “Therefore by their fruits you will know them.” (Mat. 7:16-20.)

When someone’s words and actions do not align, believe the actions and not the words!

But if the man and woman living in sin truly repent and practice chastity or get married, let us welcome them with open arms. The sodomite and the crossdresser who put away their abominations and humble themselves before God, let us welcome with open arms. The drunk who stops drinking, seeks the help that he needs, and devotes himself anew to God’s way of life, let us welcome with open arms.

Concluding Thoughts

Those who have strayed, let us seek out and try to turn back to God’s path. “Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted.” (Gal. 6:1). “Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins” (Jam. 5:19-20).

Those who are struggling, let us strengthen and encourage. “Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ” (Gal. 6:2). “Now we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are unruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all” (1 Thes. 5:14).

Those who persist in doing evil and practicing sin — refusing to change even after they have been warned in private, with witnesses, and by the congregation — let us cast out that they may repent, and that they may not corrupt others.

How many times, in our own congregations, have we known that someone practiced fornication, yet we allowed him or her to keep attending with nary a word of correction spoken? And how many times has this behavior then spread to others, when they saw that there were no consequences for wicked behavior?

How about drug use and drunkenness? Separation, divorce, and remarriage for worldly, unbiblical reasons? Adultery? Crossdressing/transgenderism? Believers knowingly and deliberately intermarrying with unbelievers? How many times have we tolerated these things and allowed them to spread among us?

All these are things that God hates, yet we have allowed them in our congregations! I am personally aware of multiple cases of all these and more within the congregations of God, and undoubtedly you are as well. The more we tolerate wickedness, the more it will spread. A little leaven leavens the whole lump.

Brethren, let us as God’s people stop tolerating evil and wickedness in our midst! Let us stop turning a blind eye to it, making excuses for it, and hiding our eyes from it. We are neither more merciful than our Creator, nor do we have better judgment than He. Let us uphold His laws and judgments, for this is love. “This is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, that as you have heard from the beginning, you should walk in it” (2 John 1:6).

“By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome” (1 John 5:2-3).