Hello,<\/p>\n
I have a question regarding a member of our congregation and what to do.<\/p>\n
We currently are without elders and as the men of the congregation we have to jointly make decisions. The problem at hand is we have a man who has been coming and going for many years. The reason he left in the first place was that he was approached about his marital situation. This man was leading singing and serving in the church. He was currently in his second marriage and then decided he was not happy and divorced his wife and moved on to a third marriage. He was approached about it and then he and his wife left the church. He has recently begun attending again, a member had brought it up in the men’s meeting the other day that he needed to be talked to about his sin. The problem we are facing is what do we do? He was never dis-fellowshipped but he did stop attending on his own, so was that already not him dis-fellowshipping himself? \u00a0Your input would be much appreciated.<\/p>\n\t
The man is living in adultery according to what you have stated. You’ll have to treat this just as the man committing fornication in I Corinthians 5. It has to be done, not only for the man’s sake, though he probably will not listen, but also for the congregation’s sake to make it known that you do not condone sin. “Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us<\/em>” (I Corinthians 5:6-7).<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Question: Hello, I have a question regarding a member of our congregation and what to do. We currently are without elders and as the men of the congregation we have to jointly make decisions. The problem at hand is we have a man who has been coming and going for many years. The reason he…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[66,167,254],"class_list":["post-32880","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-adultery","tag-divorce","tag-withdrawal"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":35331,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-do-i-deal-with-a-member-who-is-in-an-adulterous-marriage\/","url_meta":{"origin":32880,"position":0},"title":"How do I deal with a member who is in an adulterous marriage?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 23, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have a question that requires me to go outside of the current congregation where I am a member. If there is a member who is in an unscriptural marriage, which I do have personal knowledge of, and who is being allowed to preach and teach in worship service,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":86538,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-it-right-to-dismiss-a-preacher-because-he-married-a-non-christian\/","url_meta":{"origin":32880,"position":1},"title":"Is it right to dismiss a preacher because he married a non-Christian?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 10, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello, First, thank you for all you do to answer these difficult questions. They have helped me a lot on my Christian journey. My question concerns something that happened very recently at my congregation; our youth group had two ministers helping and supporting all the activities (spiritual and recreational),\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":17446,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-it-wrong-to-date-someone-from-the-church-you-attend\/","url_meta":{"origin":32880,"position":2},"title":"Is it wrong to date someone from the church you attend?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 29, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have a question regarding church discipline. I attend a congregation where a brother has dated several sisters in the same congregation.\u00a0 Also, some of them have left this congregation. Should I stay or look for another place of worship? Is this acceptable? Thanks for your cooperation. Answer: If\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":12283,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/if-a-couple-in-their-second-marriage-has-children-can-the-preacher-make-them-get-a-divorce\/","url_meta":{"origin":32880,"position":3},"title":"If a couple in their second marriage has children, can the preacher make them get a divorce?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 14, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: If a man has two children from a previous marriage and marries a woman who has children from a previous marriage and they have two children in their marriage and the man later becomes a member of the church and several months later his wife becomes a member, does\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":19800,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-do-i-advise-a-man-who-told-me-he-is-committing-adultery\/","url_meta":{"origin":32880,"position":4},"title":"How do I advise a man who told me he is committing adultery?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 7, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have a friend who has approached me about problems in his marriage. They have been married for a few years. The couple are Christians, attend church, and are active in the church. He told me he was struggling in his marriage. He revealed to me that he was\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":92625,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/sin-within-the-church\/","url_meta":{"origin":32880,"position":5},"title":"Sin within the church","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 16, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Dear Sir, What does the Bible teach when a wife sins against her husband first? She committed impurity (not immorality) with a younger man in the church. Afterward, the husband committed immorality with a younger woman who was a member of the church. 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