Is it right to kick people out of the church for openly sinning, even though all people are sinners? I know one should not be unequally yoked with non-believers but does this apply to personal life or the church as well? Do you think churches should enforce the sins\u00a0they<\/em> choose to enforce and just kick out who they feel the need to dismiss? Or should they only be demoted from a high position, such as a Sunday\u00a0school teacher or a pastor if openly sinning but not kicked out of the church itself?<\/p>\n\t A church that does not withdraw from someone openly living in sin is disobeying God’s command.<\/p>\n “I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people. 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. 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. 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<\/em>” (I Corinthians 5:1-13).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Yes, we all slip up in sin, but there is a big difference between occasionally sinning and remaining in sin. “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?<\/em>” (Romans 6:1-2). While a person remains in his sin, he cannot be a part of a church. John makes the same point.<\/p>\n “Little children, make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous; 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. 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. 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<\/em>” (I John 3:7-10).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n “Practicing” is trying to capture the tense in the Greek it refers to someone continuing to do something, whether sin or righteousness in this case. It is an ongoing practice in that person’s life. John is not saying that the righteous person never sins — in fact, he states the opposite in I John 1:8-2:1 — but that a righteous person doesn’t stay in sin.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Question: Is it right to kick people out of the church for openly sinning, even though all people are sinners? I know one should not be unequally yoked with non-believers but does this apply to personal life or the church as well? Do you think churches should enforce the sins\u00a0they choose to enforce and just…<\/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,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[254],"class_list":["post-36527","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-withdrawal"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":19194,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/am-i-sinning-if-i-enjoy-vacations-and-meals-with-a-man-who-left-the-lords-church-for-a-denomination\/","url_meta":{"origin":36527,"position":0},"title":"Am I sinning if I enjoy vacations and meals with a man who left the Lord’s church for a denomination?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 21, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have been studying your sermon outline \"Withdraw Yourselves.\"\u00a0 I have a friend who was once a member of the Lord's church. He is now a member of a denomination.\u00a0 Your outline says that you cannot withdraw from a non-Christian. II John 10-11 says, \"If anyone comes to you\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":39576,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/my-friend-just-told-me-he-is-homosexual-what-do-i-do\/","url_meta":{"origin":36527,"position":1},"title":"My friend just told me he is homosexual. What do I do?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 2, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Dear Jeffrey, I have a friend in which I've known for about ten years or so and the other day he (I don't like to use this phrase) came out of the closet. He told me that he was gay. I have no idea how to handle this. Do\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":43729,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/ive-been-involved-in-pornography-and-prostitution-while-attending-church-does-that-mean-i-need-to-be-kicked-out-of-the-church\/","url_meta":{"origin":36527,"position":2},"title":"I’ve been involved in pornography and prostitution while attending church. Does that mean I need to be kicked out of the church?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 25, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hi, I'm writing because I don't know what else to do. I grew up in a Christian household, always going to church. I would spend hours reading Bible and saying my prayers. I really felt God and all my skin on my face would grow tight. But when I\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":46279,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/withdrawing-is-too-judgmental\/","url_meta":{"origin":36527,"position":3},"title":"Withdrawing is too judgmental","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 17, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: You said, \"Because he is persisting in his sin, he must be withdrawn from. For a church not to do so is to given permission to sin,\" in A man now attends church as a transgender female. Should he be withdrawn from? I think that is way off. That\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":13690,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/should-i-attend-a-birthday-party-where-people-involved-in-sin-will-be\/","url_meta":{"origin":36527,"position":4},"title":"Should I attend a birthday party where people involved in sin will be?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 21, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: What would you do if going to a family birthday with people you love a lot meant you would be around a gay couple? Half of our family are not Christians and will say we are too judgmental. Answer: \"Then it happened that as Jesus was reclining at the\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":16039,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/if-someone-refuses-to-repent-are-they-still-considered-brethren\/","url_meta":{"origin":36527,"position":5},"title":"If someone refuses to repent, are they still considered brethren?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 12, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: We had\u00a0a couple who were members until we learned that their marriage was\u00a0unscriptural.\u00a0 They refused to repent.\u00a0 Are they considered \"brethren?\" Answer: \"And if anyone does not obey our word in this epistle, note that person and do not keep company with him, that he may be ashamed. 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