Faith Well Grounded

Your distinction was very clear and yes my quote came from 1 Cor 5. You made reference to the members of the church attacking others apparently because they did not live up to their expectations of what a Christian should be. I attempted to point out that if the church is to mourn for some one who has, as you describe of 1 Cor 5, "an established member of the church that is involved in willful, habitual sin and moral debauchery, and that refuses to turn from it" why should one do any less for one who has merely stumbled. Why attack, be puffed up toward one who has merely stumbled if we are to mourn the loss of one who has done a greater wrong and is to be removed from the church?

It was not my intent to steer toward church discipline nor did I make reference to Matthew 18. I actually had 1 Cor 5 9-13 in mind. Paul says that he had previously written and told them not to company with fornicators. Not only with those who were of the world outside of the church for then they would have to leave the world within the church. But now he writes more specifically that they are not to company with one who calls himself a brother, a member of the church, who commits such acts. He is telling them that they are not to partake of the communion with them, and this is exactly why open communion is not a scriptural practice. Communion of the Lords supper is for members of the church only. Paul continues by saying it is not his job to judge those who are outside the church and then asks if they do not judge those that are within the church as they should.

No doubt forgiveness is unlimited, but discipline is to be exercised even to the point of removal from the church as Jesus clearly defined in Matthew 18 and Paul teaches in 1 Cor 5. Forgiveness and discipline are two very different matters.

In reference to my last paragraph, let those who seek a physician come, but those who are looking for a good reputation need to just stay at home. Let those who want to serve God and do as God desires come, but those who want to get enough to make themselves feel good and their own desires are satisfied have no place in the church.

Yes, no doubt the "the power that formed and continues the Church is more powerful than the infections" for the gates of hell shall not prevail against the church. But the members of the church are not. If you allow the wolves in to the sheepfold, sheep are going to be get hurt.

We are not to judge whether one is born again or not, for we cannot know the heart of a man - Matthew 7. But we are to judge the actions of a man who professes to walk in righteousness and has entered into covenant with God by baptism and becoming a member of the church 1 Cor 5.

See the following article concerning church discipline.
http://blog.baptistcommentary.info/?page_id=15

And finally, yes just as Jesus outlined four steps the church is to take to persuade the disobedient brother to repent, the hope is to regain the brother rather than to remove him.

"Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death"

Grace to you my brother,