• A local church is a group of saints
    • I Corinthians 1:2; I Thessalonians 1:1; Philippians 1:1,27; Ephesians 5:3
  • So what happens when one who is a saint stops acting like a saint?
    • I John 1:10
    • Galatians 6:1-2
    • James 5:19-20
    • Matthew 18:15-17 – how to deal with a brother who sins
    • I Corinthians 5:1-5,11 – instructions for dealing with a sinner in the church in Corinth
  • But what if that person won’t repent and simply joins another local church?
    • As far as I know, the Bible does not explicitly deal with this situation.
    • Philippians 1; Ephesians 5
    • Local church in Corinth: I Corinthians 5:1-13
    • Local church in Thessalonica: II Thessalonians 3:6,14-15
  • Sometimes mistakes are made in local churches
    • I Corinthians 5 – A church may make the mistake of having fellowship with one who is living in sin.
    • III John 9-10 – A church may make the mistake of refusing fellowship with one who is living righteously.
    • Acts 9:26-28 – A church may make the mistake of refusing fellowship with one they did not know was living righteously.
    • A church may make the mistake of having fellowship with one they did not know to be in sin.
    • A church may mistakenly draw a line of fellowship over some issue.
  • So what can I do?
    • Out of love for his soul, you can try to contact him and restore him if you haven’t already. (Galatians 6:1)
    • Out of love for his soul, you might consider lovingly bringing the matter to the attention of a member of the other church. What they do with that information is ultimately between them and God.
    • Romans 16:17-18; II Thessalonians 3:15 – If the person won’t repent, for your conscience’ sake, you personally will have to turn away from them.
  • Let’s have a word of caution about all of this.
    • Hebrews 5:13-14
    • Corinth (I Corinthians)
      • Positive: I Corinthians 1:2-9; 16:15,23-24
      • Negative: 1:11; 3:1-3; 11:20,30; 14:18; 15:12
    • I John 1:5-10