I.        INTRODUCTION

A.      Christians are subject to temptations and are capable of sinning just like all people.

                                                             1.      Christians are washed clean by the blood of Christ when they obey the gospel (Acts 22:16), but they are not made immune to temptations (Jas. 1:13-15).

                                                             2.      Christians must not make a habitual practice of sin (1John 3:6-10), but they do stumble in sin from time to time (1John 1:8-10).

B.      When a Christian sins, he must repent and confess the sin unto God, but what should a Christian do when his brother sins?  The answer to this question is the objective of this lesson.

II.      WIN YOUR BROTHER

A.      If a brother in Christ sins, then his fellow Christians are to follow the process commanded by Christ to win the brother back from sin (Matt. 18:15-17).

                                                             1.      Up to three opportunities are to be extended to a sinning brother to turn away from his sins – first by a fellow brother, then by the same brother with one or two more, and finally by the church.

                                                             2.      At each opportunity, the hope is that the sinning brother will listen to his brethren.

a.       “Listen” implies that he not only hears his brethren’s admonition to repent from his sins, but also that he complies with their godly counsel.

b.       If he does listen, then he has been won by his brethren.

B.      Let us realize that the work of turning an erring brother back from sin is just as important as the work of evangelism.

                                                             1.      Evangelism is a primary and important work of Christians because evangelism leads souls to salvation from sin and death through Jesus Christ (Rom. 1:16).

                                                             2.      Likewise, turning sinning Christians away from their sins also saves souls from sin and death through Jesus Christ.

a.       Notice that James 5:19-20 says one brother who turns another brother back from sins “will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins” (compare this with 1Pet. 4:8 – “…love covers a multitude of sins”).

b.       Hebrews 10:26-31 says that one who goes on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth has only “a certain terrifying expectation of judgment” (see also Heb. 6:4-6).

c.        Peter wrote that it would be better for a person not to know the way of righteousness than to know it and turn away from it (2Pet. 2:20-22).

d.       By these passages, we see that turning erring Christians back to the Lord is just as vital as saving sinners who have never known the Lord, for their destiny will be the same if they remain in their sinful conditions.

e.        When an erring brother does turn away from his sins, Jesus Christ is his Advocate with the Father who will provide for his forgiveness again (1John 1:9; 2:1).

C.      Anytime a brother does confess his sin, it is his brethren’s responsibility to pray for him (Jas. 5:16).

III.   IF HE REFUSES TO LISTEN

A.      The Lord said that an unrepentant brother is to be treated by his brethren “as a Gentile and a tax-gatherer” (Matt. 18:17).

                                                             1.      The Jews had no dealings with Gentiles and tax-gatherers, and they kept themselves separated and isolated from Gentiles and tax-gatherers as much as possible.

                                                             2.      By using this allusion, the Lord teaches us that we are to have the same separated, isolated relationships with unrepentant brethren as Jews had with Gentiles and tax-gatherers.

                                                             3.      Similar instructions are written regarding the treatment of brethren who cause dissentions contrary to the apostles’ teaching (Rom. 16:17) and brethren who lead unruly lives not according to the apostles’ traditions (2Thess. 3:6).

B.      Paul wrote that Christians are not to associate with an unrepentant brother (1Cor. 5; 2Thess. 3:6-15).

                                                             1.      Let us understand the meaning of the phrase “do not associate.”

a.       The word “associate” (Gr. synanamignymi) literally means “to mix up together.”  In the New Testament, it is found only in 1Corinthians 5:9, 11 and 2Thessalonians 3:14.

b.       Therefore, “do not associate” means “do not mix up together.”  In other words, unrepentant brethren are not to be mingled among faithful Christians.

                                                             2.      Paul was very explicit with his explanation of this in 1Corinthians 5.

a.       He rebuked the church at Corinth because they had chosen to harbor a blatantly sinful brother rather than to remove him from their midst (vv. 1-2).

b.       He commanded them to “clean out the old leaven” in regards to the sinning brother among them (v. 7; more on this below).

c.        He explained than when he had previously commanded them not to associate with immoral people, he meant that they should not associate “with any so-called brother if he should be an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler – not even to eat with such a one” (vv. 10-11).

d.       By this, it is clear that Paul commanded both a physical and a social withdrawal from any “so-called brother” (not just a member of the local church) who was in sin.

                                                             3.      In 2Thessalonians 3:14-15, Paul qualified what kind of communication Christians may have with a disobedient brother.

a.       He said, “Do not regard him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.”

b.       This indicates that communications between faithful brethren and a disobedient brother should be limited to admonitions for repentance.  He is still a brother and not an enemy, but his sin creates limitations in his relationship with his brethren.

C.      Let us understand all of the reasons why it is necessary to turn away from sinning Christians.

                                                             1.      As we noticed before, our hope should be to win our brother.

a.       Paul wrote that the sinful brother was to be delivered “to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of our Lord Jesus” (1Cor. 5:5; notice that this effort was effective to save the brother in Corinth – 2Cor. 2:5-8).

b.       He also wrote that disassociating from a sinful brother may put him to shame (2Thess. 3:15).

c.        Hopefully, the loss of precious relationships with his brethren will allow a sinning brother to see the error of his ways and bring him to godly sorrow and repentance.

                                                             2.      However, there is an even greater reason, which is the preservation of the holy church of God.

a.       Paul was concerned for the influence that deceiving teachers would have on the Roman church (Rom. 16:17-18).  This is why he told those Christians to “turn away from them.”

b.       To demonstrate the corrupting effect of the sinful brother, Paul told the Corinth church that “a little leaven leavens the whole lump” (1Cor. 5:6-8).

i.         This statement draws on the symbolism of the Passover, during which leaven was not even to be seen within the borders of Israel (Ex. 12:15, 17; 13:7-10).

ii.        The sinner’s presence in the church at Corinth made the whole congregation disrespectful of the Christians’ Passover, which is Christ Himself (1Cor. 5:7).  By giving approval to the sinner, they all had shared in his guilt.

c.        Paul was concerned about the bad examples of Christians in Thessalonica who refused to work (2Thess. 3:6-15).  This is why he admonished the church to avoid these sinful brethren and follow his own godly example.

d.       Consider the church at Thyatira to which the Lord said, “I have this against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel” (Rev. 2:18-29).  There was an unrepentant false teacher and immoral woman tolerated by the church, and they were all in danger because of her.

                                                             3.      Turning away from sinful Christians can be difficult, but it is better to lose one member of the body than to lose all.  Of course, it is best to lose none at all, and our best chance for that is to follow the Lord’s commandments.

IV.    CONCLUSION

A.      Dealing with an erring Christian is one of the hardest things that the church has to do, and it should be.  The loss of a brother to sin is reason for mourning and great sadness.

B.      However, the difficulty of such a situation must not lead us to compromise God’s commandments in an effort to make our burden easier.

C.      Therefore, let us be faithful to God and His word whereby we may maintain the holiness of the Lord’s church while working to rescue a precious brother from the danger of eternal loss.