Removal From the Body of Christ

Recap:

- We are the Body of Christ, and the health of one part affects every part.

- If a human body has a wound or infection, the first thing to do is to try and treat it. Put pressure on the wound, clean it, and cover it to allow the body to heal itself. If it's an infection, have a professional identify the problem. Prescribe a method of treatment and keep revisiting it until something works.

- If someone in the Body falls into sin, God's people need to gather around them to put pressure on the wound. The believer needs to repent and come clean to God, then as a community the issue needs to be bound in prayer and God's covering. For deeper issues, a teacher, prophet, or discerner needs to identify the issue, and different strategies (especially prayer) can be applied until a solution with God's grace on it is found.

- In both cases, if nothing is done, the problem will escalate and cause even more damage to the body. The issue *must* be dealt with.

- Sometimes, treatment is no longer an option if it is a more persistent issue...

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This is a pretty tough topic, I'll admit. Removal from the Body of Christ is no small thing, and it's never easy (and I'm saying that without having needed to enforce that before)! But it is absolutely crucial, and I believe part of the reason the church has lost much of its power and influence in the Western world especially is because we haven't been following through on this principle.

You see, if we choose to value one part of the Body over the whole, we risk killing the Body.

Like I said in the previous Thought of the Day, the depiction of God in the Old Testament is often viewed as harsh, judgmental, and even cruel. But my question is this - is a doctor considered cruel when he amputates the arm or leg of someone who has gangrene? Is he acting harshly by cutting out someone's appendix when they have appendicitis? In the human body, there are times when an injury, infection, or illness becomes so severe that the only way to save the body is to remove the part, even if that means that the body will have to adjust to a new way of living afterward.

Similarly, there are times - rare, severe cases - when in order to keep the Body of Christ strong and alive, it becomes necessary to remove one member. It will take a time of adjustment as the Body tries to fill the space and function without this missing part, but the alternative is death. The church is meant to be a symbol of life and resurrection, because that's what the God we love is known for! So if we allow ourselves to be killed, especially from the inside, then we are entirely invalidating our witness to the people around us. After all, if we as God's people are dead, what hope do the people who don't know Him have?

The most important thing to remember with all of this is that whatever we do, it is to be done with love. I'm not talking about the wishy-washy stuff our world has come to know and understand, because that stuff is superficial at best and devastatingly traumatic at worst - it does not last, and it will let people down eventually. What I am talking about is agape, the love of God. It is persistent, self-sacrificing, wholehearted, persevering, unlimited, action-oriented love. It wants what is best for the person it loves and is willing to do whatever it takes to help them reach that, even if it means challenging, confronting, or even disciplining them when necessary.

If we are to remove someone from the church, it is only ever to be after giving them, "seventy times seven," chances to redeem themselves (Matthew 18:22 NIV) and we must be ready to accept them back the very moment that they realise their mistake, repent, and change their ways. It is to be done with prayer and mourning from a place of obedience and conviction, not joy at ridding ourselves of someone who does not see the way we do. But if they do turn back like the Prodigal Son, we should be the first to rush out and meet them, arms open wide and joyful feast prepared.

Oh, and one more thing. This isn't the pastor's job. They play a part, and a big one, since it is the shepherd's job to know their sheep, but this is something that must be done by the entire Body, working together to build each other up.

It is necessary, but never pleasant, and it must be done for the right reasons or else it will do nothing but cause damage and hurt. But if we do not do it, we put ourselves at risk of dying as the Body of Christ, and if we are dead, what hope does the world have? It is time for the church to come back to life, because our God is a God of the resurrection and of life.