Should Churches Ever Excommunicate Members?

This week I received an email asking about the meaning of Matthew 18:15-17 and if there is ever a time when someone should be put out of the church. My answer goes like this:

This passage is answering the following question:How should we respond to professing Christians who engage in deliberate, repeated sinful behavior and who are not repentant or open to correction but continue in their rebellion? The passage describes a process for dealing with sinning believers. The idea is that they will repent along the way. But if they don't, each step gets more and more drastic. And the end result is indeed to cast such a person out of the church.

Let me put it this way. Suppose a professing believer sins and continues to sin, and refusing all entreaties, stubbornly continues to sin while showing no remorse and no repentance. And suppose that continues over a long period of time. What should the church do? Such a person is acting like an unbeliever. Note the phrase "acting like." He may or may not be an unbeliever. Only God can read the heart. Saved people can act like unbelievers for a period of time. But if a person continues to act like an unbeliever, he must be treated as an unbeliever. Thus you put him out of the church. Now when you do that, you aren't saying, "This person is an unbeliever," because only God can make that judgment. But you are saying, "He is acting like an unbeliever." We can only judge actions--God alone judges the heart.

We can say it this way: Where do believers belong? In the church. Where do unbelievers belong? Outside the church. A professing Christian who refuses all repentance and continues in his rebellion has taken on the attitude of an unbeliever. When all attempts to restore him have failed, the church must put such a person on the outside because that's where he belongs. To keep such a person in the church makes a mockery of what we say we believe.

The hope is that putting him out will be like spiritual shock treatment. If he is a believer, we trust that he will come to his senses eventually. If he is only a professing Christian but not truly saved, at least he won't be inside the church creating havoc.

Finally, remember that Matthew 18 describes a drawn-out process. Excommunication is always the last resort, the most drastic step taken and only in the most drastic cases. In my ministry, I have seen it happen a few times in 26 years. If it happened all the time, that would be a red flag to me. But if we never put someone out of the church, that's probably a sign we aren't as serious as we ought to be about what we say we believe.

To sign up for Pastor Ray's free weekly sermon email list, click here. You can find his daily weblog, online sermons, travel schedule, and other resources at www.keepbelieving.com. You can write Pastor Ray at raypritchard@calvarymemorial.com.