Blog
“During Withdrawal”
Categories: M. W. Bassford, Sermons
Sometimes, I get the same sermon request from multiple sources. Such is the case with this evening’s sermon, on withdrawal. Not only has one of the members here asked that I address the subject from the pulpit, but the elders want me to do so as part of the congregation’s practice of teaching on it regularly.
This is, of course, not anybody’s favorite topic in the Bible. None of us like to think about any of the members here being so intent on sinning that they force us to formally separate ourselves from them. However, none of us are devil-proof, and bitter experience has shown all of us that time and again, he entices Christians to leave Christ behind. Not because we want to, but because we have to, let’s spend some time this evening considering how we should behave during withdrawal.
First, we must REMEMBER THE STAKES. Here, consider Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 5:4-7. This is part of his discussion of how the Corinthian church should handle the man who has taken his father’s wife. Obviously, this situation is a little different than ours. Paul is an apostle, and he is wielding his apostolic authority to tell the Corinthians, “You must withdraw from this sinful man.” Nobody can do that today.
However, the reasons why Paul has taken this action remain valid. First, he shows us that withdrawal is important for the sake of the soul of the sinner. These people by their practice of sin already have severed their relationship with God. When the congregation withdraws from them, that severing of relationship is a visible sign of the invisible disaster that has occurred. It’s one last desperate effort to get them to realize the seriousness of their plight. If we withdraw from someone as a matter of bureaucratic correctness rather than as a way to get them to repent, we’re doing it wrong.
Second, withdrawal is important for the sake of the church. This is what Paul is getting at in vs. 6-7. Sometimes in Scripture, leaven is used metaphorically of something that’s good. That’s not true here. Instead, when Paul is talking about leaven, he is talking about the corrupting influence of a sinner who is allowed to remain as part of the congregation. It is sad but true that once a congregation accepts one sin, it soon will accept every sin and become no different from the world. Ultimately, then, we practice withdrawal not only for the sake of the sinner, but for our own sakes as well.
Next, we must FOLLOW THE PROCESS. Jesus sets it out for us in Matthew 18:15-17. Sometimes, I think we read this process as having three steps. Really, there are four. Step One is confronting the erring brother with his sin. Step Two is involving others, typically the elders, in the process. Step Three is bringing the brother’s sin before the church. Step Four is regarding this brother as no longer part of our fellowship. Of course, if the brother in sin repents at any point of this process, we rejoice and don’t follow it to its conclusion.
The first thing that I want to observe about this is that all the steps of this process must be followed in order. Too much of the time, Christians want to skip Step One and go straight to Step Two. They know their brother is in sin, but they don’t want to talk with him about it because those conversations are unpleasant. Instead, they want to take the problem to the elders and dump it in their laps.
Brethren, that’s wrong. We have a God-given responsibility to go to our brother ourselves. Only when we have that conversation and they don’t listen to us should we go to the elders.
Second, we must honor its results. Once a Christian has been withdrawn from, things can’t be the same between us. They can’t continue to have a role in our assemblies. They can’t even be people we socialize with and have a good time with. Obviously, there are exceptions here due to family relationships, and I’ve discussed those things before, but that does not overshadow the general rule. Withdrawal has to mean a significant change in relationship.
During the withdrawal process, though, we must TRUST THE ELDERS. Consider, for instance, the admonition of Hebrews 13:17. I’m well aware that second-guessing the elders is one of the favorite hobbies of many Christians. Indeed, I have noticed that the difficult decisions that face elders often seem simple and straightforward to those who are not actually called on to make them. I think that’s generally problematic, but it’s especially problematic when it comes to erring Christians.
This is true for two reasons. First, we owe the elders deference because of their position. There is no such thing as a perfect elder, and ours are no exception. However, they are the ones who have been selected by God to lead our congregation, which means that it’s God’s judgment that they are better suited to make those hard decisions than any of the rest of us are.
This means that we should consider our own judgment with skepticism. If we think the elders should be doing something different with a Christian who is in sin, we might be right about that, but probably, we aren’t. If brethren were as quick to question their own wisdom as they are to question the wisdom of the elders, the elders’ job would be a whole lot easier!
Second, it’s often the case that the elders know more about the situation than we do. Brethren will often get upset about the perceived unfairness of the elders withdrawing from one in six weeks while continuing to work with another for a year. In my experience, that’s not because the elders are being whimsical. It’s because they are addressing different situations differently, often on the basis of information that the congregation does not and should not know. If the puzzle doesn’t make sense to us, that’s probably because we don’t have all the pieces!
Finally, we must SPEAK TRUTH IN LOVE. Look at Ephesians 4:15. There are three elements to this idea, and all three must be present for us to please God. First, we have to speak. Second, our words have to be the truth. Third, they must be loving. If we leave any of those things out, if we leave out speaking, truth, or love, we aren’t doing Ephesians 4:15 right.
This is challenging. It’s easy to say nothing to a brother who is sinning or even has been withdrawn from. It’s easy to make polite small talk that ignores the elephant in the room. For that matter, it’s easy to self-righteously blast the sinner without recognizing that we are directing our scorn at a real human being who fears and hurts and suffers like we do.
However, disciples of Christ aren’t called to do easy. We’re called to do hard. Jesus spent His whole ministry speaking truth in love with justice and compassion. He expects us to learn how to do so from Him. We shouldn’t expect to be good at this the first time we try it. Like so many other spiritual disciplines, this is a skill we develop with practice. However, the more we grow in our experience and especially our love, the better at it we will become.
