Separation is never the preferred method of dealing with others.  But clearly there are times when separation is called for and when it alone will glorify the Lord and maintain the integrity of the church.  Paul shared some of these truths with the church at Corinth because in violating these godly principles, they were undermining the testimony of God.  Included in the principles that he mentioned are the following from I Corinthians 5:9-13. These still apply today.

             It is impossible to separate from sinners in the world (vv. 9-10).  Apparently Paul had written an earlier letter in which he had told the Corinthian believers “not to company with fornicators.”  The Corinthians seem to have misunderstood Paul’s intent, believing him to be instructing them not to associate with sinners in the world.  Paul explains the practical impossibility of accomplishing this.  Christians should not seek the fellowship of the world, but since sin abounds everywhere, believers would need to leave this world in order to avoid sinners altogether.  Furthermore, since believers are not called upon to live cloistered lives, and since there must be some association with sinners in order to fulfill our commission to proclaim the gospel to the lost, believers must, of necessity, come in contact with the world (without sacrificing their pilgrim character or compromising with sin).

             Believers have the responsibility to judge sins within the church (vv. 11, 12).  Many might be shocked by this truth.  Many surely deny it.  But Paul asks:  “Do not ye judge them that are within?”  And he provides some representative examples of sins so grievous that they call into question the profession of the one who practices them.  Actually, Paul does not mention the sins; rather, he names the types of sinners—those practicing the sins.  They include “fornicators” (“immoral people”), “the covetous, or extortioners” (those who are greedy and those who attempt to satisfy their greed by dishonest means), “idolaters” (those who serve another god), “a railer” (“a reviler”), and “a drunkard.”  Clearly, believers in a given assembly must look for such sins and identify such sinners—all in a spirit of meekness and humility, and not for the denigration of others, but for the glory of the Lord and the sanctity of the church.

             Those who practice such sins must be removed from the fellowship (vv. 11, 13).  Paul calls upon the church to take two actions concerning “any man that is called a brother” (we might say “a so-called brother” because his sins call into question the validity of his professed salvation).   First, he commands, “with such an one no not to eat,” in other words, avoid socializing in any way.  Second he commands, “put away from among yourselves [“remove”] that wicked person.”  The separation enjoined upon the church at Thessalonica for people who refused to provide for their own appears to have been one that allowed for association for the purpose of admonition (see:  II Thes. 3:14, 15).  The separation ordered here seems both more thoroughgoing and more final.  Such persistent sin by a recalcitrant sinner calling himself a Christian must be met with strong measures in order, first of all, to protect the flock from the corrupting influence of flagrant sin, second, to preserve the testimony of the assembly, and finally, and most importantly, to maintain God’s holy name.

             No true saint enjoys practicing this form of separation, but no faithful church will turn a blind eye to blatant sin.  Discipline is a blessed and necessary component of church polity.  Those who fail to exercise it in accord with Scripture eschew their holy responsibilities to the dishonor of their Lord and the detriment of their church.