A number of years ago, a high school teacher was convicted of having an improper relationship with one of his female students. The moment he was convicted, he was dismissed from his position and lost his pension. His conduct was cause for the loss of his job, which the union did not oppose. Over the last few years I have heard of others in various groups and organizations who have been dismissed for not meeting the obligations of membership, ie. such as dues. Over the last little, while I have been troubled by the concept of "church" that is accepted by the North American church culture. Church has become a public meeting: open to everyone and anyone; when in reallity it was a private meeting for its membership.
Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood. (Ac 20:28)
The word we translate as "church" is the Greek word : "ekklesia" which means "that which is called out". It is used with any assembly of people (Ac.19:32,39) but in the Biblical sense it means a group called out of the world:
lf you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. (Jn.15:19; note17:6; Ga.6:14)
The Church is a specific type of people, being noticeably different then the world:
Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? (2Co.6:14-16)
Church is a distinct body of people called out of the world to be his very own:
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the church of God in Corinth, together with all the saints throughout Achaia: (2Co.1:1)
Society is now a dichotomy: blood bought saints and sinners still in the world:
As in all the churches of the saints, (1Co 14:33 NASB)
One of the most confusing aspects of this topic is the lack of understanding that the church is a private meeting of saints and not a public meeting of sinners. Consider the Corinthian church:
To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ-- their Lord and ours: (1Co.1:2)
Paul reminded the Corinthians that they have a minimum standard of character- called to be holy. In the same way the secular membership is revoked due to a lapse of membership obligations, the Bible gives us specific character obligations; which must be met by its membership:
Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no-one will see the Lord. (He.12:14)
The Corinthian church was ignorant of the minimum standard and allow a man in the church who was living with his father's wife- his stepmother. He tells them to put the man out:
But now I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler. With such a man do not even eat. What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside. "Expel the wicked man from among you." (1Co.5:11-13 note 1Co.5:1-5)
If a person does not meet the minimum character standard that the Bible calls us to, then he must be put out of the church in the same manner that the high school teacher was dismissed. Paul goes on to qualify the minimum standard in chapter six:
Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. (1Co.6:9-11; Ga.5:19-20; Eph.5.3-7)
If someone calls himself a brother but continues in sin, we must treat him as one outside the church- a pagan:
If your brother sins… If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector. (Mt 18:15-17)
The church is composed of saints which form the body of Christ, which submits to its head:
For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. (Ep.5:23-24 note Co.1:18,24)
The church is the body of Christ. Sinners do not submit to it's head, proving that they are not part of the body. In the same way that we cannot take the physical heart of one person and transplant it into another without rejection, to have sinners to participate in the church of saints will also cause rejection. Unbelievers have no place in the church, even though some might find themselves there:
But if an unbeliever or someone who does not understand comes in while everybody is prophesying, he will be convinced by all that he is a sinner and will be judged by all, and the secrets of his heart will be laid bare. So he will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, "God is really among you!" (1Co.14:24-25)
Therefore the church is not a public meeting open to any and all, but a private meeting of those blood bought saints of God.