Have you ever noticed that there are times when brethren have become unfaithful for various reasons, but they seem not to want to acknowledge that?  They will do things like be gone for long periods of time.  The congregation should practice discipline if this person is out of duty (II Thessalonians 3:6; 14).  Yet, even if the congregation does take action, these “brethren” may show back up some time down the road as if nothing is wrong.  They walk in and assume their seat as though they had never left it.  They lift their voices in song as though they never ceased praising the Lord.  They speak up in a class as though they are faithful in all things.

     Soon, brethren begin to forget that at one time this person was disciplined.  If they were not disciplined (this would be wrong), it is forgotten that they ever were missing.  Soon, if this person is a man, he is called on for prayer.  He is up helping to serve the elements of the Lord’s Supper.  He is leading songs.  He is even, on occasion, bringing a lesson from God’s word.  All along, this person has never confessed any wrong.

     Soon, you begin seeing this erring brother or sister at your door.  They are there to encourage you.  You begin hearing them talk of the need to help the erring.  You hear them speak of the need to practice discipline.  Distantly in your mind you ask “is he / she listening to what they are saying.”  Still yet, nothing is done to show that this person has corrected their lives.  All have overlooked their past sins.  Is this right?  Is there really a back door into fellowship with the faithful?

     If someone is coming back from somewhere or something that suggests they have left a certain place that they, for whatever reasons, need to return to.  If someone leaves the fellowship of the local congregation, they do need to come back.  But, how do they do so?  How do we avoid the attempt of some to slip in the back door unnoticed?  As with all questions of spiritual import, this question is easily answered with book, chapter, and verse.

     If one departs from the Lord they must do several things.  They must first confess their fault to Him: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (I John 1:9).  The Lord, in the aforementioned quoted scripture, makes forgiveness conditioned upon confessing one’s fault to Him.  Secondly, one must repent [change] their lives to be in accordance with the will of God.  Paul defined repentance well in his defense before Agrippa: “But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance” (Acts 26:20).

     When a brother or sister in Christ sins against another brother or sister in Christ, there are instructions on what MUST be done: “Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.  But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.  And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican” (Matthew 18:15-17).   When Luke records the Lord’s instructions about forgiveness among brethren, he too makes forgiveness conditional based upon repentance.  Luke wrote: “Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him.  And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him” (Luke 17:3-4).  The Lord never instructed that if a brother or sister sins against another to just pardon them unconditionally of those sins.  His instruction is to have that person approached, addressed, and then that sin has to be repented of prior to forgiveness being granted.  Once repentance occurs (then and only then) you must forgive that individual.

     As we see above, when a person abandons his / her brethren, they have not only sinned against the Lord, but they have also sinned against the brethren.  The same is true when one sins against brethren, they also sin against the Lord (I Corinthians 8:12).  That person therefore must seek the forgiveness of both the Lord and the brethren.  In regards to how we can help those who confess sin, James wrote: “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much” (James 5:16).  When the Lost Son came home he confessed: “… Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight…” (Luke 15:21).  When brethren leave the body, they sin against heaven and the saints at home!  Therefore, they cannot just slip back in unnoticed.  They must confess their faults and let it be known that they have repented.  If they are not pressed to do so, a great injustice is done to them as well as the local body of believers.

     When an impenitent sinner slips back into the flock there are many wrongs being done.  First off, there is one accepted back into the fellowship of the brethren that is not walking in the light.  We are instructed not to have fellowship with those who are in darkness, but those walking in the light (Ephesians 5:11 and I John 1:1-7).  When the brethren in Corinth were accepting a fornicator among them, Paul wrote to them greatly displeased with their complacency.  He said: “It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father's wife.  And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you” (I Corinthians 5:1-2).  He then said: “Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?  Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us” (I Corinthians 5:6-7).  When a sinner is among the flock, not being dealt with, that person is leaven among the lump.  That person needs to be purged, not overlooked.

     The second disservice that is done is to that person who is in sin.  We are to care for their souls just as much as we do the purity of the flock.  We are to help that person overcome the condition they find themselves in (Galatians 6:1).  Paul instructed the brethren in Corinth to take action to help save the soul of the one who was committing fornication and dwelling among the saints.  Paul said: “For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, concerning him that hath so done this deed, In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus” (I Corinthians 5:3-5).  If we care for the soul of the one that is trying to “slip back in”, we will tell them that they need to confess their fault and repent of their sins so that he / she can be saved (Luke 13:3; 5).

     Just the thought of someone trying to slide into the fold should scare us enough.  The action of slipping in is dishonest.  It is the wolf who tries to sneak into the flock (Matthew 7:15 and Acts 20:29), not those who are truly desiring to do what is right.  There is no back door into fellowship with God.  One must come straight through our Savior to get to the Father (John 14:6).  Why would we allow anyone to have the misconception that they can play on our lack of good memory to be in fellowship with us?

     Too often we seek the easy way.  It is easier to say “let them sit and listen” than it is to go and tell them.  That “let them sit and listen” will soon fade into “why aren’t we using him to lead prayers”.  There is only one way to save souls, that is by teaching the truth and helping folks to apply it (James 1:21-25).  Let’s make sure that if there ever was a backdoor into the fellowship of the local church, that it is now closed and boarded up.  Let’s greet sin at the front door and invite he / she to leave it behind before they enter in.