Continuing the message we've been preaching for a while about church discipline and the right way to do it and that kind of thing, the reasons for it all. So let's look again at the book of 1 Corinthians 5 verse 4 and verse number 5. 1 Corinthians 5 and verse number 4 and verse number 5. The Bible says in this, and tonight we just want to talk about how that people don't believe that we can discipline anybody. And a lot of times in this world, people look at those that discipline them as being above them. But listen, we're not above anybody. And we don't understand that at all. All right? We're not. All we're trying to do is what God wants us to do. That's it. That's it. All right? Now, the Bible said in verse number Verse number 3, the Bible says, "...for our verities are absent in body, but present in spirit." So Paul is saying this. I have judged already, as though I were present, concerning him that has so done this deed. So Paul is stating that he knows what they ought to do, and he tells them this in verse number 4, "...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 in one unto Satan, for the destruction of the flesh, that the Spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus." Now that's what Paul told this church to do. This is really an amazing concept if you think about it just a second. Paul told this church The Church of Corinth, notice what it says in verse number four, the very first part of that verse. It says, In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Notice this. In the name of. Does that Does that strike a familiarity with you at all? Do you remember anything about that phrase? In the name of? I hope you do. I hope you do. That's one of the first books that I wrote. In the name of? What's that talking about? I tell you, if you've never studied that little phrase, it will be beneficial to you to study it, because we do things Not in our name, but we do things in the name of Jesus Christ. We do things based upon His power and not upon ours. Alright? That's what it's all about. We do things based upon the power of Jesus Christ and not upon our power. See? In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. This is what He said. So, and tonight, I will not. go into all the times in the Bible that this little phrase occurs. But if you have never studied that phrase for yourself, it will be real good if you would just study it for yourself. It will be a real blessing to you. It will thrill you to see the many times in the Bible that the little phrase, in the name of, is mentioned. I forget now how many times it's mentioned, It's nearly a hundred times. Listen, God has a reason for what He's saying here. It's very, very important that you do this. And something else about this. Somebody would say, the Corinthian church has been instructed by Paul to do something in the name of Jesus Christ, right? What church? What church was this? It was not the church at Thessalonica. It was a good church there. What was this church? Listen, this church had a lot of problems. Let me tell you something. This church, look in the book of 1 Corinthians 1. 1 Corinthians 1 and verse number 11. Begin reading here. And you'll find here that this church, the Church of Corinth, had a four-way schism in it, a four-way division that Paul is addressing. Notice, he says in verse number 11, 1 Corinthians 1 verse 11, For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you. So they are arguing one with another. Now this I say, that every one of you saith, and here's what the Bible says, that Paul was saying that every one of you saith, I am of Paul, and I of Apostle, and I of Cephas, and I of Christ. I'm going to ask you a question here. How are they saying that? Somebody says, well, that was just a three-way division. Oh, that was a four-way division. Those people that was bragging about themselves being of Christ, I don't think they were humble at all. That's my opinion. I think they were just saying, I'm of Christ, so I'm better than you. Just like these other people were saying, I'm of Paul, so I'm better than you. I'm of Cephas, so I'm better than you. I'm of Apollos, so I'm better than you. That's what they were all saying. And Paul makes it very clear here in verse number 13. Is Christ divided? Christ is not divided. No. Christ is not divided. Was Paul crucified for you? What Paul? That Paul was divided? No. No. It wasn't Paul. Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? See, there's that little phrase again, in the name of. There it shows up again. where you baptize in the name of Paul. So Paul puts him back in the place. And think about this, that they're depending only on Christ who is their eternal Redeemer. He's not depending on anything else. And sometimes we forget that. This is a very vital truth that sometimes we just simply forget. We're not above anybody. The Bible said in verse number 14, Paul said this, I thank God that I baptize none of you but Christmas and Gaius, lest any should say that I baptize in my name." So he's making it very clear here. He didn't baptize by any authority except the authority of God. That's what he's saying here. Then he corrected this, verse 16, "...and I baptize also the house of Stephanias. Besides, I know not whether I baptize any other." And he didn't even care, I think. Some people might count that really important, but I don't. I count it really important if you just do what God wants you to do. But see, here's the thing. In 1 Corinthians 5 and down through verse number 5, Paul gives instructions to a church that had a four-way split in it. There were many together. And Paul told them, you have the power to do this, Because you're trusting in God to do it. That's what he's saying. In the power of Jesus Christ. You do this thing. In the name of. That's what that means. In the power. In the strength of Christ. You don't do it by your strength. He makes that very clear in verse number 4, two times. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. When you are gathered together. So they've got to be gathered together. Sometimes when they're meeting together, and my spirit with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ." That's what he's saying. You do this by the power of God, not by yours. That's exactly what you're doing. You think about it. A lot of times it is said today, who are you to discipline anybody? Who are you? Listen, the answer to that question is this. is that all we're doing is putting them out from under the foal of protection that the Lord has placed in the church. That's all we're doing. If they won't listen to us, then we turn them over to God, and perhaps they'll listen to Him. You know, this people right here in the book of Corinthians, what do you think they thought about This man coming back, I know he came back. I know he did, but what do you think they thought before he came back? What do you think they thought? It really don't make a difference. What makes a difference is that they did what God wanted them to do. This is the thing to think about though. Whenever you start out and you do something, whatever it is, if you do it in the name of Christ, if you do it in the power of Christ, you're doing it trusting in the Lord to give deliverance, then you're trusting in Him and not in any other. That's what these people did. And really, they didn't know if He was going to come back or not. They did not know. And I'll tell you something else. This man that committed adultery, Why didn't Paul say, why don't you put the woman out? Why don't you put her out too? Who said she's in? I think that's the point. Who said she was in? If this woman would have been a member of the church, do you think Paul would have said, let her go by? I don't think so. I don't think so at all. I don't think she was a member. That's my personal opinion about that. It kind of reminds me of the Pharisees when they brought the woman and took her and inducted her to Christ. I've always wondered this. I've always wondered this. Why in the world, if they caught the woman, if they caught the woman, why couldn't they catch the man? Don't make any sense. At all. Now, let me read something to you. That sometimes people, they think that if God does something, that it's one thing, But we should never do that at all. Now look, read this. The book of Hebrews chapter 12. In Hebrews 12, beginning in verse number, let's begin our reading in verse number 5. Hebrews 12 and verse number 5. The passage here is speaking about chastisement. Now, is God the only one that can ever chastise. Be careful. Is God the only one that can ever chastise? Let's read this passage and see what it says. The Bible says in verse 5, And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children. My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint without our rebuke of him. Notice what the Bible said next. For whom the Lord loveth, he chastiseth, and scourges every son whom he receiveth. Alright? So, if you say, I have never been chastised of the Lord, then God doesn't love you. That's what this Bible is saying. Alright? I heard a guy say one time that he's chasing every day, but I never could tell it. I never could see it ever change nothing. I don't know if he was or not. That's what he said. I don't know if he was or not. But that's between him and the Lord. The Bible says in verse 7, if you endure chasing, God deals with you as with sons. Isn't that true? If you are a child of God, God chastens you. God works on you. You know what chasing is? It's something that God does get your attention. I thank my God for my dad, who oftentimes got my attention by looking at me. Oh, well that was a, you know what I'm talking about. Yeah. I remember one time he looked at me, well I got a bad look. I don't want no more of them. But I remember sometimes that he had taken that behind the woodshed, so to speak. He laid the rod on me. And I remember thinking, I won't ever do that again. It taught me a good lesson. If you endure chasing, God will do it for you as sons. For what sons say, whom his Father has chastened up. So, if you love your children, you will chasten them. I'm talking about mothers and daddies both. If you love your children, you will chasten them. Listen children, when your parents take you and they give you a spanking, Or as I was raised up with, when they give you a whipping, it wasn't because they was mad at you. It was not. It was because they loved you and they don't want you to keep doing what you're doing. That's the same thing that happens to us whenever we're chastened of God. He don't want us to do wrong, so He chastens us that we'll do right. He lets us see it, alright? The Bible said in verse number 8, but if you be without chastisement, whereof all, hello, I wonder what all means? I think it means everybody, right? Whereof all are protectors, then are you bastards and not sons. That's real clear. That's real clear. Even if there was a child that was visiting in our home, I did not, I did not chasten that child. I would chasten my children, but not that child. There was one time I almost did. Instead I called mama and she said, I've got the kid. She said, but that wasn't my child. I had no right to do that. Verse 9, furthermore, we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us. That's Chastisement. We've all been through that. I mean, we're all going through that. And we gave them reverence. Shall we not much rather be in subjection under the Father's Spirit and live? See, the Bible said here, whenever Whatever you're chasing, whenever your parents get on to you and you don't listen, now I know you've never done this, but when they've told you, don't do this and you go and do it anyway, I know you've never done that. I see those grins. But when that parent finds out you've done it, well, they do. And you know what's coming. You know exactly what's coming. And your children, when you tell your children to do something, you discipline them because you love them. I tell you what, the last weapon I got from my dad, I was 17 years old. And I deserve it because He told me that if I did so and so again, I was in trouble and I wasn't thinking. I'll tell you what I did. I'll tell you exactly what I did. I left the water running. That's not a big deal. When you got 12, 13,000 chickens and one whale and one nitwit, that was me, left the water running all night long and it ran a stream all the way down to the woods. I tell you what, I'd never done that again. Sir, I learned. I was 17 years old. Let me ask you something. How long have you been saved? So I've been saved so long now that God, He just loves me and He puts up with me. Listen, that ain't so at all. That ain't so at all. I know God loves you if you're saved. But that don't mean God's going to put up with everything you do. I mean, He knows how to reel us in. He knows how to get our attention. He knows how. Because we are accountable unto God and to God alone. He's the one that watches over us. In verse number 10 it says this, verse number 10, For they have verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure. But He, for our profit, that we might be partakers of His holiness. Look, the purpose for chastisement is in verse 10. And it's linked together with a chastisement that a child gets in his own home. Why does mom and daddy, why do they get on to their kids? Why do they make them mine? Why does mom and daddy, they're just being mean to those kids. Why are they doing that? Listen, they're not doing it because they're mad at you. They're not doing it for that reason. They're doing it because they have a higher purpose in their mind. The higher purpose is that you might be a better person than they are. That's why. They don't want you to make the same mistakes that they made. And they're telling you, they're telling you, and they're telling you what you need to do. Why? Look at verse number 10. for they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure. But He for our profit, that is God for our profit, that we might be made partakers of His holiness. What chastisement is all about is that we might be more and more like Jesus Christ and not like us. Verse number 11, the Bible says here, Now, no chasing for the present seems to be joy. Boy, that's the truth, isn't it? Have you ever... My daddy used to whip us with an old razor strap. They had it wrapped up and it was kept in the sewing machine, in the drawer of the sewing machine. I knew where it was. But one time, that thing just disappeared. I didn't do it. I didn't think about that. It was the only reason. I don't know who moved it. But you know what Dad said? He said, Oh, that's all right. I got another one. He took off his belt. Yeah. But you know what? You can't get away with anything. That's just what it says. But see, no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous. Nevertheless, afterward, afterward, after chastening, after that, it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby. Boy, that's the truth. Because before chastisement, There's always, on the part of the individual that has transgressed, there's always a fear that they're going to find out. Or there's a fear of waiting upon that to come. I know a couple of times I've had to make my children wait until I calm down. Because I didn't want to spank them. In those days we called it whipping. I didn't want to do that and be mad at him. I wanted to be calm when I did it. I wanted to tell him the right thing about it. And I think that's what the Lord will do exactly for us. But you think about it. Parents who are imperfect, those who are sinners, right? We punish our children for wrongdoing, but God is perfect. And He punishes us also for wrongdoing. But listen, both of them are right. And the church of Corinth was right too. For they had a four-way schism. And yet, they were directed by Paul to chasten this man that had committed fornication with his father's wife. It's there. It's solid. It's solid. Think of this. In the book of Romans 13, the Bible says here that imperfect governments are ordered by God to punish wrongdoers. You think about it. Governments are not perfect. They're not because they're made up of men. And men have established imperfect government. I mean, that's the way it is. But know this, that still they are ordered by God to punish those wrongdoers. In Romans 13 and verse number 1 through verse number 7, He said, Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God. The powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God. And they that shall resist shall receive of themselves damnation. For rulers are not adhered to good works, but to the evil. Will thou then not be afraid of the power? See, that's what you need to be afraid of, is the power and not the person. Do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise all the same. For he is the minister of God to thee for good." Listen, who's Paul writing to? I think it's the Romans. Oh, that's a good government, isn't it? No, no. And Paul is writing to the Roman believers, telling them that they need to be in subjection to a pagan government? We ought to be. You say, when the U.S. does exactly what I want to do, then I'll pay my taxes. Listen, you're wrong. You pay them anyway. Pay them anyway. God will take care of that. He said, But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid, for he beareth not the sword of vain. For he is the minister of God, a revenger, to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. Wherefore ye must needs be subject not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake. For for this cause pay ye tribute also. That's taxes. Pay it anyway. Pay it. So I work hard for my money, and they just blow it all. I tell you what, I know they do. I know it. I'll tell you what, we've got a terrible national debt. I don't know what God's going to do with all this. I have no idea. But that's not my business. My business is right here and I've got all I can do to handle this. There it is. For there are God's ministers attending continually unto this very thing. We're there for all dues, tribute to whom tribute is due, custom to whom custom, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor, all to man, anything. See, the Bible goes on. And it says this. Listen. Think about the thief on the cross. Just think about this just a second. Did Jesus Christ condemn the Roman government for killing him? No. He didn't. Jesus Christ didn't even condemn the man. You know, Jesus Christ saved him on the cross. Think of that. See? He was guilty of crimes, and Jesus didn't rebuke that. He didn't blame it. He didn't blame the Roman government for putting him to death. Not at all. Look in Acts 2. And we'll find here in this place that Peter preached to the religious people of the day. They were unrighteous. They were lost. He said, Romans 2, verse number 23. And here's what he did. He said, When he talked about the government killing Jesus Christ, he said, Him being delivered by the determined counsel and forethoughts of God, ye have taken. He puts the blame exactly where it ought to go. Because those people had taken and by wicked hands have crucified and slain. And they saw they were guilty. They were guilty of that. They came to see that they were at fault. Not that God was at fault for their condition. It's because of what they heard that the Holy Spirit took and used that those people believed on the day of Pentecost. That's exactly what happened. Now notice this. In verse number 37, Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, What shall we do? Notice their question. The question is not, what must we do to be saved? They didn't ask that question. They said, what must we do? What must I do to receive the Holy Spirit like you've got the Holy Spirit? That was when they heard him speak in all these tongues. Languages, three of them. The answer is in verse number 38. He said, Peter said unto them, Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. That's the answer. If you misunderstand the question, you'll misunderstand the answer as well. But the question was, it was not, what can we do to be saved? The question was, What shall we do to rectify all this we've done? Here's what you need to do. You repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins, and then you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. That's exactly what they did. But think of this. We're talking about how that churches are supposed to be disciplining people that disobey the law of God. The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 5 and verse 3 down through verse 5, this is our text for tonight. I know a lot of people don't believe in this. I know a lot of people don't believe that a church has any right at all to take anybody and put anybody out of their membership. Well, I think they do. based upon Scripture. I think they do, based upon Scripture. They have a right to receive members. They have a right to dismiss members. They have a right to grant letters to another church. I think that's all. That's the way it is. You know what I found out? There is discipline in every organization on the face of the earth, just about. When I was in college, I was a member of the Circle K club, which is like the Quantas. But you had to have like, I forget what the average was in the grade point average. It was like a three point. I didn't quite get there. But I was a member for a little while, not long. All right. All clubs, all lodges, all jobs, all labor unions have discipline. That's it. If you go to a job and you don't do that job, they have the right to fire you and send you home. All right? They have an obligation to inspire you so that they can be profitable. You're making money for them and they're paying you a wage to make that money for them. I mean, that's it. Did you know that even organizations of crime have discipline as well? They do. It even goes on in prison. You can't get away from it. I mean, it's everywhere. But in church, you see these pious people. Oh, you have a right to do that. Everybody else does. I mean, even Walmart has fired a few people. That's the way it is. That's the way it is. Have you ever played baseball and got put out of the game? I never have. I've watched some hockey matches. I've watched some football games where they throw the coach out. Why? Because he didn't go by the rules. They've got rules you've got to go by. Why in the world should we as a church not discipline those that deserve it? We've got to be careful about that. We only want to discipline those people that have done something. But it's not wrong for a church, if a guy is a drunk, to discipline him. It's not wrong for a person, for a church to discipline someone that has immorality, like a sodomite or something else. I mean, it's not wrong. We got all this stuff in this world and much of it is sin. But one thing that we ought to have in the church that we go to, it ought to be a refuge from all that wickedness and all that sin, all that hypocrisy that's out there. We shouldn't be that way. We should be a whole people. We should be right before God. You know, if all of these rules and all these regulations work in the world, and they do work, right? I mean, they do work. Actually, you know, the credit bureaus, they also have a system about it. They do. Have you ever bought a car and they charge you a really high rate because you didn't have good credit? Yeah. I said, what, sometimes if you don't make your payments, they'll come get that car. My younger brother, David, was a repossessor one time. He what? He dressed up, put on three or four coats, so he looked real big and muscular like this, you know. That's what he told me. He said, boy, you go, you talk to those guys just like you know what you're doing. He said, he said, some old people, they'll come out there and he'll knock on the door. No, he'll bang on the door. Bang, bang, bang, like this. Get their attention. He said, they're coming to hand him the key. So there it is. It wasn't always that way, but sometimes it is. You know, we have a right as the kind of church that Jesus wants us to be, to be right. Because we're accountable to God. You think about it. One of these days, we're going to answer to God. We need to be right before Him. I mean, that's the bottom line of the whole thing. I think the same thing will work in the Lord's church. I think it will. Okay, we'll quit that right there. I see our time is gone. And we're gonna start. I didn't get quite as far as I wanted to get. But we'll, we'll take up that next time Lord willing. If we if we can. In the meantime, if you're lost, We pray that you might see the need of coming to Jesus Christ. You know, it's a really, really good thing. If you really want your life straightened out, if you really want your life straightened out, then only God can do that. But only God can do it by you yielding yourself to the Lord. If you're lost, you need to admit before God that you're lost and repent and trust Him. That's it. I mean, salvation is a gift that God gives. I know that that's so. I know salvation is God's gift. You can't do anything to earn it or work for it or whatever. It's a gift that God gives to you. He gives it to me as well. I tell you what, being a member of the Lord's Church is a great privilege. It's a great honor that God has given to me. Because I believe, and I can read it in the Bible, that the Lord chooses the faithful out of this church to be his bride. That's what I read. Who that is, I don't know. I'm not making any guess about that. I tell you what, this is a great privilege that God has given to us to be a member of the Lord's Church.