"Your boasting is not good. Don't you know that a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough? Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast—as you really are. " -- 1 Corinthians 5:6-7

I had knee surgery this last Monday. A certain part of my knee joint that had been healthy and valuable tore away and became hard as a rock. The good old "stuff" became bad old "stuff" and brought pain with the promise of future damage. Since the "stuff" wouldn't change for the better, it had to be removed. It's just that simple.

The Doctor made it clear that bad days were ahead if I didn't have the surgery, and Paul said the same thing for a church that wouldn't remove bad "stuff" from the fellowship. The church is full of sinners saved by grace, being changed everyday to be more like Christ. As believers, we may not be perfect, but if we love Jesus we are fighting "the sin that so easily entangles" (Hebrews 12:1) everyday. Those who stop fighting and become hardened in sin need to repent or be removed from the fellowship for the sake of spiritual health. It's just that simple.

Do you find yourself overlooking unrepentant brethren in your church because you don't want to judge? Paul gave clear counsel in verses 12 and 13, "Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside. "Expel the wicked man from among you."". Don't be that brother or sister hardened in sin and don't allow such fellow believers to damage the "body". Sometimes surgery is necessary. It's just that simple.