Where In The Bible Will I Find:

Sin Tolerated In The Church?

God does not tolerate sin in His church. In the case of Ananias and Sapphira, the sin was exposed and punishment was rendered. Usually, in modem times, when sin of any type is exposed, brings the church into dispute for a time, diminishes respect for it, and renders all efforts to add to its growth. The effect in the early church was the reverse of this. "And believers were the more added to the Lord, multitudes both of men and women" (Acts 5:14).

If the Lord's church had tolerated Ananias and Sapphira, by retaining them in fellowship after their exposure, doubtless the church would have grown and prospered as it did. But the sudden punishment visited upon them by the Lord, and the abhorrence of their deed manifested by burying them without ceremony in the clothing in which they died, and while their bodies were scarcely cold, made the whole community feel that here was a people among whom sin would not be tolerated. It was a safe place for a man who needed holy companionship to help him in the effort to live a holy life - a place in which he could expect every false step to be exposed and promptly corrected, and through which he might confidently hope to make his pilgrimage to a better world.

People who wish to make a compromise with sin, and who join a church merely because they are afraid to live without some appearance of religion, will always avoid such a church; but those who are in earnest about the desire to save their souls and to do good, seek just such a church as their spiritual home.

When shall the rigid discipline which God established in the beginning be seen on earth once more? When will the preachers and teachers start preaching and teaching against sin in the church? Let the shepherds of the flock give an answer, as they remember that they must give account to God concerning the souls committed to their care.