SERMON XXXIV.*

The Nature and End of Excommunication.

1 CORINTHIANS v. 11.

BUT NOW I HAVE WRITTEN UNTO YOU, NOT TO KEEP COMPANY, IF ANY MAN THAT IS CALLED A BROTHER BE A FORNICATOR, OR COVETOUS, OR AN IDOLATER, OR A RAILER, OR A DRUNKARD, OR AN EXTORTIONER, WITH SUCH AN ONE, NO NOT TO EAT.

THE church of Corinth, in primitive times, was very famous for the gifts and graces of the Spirit of God, as well as for the number of its members. This church was first planted by the Apostle Paul: He was, as it were, the spiritual father of it, who had converted its members from Heathenism to Christianity; as he reminds them in these epistles; 1 Cor. iv. 15. "For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers. For in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel." We

* Preached on the occasion of the excommunication of a person, July 22, 1739.

have an account of the apostle's planting this church in the 48th chapter of Acts.

It was doubtless excellently regulated by him, when he was present to have an immediate inspection of its affairs. But in his absence many corruptions and disorders crept in among its members. Among other disorders, one of the members had been guilty of a very heinous kind of wickedness: He had committed incest in one of the grossest degrees of it, in having his father's wife; which the apostle observes was infamous even among the Heathens. And the church of Corinth had tolerated him in it, so as notwithstanding to suffer him to continue in their communion.

The chapter of which our text is a part, is wholly upon this subject. The apostle reproves the church for conniving at this wickedness, as they had done in not excommunicating the person who had been guilty of it; and directs them speedily to cast him out from among them; thus, delivering him to Satan. He orders them to purge out such scandalous persons, as the Jews were wont to purge leaven out of their houses when they kept the passover.

In the text and two foregoing verses he more particularly explains their duty with respect to such vicious persons, and enjoins it on them not to keep company with such. But then shows the difference they ought to observe in their carriage towards those who were vicious among the Heathen, who had never joined with the church, and towards those of the same vicious character who had been their professed brethren; see verse 9.... 12. “I wrote unto you, not to company with fornicators. Yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world. But now I have written unto you, not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner, with such an one, no not to eat."

In the words of the text we may observe two things, viz. the duty, and the object.

I. The duty enjoined, of which two things are expressed.

1. The behavior required, negatively expressed, not to keep company.

2. The manner or degree, no nos to eat.

II. The object, who is designed by two things.

1. That he appear to be vicious; a fornicator, or cover tous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortion+ er. We are not to understand only these particular vices, but these, or any other gross sins, or whatever carries in it visible wickedness. It is evident, that the apostle here, and in the context, intends that we should exclude out of our com. pany all those who are visibly wicked men. For in the fore going verses he expresses his meaning by this, that we should purge out the old leaven; and, explaining what he means by leaven, he includes all visible wickedness; as in verse 8. "Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neith er with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth."

2. The other thing by which the object of this behavior or dealing is characterised, is, that he be one that is called a brother, or one that hath been a professed Christian, and 2 member of the church.

DOCTRINE.

Those members of the visible Christian church that are become visibly wicked, ought not to be tolerated in the church, but should be excommunicated.

In handling this subject, I shall speak,
I. Of the nature of excommunication ;

II. Of the subject; and,

III. Of the ends of it.

I. I shall say something of the nature of excommunica tion. It is a punishment executed in the name and according to the will of Christ, whereby a person who hath heretofore enjoyed the privileges of a member of the visible church of Christ, is cast out of the church and delivered unto Satan.

It is of the nature of a punishment inflicted: It is expressly called a punishment by the apostle in 2 Cor. ii. 6. Speaking of the excommunicated Corinthian, he says, "Sufficient to such a man is this punishment." For though it be not designed by man for the destruction of the person who is the subject of it, but for his correction, and so is of the nature of a castigatory punishment, at least so far as it is a punishment inflicted by men; yet it is in itself a great and dreadful calamity, and the most severe punishment that Christ hath appoint ed in the visible church. Although in it the church is to seek only the good of the person and his recovery from sin, there appearing, upon proper trial, no reason to hope for his recov ery by gentler means; yet it is at God's sovereign disposal, whether it shall issue in his humiliation and repentance, or in his dreadful and eternal destruction; as it always doth issue in the one or the other.

In the definition of excommunication now given, two things are chiefly worthy of consideration. 1. Wherein this punishment consists. 2. By whom it is inflicted.

FIRST. I would show wherein this punishment consists; and it is observable that there is in it something privative, and something positive.

FIRST. There is something privative in excommunica tion, which consists in being deprived of a benefit heretofore enjoyed. This part of the punishment is in scripture expressed by being cast out of the church. So this punishment in the Jewish church was called putting out of the synagogue, John xvi. 2. The word synagogue is a word of the same signification as the word church. So this punishment in the Christian church is called casting out of the church. The

Apostle John, blaming Diotrephes for inflicting this punishment without cause, says, 3 John v. 10. "He casteth them out of the church."

This privative part of the punishment is sometimes expressed by the church's withdrawing from a member, 2 Thess. iii. 6. "Now we command you, brethren, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly."

The privative part of the punishment of excommunication consists in this, viz. in being cut off from the enjoyment of the privileges of God's visible people. The whole world of mankind is divided into these two sorts, those that are God's visible people, and so are within the visible church of Christ; and those that are without the visible church, and are of the visible kingdom of Satan. Now it is a great privilege to be one of the visible people of God, to be within the visible church of Christ, and to enjoy the benefits of such: It is abundantly so spoken of in scripture. On the other hand, it is very doleful to be without this visible kingdom, or to be cut off from the privileges of it, and to be excluded, as those who are to be treated as belonging to the visible kingdom of Satan.

The privileges which are to be enjoyed in the visible church of Christ, from which excommunicated persons are to be cut off, are of these four kinds :

1. The charity of the church.

2. Brotherly society with the members of the church.

3. The fellowship of the church in worship.

4. The internal privileges of visible Christians.

1. They are cut off from being the objects of that charity of God's people which is due to Christian brethren. They are not indeed cut off from all the charity of God's people, for VOL. VIII.

3 K