Purity and Restoration

There is a "practice" that God has instituted in the church that serves two purposes: purification and restoration. Those are two marvelous things. Yet, the church doesn't do this very often. The practice: church discipline.
When a church member, a professing Christian, is living a life of openly practicing a sin in defiance of God's Word and has refused to give up that sin when lovingly encouraged to do so, that person should be removed from the church. Why? Paul is quite clear about the consequences of not doing so--the "disease" of willful spiritual defiance is highly contagious. When others see Christians living such a life in defiance of God and without experiencing consequences, the response is "well, I may as well live that way too. If there are no consequences for such a life style of rebellion, why not?" The Holy Spirit through the pen of Paul says that that is what will happen. Will. The "leaven" will saturate the entire body of believers. To maintain a pure church that reflects the holiness of God, discipline is essential.
The second reason for such discipline is a deep desire to restore the rebellious saint to the fellowship--with Christ first, and then with His body. Yes, a deep desire for spiritual restoration is vital. Love demands it. Restoration will not occur without it. Paul tells us what the process will look like--the response of the one disciplined will begin with self-vindication, followed by indignation, followed by sorrow, followed by a longing for the love flowing in the church, followed by repentance and restoration. A soul returned to walking in the light with Him. A soul that knows again the love of Christ in their daily life--the comfort of His presence and His eagerness to lovingly forgive. As the angels rejoice in Heaven, the church can rejoice in the restoration of the one they love. The feast of the fatted calf can begin.
A pure church that reflects His holiness and a rebellious saint restored to fellowship with Him and His body, the church, are the goals of compassionate discipline. And are they not lovely goals? And will it not glorify Him? And will it not do good for the church and the one in rebellion? And if it was you, wouldn't you want to be loved that deeply--to be brought back to a life filled with a sense of His presence? Then . . . ?