Bible Question: "What if a homosexual is still living the life of homosexuality, and in that perverseness abuses a youth in the church, how should that be dealt with?"

Bible Answer: In a case like this, I believe there is no recourse but to report such a serious crime to the law. Pedophilia is a crime and a heinous one as all its victims are innocent youths.

The current scandal within the Catholic church shows the futility of trying to handle such offenses without using the law. Pedophiles are notorious repeat offenders and must be stopped.

But other issues of less serious nature should certainly be dealt with within the church without resorting to going to court.

There are numerous Bible verses that deal with the types of offenses that should be dealt with in the church by members.

Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 6:1 "Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unrighteous, and not before the saints?" But if you continue reading this passage, Paul makes it clear he was speaking about one church member defrauding another, and that matter being taken to court.

"Why do you not rather let yourselves be defrauded?" Paul asks in the conclusion of 1 Cor. 6:7.

As to where to draw the line on which offenses should be dealt with in the church and which by the law and courts, I believe the difference lies between immorality and serious illegality.

Clearly, Paul was speaking of an issue of immorality in 1 Cor. 5, where he wrote to the church urging action be taken against a man living in sin with his stepmother, obviously immoral.

Paul concluded his judgment of what to do in this case in 1 Cor. 5:13, "Therefore put away from yourselves that wicked person." Expulsion from the church is clearly what he meant.

Jesus gives the clearest teaching possible on how to deal with sin among us and discipline in the church in Matthew 18:15-17.

"Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained a brother," Jesus begins in Matt. 18:15.

Step one, settle it between the two of you, and keep it private. If that doesnŐt work, then move along to step two, Jesus says.

"But if he will not hear you, take with you two or three more, that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established," Matt. 18:16 continues. This is an Old Testament principle, that two or three witnesses are needed for prosecution of a crime. Yet this is still a small group, not the whole church.

"And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector," Jesus continues in Matt. 18:17.

A heathen was someone who was not of the Jewish faith, and a tax collector was even worse, a Jew who had taken the job of collecting taxes for the hated Roman conquerors, a traitor.

So only after all three steps have been attempted, and all three fail to bring the brother to repent of his sin, only then is the church to take the drastic action of expelling a member.

Submit Bible questions by email to writeme@johnwmyers.com

(John Myers has been a Christian lay speaker, Sunday School adult teacher and newspaper Bible study columnist for more than 20 years.)