Jehovah desires that all people serve him out of love and free will, but if a baptized Christian commits a serious sin and remains unrepentant, they must be removed from the congregation. However, Jehovah hopes for their repentance and has made forgiveness possible through the ransom, as shown by how Paul instructed the congregation in Corinth to welcome back a repentant wrongdoer.

• Jehovah created humans with free will, allowing each person to make their own decisions.
• The most important decision is dedicating oneself to Jehovah and becoming part of His family of worshippers, which He desires for all because He loves people and wants the best for them.
• Jehovah does not force anyone to serve Him, and if a baptized Christian commits a serious sin without repenting, they must be removed from the congregation (1 Corinthians 5:13).
• Even when removed, Jehovah hopes for the wrongdoer’s return by providing the ransom to make forgiveness possible for repentant sinners.

HOW SERIOUS WRONGDOING WAS HANDLED IN THE FIRST CENTURY

• The congregation should reflect Jehovah’s attitude toward wrongdoers, urging them to repent, as Paul directed in dealing with serious wrongdoing in the first-century Corinth congregation.
• Paul, under divine inspiration, instructed the Corinth congregation to remove the unrepentant sinner to protect the congregation from corruption (1 Corinthians 5:13).
• Avoiding close association with the wrongdoer might cause them to feel shame and repent, as happened in Corinth.

HOW THE CONGREGATION WAS TO TREAT THE REPENTANT SINNER

• After the sinner in Corinth repented, Paul urged the congregation to forgive, comfort, and confirm their love for him, ensuring he was warmly welcomed back (2 Corinthians 2:7-8).
• Failing to forgive a repentant sinner could overwhelm them with sadness and put the congregation’s relationship with Jehovah at risk, reflecting Satan’s harsh attitude.
• To imitate Jehovah’s mercy, the congregation must forgive and assure the repentant sinner of their love, following Jehovah’s example of being "good and ready to forgive" (Psalm 86:5).
• Paul’s direction showed the importance of quickly reinstating the repentant wrongdoer when the discipline had served its purpose—leading to repentance.

REFLECTING JEHOVAH’S JUSTICE AND MERCY

• Jehovah’s love, righteousness, and justice are seen in how He deals with wrongdoers—He desires to save people and lead them to repentance rather than destroy them.
• The way the Corinth case was handled provides instruction for us today, showing that Jehovah’s justice is not permissive, but it is filled with mercy for repentant sinners.
• The following articles will discuss how congregation elders can reflect Jehovah’s desire to lead a wrongdoer to repentance and how the congregation should react to decisions to remove or reinstate someone.

Thank you for reading,
-Soli Jehova Gloria (1 Corinthians 10:31)