Perception of The Church

The book of Acts states that the unsaved feared the first century church because of the power of God that was displayed and the unity the church possessed. Fear wouldn't be the exact word I would use when vocalizing the world's view of the church today in America. I think where we lost that influence would be found at the place where we began to tolerate sin in the church. We have totally bought into the lie that we are and always will be transgressors. We aren't perfect, but we aren't blatant sinners either! Our imperfection is not a get out of jail free card or a crutch. God still demands holiness from His church.
Paul instructed the believers to "expel the immoral brother from the congregation." When people have been sitting on the pew with blatant rebellion in their hearts for extended amounts of time with no intention of repentance, it is time to push the eject button on them! They are a cancer that will eventually spread throughout the whole body, yeast that will eventually spread throughout the entire batch. We must protect the image and purity of God's church. Compromise and conformity have crippled our influence, and now many people think and speak of the Church in a very demeaning fashion. There is a major problem when the color of the Church has diminished from black and white to grey. Leaders and Pastors must have enough backbone and faith to expel the immorality from the church. It is a hard but very evident reality. May the blood of others not be on our hands because we were to sinful and/or cowardly to stand up to the deceptive roar of our enemy.