Should We Withdraw Even From Relatives?

My best friend has had to withdraw (I Cor 5) from three of his siblings because they are fallen away Christians. I so appreciate his sacrifice; most Christians are only willing to withdraw from people they barely even know. Bottom line is they are only going to obey Christ whenever it is easy. Of course we should withdraw from fallen away Christians we barely know, but we are going to have an even bigger effect on those we spend time with regularly, so then after the withdrawal they start missing that relationship.

When II Thess 3:6 commands us to “withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly,” it doesn’t mean every sin (Jude 22-23, Phil 3:15-16), but “every brother” – meaning we can’t play favorites with close friends and relatives. That is probably the hardest thing we will ever have to do as a Christian is to withdraw from an immediate family member we dearly love who has gone off into “severe sin,” but it is nonetheless required. If we only obey God when it’s easy, we are not really serving God. I mean, if God were to command me to eat chocolate, I would be doing that anyway.

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