The 4th Principle of the AFLC reminds us of our internal work as a congregation:
“Members of the organized congregation are not, in every instance, believers, and such members often derive false hope from their external connection to the congregation. It is therefore the sacred obligation of the congregation to purify itself by the quickening preaching of the Word of God, by earnest admonition and exhortations, and by expelling the openly sinful and perverse.”
The true congregation consists only of believers, so unbelievers, even if they are regular attenders, are not part of the congregation. But only God can see what is in someone’s heart and we can do great harm if we run about in the fellowship looking to see who might be suspect in their faith. We must act as if there could be someone who does not yet truly know Jesus as their Lord and Savior and so it is the congregation’s responsibility to see that the Word is purely preached and taught. The congregation purifies itself by the constant use of the Word of God as the Holy Spirit might bring all the people who come to our facility to faith through the proclamation of the Gospel.
The practice of church discipline is very painful and should only be exercised in the most extreme circumstances. While seldom used, the congregation has the right to expel those who refuse to repent and turn away from their sins, deny the truth of the Gospel and seek to harm the proclamation of the Truth of God within its walls. But church discipline is always used, not to exclude, but to bring people into a right relationship with Christ so they can be welcomed back into the fellowship.
There will be more posts about the Fundamental Principles later, but not right away, as my husband had not written them yet!
For more about the AFLC see these posts:
Lutheran Ladies Connection 
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