I’ve often heard that the church shouldn’t remove tares from within its midst. The reasoning is that we can’t know the heart. In other words, what we think is a tare might be wheat instead.

A parable by Jesus is the cause for such reasoning; reasoning actually declared as wisdom. The parable comes from Matthew 13: 24-40.

In the parable, a landowner (symbolically the Lord) is asked about the presence of tares among the wheat in his field sown with good seed. The landowner explained that while they were asleep, the enemy (the devil) came and sowed the tares.

The questioners’ response to that was to uproot the tares. But the landowner forbade them to do that, cautioning that they might mistakenly uproot the wheat too. His advice was to let the tares and wheat grow together until the time of the harvest (the end of the world).

So with this story in mind, people of ill repute within the church are tolerated. They shouldn’t be because the parable isn’t about tares in the church.

Jesus’ explanation to His disciples is that the field in the parable is referring to the world. He didn’t want His followers going around in the world passing their own judgment, casting people into condemnation.

After all, some who appear to be without Christ (tare-like) may be on the verge of accepting Christ or have already done so (wheat-like). The only one who can truly know the heart of those in the world is God. Judging them is God’s job (1 Corinthians 5: 13).

It’s different, though, within the church. Within the kingdom, judgment must be utilized when there is blatant, public immorality (1 Corinthians 5: 12). This isn’t about judging the heart. It’s about observing the fruit and preventing its rottenness from spreading.

When confronted with a challenge like this, the church should follow the example of the apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 5: 1-13. He urged the church to not only not associate itself with any immoral persons within it, but to go a further step and throw them out.

“Deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.” 1 Corinthian 5: 5.

Paul wasn’t being mean and giving up on the man. It’s just that he recognized and acceded to the man’s decision to follow the ways of Satan. Paul’s actions were based on the hope that the church’s disassociation would jar the man into his right mind; and that as the result, he’d repent and crucify the deeds of his flesh.

The bottom line is that tares in the world will be judged and uprooted by God. And for two reasons, tares in the church should be judged and uprooted from the church. One reason is to preserve the integrity of the church. The other is to give the offender the chance at redemption and salvation.