Open Heaven Christian Church Code of Conduct

For Church Fellowship and Online Christian Community

(Founded Upon New Testament Scripture – KJV)

I. Foundational Authority

This community recognizes the New Testament as the governing standard for faith, doctrine, conduct, discipline, and fellowship.

2 Timothy 3:16–17
Acts of the Apostles 2:42
Jude 1:3

All members agree to submit their conduct to the authority of Scripture.

II. Love as the Governing Ethic

All interaction—whether in person, in chat rooms, in comments, or in private messaging—must be governed by Christlike love.

Gospel of John 13:34–35
1 Corinthians 13:4–7
Romans 13:8–10

Members must:

Speak truth in love
Seek the good of others
Avoid strife, envy, and division

III. Speech and Communication Standards

All communication must reflect holiness and self-control.

Ephesians 4:29
Colossians 4:6
James 1:26
Titus 3:2

The following are prohibited:

Reviling, railing, or abusive speech
Gossip or slander
False accusation
Obscene or corrupt communication
Threats or harassment

IV. Moral Purity

Members must abstain from conduct the New Testament identifies as sinful and incompatible with Christian profession.

1 Thessalonians 4:3–7
Galatians 5:19–21
1 Corinthians 6:9–11
Ephesians 5:3–5

The following behaviors, if practiced unrepentantly, subject a member to discipline:

Sexual immorality
Idolatry
Drunkenness
Covetousness
Extortion or exploitation
Persistent divisiveness

V. Unity and Non-Division

The Church must guard unity in doctrine and fellowship.

Ephesians 4:1–6
Romans 16:17
Titus 3:10

Members shall not:

Promote heretical doctrine
Create factions or rival groups
Undermine leadership
Stir controversy for personal influence

VI. Submission to Spiritual Leadership

Members agree to respect biblical church leadership.

Hebrews 13:17
1 Thessalonians 5:12–13
1 Peter 5:5

Leaders are accountable to Christ and must act impartially and biblically.

VII. Conduct in Online Spaces

Because this ministry includes online interaction, members must maintain holiness in digital communication.

Matthew 12:36
Philippians 4:8
Colossians 3:17

Members shall not:

Impersonate staff or other members
Solicit money deceptively
Share explicit content
Spam, flood, or disrupt chat rooms
Use private messages for manipulation

All online conduct is considered part of one’s Christian witness.

VIII. Accountability and Discipline

The New Testament mandates corrective discipline when necessary.

Matthew 18:15–17
1 Corinthians 5:11–13
2 Thessalonians 3:6
Galatians 6:1

The disciplinary process may include:

Private correction
Formal warning
Suspension of privileges
Removal from fellowship or community access

Discipline is restorative, not punitive, aiming at repentance and reconciliation.

IX. Integrity and Financial Conduct

Members must act honestly in all financial matters.

Luke 16:10
1 Timothy 6:9–11
Hebrews 13:5

Fraud, manipulation, or exploitation of members is grounds for immediate removal.

X. Restoration

Repentance brings restoration.

2 Corinthians 2:6–8
James 5:19–20

Members who demonstrate genuine repentance shall be received back in love and fellowship.

XI. Final Authority

Christ is the Head of the Church.

Colossians 1:18
Ephesians 1:22–23

All conduct must reflect His lordship.

Summary Commitment Statement

By participating in this church and online community, members affirm:

Submission to New Testament authority
Commitment to holy living
Willingness to receive correction
Dedication to unity and love
Responsibility to represent Christ faithfully

Judging Within the Church:

Open Heaven Christian Church is committed to teach and enforce what the Lord teaches in the scriptue about “Wicked Persons” having fellowship among the body of believers. Any member who we know is practicing wickedness will be excommunicated from the church, their membership will be canceled, and they will be removed from the community fellowship.

These biblical mandates are part of our community of brothers and sisters who fellowship within the church. The church will hold any member accountable to the teachings in the word of God. If any member refuses to accept the truths found in the word of God they will be removed from our church and online community until they have truly repented.

A Biblical Mandate from 1 Corinthians 5

In 1 Corinthians 5:9–13 (KJV), the Apostle Paul the Apostle draws a sharp and necessary distinction between how believers relate to the world and how they govern holiness within the Church. This passage confronts a tension many congregations face today: Are Christians ever called to judge? And if so, whom?

The text answers with clarity and theological precision.

1. The Context: Internal Corruption, Not External Association

The broader chapter addresses a case of sexual immorality tolerated within the church at Corinth. Paul rebukes the congregation for failing to discipline a professing believer engaged in open sin.

He writes:

“I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators: Yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world…” (vv. 9–10)

Paul corrects a misunderstanding. The Church is not commanded to withdraw from all contact with unbelievers who practice immorality. Such total separation would require leaving society altogether—“for then must ye needs go out of the world.”

Christian witness requires engagement with unbelievers. Evangelism presupposes proximity.

The prohibition concerns something far more specific.

2. The Boundary: “If Any Man That Is Called a Brother”

Verse 11 narrows the scope:

“If any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat.”

The operative phrase is “called a brother.” This refers to someone professing Christian identity while persisting in unrepentant, scandalous sins.

Paul lists categories of conduct that represent habitual, defiant rebellion:

Sexual immorality (fornicator)
Greed (covetous)
Idolatry (any form)
Abusive speech (railer)
Drunkenness
Exploitation (extortioner)

This is not about occasional failure followed by repentance. It is about persistent sin without contrition.

The instruction “no not to eat” signifies broken fellowship. In the early Church, shared meals—especially the Lord’s Supper—symbolized covenant unity. Withdrawal of table fellowship communicated that the individual’s conduct contradicted their profession.

3. The Jurisdiction of Judgment

Paul then establishes a principle of ecclesiastical authority:

“For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within?” (v. 12)

There are two spheres:

A. Those Without (Unbelievers)

“God judgeth.”

The Church does not function as a moral court over the world. Unbelievers operate outside covenant accountability. They will answer directly to God.

Attempting to impose church discipline on the unregenerate is category confusion.

B. Those Within (Professing Believers)

“Do not ye judge them that are within?”

The Greek term for judge (krinō) implies discernment leading to decision. The Church is required to evaluate conduct within its covenant community.

This is not optional. It is an obligation.

Failure to judge internal wickedness results in corporate contamination (cf. 1 Corinthians 5:6, “a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump”).

4. “Put Away From Among Yourselves That Wicked Person”

Paul concludes with a quotation echoing Deuteronomic covenant language:

“Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person.” (v. 13)

This is formal removal—what later theology calls excommunication. The purpose is twofold:

Protect the purity of the Church
Call the offender to repentance through the severity of separation

Church discipline is not vindictive; it is remedial. In fact, in 2 Corinthians, Paul appears to reference restoration of a repentant offender, demonstrating that discipline aims at recovery, not destruction.

5. Distinguishing Biblical Judgment from Hypocrisy

This passage must be harmonized with Gospel of Matthew 7:1—“Judge not, that ye be not judged.” Christ condemns hypocritical, self-righteous judgment, not covenant accountability within the Church.

Biblical judgment is:

Based on objective sin defined by Scripture
Directed toward professing believers
Exercised corporately
Aimed at restoration

It is not:

Personal vendetta
Social shaming
Legalistic control
Harshness toward the world

6. Practical Implications for the Modern Church

In many contemporary congregations, the concept of discipline is nearly absent. Yet 1 Corinthians 5 demonstrates that tolerance of open, unrepentant sin within membership is itself disobedience.

A biblically ordered church will:

Maintain clear standards of conduct grounded in Scripture
Address sin privately first (cf. Matthew 18:15–17)
Escalate only when repentance is refused
Remove fellowship when necessary
Restore fully upon genuine repentance

The Church must avoid two errors:

Compromise — refusing to confront sin.
Pharisaism — judging outsiders while ignoring internal corruption.

Paul forbids both.

7. The Theological Foundation: Covenant Identity

The underlying logic is covenantal. Those “within” claim union with Christ. Persistent rebellion denies that confession. Church discipline guards the integrity of Christ’s visible body.

Judging within the Church is not contrary to love; it is an expression of it. Love seeks holiness, not comfort in sin.

Conclusion

1 Corinthians 5 establishes a clear ecclesial boundary:

Engage the world without self-righteous isolation.
Judge and discipline unrepentant wickedness within the covenant community.
Leave ultimate judgment of outsiders to God.
Protect the holiness and testimony of the Church.

“Do not ye judge them that are within?”

The question is rhetorical. The answer is yes.

A faithful church and it’s leaders will not ignore it, they must judge wicked behaviors from within the church. The leadership of Open Heaven Christian Church with the help of its members are committed to protecting the community from “wicked persons” who refuse to obey the truths found in scripture.

By @Pastor Joel – Open Heaven Christian Church