dried up branches

Have you ever gone to prune your tree and found some dead branches still attached to the tree? They need to be cut off in order for the tree's energy to go more into the other healthy branches and make them even more fruitful. Some people are like that. They begin just as any other branch. They grow out and then get to a point where they stop receiving nourishment from the Vine. They just wither up and stay there. Sadly, you may meet a lot of Christians like that out there. They have stopped receiving teaching from Jesus, so they do not know how to produce good fruit. They are taking away strength from the church, overall, because they are claiming to be Christians and are not acting like Jesus. Don't be deceived by them. It is the church's job to first warn these people, and if they are not willing to repent, then they are to be "cut off" from the church, so as to not lead others astray in their sins.

Of course, most American churches are unwilling to do this because it seems so harsh to tell someone they are sinning, and then to tell them they can't be part of the church anymore because they are unwilling to repent. After all, we don't want to be "unloving" but accepting of people. While it's true that we should accept all people initially, for we are all sinners, we should not allow them to remain in that sin while claiming to have been transformed. When David, who loved God with all his heart, sinned the worst kind of sin (adultery and murder), it was not just brushed under the rug. It was confronted. Had David refused to confess and repent, his life would've turned out much differently. But he did repent with all his heart, and he never did such an evil thing again. What if Nathan had been too scared to confront him? Then you would have the present condition of the church. You would have undealt with sins permeating the whole place. Others would see that the sin wasn't confronted, so they would be more likely to commit horrible sins as well. Thank God for the Nathans who are out there doing what they ought!