Still, if there is no satisfactory response, we should then tell it to the church. The hope is that when abandoned to the wages of sin, the inevitable loss of peace, and subjected to Satan's torments, the rebellious soul will eventually seek repentance and restoration. Paul reminds us that it is one thing to be among immoral people in the world, but it is not acceptable to fellowship with immoral people who profess to be Christians. Persons in the church fellowship who resist correction and repentance in this type of immoral behavior, should be expelled. Furthermore, their dismissal is not a secret, but is made public so that Christians will no longer keep their company.
Excommunication is never the first choice for the church.
The Lord is a reconciler and wants His church to restore people whenever possible. But despite our best efforts, there are times when loving correction is not accepted and fails to alter infectious sinful behavior. In those cases, God requires that such persons be removed from the fellowship to prevent sin from spreading, and to impress upon them their need for repentance. Similarly, if the infection of sin is allowed to spread unabated within the body of Christ, it will bring gangrene that will destroy the whole body. Obviously, to expel anyone from Christ's body is a dreaded and painful task, no more desirable than to amputate one of our own limbs or organs, but there will be times where there is no other choice.