<p>13:4&nbsp;<i>For he is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do that which is evil- be afraid For he carries not the sword in vain</i>- The mention of the sword implies the death penalty, which means that the church contained members guilty of serious criminal misbehaviour.</p><p><i>For he is a minister of God, an avenger of God&rsquo;s anger to him that does evil</i>- The connection is with how the same word is used in 12:19: &quot;Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God; for it is written: Vengeance is Mine, I will repay, says the Lord&quot;. It would be possible to conclude that some within the church were behaving in a criminal way towards others in the church, doing things to them which warranted the death penalty. And yet Paul has so much to say to them about grace and the certainty of salvation by faith. These considerations enable us to review chapters 1 and 2, which seem to speak as if murder and some of the worst forms of sexual perversion and abuse were being practiced within the church, just as they were by Israel in the desert.</p>