The last time I wrote on this topic I talked about the fact that churches are to practice church discipline because it is commanded of us by God. I also noted that its purpose is for restoration and the saving of souls.
This last point is well illustrated by 1 Corinthians 5:5. Paul’s instruction concerning the handling of a particular man caught in an incestuous relationship with his step mother was that they were to “deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved.”
Paul’s point is that when we discipline a believer in Christ, the act of discipline is a means of sanctification designed to help bring victory of the Spirit over our flesh. Church discipline, a godly rebuke, a humble and caring correction: we ought to covet these things for ourselves and those whom we love.
In addition to the benefit to the one being disciplined there is also a benefit to the church. Paul continues: “Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump. Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened.” (1 Cor 5:6-7a)
The church must be pure. It must not be defiled by open rebellion against God. The church that coddles sin as a sign of its progressive and tolerant nature is defiling itself and becomes no better than a den of robbers. The church that lovingly and firmly rebukes sin and reproves the sinner to the extent directed by Scripture cleanses itself and signals a love for God and His people, thus demonstrating to the world that God sent Jesus, His Son to save the world.
That is probably the most important point I want to make about church discipline. It is the appropriate action of a loving people. To tolerate sin is to signal a hatred of God and a disdain for the sinner. If we always remember that church discipline is an effort to restore and save a person’s soul we can never go wrong in glorifying God and demonstrating true love to His people and in so doing we preserve the witness of the gospel inherent in the Church.
When we talk about church discipline the reaction is varied depending on who is in the conversation. Some are uncomfortable with the idea and even revolt against it. Some are receptive to the idea but too timid to practice it. Some are receptive to the idea and too eager to practice it. Some are simply obedient to God and therefore seek to understand it, look for ways to prevent its necessity and engage in it when necessary.
The final group holds that perspective because they understand why church discipline is so necessary. Those who are convinced that it is necessary are typically better at preventing the need of doing so through sound teaching of new converts and candidates for church membership as well as biblical instruction concerning the responsibilities of each individual to the body.
Let me first say what church discipline is not. It is not simply kicking people out of the church who do not comply with the church’s rules. Sometimes church discipline results in a person being removed from the privileges of church membership, but only as an ultimate measure and even that is discipline not punishment. The two are different.
So why practice church discipline? I will give my first reason today and return to other reasons in the following days.
First, church discipline is commanded of each of us by Jesus.
Matthew 18:15-17 “If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother. “But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every fact may be confirmed. “If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. NASB95
Note that there is a progression to church discipline and each stage involves showing a person his or her fault. The goal is to seek to win them over – to gain their repentance. Jesus expects me to love you enough that I am willing to seek your purity through the act of confronting your sin. It is a weighty responsibility for all believers but is a command of the Lord that we should obey, albeit with trembling hands and prayerful lips.
Please feel free to share your thoughts with me on the subject.
To gain an understanding of the background to this post please see the previous posts listed below
The Church is a blessing. I love her and desire to see her abiding in Christ. Much of the difficulty we see in the Church stems from the fact that the members of the body don’t abide in Christ. It is as if my hand said to my brain, “No, I will touch the fire, regardless of how much it hurts me and the body.” I pray with my Lord that the Church would be one as Jesus and His Father are one.
This goal was Paul’s when he told the Thessalonians, “Live in peace with one another.” He echoed the words of Jesus who said, “Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.” To be the salt of the earth we must live in peace with each other. Now, peace and unity are things often discussed in the church but not nearly as often achieved.
The first reason for this state is that we are not abiding in Christ in every area of our lives. We hold out things for the self, personal things that we want to protect from the encroachment of our faith, and thus, we put a condition on how we live with one another. We live in peace so long as peace does not interfere with our personal god. The simple answer to dealing with this problem is to kill the self, to mortify the flesh and the desires thereof.
The second reason is more about knowledge and understanding. Often we don’t live in peace with one another because we don’t know what living in peace looks like. In fact, we have created a picture of peace in our minds that is not true. Paul explains to us what peace looks like. I start with the first few pictures found in 1 Thessalonians 5:13-14. Peace can only exist in the Church when the following things are true:
- The unruly are admonished – Church discipline is practiced
- The fainthearted are encouraged – Pastoral care is done
- The weak are being helped – True religion is active
- The governing attitude is patience – We are longsuffering
If we can grasp these things, understand them rightly and practice them well, we will see our selfish motivation die. It would defeat my purpose here to let you walk away from this word looking at the “leaders” in your church saying, “Yeah, they really should be doing these things.” Paul was writing to the whole church, not just the “leaders”. Christ was speaking to all his disciples not just some. These things fall under the realm of responsibility for us all.
It is my hope in the days to come to talk about these things in more detail. I ask that you prayerfully consider them. Pick any one or more of them, and let me know how you would describe them and expect to see them being practiced in the Church. Pray that you would practice them yourself and then do it.
