Discipline In The Church

DISCIPLINE IN THE CHURCH
Confrontation is necessary to a healthy relationship. This is seen in marriage. If you are married, then you know that confrontation is sometimes necessary. I did not say that it is pleasant. But it is healthy. It clears the air. When Paula and I were first married, we really did not know how to engage in constructive confrontation within the realm of our marriage. I would see something that she did that bothered me and I would hold it in and think about it and it would fester and grow, but I would not say anything. Likewise, Paula would get her feelings hurt and would go off and pout and not say anything. By the time the problem came out into the open, what had started out as a minor matter had grown and grown until it was affecting our relationship. Fortunately, we are both a lot older and a lot wiser now. We have learned the value of immediate constructive confrontation in our marriage. The same is true of the church. We pick up the idea that it is not spiritual to confront other believers when they have offended us. As a result, we hold it in and let it fester and grow until it begins to affect our Christian walk.

1. A Pattern for Church Discipline.

Jesus Himself gave what is considered to be the classic pattern for conducting discipline within the church.

15 And if your brother sins, go and reprove him in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother. 16 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. 17 And 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-gatherer. 18 Truly I say to you, whatever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. 19 Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven. 20 For where two or three have gathered together in My name, there I am in their midst. (Matthew 18:15-20).

There is a progression given here that moves from the small to the large. It begins with a one-on-one situation. It ends before the courts of both heaven and earth.

• Step One: If your brother sins, go and reprove him in private (Matthew 18:15). Our problem is that we usually run to a third party from the outset. This is gossip and should not take place. The Bible presents us with a pattern for confrontational Christianity.

Why is church discipline so important? Because it gives glory to Christ because it is obedient to His command. It is also important because it serves to restore the wayward brother and thus preserves the unity of the church.

• Step Two: If he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you (Matthew 18:16). In giving this step, Jesus is quoting directly from Deuteronomy 17:1-20. It is a passage that stresses the importance of witnesses. Why are the witnesses necessary? So that you can gang up on the guilty party? No. It is so that they can make certain that what is said is understood. They are there to further the process of communication.

There is usually a direct correlation between the intensity of your anger at an insult and your lack of understanding of what was really said. There is also usually a correlation between the intensity of your anger and your ability to accurately express yourself. That is why you need a neutral third party.

• Step Three: And if he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church (Matthew 18:17). This does not necessarily mean all of the dirty laundry and all the gory details must be broadcast to every member of the congregation. I want to suggest that we tell it to the church by taking it to the representatives of the church made up of the elders and overseers. Beyond this, we make the announcement as public as the sin.

• Step Four: 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-gatherer (Matthew 18:17). This is the principle of excommunication. The sinner is excluded from the fellowship of the Lord's table. It is important that excommunication does not come merely as the result of sin. If that were the case, then nobody would be left in the church. Excommunication has to do with repentance. It comes when the sinner refuses to hear the words of the church and a call to repentance. It comes as a result of rebellion and a desire to continue in sin.

Rebellion and sin against God are contagious. Remember the story of Joshua and Achan at the battle of Ai? Achan and his family were put to death because of his sin. Why? Because sin does not affect just one person. It spreads like a cancer and can affect an entire church. At this point, we ought to clarify that we are not speaking of throwing people out of the church for spitting on the sidewalk or for chewing gum on Sunday or for falling asleep during the sermon. This is speaking of serious unrepentant sin. Once a person repents of sin, then the next step is restoration to the church.

Furthermore, in the case of public sin, the church is not required to go all the way back to step one. Paul was not doing wrong in 1 Corinthians 5:1-5 when he told the church at Corinth to move directly to step four and to remove the one who was unrepentant in his public sin.

2. The Power of Church Discipline.

18 “Truly I say to you, whatever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. 19 Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven. 20 For where two or three have gathered together in My name, there I am in their midst.” (Matthew 18:18-20). This passage has been used out of context to teach a variety of things. However, when we consider the context, we are reminded that it is not speaking primarily of prayer. It is speaking of church discipline. What is it saying? It says that when the church agrees on discipline, there is a heavenly authority that is also in agreement.

What happens in church is not confined to a building. It has ripples that are felt in heaven. When two people exchange wedding vows on earth, there is something taking place in heaven. When elders and deacons are ordained on earth, there are angels in heaven saying, “Amen!” When the church agrees to discipline a sinning brother, there is a corresponding agreement that is to be found in heaven.

• This agreement is based upon the presence of Christ: For where two or three have gathered together in My name, there I am in their midst (Matthew 18:20). When the church comes together, there is an additional presence that the ushers do not count. Jesus is there. That is what gives power to the church. The absence of His presence can give death to a church.

There is a story of an old black man who became a Christian and who tried to attend an all-white church in a segregated community, but the deacons blocked his way at the door and would not let him enter. The man was praying that night and he told the Lord how he had tried to attend the church, but had been prevented. As he was praying, the Lord came to him and said, “Don't worry, My son. I've been trying to get into that church for years and they won't let Me into it, either.”

There is a point to the story. The reason we exercise discipline within the church and remove sin from the church is so that Christ's presence will remain in the church. Either you will have sin present within the church or you will have Christ present in the church but you will not have both. The same is true of your own life. Either you are enjoying the presence of Jesus Christ in your life or else you are holding to sin in your life, but you do not have both. If you are holding onto your sin, take another look and you will see that Christ has gone and you just hadn't noticed.

• This agreement involves forgiving and retaining sins: “Truly I say to you, whatever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. 19 Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 18:18-19). This does not describe a power that exists independently of God to forgive or to secure sins. Only God can forgive sins. This is a picture of God working through the instrumentality of the church.