Church Discipline

Yesterday I overheard a couple of my roommates getting into a discussion about judgment. Roommate A was telling a story about how he had snuck into a hotel with a couple of friends and used the jacuzzi. He was laughing about what they had done when roommate B stated that it wasn’t right. He said that what they had done was unspiritual and a sin. This caught my attention. I looked up and listened to roommate A stumble to explain how what he had done was harmless and there was nothing sinful about it. Roommate B simply stated that they had broken the rules of authority and that no mater how small and harmless it may seem it was a sin in the eyes of God. Roommate A then stated that roommate B shouldn’t be judging him and was out of line. He quoted Matthew chapter 7,

“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”

Now let me say something real quick. I am not legalistic nor am I perfect by any means, but I cannot deny that sin is sin. Breaking the law, no matter how small is still sin and is still enough to separate you from God for eternity. So while it may not seem like a big deal, and nobody got hurt, it still goes contrary to the commands of God’s word and is punishable by death. Therefore, in the eyes of God, it is a big deal, and should be to us (believers) as well. We cannot try to justify any sin regardless of how big or small we view it. Who are we, as sinners ourselves, to judge what sins are big or small; what sins our acceptable and no big deal verses what sins are bad? The guilty man cannot judge himself. How can a judge properly judge the trial in which he is be prosecuted? It just doesn’t work that way.

While this may not seem like a big issue, what we (the church) tend to do is allow it to slide, then when bigger more important issues come up the church lacks ability and knowledge to rightly rebuke those who are living in sin. You see, while the verse quoted by roommate A may be right, we must also understand that scripture also states in 2 Timothy 3:16, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.” This verse is telling us that Scripture is the word of God. If God is authoritative, and Scripture is his word, then his word (Scripture) is authoritative! Therefore Scripture can be used for correction and reproof. If what we are doing goes contrary to Scripture, then we have the right, no, the duty to correct it. If we cannot be corrected or rebuked by the word then we are taking the posture of God. If we live in contrary to the word then we are saying that we do not need the word.

We are sinners and our desires our wicked and perverse. “Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid” (Proverbs 12:1). If we cannot be corrected by scripture and if we are too proud to be rebuked by our brothers in Christ than the Bible calls us stupid! Well that is offensive! Scripture is not politically correct. It will tell us things we don’t want to hear and it will rightly rebuke and correct us where we are wrong. And our only response should be to repent, but instead we try to make excuses, in this case the excuse was: “Don’t judge me!”

“If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. 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. (Matthew 18:15-17)

One of the many things our church seems to be lacking today is punitive discipline. It is discipline that is intended as punishment. The world looks at this as a bad thing, but read the passage above. It is a biblical thing, and Jesus tells us exactly how to go about it. First we are to approach whoever has sinned in a gentle manner and one on one talk to them about their sin. If that doesn’t work then we are to get two or three people to go with us and talk to that person again and love on them but also use Scripture to rebuke them for the sin that they are living in. Jesus then says that if they refuse to listen even then, we are to tell it to the church. I think Jesus is referring to the leading body of the church here (elders, deacons, etc.). If still then they refuse to repent and turn away from their sin, Jesus commands us to let him be to us as a Gentile or tax collector. That does not mean we no longer talk to these people anymore, what it mean is that when we see them you ask them to repent and no longer live in sin. They are to have no part in fellowship with you or the church until they repent. We are not removing these people from the Kingdom, only God has that authority, we are removing them from the church. A great example of this is Paul in his letter to the church in Corinth.

“It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans, for a man has his father’s wife. And you are arrogant! Ought you not rather to mourn? Let him who has done this be removed from among you.

For though absent in body, I am present in spirit; and as if present, I have already pronounced judgment on the one who did such a thing. When you are assembled in the name of the Lord Jesus and my spirit is present, with the power of our Lord Jesus, you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.

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. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth” (1 Corinthians 5:1-8).

Now just to be clear, I am not by any means saying that sneaking into a hotel to use the pool is worthy of being kicked out of the church. What I am saying is that there most certainly is authority as believers to approach people on their sins. What Paul is doing here in this passage is rebuke the church of Corinth for not properly discipline a member of their church. There is a man sleeping with his father’s mother and the church knows about this and what do they do? They boast in what they think is love and grace when it turns out it is not grace at all. And Paul is telling them “you fools! You arrogant fools!” We need to understand that the church cannot tolerate this. What happens is that the world and even some people in the church say that they are being tolerant and loving by not exercising church discipline; they say things like, “who are you to kick somebody out of church?” In reality if we tolerate sin in the church we are the arrogant ones, we are the foolish ones, and we are the unloving wicked ones.

Paul says to remove him from your church. There is no room for wolves among the sheep. There is no grace for wolves because they taint the name of Christ and they take sheep along with them and devour them. He is a wolf living in sin among the sheep and Paul says kick him out. They have no place among you. Turn them over to Satan so that he might be saved.

God will judge those outside the church, but we are to purge our church of any evil. That is our responsibility as members of our church and especially as shepherds and leaders of the congregation. So on that note, I am judging you. If you are a member of the body of Christ I am judging you by the merit that God gives me to judge you by. The same that I am judged by and have to submit to as do all other believers. It is out of love that we are to confront other believers on their sins. If we do not exercise church discipline then we are hurting our congregation, and what we create is a church body that has people who defame the name of Christ. If we care for each other’s souls, church discipline should be part of our lives.