NewDayvotional

From the pastor for the people

Church Discipline

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What happens when a “sheep” (a believer) in our “flock” (our church) finds himself or herself ensnared by sin, whether unintentionally or through willful disobedience? It’s going to happen from time to time for as 1 Timothy 4:1-2 says, “…in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits…” And the question begs: What do we do when it happens? Well, the Bible is very clear that when this happens it is the duty of every believer within the sinning person’s sphere of influence to use their influence to try and steer their friend to repentance. This happens through something we call “church discipline.” This is simply the name given to a process (aimed at repentance and restoration) that Jesus lays out for us in Matthew 18:15-17. In these verses, Jesus explains to us how to respond when a fellow believer finds himself in a state of unrepentant sin. I’m going to outline this process in just a minute but before getting into the process of church discipline, let’s first look into the precedent and purpose of church discipline.

I. THE PRECEDENT OF CHURCH DISCIPLINE

We read in 1 Corinthians 5:1-12, “It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that does not occur even among pagans: A man has his father’s wife. And you are proud! Shouldn’t you rather have been filled with grief and have put out of your fellowship the man who did this? Even though I am not physically present, I am with you in spirit. And I have already passed judgment on the one who did this, just as if I were present. When you are assembled in the name of our Lord Jesus and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present, hand this man over to Satan, so that the sinful nature may be destroyed and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord. Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough?…I have written you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. But now I am writing you that you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler. With such a man do not even eat. What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked man from among you.”

When we encounter open, outright, blatant, unrepentant sin, it becomes necessary to remove the unrepentant sinner from our fellowship. Believers who remain true to the faith are to pass the following “judgment” (yes, it’s ok for believers to judge other believers – see vv.3,12) on the unrepentant sinner:

  1. They are to excommunicate him from the church (v.2, “…put out of your fellowship the man who did this…”)
  2. They are to shun him (v.11, “…you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler. With such a man do not even eat.”).

This judgment is to stand until repentance takes place. Upon repentance, the individual is to be welcomed back into the church and to regular Christian fellowship. This may at first appear to be harsh, but it’s actually an act of love (as you’ll discover as you keep reading).

Now that we’ve looked at the precedent of church discipline, let’s move on to…

II. THE PURPOSE OF CHURCH DISCIPLINE

Why must we take such extreme measures when someone who claims to be a believer is living in unrepentant sin? The apostle Paul gives us the answer in 1 Corinthians 5:5-6 where he explains that we take such extreme measures “…so that the sinful nature may be destroyed and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord.” Paul couldn’t be more clear – the excommunication and shunning are intended to bring about repentance that leads to salvation. When someone claims to be a believer yet lives in unrepentant sin, they show themselves not to be true believers and show themselves to be in need of repentance that leads to salvation.

So as I mentioned earlier, excommunication and shunning are actually acts of love. When someone through willful disobedience walks away from God and loses their salvation (or proves by their actions that they were never actually saved in the first place), the most loving thing the community of believers can do is take action that encourages repentance that leads to salvation.

So we see that church discipline is always an act of love in that it’s done in the hope of restoring a straying brother/sister and never out of anger or revenge.

Ok, now that we’ve looked at the precedent and purpose of church discipline, let’s now look at…

III. THE PROCESS OF CHURCH DISCIPLINE 

Through a series of grace-filled, compassionate confrontations, we are to make every effort to rescue the straying brother/sister from their self-deception and the snare of the devil. And in Matthew 18:15-17 Jesus tells us what each step of these grace-filled, compassionate confrontations ought to look like. If at any step along the way, the sinning individual repents, he/she is to be welcomed back into the community of faith.

Step One. The process of church discipline begins one on one. Jesus said in Matthew 18:15, “If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over.” Each person within the sinning party’s sphere of influence ought to reach out to them, encouraging them towards repentance.

Step Two. If the sinning brother refuses to listen to the one who has rebuked him privately, the next step is to take one or two more believers along to confront him again. Jesus said in Matthew 18:16, “But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.'” Sometimes the sinning person might feel you’re just picking on them or that it’s not that they’re wrong, it’s just that you don’t like them and are giving them a hard time. That’s when it’s helpful to bring others along to share the same thing you shared (i.e. that what they are doing is sinful, and that repentance is the appropriate road to travel down). Ideally, their added rebuke will be sufficient to bring about a change of heart in the offending brother that the initial rebuke did not accomplish. If this change of heart does occur, that brother is forgiven and restored to fellowship with the community of faith and then the restoration process begins (if applicable).

Step Three. But if the sinning party refuses to listen even to the confrontation of the two or three witnesses, those witnesses are to then share the news of what’s going on with the leadership of the church. Jesus said in Matthew 18:17a, “If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church…” The leadership of the church (i.e. the pastoral staff) can then communicate this news in an appropriate way to those in this person’s sphere of influence. The point of sharing this news with others is not to get other church attendees to “shun” the sinning individual, rather precisely the opposite. They are told so that they too can now reach out in love to the sinning individual, trying to steer him/her towards repentance.

Step Four. The final step in the process of church discipline is banishment from the community of faith. Jesus said in Matthew 18:17b, “…and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax collector.” Pastor, theologian and Bible commentator John MacArthur writes:

“The term “Gentile” was primarily used of non-Jews who held to their traditional paganism and had no part in the covenant, worship, or social life of the Jews. On the other hand, a “tax-collector” was an outcast from the Jews by choice, having become a traitor to his own people. Jesus’ use of these terms doesn’t mean that the church is to treat these people badly. It simply means that when a professing believer refuses to repent, the church is to treat him as if he were outside of the fellowship. They are not to let him associate and participate in the blessings and benefits of the Christian assembly.” 

That ostracism is what Jesus was getting at here can be clearly seen from the example previously mentioned from 1 Corinthians 5:1-13. When the man who was sleeping with his step-mother refused to repent of his sin, he was thrown out of the community of faith until he repented. Other believers were not even allowed to share a meal with him (1 Corinthians 5:11) – although I’m guessing that if the sinning individual ever wanted to go out for a meal to discuss his repentance, I’m certain that sharing a meal in those circumstances would be permitted. But the point is this: The one who is sinful yet unrepentant is to be totally excommunicated from the fellowship of the community of faith. When the people in the sinning individual’s sphere of influence have done everything within their power to turn the person to repentance, but they refuse, there is nothing left to be done except to leave that person to their sin and shame.

Maybe you’re wondering “Mike, why is this such a big deal?” Good question! That leads me nicely to my last point, which deals with…

IV. THE PRIORITY OF CHURCH DISCIPLINE

Why must we prioritize dealing with sin vs sweeping it under the rug? Two reasons:

  1. Not confronting unrepentant sinful behavior is disobedience to the command of Christ (Matthew 18:15-20) and will ensure God’s displeasure (Revelation 2:20).
  2. Not confronting unrepentant sinful behavior is devastating to the spiritual health of the local church. Scripture is clear…sin is like leaven and left alone its evil effects will eventually permeate and negatively affect the whole church (1 Corinthians 5:6).

CONCLUSION

So there you have it:

  1. The precedent of church discipline
  2. The purpose of church discipline
  3. The process of church discipline
  4. The priority of church discipline

I close with this…

Engaging in the process of church discipline is never fun and is usually very uncomfortable. But that can’t become an excuse for us to turn a blind eye to sin. If we ignore Christ’s process for dealing with sin (shared above) then we become just as guilty of sin as the person who needs our loving rebuke. So if you find yourself in a situation where you need to lovingly confront someone who is living in unrepentant sin – go ahead and say a prayer, muster your courage and give them a call to set up a meeting. As Paul wrote in Galatians 6:1, “Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should [try your best to] restore him gently…” 

Feed Your Spirit

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Billy Graham wrote a book called The Holy Spirit: Activating God’s Power in Your Life and in that book he tells the story of an Eskimo and his fighting dogs that I’d like to read to you: “An Eskimo fisherman came to town every Saturday afternoon. He always brought his two dogs with him. One was white and the other was black. He had taught them to fight on command. Every Saturday afternoon in the town square the people would gather and these two dogs would fight and the fisherman would take bets. On one Saturday the black dog would win; another Saturday, the white dog would win but the fisherman always won! His friend began to ask him how he did it. He said, “I starve one and feed the other. The one I feed always wins because he is stronger.” This story about the two dogs tells us something about the inner warfare that comes into the life of a person who is born again. We have two natures within us, both struggling for mastery. Which one will dominate us? It depends on which one we feed.”

If we’re to have any hope of saying yes to God and no to sin when temptation comes knocking at our door, we have make our spirit (that side of us that wants to please God) stronger than our flesh (that side of us that wants to please self). Well, there’s one primary way that our spirit becomes strong. And that’s by regular feeding on God’s Word. In the same way that our physical bodies need protein to grow muscle, our spirit needs to feed on God’s Word to become strong. Below are four tips for Bible reading. By following them you can build some spiritual muscle with which you can better resist temptation:

Tip #1: Pray

Before you start reading, ask God for insight into what you’re about the read. I suggest praying Psalm 119:169, “Give me understanding according to your Word.” I’ve been praying for understanding before I read my Bible since I was a teenager (when my pastor taught me the importance of it).

Tip #2: Read 

Once you pray, get reading. Psalm 119:15 says “I will study your commandments.” This is something we all need to do. If you read only four chapters a day, you’ll go through the whole Bible in a year – which is a great idea to do if you’ve never done so. That will get your strong spiritually speaking so that when your flesh side comes looking for a fight, your spirit side wins.

Tip #3: Reflect 

Psalm 119:15 says “I will…reflect on your ways.” If you know how to worry you know how to reflect. When you worry you think over and over again on all the bad things that might happen. Well, when you meditate you think over and over again on the promises of God laid out in his Word. As you reflect on God’s Word, the Holy Spirit will give you insights into how the text personally applies to your life. This leads us nicely into…

Tip #4: Respond

Psalm 119:34 says “I will…put God’s law into practice with all my heart.” If you don’t apply what you read, you’ve only become a smarter sinner. The goal of Bible reading isn’t information, rather transformation. So don’t end your Bible reading time without determining what you will put into practice in your everyday life.

Romans 8:4 says, “… do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.” By regularly feeding your spirit the truth of God’s Word you’ll become strong enough to obey this command. When you regularly feed in God’s Word you set your spirit up to overpower your flesh when they find themselves in conflict (Galatians 5:16-17).

Salvation Misconceptions 1-2

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Misconception #1: Good people go to heaven. 

If our church is going to be good at fulfilling Jesus’ mission the first thing we need to understand is that most people believe that if they are good enough God will let them into heaven. You might be wondering: What’s wrong with that? Isn’t that basically how it works? No! This happens to be the exact opposite of what the Bible teaches! It’s exactly what most world religions teach (in one form or another) but it’s the exact opposite of what Christianity teaches. Let me show you.

On the day Jesus was crucified Luke 23 records, “Two other men, both criminals [unlike Jesus], were also led out with him to be executed. When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified Jesus there, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left.” (vv32-33) One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!” But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.” Then he said in Luke 23:42-43 “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.” (vv.39-43)

Here we have a bad person going to heaven. Admittedly he was getting what his deeds deserved as he died on the cross. Yet because this man confessed his sins (i.e. we are getting what our deeds deserve) and then looked to Jesus for mercy (remember me when you come into your kingdom) Jesus told him he would go to heaven. This man’s story completely blows up the “good people go to heaven theory.”

What are we to make of this? Well in this passage we find the truth of God’s Word to counter the first misconception. Here it is: The Bible teaches: Good people don’t go to heaven. Forgiven people go to heaven. You can be as fabulous and fantastic as anyone ever was, but it’s not being fantastic or fabulous that will get you into heaven – being forgiven will get you into heaven.

Here’s a great way to explain this to your unsaved family and friends (and a great way to understand what I mean if you’re not yet a Christian)…Imagine two people (one good and one bad) standing on one side of the Grand Canyon. Each decide that by their own effort and might they will jump across to God who stands on the other side. So they head to Marble Canyon, where it’s only 600 feet across, vs other spots where it’s 18 miles across. The bad guy jumps first. After running as fast as he can and jumping as far as he can he makes it 15 feet before falling short of God and plummeting to his death. The good guy smugly thinks: I won’t end up like the bad guy – after all, I’m good. Surely I will make it across. So he gives it his best shot beating not just the bad guy, but my long jump record from when I ran track in high school…it was an amazing jump…but then he too falls short of God and plummets to his death. You see, their being good or bad had nothing whatsoever to do with whether or not they would reach God on the other side. What they needed was a bridge.

In the same way, whether you’re good or bad has nothing to do with whether or not you’ll get to God and get to heaven. Your sin has separated you from God (Isaiah 59:2) so that it’s as if there’s a Grand Canyon of distance between you and him. No matter how hard you try to be good, you fall short. This is why Romans 3:23 says “For all have sinned and fall short of God’s glory.” And in falling short you fall to your death. As Romans 6:23 puts it “the wages of sin is death.” Since we couldn’t reach God through our own effort and might, Jesus came to be a bridge that would enable us to get to God and get to heaven. When we ask Jesus to forgive our sins, he becomes the bridge that gets us to heaven. But being good or bad has nothing to do with it. As I said earlier – Christianity isn’t about what you DO, rather what Christ has DONE.

So don’t trust in your own righteousness to get you into heaven. You’ll be very disappointed on judgment day. Instead, make sure you’re forgiven. Make sure you’ve asked Jesus to forgive your sins and become your bridge to God and to heaven. It’s only when you’ve done this that you can know with certainty that you’re going to heaven.

Alright, now that we’ve cleared up misconception #1, let’s look at misconception #2:

Misconception #2: Those who keep the Ten Commandments go to heaven. 

Some mistakenly believe that it’s a to-do list (and not a Savior) that will get them into heaven. We read of one such man in Mark 10.

 

Mark 10:17-22 records: As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”…You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, you shall not defraud, honor your father and mother.’” “Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.” Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth. 

This man thought he was a shoo-in for heaven because he thought he had kept all of the ten commandments. He went to Jesus for confirmation of what he believed to be true. But Jesus pointed out to him that because he loved money more than God he was actually breaking the very first commandment, which is “You shall have no other gods before Me” (Exodus 20:3). This man wanted to be declared righteousness in God’s sight through the ten commandments, but instead the ten commandments did the exact opposite – revealing him to be a sinner in need of a Savior, not rewarding him with heaven as a prize. Put in theological terms: Though the man was looking to the ten commandments for justification, they led to his condemnation.

What went wrong you ask? The man’s problem is the same problem we have today. He didn’t understand the purpose of the law (the ten commandments and all the others). Paul asks in Galatians 3:19a (NIV) “What, then, was the purpose of the law?” He then goes on to answer the question: “It was given…to show people their sins” Galatians 3:19b (NLT). It’s like this…

  • If I needed to show you that your face was dirty, a great way to do it would be to show you a mirror. A mirror would be an excellent tool to show you the condition of your face. It’s dirty and filthy and in serious need of cleansing. But while the mirror is useful for showing you your face is dirty, it’s useless as a means by which to wash your face. You can’t wash your face with a mirror.
  • In the same way, God’s laws were given as a mirror, to help us see our true condition before God – dirty with sin and in serious need of cleansing. But while God’s laws are useful in showing us our sinful state before God, they are useless in cleansing us from sin.
  • For cleansing from sin we need a Savior. That’s where Jesus comes in. As Galatians 3:24 puts it, “…the law was…to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith.”

What’s the lesson here? What’s the truth that combats salvation misconception #2? Here it is:  The purpose of God’s law is to show us we are sinners in need of a Savior (Galatians 3:19,24 & Romans 3:20). They are not there as a to-do list, that if we keep perfectly, will earn us heaven. The apostle Paul put it this way in Romans 3:20, “…no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are.” NLT Did you catch that? The Bible says we won’t ever get to heaven as a result of keeping the list of commands in the Bible. The laws God gives us are there to show us we are sinners in need of a Savior.

The Fruit of the Spirit

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Galatians 5:22-23 says “…the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” These are the character qualities of Jesus. And we are never more like Jesus than when these qualities flow out of our lives.

At salvation the Holy Spirit sets up residence within us and begins to produce the above listed fruit in our lives. Apart from the Holy Spirit a whole difference set of character qualities will describe our lives. We read about these in Galatians 5:19-21, “The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissension, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like…” 

  • Whereas we would naturally drift towards hatred, supernaturally (as a result of the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives) we drift towards love.
  • Whereas naturally we would drift towards fits of rage or drunkenness, supernaturally (as a result of the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives) we drift toward self-control.
  • Whereas naturally we drift towards discord, supernaturally (as a result of the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives) we drift towards peace.

And when we live lives filled with the fruit of the Spirit people far from God can “taste and see that the Lord is good” (Psalm 34:8). A godly life will always be more effective in pointing the lost to Jesus than persuasive arguments. If you’re a jerk, no one will stick around you long enough to hear any of your arguments. On the other hand, if the fruit of the Spirit dominate your life, you’ll have more than a few opportunities to share the love of Jesus, and more than a few people willing to listen to what you have to say.