7/13/14- Discipline not Division II

9I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— 10not 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. 11But now I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister^c but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. Do not even eat with such people.

12What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? 13God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked person from among you.”
(1 Corinthians 5:9-13)

Thoughts: So Paul says, :Do not even eat with such people" meaning the sexually immoral in the church.  There is something stomach turning about someone who rejects the purity of Christ.  In my own church, Lake Murray Presbyterian, there was a previous minister who famously fell.  He took the church out of the larger denomination because it ordained women- splitting the church, but then a few months later it was revealed he had an affair with his secretary.  He was defrocked from his new denomination as he would have been from the old.  But it was especially detesting that someone who claimed purity was in fact wallowing in the mud of sexual immorality.  There certainly is a place for church discipline.  If we cannot preserve discipline we are in trouble.  Knox called discipline one of the marks of the true church (though Calvin only had the Word and Sacraments).
      Again, it is important what Paul did not say.  He did not say here to divide the church if they could not discipline the sexually immoral.  He did not encourage the sexually pure to go out and start another church- only to purify the church from within. The church models the division of the world if she cannot stay together to work things out.  The love of Christ shows itself not when all is going well and people are in obedience.  But the love shows itself when we continue to care for the hurting and those different from us even if it means a cross for us.  Discipline is always for God's glory and so that the person may be helped and the church may not be corrupted.
      Division and schism clearly show we do not care for one another or cannot find the grace, patience and love to overcome differences.  The true church is never one denomination-- whether it is a newly created one that has not had a chance to mess up- or an older one that can be manipulated to mess up again and again.  There is no biblical example or command to divide the church even when heresy or idolatry become an overwhelming majority.  There are many examples- [Moses and the golden calf, Elijah and the Baal worship, Josiah, Jehosaphat, Jeremiah, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Danie] where people were called to witness in the midst of the whole people (or nation) going astray without dividing.  The concrete example of the Essenes who went off to form their own community is not a good one- for they went into radical cult-like worship and thought.  The call is always to love one another and stay together.  When the people who hold to scripture are in a minority while the majority is even in open rebellion- the minority is called to be remnant-missionaries.  The remnant must rely on God's grace to keep themselves disciplined, focused, and pure and gracious in thought, word and deed.

Prayer: Help me, Lord to be a remnant-missionary wherever you call me and providentially place me for such a time as this.

Cain expelled. 

7/12/14- Church Division is not Discipline

1It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that even pagans do not tolerate: A man is sleeping with his father’s wife. 2And you are proud! Shouldn’t you rather have gone into mourning and have put out of your fellowship the man who has been doing this? 3For my part, even though I am not physically present, I am with you in spirit. As one who is present with you in this way, I have already passed judgment in the name of our Lord Jesus on the one who has been doing this. 4So when you are assembled and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present, 5hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh,^a b so that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord.

6Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough? 7Get rid of the old yeast, so that you may be a new unleavened batch—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.

Thoughts: This is a call for church discipline, not division.  He does not say to divide the church between those who would agree with the sexually immoral man and those who would follow a more biblical stance.  Paul does not mind standing up for truth though it means some heartache and tough love.  We should never be proud of sexual immorality as it is defined in scripture.  We are called to follow and to humble ourselves before Christ.  But we are not called to divide.
      Some speak of the yeast image as a reason to leave and to be separate.  The idea is that we could somehow make ourselves the pure church if we could but divide from the "evil" or "apostate" or "heretical" church.  Jesus likewise said, "beware the yeast of the Pharisees" (Mt. 16:11).  The idea is that if we purposefully allow sin in it will work itself through the whole dough making it fermented.  It is a little like saying one drop of poison can corrupt the whole glass of water.  But while we always need to beware corruption and sin, this does not portend or cause a division.  Jesus did not encourage a division between his followers in Israel- they were kicked out of the synagogues and persecuted.  Jesus did not go out to form another Israel, but sought to Reform the faith to what it should be.  Paul did not encourage division either here- only discipline.  We need to be able to draw that distinction.

Prayer: Lord, help me to see the need to keep myself pure but still recognize the church on this side of heaven will not be perfect.  We are indeed, Lord, a hospital for sinners not a museum for the saints.