6/21/13- Discipline as a Mark of the Church

15 “If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. 16 But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ 17 If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.

18 “Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. (Mt. 18:15-18)

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

12 What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? 13 God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked person from among you. (1 Corinthians 5:11-13)

Thoughts: Discipline is not a word used much in most churches today.  Yet in these passages we see Jesus telling his disciples to treat someone as a pagan or tax collector who refuses to listen to the church.  The second passage has Paul writing that the church needs to expel someone specifically (in the context) who is unrepentant of sexual immorality.  Discipline is really hard.  It brings out hard feelings and controversy, and causes a loss in attendance and money.  Perhaps it is this hardness, and the prominence of immorality that has kept most of the American church from disciplining the way it should.  But leaving the yeast in the dough makes the whole dough sour and fermented (Mk. 8:15; Gal. 5:9).

     There are three basic purposes to discipline: 1) To glorify God; 2) That evil should not corrupt the good; 3) that those who are fallen might be helped. 

      The danger of discipline would be that it be abused and issued out arbitrarily, inconsistently, or as a personal vendetta. The Second Helvetic Confession cautions it should only be done for the edification of others and the church.  The other danger is that no one is perfect who issues the discipline.  As Jesus said to a group of Pharisees about to stone and adulterous woman, "Let him without fault throw the first stone."
    But the balance is that a church without discipline is a church without rules.  What good does it do to have laws if they are never enforced?  If there are no boundaries to truth- then there is no truth.  If everything is holy (set apart)- then nothing is holy.  While self-righteousness is a danger, no righteousness is devastating.  So Jesus on the one hand warns the men to not cast the first stone if they are not perfect, he also tells the woman to "go and sin no more."  

Prayer: Rebuke me, Lord, when I stray.  Help your church also to keep the sheep from becoming lost.  

(Shepherd herding sheep- notice the rod in his right hand)