Reminder of the Importance and Practice of Church Discipline
Context: One of the great gifts of the local church involves Christians caring for one another, correcting one another, and keeping watch over one another (also, known as church discipline). Sometimes we do this well; sometimes we fail. I’m super proud of the way many of you have cared for individuals, reached out in challenging situations, pursued prodigals, and confronted in gentle ways. We’ve grown as a church in this area. On the few occasions matters have come to the elders or before the whole body, we’ve worked for unity and faithfulness to the Word. Still, I know of other situations when we’ve failed to pursue erring saints, or failed to do it with humility and gentleness, or gone about it in disrespectful or unbiblical ways. May we all mature together for God’s glory and one another’s good. To that end, let’s review this important concept of church discipline:
First, a simple definition: church discipline is the process of correcting sin in the lives of professing Christians with the goal of repentance and restoration.
Key passages:
ESV Galatians 6:1-2 Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. 2 Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
NIV Matthew 18:15-20 “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. 19 “Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”
All of 1 Corinthian chapter 5 – Here are a few choice verses: ‘It 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. 2 And 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?….* So when you are assembled and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present, 5 hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord…. 9 I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people– 1o 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. 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.
Main takeaways with regard to common practice:
#1: If you’re aware of an ongoing, public sin in the life of a professing Christian, it’s your responsibility to go speak to them in a one-on-one, in-person conversation.
A. If approaching a brother or sister is dangerous or prone to emotional manipulation (like approaching an abuser or someone who is lying to you for personal gain or an unfaithful spouse), I believe it’s appropriate and wise to enlist 1-2 wise and protective people in the first encounter.
B. Any abuse, crime, or physical danger should usually be reported to law enforcement immediately. Church discipline can be pursued later; for now, protect yourself, your loved ones, and the greater community society.
C. The approach should look something like this: Don’t send an anonymous note or an email.
- Don’t gossip about the sin or the person.
- Don’t ignore sin and its hurtful effects on souls and the church body.
- If you approach someone on things that are bothersome to you, this is not “church discipline” (like partaking in entertainment that goes against your conscience or them being distracting to you at church). In such matters, proceed with humility, forbearance, and grace.
- Do spend significant time in prayer.
- Do meditate on the Scriptures.
- Do seek counsel (if needed) without using names or gossiping.
- Do approach the person gently and humbly.
- Do focus on “public” sins (lying, adultery, not attending worship or avoiding fellowship, etc.). Be very hesitant to correct a brother or sister for greed or pride or impatience. It’s not that you cannot speak to a person on those matters, but since you can’t know the heart, be careful with your assumptions.
- Do share Scripture when speaking to them.
- Be clear on what repentance looks like.
- Do share the hope of the gospel and the promise of grace for all who confess, repent, and return to the LORD.
#2: If a brother or sister does not repent, repeat this process with 1-2 fellow believers. At this point you may want to include a spiritual leader, pastor, or an elder, but it’s not necessary.
#3: If a brother or sister does not repent, be prepared to make the unrepentant behavior known to the church.
A. You could ask to speak to the elders as a whole or one of the elders/pastors. Maybe if they approach the unrepentant soul one more time, repentance will happen.
B. You could bring it to the next church meeting as a matter for family discussion.
#4: The congregation as a whole will need to hear the matter (based on witnesses), and if persistent unrepentance continues, the church would call for repentance.
A. At this stage, the church would probably offer a strong censure and call to repentance.
B. They may allow a bit more time for repentance or the congregation could remove the person from membership at the first meeting if the unrepentance is clear and persistent.
C. To be removed from “membership” means the congregation believes the person to be denying faith by their actions and therefore no longer should be treated as a professing Christian. The body would bar them from the Lord’s Table until they make public repentance (usually at a subsequent meeting of church members).
D. Christians should be careful to treat people “under discipline” as non-Christians (while admitting we don’t know for sure their eternal state before the LORD). As such, you would regularly preach the gospel to them. You would exclude them in “Christian-only-type” events. You don’t “sit down” with them as you did in the past. Instead, in your future interactions with them, you would warn them that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
E. The final stage of church discipline is painful. We’ve put them out to “Satan” (1 Cor. 5). We refuse to treat them as a Christian (Matt 18). The pain is to be medicine for reform. That said, don’t be cruel, slanderous, or disrespectful in anyway. We pray God draws them back so we can “win back” our brother or sister.
Bonus: The role of the elders
#1: Elders keep watch over all the saints, pray for them, and go after wandering saints.
#2: The Elders might approach a brother or sister caught in a sin and warn them that they could be taking the Lord’s Supper in an ungodly matter. This is sometimes called an elder “censure.” To bar from the table is a task for the whole church, but at times, the elders might put forward a strong censure and warning for those who appear unrepentant.
#3: The Elders are happy to discuss difficult church discipline matters in the earlier stages. We would prefer to not know names, unless absolutely necessary.
#4: It’s probably wise for most church discipline cases to come to the elders before they are brought to the whole body.
#5: On most occasions, the elders will assist in bringing matters before the church body.
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