Disfellowship for the Sake of Fellowship
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· 15 viewsDiscipline is the means God uses throughout Scripture to show others how to become like himself and how to assist the community of believers in their sanctification until glorification.
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A (not so) clear history of discipline…
A (not so) clear history of discipline…
I was in my mid-20’s when I first remember the topic of “church discipline” taking stage. There were a couple large congregations in western America who were practicing church discipline and a small ripple had reached it’s way to WV. Once that ripple disturbed my personal waters, I realized why it was disturbing. I had NEVER (up to that point) heard of “church discipline”. NOR did I have a biblical perspective that such a thing was possible, right, and beneficial to the church.
Today, the topic of church discipline likely comes to you as a foreign topic. Or, if it enters your mind, you would prefer to run from such a muddy and “divisive” idea.
Are you familiar with church discipline? Should the church “discipline” someone? If so, perhaps more importantly, why? What role does discipline play in the body of Christ? Why is it something so rarely taught, so rarely practiced?
You and I are both familiar with “discipline”. You can relate it to the athletic activities you played as a kid. It was necessary in the field of study you pursued while in school. It helps define limitations and expectations and requirements for aspirations. Discipline is often what delineates between acting as a novice or an elite. It has another sense. The act of “being disciplined”. In this sense, discipline means redirecting our course of action to make us better, setting us apart as an individual or collectively to move us further along rather than becoming stagnant.
Rightly applied, Christian disciplines subvert the need to ever experience discipline. See, discipline is proactive. But in its most difficult expression, discipline involves removal or dis-fellowship of a regenerate member. A church member continuing in sin without being confronted, stagnates the sanctification of the body as a whole. Therefore, the church is called individually and collectively to - stir the waters - of discipline for the fellowship’s sake. God’s Word will direct our attitudes and actions in this too often neglected matter. Today, we’ll look at several passages. Each one expresses God’s intention for disciplines within the body of believers and/or discipline from within the body of believers.
Look with me first at this passage from 1 Corinthians 5:1-13
1 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.
2 And you are arrogant! Ought you not rather to mourn? Let him who has done this be removed from among you.
3 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.
4 When you are assembled in the name of the Lord Jesus and my spirit is present, with the power of our Lord Jesus,
5 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.
6 Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?
7 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.
8 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.
9 I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people—
10 not at all meaning the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world.
11 But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one.
12 For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge?
13 God judges those outside. “Purge the evil person from among you.”
I feel as though I can only cover enough of the material available on the topic of Church Discipline to give you the “what” and the “why” of the matter. As I said in the introductory paragraphs, it’s a matter with little to no bearing on the daily activities of the body of Christ. HOWEVER… that’s not a compliment to how the evangelical church has handled moments of disobedience and obstinate sin and immorality. Rather… it’s heart-breaking that we have so decidedly chosen to ignore a teaching that Jesus and his apostles in-arguably practiced.
Let’s take a moment to put this topic of discipline into an a analogy...
Anyone here try-outs for basketball? It could be baseball, football, or cheer leading; speech and debate or show choir… take your pick. Let me rehash a little of my experience as a high school athlete.
I can recall the smell of freshly polyurethaned gym floors. I can still see the guys who were clearly better athletes than me. The ones who were simply better ball players… and the ones who though they were better ballers. I can remember the defensive and offensive drills; dribbling and footwork… (anyone ever do strawberry drills?!)
I looked forward to the running drills… I could run 40 yards in under 5 seconds so that was a sweet spot for a little guy like me. But I can still recall the emotions that went into and came out of the try out.
Do you remember waiting to see if your name was posted outside the coaches office?! I saw my name on that list from 7th grade through 12th grade. It was a privilege to represent my school.
The try out was really the most gracious part! After that, came the “contract”. Perhaps your team had a motto. Maybe the coach issued guiding principles. Based upon those principles, you took the invitation issued by the coaches following the try out and then your either agreed to abide by the coaches team contract or conditions — or not. If the answer was no… you simply walked out before the first practice and you were replaced. But if you signed, acknowledged… agreed… you took on a new identity.
From that point on - after you’d made the team - you were held to a new standard. If ever you broke the contract, you knew there were consequences.
We were nicknamed The Running Redskins (not too politically correct in today’s vernacular…). But we were known for using a full court press and running... a lot. However, if anyone was lazy in practice… If you heard coach say “get on the line”... running was NOT the fan cry players were so fond of hearing… it was the debilitating, impending, preferred method of coach approved torture because you did not measure up to his standards, expectations… and YOUR commitment.
- Did you ever tell your coach “NO!” when he commanded you to “get on the line!”?
Think about that. Did you ever say to your coach, “No!”? When your teammates took to the line, were they ever like, “What?! He never said we would have to run if were lazy?! Why is he being so tyrannical?!”
THE ANSWER IS NO! Everyone EXPECTED THIS… AND… THEY ACCEPTED THIS! IT WAS DISCIPLINE THEY WILLINGLY SIGNED UP FOR!
Why? Because THEY WERE A PART OF THE SAME TEAM AND WERE COMMITTED TO WHAT WOULD MAKE THE TEAM BETTER.
Notice something about the end-goal of discipline in my analogy… was THE DISCIPLINE OF RUNNING THE END GOAL? Was it a means of separation or intended to embarrass the offender(s)?
Or was it the method instituted by which the TEAM WAS SET APART?
Was it a means for redeeming what they were squandering? Their time. Their energy. The coaches time. The coaches energy. The TEAM’S IDENTITY...
Is it the means for casting someone away?
Analogies eventually break down. But the relationship of being a player for a team and being a member of a congregation are overwhelmingly similar! (Side note… if you notice that the analogy of basketball and Christianity seem to go hand on ball… perhaps (no guarantees) but, perhaps it’s because basketball’s inventor was a Presbyterian Pastor - Dr. James Naismith.
“In case of dispute, the umpire shall throw in straight into the field.”
If we can all agree that being on a team and honoring the coach could subject us to the possibility of his discipline for the team’s sake… Why do we struggle with the command from the God of the universe that would ask His people to practice discipline for His follower’s sake?
We have listened to the passage from 1 Corinthians 5 where Paul addressed the openly practiced sin of one of the Corinthian church members. We saw that his response was stiff. I want to ask you this.
While we are not given the lead-in to how this situation arrived at such dramatic discipline, did the Scriptures (and do the Scriptures) give any point of reference to Paul and the NT church that would help us avoid such intense terms?
YES! In fact, Jesus himself spoke to the issue of discipline in the Gospel of Matthew. Turn with me or look on the screen at Matthew 18:15-19
15 “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.
16 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.
17 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.
18 Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
19 Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.
Now… what Jesus has laid out is quite plain! I want to give you some context and help with a few observations of this text.
The immediate passage in reference to Jesus’ words, is Leviticus 19:17 “17 “You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him.” Jesus is referring to the Old Testament Law! He’s guiding his disciples through an estranged relationship by way of God’s Law. Always remember this… in his full humanity, Jesus was Jewish. In that full humanity, he OBEYED ALL OF THE LAW! He made it abundantly clear that he did not come to abolish the Law but rather to fulfill it! So, when Jesus gives instruction to the Pharisees, he’s quoting LAW they SHOULD have been obeying in the first place. His anger with them is almost always directed at their perversion of God’s Law! He is NOT COMING UP WITH SOMETHING NEW!
Here, the lesson Jesus teaches falls within a section of Scripture dealing with discipleship. He’s telling them how to live as His followers making application for reconciliation USING THE LAW! This practice of discipline was not something new - even to the disciples. At best, it was Jesus way of saying, “C’mon boys… you KNOW what the LORD your God asks of you. If someone has sinned against you, go talk to them and stop hem hawing around.”
2. Jesus “re-delivers” this content from the Law and identifies the steps one should take to drive sin far from the church.
First - Face-to-face confrontation.
Second - Face-to-face with one or two others. (BTW - there’s a difference in this portion, a caveat if you will to how this step is applied. In the OT, the witnesses you were taking OBSERVED THE CRIME IN ACTION. In the NT, the WITNESSES OBSERVE THE EFFORTS AT RECONCILIATION!
Third - If the sinning brother refuses to admit his sin, take it before the church (ecclesia).
THEN… let them be put outside the fellowship
This process… these steps… they are scorned by individuals, men and women alike. Talking with Sean this week, we conferred and agreed that it seems women typically argue over petty things. Men argue for tyranny’s sake. NEITHER IS HOLY! BOTH DIVIDE! BOTH SPOIL the reconciliatory work of the body of Christ. BOTH THEN… whether it’s petty squabbles or power trips - BOTH ADULTERATE THE PURE FELLOWSHIP CHRIST INTENDS FOR HIS CHURCH!
So, if a brother or a sister sins against you… go. Talk. To. Them!! If they won’t listen, take a couple TRUSTWORTHY INDIVIDUALS (because untrustworthy people were cautioned against in Deuteronomy. If they supported a lie, they suffered the same punishment as the erring brother or sister!) … and if reconciling is still impossible. If the sin still stains the relationship. If there’s a clear refusal to offer confession and deliver forgiveness… bring it to the church.
HOW OFTEN THIS NEVER HAPPENS IN STEPS 1 AND 2… SO 3 NEVER COMES INTO EFFECT. What prevents steps 1 and 2.
Fear - of conflict
Fear - that you might be un-liked (un-friended from Facebook, if you will).
Fear - that another way could possibly work and must be better than face-to-face.
The purpose of bringing this brother or sister to the church is NEVER RETRIBUTION! The essence is always REDEMPTION!
Is there time here to go into the disciplines of Psalm 1? If so, open your Bible and go to Psalm 1 and speak to the verbs detailing the work of the wicked (walk, stand, and sit) and the contrasting work of the righteous (planted, water, fruit in season and EVERYONE benefits!)
IF NO TIME TO HIT PSALM 1… go straight to the question for reconciliation...
Do you need to reconcile with a brother or sister whom has sinned against you? Have you taken the opportunity to go to them and seek restitution?
To live in separation from one another is not restoration! And avoiding conflict SHOULD NEVER BE CONFUSED WITH “PROLONGED APPROACHES TO RESOLUTION!” THAT’S HOGWASH! A LIE! Jesus didn’t suggest nor approve prolonged restoration BECAUSE IT DOESN’T EXIST!
The Scriptures are clear…
6 For such a one, this punishment by the majority is enough,
7 so you should rather turn to forgive and comfort him, or he may be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow.
8 So I beg you to reaffirm your love for him.
11 so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs.
It is Satan’s intention to keep distance between you and the LORD God… between you and your brother or sister! Don’t be fooled… if you don’t “get on the line” and obey Christ’s command to restore your relationship with your brother… it only stagnates the sanctification of the body as a whole! ALL SUFFER!
This message is the hinge upon which the door of regenerate church membership and believers baptism into a local body swings smoothly or wildly. It opens the way for a professing body of believers to interact with one another in our pursuit of sanctification amidst our failures in sanctification.
Satan, in his scheming, DESIRES that the body of Christ fall short of enacting God’s redemptive and reconciliatory work THROUGH them! Never should church discipline to the furthest degree be enacted in a petty manner. Nor should it be the crafty work of a church coo! It’s sole purpose to reintegrate a sinning member after they have repented that they may be reconciled to their brothers and sisters. Our greatest danger is that we would ignore a clear directive from Jesus, the practices of the apostles, or adopt the faulty systems of the world THINKING they must somehow be more effective than obedience to the Word of God. Before entering into the Lord’s Supper - Lord willing - next week… let us be sure we have genuine fellowship with one another.