Church Discipline - Part 4

Suggestions for Discipline

Knowing that His children are going to sin, although He desires that they all live a holy life, Jesus’ intention for discipline is that His children will keep each other accountable, which is why the first step of the process only involves the person who is in the wrong and the one who was wronged (possibly a close friend). Theoretically, the problem would be resolved between the two and no one would ever have to hear about or deal with that situation again. Repentance would be sought, forgiveness would be granted, and a relationship would be restored. If done correctly, the church itself would never hear about most situations that occur between the members of their congregation. Instead, the members would have been taught how to handle this situation in a godly manner amongst themselves, and each member would keep each other accountable on a regular basis.

In cases where it does not work out this easily, the church would have to be willing and ready to step in and get involved. If the situation could not be resolved, then a few others would have to be brought in to help. This is where the importance of a small group, such as a Sunday School class would be useful. Small groups within the church are supposed to give believers a group of brothers and sisters who they can depend on. They should look out for one another, providing for each other’s needs, such as their physical needs or spiritual needs. They should be trustworthy and ready to help at all times. When believers are plugged into a small group, they surround themselves with loving people who will lovingly walk alongside them in life. Discipline is part of love. The reason a parent disciplines a child is so that the child will recognize their mistake and choose not to make that mistake the next time they find themselves in that situation. In the same way, a believer should not be afraid to lovingly confront a fellow believer that they see living in sin. Likewise, that believer should recognize that their brother or sister is coming to them in love and not in a judgmental way. If people understood the point of discipline and demonstrated it in the correct way, then the church would never need to get involved.

Unfortunately, there would be those times in which the church would have to step in. On those rare occasions, the leadership of the church must be willing to consider the possibility of excluding one of their members. If they are practicing discipline effectively in their small groups, then this final step of discipline should not be a problem for that church. After the first two steps had been taken, the church would then bring the member who is sin before the entire congregation, outing their sin. If the member still neglected to repent of their sin, then they would simply be asked to leave the church, taking away their membership. At that point, the church would also need to make it clear to the congregation and to the sinful member that their intentions for kicking them out of the church are pure. They desire repentance, and until repentance is sought, they will have no dealings with that member. They should not completely break ties; however, pursuing that member in love. They should still be cordial when they meet them out in public, and they should be friendly, possibly paying them a visit or calling them one night. Just as they would seek the salvation of a non-believer, the church should continue to seek the repentance of a fallen brother.

Conclusion

The solution to this problem is not easy, and will not be resolved easily. The Church today must wake up and understand the importance of Jesus’ commands in Matthew 18. People need to get over their pride and fears associated with discipline and not allow it to interfere with their obedience to Jesus’ commands. The Church needs to return to what it was founded on in Matthew 18, using the last two thousand years of church discipline as an example. For the first time in the history of the Church, discipline is being neglected, and the Church will not grow if this sinful pattern continues. Church discipline is hard, and will possibly bring hard times on the modern Church, but discipline is also commanded by Christ and must be performed in the Church no matter how hard it may be to carry out. It is far more important to obey Christ’s commands than to shy away from them due to the fears of the world. If discipline is not brought back into the Church as a whole, then the Church will eventually fall apart due to the lack of accountability. Therefore, discipline should lovingly be used to keep believers in check so that the church may be strengthened in Christ.

Matt