One of the hardest Biblical ideas for good-minded Christian people to wrap their minds around is the subject of church discipline. Much like the doctrines of election and predestination that we hold to, people generally just try to ignore them. Just a cursory reading of I Corinthians 5 shows that the idea of church discipline is Biblical, and whether someone ignores it or not, the reality is that the Bible teaches and commands it. Most of the time, people shy away from subjects like this because there is unpleasantness to it. Today’s culture dislikes considering unpleasant things, which is one of the reasons why death is a subject people shy away from now more than they did in days gone by.
When Do We?: The Bible teaches a distinction in sin. Certain sins have different consequences – even under the law. Murderers suffered different consequences than thieves did. So today, there is a difference between someone being drunken in their own living room and someone being drunken on main street and being thrown in the county lockup. In I Corinthians 5:1, Paul said that the sin he would tell the church to take action about was “reported commonly.” That means this is a public offense, and as such it HAD to be dealt with by the church body. As fallen, broken creatures we all struggle daily and weekly with private problems, and those problems are addressed daily at the judgment seat of Christ. (II Corinthians 5:10) However, when something is public in nature, it reflects not only on the individual but also on the people they identify with. Family names can be sullied by a reprobate family member, and church bodies can be publicly defiled when a member of the body brings public reproach upon the church.
Why Do We?: From the previous paragraph, we see that the reason the church exercises discipline over her members is not what is commonly thought to be the reason. Many people think the purpose of church discipline is for repentance. Repentance is something we pray for when it comes to erring church members, but Paul showed in I Corinthians 5:10 that the purpose of discipline is to uphold the purity of the Lord’s bride and that wonderful name. As we are unleavened in our position, so should it be displayed in our condition. No, again, we are not perfect, but this goal is of the same nature that the undershepherd has in his qualifications. Bishops or elders are required to be “blameless.” (I Timothy 3:2) If that meant a minister had to be perfect, the church would have no ministers! Likewise, if a church was required to be unleavened in every action or decision, there would be no true or real churches. Both of these expressions refer to public reproach. Ministers should be above public reproach, have a good report of them that are without, and not fall under the condemnation of the devil. Likewise, the church should be above public reproach, have a good report of them that are without, and not fall under the condemnation of the devil.
How Do We?: One of the big misconceptions that people who do not practice church discipline have about those that do is twofold: 1. We enjoy it, and 2. It applies to everything in our lives. Neither of these common misconceptions is true. Church discipline is painful. Much like spanking a child, parents do not enjoy the exercise but are looking at the benefits it brings not the pain of the moment. Some of the church’s saddest days are when a member is cut off from the body because it is a death that occurs too soon. Members should only be cut from the body when death takes us, but public reproaches and condemnations bring death to a member while life is still going on. In like manner, this death does not extend to every aspect of a person’s life. Paul encouraged the Corinthians brethren to not company with public sin in their body. He contrasts this with the other aspects of their lives by telling them they have to company with public sinners in life but not to eat with them (practice communion together). (I Corinthians 5:9-12) People engaged in public, unrepentant sin should not be called a brother in a church way, but that does not mean they are cut out of other portions of our lives. Maybe it is family that will always be family. Maybe it’s a friend that is still a friend. Much like we have friends and family that belong to other orders of people or perhaps do not identify with a church at all, so a member cut off and cut out is still friend and/or family but no longer a brother in a church sense.
Friends, some things are true and pleasant, others are true and unpleasant, some are false and pleasant, and others are false and unpleasant. Unpleasantness is not the marker of whether something should be done, engaged in, or enjoyed. The church is the pillar and ground of the truth (II Timothy 3:15), and the responsibility of that is to uphold the truth against the assaults that have come against her since her inception. Those assaults are doctrinal and moral, and the church should repel them both with equal fervor. The precious trust that we as the household of faith have been given should be treasured no matter how unpleasant the task may be. As a civilian, federal worker, I had to take the same oath of office that military people do. I swore to protect this country against all enemies, both foreign and domestic. As a member of the Lord’s church, I have sworn to uphold her policy, purity, and order against all enemies to her whether outwardly or inwardly. Yes, I have prayed over the years for members who have left her ranks and been dealt with appropriately by the church. Sometimes repentance happens and sometimes it doesn’t. However, what I have prayed for the most is that I would neither do nor counsel or encourage someone else to do anything that would detract from the beauty and purity of Mount Zion.