Church Discipline – Part 1 (The What and Why)

​“11:00 pm”. I was 17 and a junior in high school and this was my weekend curfew. It was a bit more strict than most of my other friends yet I did have one friend whose curfew was 10:30 so it wasn’t too bad in my mind. Sometimes I would get some light teasing for it when I’d have to bow out earlier than others from the occasional game night. But that teasing was generally playful. I made sure I was home by 11:00, though, because my parents were consistent in upholding rules and that included curfews. At one particular game night, as we were playing games, someone started asking everyone what time everyone’s parents said they needed to be home. An assortment of times were thrown out from 10:30 to 12:30. Then someone asked, “Karen, what time is your curfew?” Karen responded, “My parents don’t care when I come home.” Most people didn’t think a thing of it while one or two mentioned that Karen’s parents must be pretty “cool”. People’s focus shifted back to the game at hand, but I noticed that Karen’s countenance dropped with her response. It seemed clear to me that the words that rang most clear to Karen (in her response) were “My parents don’t care…”. Her response went deeper than a curfew.

Did you know that research shows there is greater stability and security in families (parents and children) when boundaries, parameters and expectations are both established and upheld? That may or may not be a surprise to you. Children feel a greater sense of safety and security when there is consistent follow-through with discipline in their home. The consistency in upholding established parameters makes the child feel more cared for and shepherded.
The same concept is true with church discipline.

If you’re unfamiliar with the concept of church discipline, you’re not alone. Many people have never heard the topic of church discipline taught or discussed, much less seen it practiced or applied. There are probably several reasons for that. First, it’s not necessarily a pleasant topic to talk about and teach…….or apply…..especially in our culture. Plus, church discipline is a process that involves steps and the initial steps are not meant to induce group involvement. So, if you’ve never seen church discipline play out through every step, that could be a good sign or a bad sign. It could mean that the problem was effectively taken care of before the later and more public steps were reached. However, it could also mean that church discipline isn’t being carried out and the problem is being allowed to fester. Regardless of how difficult the subject may be to approach, it is vitally important for us to understand what God’s word has to say about church discipline and why it’s important.

This two-part blog post will attempt to explain the who, what, why and how of church discipline from a biblical perspective.

While you will not find the term “church discipline” in the Bible, it is a term coined by Christians to describe something the Bible talks about multiple times throughout the New Testament. Below are a few of the passages that help describe the concept of church discipline. We will use this grouping of passages as we work our way through examining the who, what, why and how.

Church Discipline Passages
Matthew 18:15-17 “If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother. But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every fact may be confirmed. 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.”

1 Corinthians 5:1-7 “It is actually reported that there is immorality among you, and immorality of such a kind as does not exist even among the Gentiles, that someone has his father’s wife. You have become arrogant and have not mourned instead, so that the one who had done this deed would be removed from your midst. For I, on my part, though absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged him who has so committed this, as though I were present. In the name of our Lord Jesus, when you are assembled, and I with you in spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus, I have decided to deliver such a person over to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough? Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed.” (See also the rest of 1 Corinthians 5)

Galatians 6:1 “Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted.”

Ephesians 5:11 “Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them;”

2 Thessalonians 3:14-15 “If anyone does not obey our instruction in this letter, take special note of that person and do not associate with him, so that he will be put to shame. Yet do not regard him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.”

1 Timothy 1:20 “Among these are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan, so that they will be taught not to blaspheme.”

1 Timothy 5:19-21 “Do not receive an accusation against an elder except on the basis of two or three witnesses. Those who continue in sin, rebuke in the presence of all, so that the rest also will be fearful of sinning. I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of His chosen angels, to maintain these principles without bias, doing nothing in a spirit of partiality.” 

Titus 3:10-11 “Reject a factious man after a first and second warning, knowing that such a man is perverted and is sinning, being self-condemned.”

James 5:19 “My brethren, if any among you strays from the truth and one turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.”

3 John 1:9-10 “I wrote something to the church; but Diotrephes, who loves to be first among them, does not accept what we say. For this reason, if I come, I will call attention to his deeds which he does, unjustly accusing us with wicked words; and not satisfied with this, he himself does not receive the brethren, either, and he forbids those who desire to do so and puts them out of the church.”

Revelation 2-3 (The letters to the 7 churches)

WHAT is Church Discipline?

Church discipline - The process of confronting and addressing sin amongst believers for the purpose of unity and purity in the body of Christ and for (hopefully) restoration to fellowship of the offender.

Interestingly enough, the process that we call “church discipline” actually predates the establishment of “the church”. While the Church Age didn’t begin until after Jesus’ death, resurrection, and ascension when the Holy Spirit first indwelled believers, Jesus introduced the process we call “church discipline” well before going to the cross. We can see the general 4-step process outlined in Matthew 18:15-17.

Matthew 18:15-17 If your brother sins…..
1)go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother.
2)But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every fact may be confirmed.
3)If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church;
4)and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.”

The first thing to know about church discipline is that the discipline is meant to both come from and be applied to people who have believed in Jesus as their Savior.  This is why Jesus referred to the offender as “your brother” in verse 15. Church discipline is not meant to be applied to unbelievers. In 1 Corinthians 5:12 Paul says, “For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Do you not judge those who are within (the body of Christ)?”

A second thing to know about church discipline is that it is to be an act of love. Just as the Lord disciplines those He loves (Hebrews 12:6), our motivation for discipline is to be an act of love for all parties involved (whether the offended, the offender or those affected indirectly) just as it is to be an act of obedience to God. It is not loving to allow a fellow believer to remain in a state of unconfessed and unforsaken sin which is why Paul calls for restoring in a spirit of gentleness (Gal 6:1) and admonishing as a brother rather than regarding him as an enemy (2 Thess 3:15).
As evidenced by Matthew 18:15-17, there can be a progression to church discipline depending on the response of the one being disciplined. The key here is humility and a contrite heart. Ideally, the sin problem gets addressed early on in the process and there is not a need to draw more people into the situation. However, if the offender is not receptive, bringing other people into the process is meant to both reinforce the importance of having resolution to the issue as well as to apply positive peer pressure toward contrition.

WHY Are We To Perform Church Discipline?
If church discipline isn’t easy to do, then why do it? Let’s allow scripture to be our guide to answering that question.

• (Matthew 18:15) To win your brother. Ultimately this means restoration of the offender to fellowship with the one applying the discipline, with the Lord and also with fellow believers.
• (1 Cor 5:5) So that his spirit may be saved. Since this man was a believer, this likely is referring to saving him from further uselessness and shame when Christ returns to reward believers for their deeds in the flesh.
• (1 Cor 5:6-7) To be a new lump. Neglected unconfessed and unforsaken sin in the body of Christ (the church) is likened to leaven in bread that only grows and infects the longer it is undealt with…not only in the life of the individual believer but in the lives of those connected to it. The effects of the sin (left unchecked) permeate the body, breaking down parameters and affecting the stability and the culture of the church.
• (2 Thess 3:14) So that he will be put to shame. The discipline is meant to spur contrition/remorse.
• (1 Tim 1:20) To be taught. The context is specifically to be taught not to blaspheme but the discipline is meant to result in learning or being taught a lesson.
• (1 Tim 5:20) So that the rest also will be fearful of sinning. Public church discipline is, among other things, to serve as a deterrent to sin for the entire body. In a way, it’s setting a precedent for others to remember.
• (James 5:19) Save his soul from death and cover a multitude of sins. Since a believer (brother) is in view, the correction is meant to save him from a possible early physical death.

Church discipline shouldn’t be seen as punishment for past wrong-doing, but rather to provide correction for health moving forward. To call for or follow through with discipline is not unloving or the product of unforgiveness. A person can genuinely cancel the debt of an offender (even when the offender doesn’t confess their sin) and still call for discipline. Jesus nailed the certificate of debt to the cross for all mankind (believers and unbelievers) not counting our trespasses against us (John 1:29; Col 2:14; 2 Cor 5:19). Yet the Lord still disciplines those He loves. Why? He doesn’t discipline us in spite of His love. He disciplines us as part of His love. He wants things to be healthy moving forward. Remember, He is the Good Shepherd.
When we confront unconfessed sin, we are shedding light on things done in the darkness. Ephesians 5:13 says “But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light.” Romans 13:12 says, “The night is gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.”
We are to walk as children of light (Eph 5:8).

Ultimately, the goal of church discipline is restoration to fellowship. But restoration to fellowship involves the offender being able to confess (to those they sinned against) and forsake their sin. The Greek word for confess is homologeo (“homou” means “same” or “together” and “logos” means “word”) which means to say something in unison. Essentially, to confess your sin means to say the same thing that God would say about your sin. It means to agree with God that your sin is indeed sin.

Granted, invoking church discipline is not a pleasant process. It’s a difficult thing to do. But it must be done if there is to be true health in the local body. Some will appeal to the idea that they don’t want to address undealt-with sin because they think the discipline will cause division. But there is healthy unity and unhealthy unity just as there is healthy division and unhealthy division. When church discipline is neglected, unhealthy divisions will occur. The “unity” that comes from neglecting church discipline is not healthy unity. Factions will spring up within the body along with resentments and there will be hesitancy to have true biblical fellowship because people feel unsafe. This was happening to the church in Corinth. And it was going to continue to happen more and more until it was confronted head-on. Proper church discipline does not promote unhealthy division. It promotes healthy unity. But the leaven must be removed either by addressing the sin or removing the sinner from fellowship. So, if the source of the leaven (sin) is a hardened heart, bringing healthy unity may very well require that someone get cut off.

Even Jesus came bearing a sword (Matthew 10:34 & Luke 12:51, figuratively). The “unity” that is promoted by neglecting church discipline is not a healthy unity. Faithfully applying church discipline when the parameters of God’s word are blatantly violated is key to the safety and security of the flock.

The leaven must be removed and this is the “Why” of church discipline.
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In the upcoming Part 2, we will look at the How and the Who.