Church Discipline – Part 2 (The How)

Have you ever been at the brink of an important decision and prayed that the Lord would just drop the “correct” decision in your lap? Or have you ever encountered a daunting circumstance and wished that God would give you step-by-step instructions on how to handle it? I know I’ve run into trials at work multiple times that practically had me in a state of paralysis to know what to do. As a parent, have you and your spouse ever found yourselves amongst those who wish that kids came with an instruction manual for every possible awkward scenario? God’s word is alive and powerful (Hebrews 4:12) and profitable (2 Timothy 3:16) but that doesn’t necessarily mean that it breaks everything down into step-by-step instructions for everything you encounter.

However, when it comes to the topic of church discipline and confronting sin in the body of Christ, God’s word gets somewhat specific.

In the last blog post, we talked about the What and Why of church discipline. And I had planned on this post tackling both the How and the Who. However, I’ve realized that I have a tendency to get a bit long-winded so this post will tackle the How while the Who will be forthcoming. Please forgive me for over-selling and under-delivering.

The HOW of Church Discipline
Last time I briefly brought up the fact that the first mention of the process we refer to as “church discipline” predates the establishment of “the church”. While the Church Age didn’t officially begin until Pentecost when the Holy Spirit first came to indwell believers, one of Jesus’ first recorded uses of the word “ekklesia” (translated “church”) is used in Matthew 18:15-17 when He is giving general instruction on how to confront sin in a fellow brother. The word “ekklesia” can be translated as an assembly or a congregation of people.

The General Progression
In general, here is the four step process as a reminder.
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.”

In general, the process starts out as personal as is practical, not involving more people than is necessary for the situation at this stage. Approaching the situation without hostility is important so the one being confronted doesn’t automatically put their guard up.

Romans 12:18 “If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men.”

Galatians 6:1 says “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.”

Since church discipline is to be an act of love and one of the primary goals is restoration to fellowship, there is not necessarily a reason to come out guns blazing.  We are to seek to restore in a spirit of gentleness. This certainly would mean that the situation should be approached prayerfully and with self-examination so that pride in the one doing the confronting doesn’t become a barrier.

If, as the confronter, you think you’re going to enjoy the confrontation or you’re looking forward to the process, then you likely have the wrong mindset. This is not a process that is to be borne out of vengeance or an unwillingness to forgive.

Matthew 7:5 exhorts the confronter to make sure to take the log out of their own eye “so that you can see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye”.

Throughout the process it is important that we are cautiously examining ourselves, so that we will not be tempted to sin. If, when the sinning brother is confronted, he doesn’t acknowledge, confess and forsake his sin, then Jesus said to take one or two others with you so that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every fact may be confirmed. This is the second step in the general progression. And if he still won’t listen, the third step in the progression is to “tell it to the church”.

The Potential for Special Circumstances
Another primary purpose for church discipline is to maintain health in the body of Christ. This includes protecting others in the flock from being damaged by the sin of the wayward brother and also to keep others from following suit. As such, there can be circumstances when it is warranted and prudent to skip a step or two. Let me explain.

In the second chapter of Galatians, Paul recounts a time when he and Peter were both in Antioch and Peter began….holding himself aloof and, in essence, snubbing the gentile believers for fear of what his fellow Jews might think. Paul took it upon himself to rebuke Peter “to his face” (2:11) and “in the presence of all” (2:14). We see no sign in scripture that Paul first pulled Peter aside one-on-one nor do we hear of Paul taking a couple of people with him to admonish Peter in a smaller group. Paul seems to jump straight to a public rebuke. It would seem that Paul felt Peter’s actions were blatant and potentially damaging enough to those present that it warranted an immediate and public rebuke. Peter was a person of influence who had walked closely with Jesus Himself. So, his actions had the potential to damage people’s view of Jesus and the gospel and also had the potential to drag other people into similar hypocrisy.

Here we see an example of an important truth. Spiritual leaders are not to be given more leeway than the average believer. If anything, they are to be allotted less wiggle room. They are doubly accountable.

James 3:1 “Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment.”

Another thing we see in this account from Galatians is that, while Jesus gave step by step instructions for the general church discipline scenario, this doesn’t mean that every step is required or called for in every situation.

Another example is if you have the case of an abuser and an abuse victim. For instance, you shouldn’t expect that a rape victim should need to confront their abuser to point out their sin as the first step in a discipline process. Matthew 18 has been inappropriately used to call for such things and this is a misuse of that passage that can be quite damaging.

But, generally, the progression Jesus outlines in Matthew 18 is a wonderful guideline for how to confront sin in a fellow believer. Each step in the progression is meant to add more weight to the seriousness of the situation in an effort to bring the offender to a point of contrition and forsaking of the sin. Ideally, things get worked out after a one-on-one confrontation. If not, then hopefully with a small group of individuals. But, if that doesn’t evoke brokenness and a change, then it is to be made known to the church. And if there is still no remorse and reversal, then Step 4 is to remove the person from fellowship in hopes that the removal will spur them to contrition. If it gets to Step 4, God’s expectation is for the whole church to cooperate in the removing of this person from fellowship.

A Call to Action
Check out the action verbs of these verses as you consider the how.

• Restore (Galatians 6:1)
• Rebuke (1 Timothy 5:19-21)
• Admonish (2 Thessalonians 3:14-15)
• Turn him back (James 5:19)
• Call attention to his deeds (3 John 1:9-10)
• Expose them (Ephesians 5:11)
• Deliver such a person over to Satan (1 Corinthians 5:5)
• Reject (Titus 3:10-11)
• Do not associate (1 Corinthians 5:9-11)
• Remove (1 Corinthians 5:13)

These actions can sound hard core. But we must remember that all of this is meant to be an act of love and correction that is ultimately meant to restore fellowship and bring health. Reconciliation is what we’re shooting for with all of this. And these action verbs are God’s commands to us for how to deal with the sin in our midst. Commands…….not just rights.

A Solemn Charge
In 1 Timothy 5, Paul gives instructions to Timothy (for Timothy to pass on) for how to handle an accusation brought against an elder.

1 Timothy 5:19-20 “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.”

If we line this passage up next to the four steps outlined in Matthew 18:15-17, it appears Paul is addressing a situation that is progressing from Step 2 (“take one or two more with you”), by mentioning two or three witnesses, to Step 3 (“tell it to the church”) by commanding that he be rebuked in the presence of all if he continues in sin (“he refuses to listen”). Paul, doesn’t specifically say it here, but I think it’s safe to assume (especially because Paul does address something similar in 1 Corinthians 5) that if the person continued in sin after this public rebuke, Paul’s intent was that the elder be removed from fellowship. Not because he’s an elder but because this is Step 4 for any unrepentant believer in church discipline…….especially an elder. Paul goes on to give a “solemn charge” that we should not take lightly…..

1 Timothy 5:21 “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.” 

In other words….this requires follow-through. It doesn’t matter how much you love this person, how close you are to them or what their track record is. It doesn’t matter how great of a teacher they might be, what position they hold, or how well-liked they are. Following through with church discipline is vitally important.
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Summary
In review, HOW are we to perform church discipline?

• As an act of love for the purpose of restoration and health
• Prayerfully, humbly and cautiously
• Firmly yet in a spirit of gentleness
• According to the guidelines of Scripture (in general, there’s a progression)
• Without bias and without a spirit of partiality

Next up will be the Who.