In the year 2018 Christians cannot claim to bring anything new to the subject and significance of church discipline except perhaps for unprecedented failures and spiritual carnage in failing to follow the commands of Jesus regarding wrongs perpetrated against fellow believers.
The Bible is our source of understanding on the subject of church discipline. Jesus, the first apostles, the early Protestant reformers and most theologians today all acknowledge church discipline as a divinely given necessity. Some have given church discipline the weight of significance to be one of the distinguishing marks of a true church right along with preaching the gospel (2 Timothy 4:1-4). It is an important subject for every professed follower of Jesus.
The tsunami of cheap faith that is sweeping the world would have us disregard church discipline as a harsh, judgmental, unloving spirit devoid of joy and something to be avoided by enlightened Christians. The primary problem with that is Jesus says otherwise.
Every individual believer needs to wake up and take God’s Word seriously when God commands us to study to show ourselves approved (2 Timothy 2:15). Church discipline must be properly and fully understood along with a right understanding of the grace of Jesus. We aren’t called as believers simply to know the truth. Satan knows the truth. We are called to believe in Jesus and share the truth with the world. We must know, live and preach the truth as given to us through God’s Word and that includes church discipline.
It is really quite sad that I am compelled to make the case for Bible study regarding church discipline. God’s true followers should have no need to be prompted to know, cherish and live the commandments and testimony of Jesus (Revelation 12:17, Revelation 14:12, Revelation 19:10). It is a travesty that God’s Word is being so flagrantly ignored and abused on this subject.
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17
So, what does the Bible say about church discipline? Just do a quick Google search, right? Well, that might be a start, but you’ll soon discover that not all perspectives on the subject agree even though they might claim the Bible as the source of their conflicting views. God’s Word is reliable and consistent.
The apostle Paul in asserting that all Scripture is God-breathed included rebuking and correcting, i.e. discipline, in the same sentence. We’re off to a good start.
We must each own our understanding of God’s Word personally (Romans 14:12). We must each study and have God’s Word in our minds to support our comprehension of the law of God that Jesus placed in our hearts. I must study. You must study. We cannot delegate our own understanding. We are fools to let our pastors and teachers tell us what to think. No true teacher will ask us to accept truth on the mere assertion alone. A true leader and teacher will help us see the truth and to understand it for ourselves validated by our intellect and spiritual discernment guided by the Holy Spirit. Step one to Bible study is to own it personally.
Learn to separate the authoritative Word of God from the arguments supposedly based upon it.
Learn to listen to the Holy Spirit given by Jesus to every believer. Learn to distinguish false spirits and teachers by testing what they say against the Word of God. Do not be persuaded by charismatic personalities who appear to be well educated. Always test your understanding against the Word of God. Realize that knowledge and understanding is a growth process. Do not be discouraged if you do not grasp everything you read in God’s Word the first time. God’s truth is like a great treasure and our lives are treasure quests.
So let’s dive in. Two passages from the Bible are central to our understanding of church discipline, Matthew 18 and 1 Corinthians 5. There are many additional places in the Bible that add to our understanding of church discipline, for example 1 Timothy 5:20. We need to know the passages of the Bible that address this subject most directly as a starting point. 1 Corinthians 6:1-11 adds to the discussion of Christians settling disputes among themselves rather than through secular courts and lawsuits.
In Matthew 18 the first verses set the stage for the spirit of discipline. Do not be a stumbling block. Hurting and abusing each other without rebuke and correction is a stumbling block to all looking on wondering how we can profess to believe a good God and treat each other that way. We cannot evangelize the world while being unrepentant, cowardly hypocrites.
This informs us that all believers are expected to have and exercise spiritual authority in the church. This is the key to understanding the teachings of Jesus in Matthew 18.
When you study other presentations about Matthew 18 you will sometimes see it said that at some point in the process the conflict between two believers should be taken to the pastor and church elders. This is an example of something you should challenge by going back and reading what Jesus actually says. Jesus says that our first effort should be private. If that fails, take witnesses. If that too fails, take the matter to the church. If that fails, treat them as a gentile or tax collector. Never does Jesus introduce the idea that a small number of church leaders possess any authority on matters of church discipline. We either settle the matter ourselves or the entire church asserts discipline. To suggest that the pastor or elders have any authority in matters of church discipline is to introduce something into the words of Jesus that is not there. This informs us that all believers are expected to have and exercise spiritual authority in the church. This is the key to understanding the teachings of Jesus in Matthew 18. Modern “Christian” churches are filled with audiences seeking entertainment. True churches are made of mature, transformed, committed students of Jesus who have accepted the task of sharing the gospel of Jesus to a world that will likely persecute them. Our pastors and elders do not have God’s blessing to function like judges on the TV show American Idol with the rest of us just looking on.
God’s Word does give church leaders and elders a higher position with respect to discipline when it comes to accountability. Spiritual authority in the church body is in Christ the head alone. Jesus has delegated His authority to His Holy Spirt led body collectively. Leaders have greater influence, but not greater authority. Leaders are especially held accountable for their influence. 1 Timothy 5:20, 1 Samuel 2:30-33, 1 Samuel 3:13
When we are baptized, we are transformed into something new, reborn with the character of God in our hearts. We are still sinful humans subject to stumbling, but when we stumble, we grasp onto Jesus even tighter with an attitude of repentance and a love for our fellow believers that will not hesitate to confess and make restitution and be restored in relationship. If we choose to allow sin to dominate our hearts, we will no longer be a believer in the grace of Jesus and will no longer be a member of His body. The process in Matthew 18 acknowledges that we can choose to not follow Jesus even if we did previously. In Matthew 18 Jesus is telling us to keep His body pure by only allowing truly repentant and loving people to be acknowledged as believers in His church. As baptized believers we are ambassadors of God to the world. God does not allow His name to be used in vain. We are given the grace to repent and be covered by the righteousness of Jesus, but only if we accept that grace demonstrably with repentance. It is this picture Jesus wants the world to see. Jesus wants the unsaved sinners of this world to see that their fellow sinners who have seen the righteousness of Jesus have an answer that leads to salvation. Jesus wants His body to grow. Discipline in the church is about maintaining the message of salvation from sin to a sinful world. We cannot convince the world about forgiveness and repentance when we practice and tolerate sin without rebuke and correction.
Matthew 18 makes every believer (the church) responsible and subject to the consequences for all sins by believers when those sins are not rebuked and corrected. If you think you would never molest a child, but you do not rebuke and correct another believer who does molest a child, then you become guilty in God’s eyes as if you perpetrated the molestation yourself. Don’t miss this point (James 4:17). We are not allowed to be a mere audience or just bystanders as believers. We have accepted the task of telling the world about the plan of salvation and we are held accountable for doing so with unnegotiable integrity. We cannot leave such matters to the pastor and elders. Every believer must walk in the character of God with the authority of Jesus. The new testament church is not the priesthood of the pastors and elders, it is the priesthood of all believers (1 Peter 2:5-9). As a believer you are accountable for church discipline such that your eternal life depends on it.
Revelation 2:1-5 describes the church of Ephesus. Jesus says about this church “you cannot bear those who are evil.” He says also, “And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars; and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name’s sake and have not become weary.” These are positive, praiseworthy characteristics that validate that Jesus expects His churches to be diligent in opposing evil and keeping the church body free from evil and deception. Note that even with these positive traits this church is at risk of Jesus withdrawing His presence and blessing. He says if the church doesn’t repent and return to it’s first love and work that He will remove its lampstand. This means that no church is safe based on its history or its original calling. Churches will be removed if they do not remain repentant and focused on what Jesus commanded. There is no spiritual safety in institutionalized religion. The body of Christ is made of living people faithful to the commandments and testimony of Jesus.
Church discipline is really only difficult or uncomfortable when we try to avoid it. Jesus has made his expectations exceedingly clear and His righteousness is so free and amazing that we should be clamoring to do as He has commanded without any hesitation or weakness. Any true believer will accept rebuke and correction with gratitude realizing that someone cared enough to help keep them on track as we battle this sinful world. It is only those who are not repentant and those who are cowardly (James 4:17, Revelation 21:8) who find church discipline to be in any way objectionable. To discipline a believer is like pushing a child out from in front of a truck. There should be no hesitation.
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Additional texts to consider:
Matthew 7:1
1 Peter 1:15-16
Leviticus 19:2
1 Peter 2:5, 9