Articles from September 2015

Here are the completed notes from the Sunday evening service September 13, 2015:

XIII. The Discipline of the Church.

A. The definition of discipline.

To discipline is to penalize an individual for breaking the laws of a unit of society to which he belongs with the view of restoring him back to those laws.

B. The basis of discipline.

The basis of discipline of a local church is the holine of God.
“Thy testimonies are very sure; holiness becometh thine house, O Lord, forever”
(Ps. 93:5).
“Because it is written, be ye holy; for I am holy” (1 Pet. 1:16).
To take this holiness lightly is to invite discipline (Heb. 10:30; 1 Pet. 4:17).

C. The authority of discipline.

The ultimate authority resides in Christ, who authorizes his church to exercise it when needed (Mt. 16:19; 18:17-20; 1 Cor. 5:4).

D. The recipients of discipline.

Who demands church discipline?
1. Troublemakers and those who sow discord (Prov. 6:16, 19; Rom. 16:17).
2. The unruly, disorderly, and undisciplined (1 Thess. 5:14;
2 Thess. 3:6, 11).
3. Those who disobey the great doctrines of the faith (2 Thess. 3:14).
4. Those who deny the great doctrines of the faith (1 Tim. 6:3, 5; 2 Tim. 2:16-18; Titus 3:10; 2 Jn. 1:10, 11; Rev. 2:14).
5. The immoral (1 Cor. 5:1-5).

E. The procedures in discipline.

Church discipline is to be handled prayerfully, carefully, and justly.

1. First step: Note and mark those who are in need of discipline (Rom. 16:17; 2 Thess. 3:14).
2. Second step: Arrange a private meeting with the offender (Mt. 18:15).
3. Third step: If this fails, set up a second meeting, this time with several others present (Mt. 18:16). During these preliminary private and semiprivate meetings the individual should be repeatedly admonished (Titus 3:10), rebuked (2 Tim. 4:2), and warned (1 Thess. 5:14).
4. Fourth step: As a final resort, the unrepentant one is to be brought before the entire church (Mt. 18:17; 1 Tim. 5:20).
5. Fifth step: Upon refusal to submit to church discipline the guilty party is to be spiritually excommunicated.

This constitutes two fearful things, a denial and a deliverance.
a. He is to be denied Christian fellowship.
(1) “Avoid them” (Rom. 16:17).
(2) “Withdraw yourselves from” (2 Thess. 3:6).
(3) “From such withdraw thyself” (1 Tim. 6:3, 5).
(4) “Reject” (Titus 3:10).
(5) “Have no company with him” (2 Thess. 3:14).
b. He is to be delivered over to Satan.
“To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus” (1 Cor. 5:5).
“Of whom is Hymeneus and Alexander: whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme” (1 Tim. 1:20).
When a local Bible-believing church removes a person like this, it literally fulfills the divine command of Job 2:6, “And the Lord said unto Satan, behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life.”

F. The heart attitude in discipline.

1. We are to avoid both vengeance and arrogance.
   “Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness, considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted” (Gal. 6:1).
2. We are to view the individual as an erring brother and not a bitter enemy.
   “Yet count him not as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother” (2 Thess. 3:15).
3. We are to approach him with sorrow and not sarcasm (see 1 Cor. 5:2; 2 Cor. 2:4).
4. We are to be ready to forgive him when repentance occurs (2 Cor. 2:7; 7:10, 11).
   This last attitude is of supreme importance for two reasons.
   a. Lest perhaps such a one should be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow
   (2 Cor. 2:7).
   b. Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices. (2 Cor. 2:11).
   G. The purpose of discipline.
   1. It is to maintain the standards of the church to a watching world (Mt. 5:13-16; Acts 5:1-16; Rom. 2:24).
   2. It is to keep sin from spreading throughout the church (Josh. 7:3;
   1 Cor. 5:6, 7).
   3. It is to help the guilty person find his way back to God. (2 Cor. 2:6-8).
   4. It is to escape God’s twofold judgment upon habitually sinning saints.
   a. Sickness (1 Cor. 11:30).
   b. Physical death (1 Cor. 11:30). “For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged” (1 Cor. 11:31).
   H. The scope of discipline.
   The church is called upon to discipline (if needed) all believers, but only believers. It has no authority to judge individual worldly unbelievers for their smoking, swearing, sexual activities, etc. Its only duty to an unsaved person is to lead him or her to Jesus Christ.

I. The reaction to discipline.

How is the guilty person to react when disciplined by either God himself or by a local church?

1. He can despise it, that is, treat it too lightly (as did Esau concerning his birthright; Heb. 12:5).
2. He can faint under it, that is, treat it too seriously (Heb. 12:5).
3. He can be exercised by it (Heb. 12:10, 11).

The real question is not so much what I have done wrong (though this, of course, is important), but what is my attitude about it?

 

*Some contents adapted from Dr. Harold Willmington’s notes on the church