Until I became part of my current church, church discipline was not something I
gave much forethought too. d The last church I was part of held the mindset that
that we should not be punishing people for their individual indiscretions, and what
they do outside of church is between them and God. d My current church holds the
belief that you are accountable for actions, and that you should be disciplined by
the church if your actions can affect your position within the church. d For example,
a church leader that chose to move in with his girlfriend outside of marriage was
rebuked as he openly admitted that they were living in sin. d They were removed
from their leadership roles until such time they repent and leave the living
arrangement or wed, ending the sinful behavior.
Unfortunately, the person felt betrayed by the church for holding this line
and left the church altogether. d They felt that their decision was a personal
choice and not a church matter. d The church followed the prescribed
recommendations of Matthew 18:15-17, first calling upon him in private, and
then to the elders. d Instead of bringing him in front the church, the elders
felt asking him to step down was more appropriate. d This may be how your
church handles church disciple currently. d You noted that you may not be
seeing the church discipline. d All the decisions made in our discipline
process were behind closed doors. d The only reason the congregation knew
about any of the conversations was because the member chose to divulge
the situation. d Surprisingly, he did not get much sympathy from the
congregants.
Dever noted that some church attendees are shocked when they encounter
church discipline.[1] d I believe that comes from three areas. d First, as Dever
noted, churches have fallen away from biblical discipline from its previous
stances, allowing it to become a taboo instead of a reality. d Second, I
believe that there are more church doing church discipline that what is
perceived but they are holding the issue behind closed doors for the
posteriority of the sinner. d Finally, I believe other churches no longer
approach church discipline because of the attitude of “their sin, their
problem.” d This last one fall fundamentally against the ideals of growing
healthy disciples of Christ. d I believe that church discipline is a necessity
because, as you noted, its not just about punishment but for growth. d
Church discipline can be to protect the church, it can be to out sin, but in all
ways, it must be done to promote repentance and renewal. d It must be
done with love, honor, humility and in a way to foster good to grow from
it.[2]
[1] Mark E. Dever, Nine Marks of a Healthy Church, 3rd ed., 9marks
(Nashville, TN: Crossway / Lifeway, 2013)., 194.
[2] Ibid., 199.
