Introduction
Church discipline is the act of calling upon people to change their wayward ways through repentance and asking for forgiveness. It is performed when an individual has disobeyed the church rules provided by God. The intention is to restore people into a reconciled state with God. The aspect of church discipline is found in 1 Corinthians 5:1 when Paul directed the Corinthian congregation to “remove from among you” the sexually immoral man who lived with “his father’s wife.” From the preceding scripture, the Christian family supposedly standing right with God should restore the rest of the congregation that fall into sin. Based on this scripture, Christians were required to separate themselves from sinners.
However, church discipline has been a complex topic to handle in the present day due to the deterioration of society’s morals. As a result, people from the Church who are supposed to provide church discipline are at the forefront of committing horrific acts. It has been found that spiritual leaders have fallen prey to the schemes of darkness. The level of deterioration of the morals in the Church is described in the book of 1st Corinthians 5; 1. Therefore, church discipline is attributed to immoral behavior among Christians.
“It is reported that there is sexual immorality among you and of a kind that even pagans do not tolerate: A man is sleeping with his father’s wife. And you are proud! Should not you rather have gone into mourning and have put out of your fellowship the man who has been doing this?”
Moreover, few men of God who have the moral grounds to provide direction on church discipline fear losing members of their congregations. Their livelihood depends on the Church’s membership from which tithes and offerings are received. Debatably, there is a dire need and concern regarding the Church disciplined, which will essentially handle diverse aspects of church discipline. Part of the discussions of this paper include people involved in church discipline, cases where church discipline surfaces in the Bible, and repercussions for church discipline and the process of performing church discipline.
Parties Involved in Church Discipline
One element that is very crucial about church discipline is that there has to be a person. In its most straightforward definitions, sin falls short of the standard of God. It is wrongdoing against man and humanity. Reading from the book of Romans 3; 23, it is understandable that all men are prone to sin. Notably, the first two parties involved in church discipline are the sin and the sinner. The acts of sin cannot be understated than the provisions of Galatians 5; 19-20. The actions of sin, also called the actions of the flesh, include but are not limited to:
“The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, and factions.”
Therefore, when a believer in the body of Christ does any of the sins mentioned above, they are liable to correction by the Church. The person who has been offended by the action or inaction of the sinner should be take the initiative of correcting the other. They should be acutely involved in the issue of church discipline, as will be later highlighted in this discussion in the process of church discipline.
Formal church discipline is a rare and severe response to church sin. In some circumstances, an individual’s efforts to do what is best for the other in sin and the responsibility to protect the Church’s atmosphere and purity. Those responsible for reconciliation between the offender and the offended could be the Church’s senior pastor or even a select committee in charge of discipline, depending on the Church’s doctrine. Four parties are involved in church discipline: sin, sinner, the offended, and the Church.
The Process of Church Discipline
Like every other process, church discipline takes a particular direction, and there are standard procedures for doing the same. In the Bible, Jesus illustrates how a fallen brother or sister should be restored into peace. This is documented in the book of Mathew chapter 18. The first step is provided in the 15th verse of Mathew. The Bible says that when a brother offends another, the two should privately discuss it and repent one to another. In another portion of the Bible in the book of James 5; 16, it is written, “confess your sins to one another and pray, then you would be healed”. So the private peacemaking does not necessarily end in asking each other for forgiveness; it is crowned with a prayer of repentance, then the two would have been restored into the functionality of the body of Christ.
Peacekeeping talks are strategies used to handle conflict in a church. It involves involving relevant stakeholders in discussions to understand the situation and develop a solution. For example, should a brother or sister refuse to make peace with the offended, the offended are encouraged to take a few church members and talk to the offender. The same procedure applies. If the offender is remorseful and accepts the liabilities of his actions, the group shall pray, and the brother will be restored to God. If they do not, the matter is taken to the Church. This is what the scriptures say;
“If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church, and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.”.
This instruction clarifies how one should be handled when one sins Church. It shows that should an individual refuse correction from the Church, they are supposed to be expelled and treated like any other pagan or tax collector. Notably, the process of church discipline takes three steps. One is private reconciliation and correction, the second is the correction in the presence of a few witnesses, and the third is correction by the body of Christ, which is the Church. Therefore, refusal to change leads to summary dismissal from the Church.
The Necessity of Church Discipline
One may wonder why all these things are necessary, for which reason this module discusses the necessity of the church discipline. Holiness is one of the standard measures of the requirements of God. 1 Peter 1; 16 and Leviticus 14; 14 speak about the very same thing; that men should live in holy reverence for God. Therefore, there is a need to keep obeisance to the word of God.
The second reason for church discipline is the need for the children of God to enter the Kingdom of God and escape the judgment of hellfire. With sin, it is impossible to inherit the Kingdom of God. A father, who does not want their children to fall prey to the world’s indiscipline, will keep their children under the rod. Based on this, chastisement is prudent for correctional instruction in the Church and a trustworthy demonstration of love. The Bible is the book of Jude asks that, men should endeavor to snatch their brothers and sisters from the danger of going to the fire of hell. Therefore, it is the responsibility of individuals living according to God’s principles to help others who are lost in sin.
On the other hand, there is no other way to foster church discipline than to use the scriptures and directions provided in Bible. The Bible gives Christians the liberty to judge people who profess the same faith. While they are not to judge the world for its wrongdoings, they have the green light to pass judgment on trivial matters that erupt amongst themselves. If that is the only way to get them to forsake their sins and enter the promised Kingdom of God.
Christians are the light of the world according to the word of God. Like a city on a hill cannot be hidden, neither will a Christian ever hide from his actions and the possibility of being seen by the world. This is what the scriptures say in the book of Hebrews chapter 12; 1
“Therefore, since such a great cloud of witnesses surrounds us, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us”.
The writer of the book of Hebrews admonishes against sin because there are so many witnessed who are keen to look at the lives of Christians. However, it is resounding that they should be found on the wrong side of the laws of God which they profess. Otherwise, they would not be doing the good work of the Lord of giving an example worth following and winning them over to Christ. Notably, church discipline restores the Church’s image and restores its functionality in providing direction to the world.
Church Discipline in the Bible
The practical implications of church discipline are significant and help create a suitable environment for dedicated service to God. Discipline should be practiced improving the Church’s functioning and foster obedience to God’s Word, with the ultimate objective of growing in holiness (1 Peter 1:15-16). Because members are held accountable for their words, actions, and attitudes, discipline supports leadership. Excessive whining, rebellion, or troublemaking are discouraged by church discipline. Furthermore, a successful policy that keeps people accountable increases the value of membership and leads to members taking every element of ministry seriously. As a result, there is less confusion, more joy, and better efficiency in ministry when God’s people follow God’s scriptural plan (Deut 5:33). Therefore, church discipline is perceived as the only way to restore honor in the Church.
The Church’s welfare is one of the practical justifications for church discipline. A church that tolerates sin can lead to discouragement among its members and a sense of injustice, partiality, or indifference. As a result, the Church’s morale and integrity are in jeopardy when a church tolerates sin. According to the Bible and history, people let down constraints when there is no norm upheld (Proverbs 29:18). This effort aimed to address sin difficulties to remain a more joyous, healthy, and holy congregation. The purpose of church discipline was to restore members who had strayed from God’s will.
In the Old Testament, the book of 1 Samuel illustrates the story of King David, who took the wife of Uriah the Hittite. He had sexual relations with the wife of Uriah while Uriah was on the battlefield. When news came that the wife of Uriah was pregnant, he contrived a plan to have him brought so that they would have him think that the pregnancy was his. This plan did not work because Uriah’s heart was on the battlefield. Kind David ended up killing Uriah and taking Bathsheba to be his wife.
David was remorseful because of what he had done, though the Lord punished him by taking away the child who was born to them. In this scenario, the offended is Uriah the Hittite, and the sinner is King David, the sin is adultery and murder and the Church that provides discipline is the Prophet of God, Nathan. From this church discipline, Christians learn that the wages of sin are death, and that God is not delighted when people offend others in the body of Christ.
In the New Testament, Peter the Apostle of God is ministering in the first Church. Members of the Church sell their belongings and bring them to the Church, and in return, they are prayed for and blessed. Ananias and Sapphira wife sold their land and brought only a part of the money to the Church. When the man of God asked them whether it was the whole amount, they responded affirmatively. Since Peter was in Spirit, he was able to see their malice and asked them why they had to lie against the Holy Spirit:
“Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land?”
They died on the spot, and they were both buried the same day. In this scenario, the offended is the Holy Spirit Himself. The offender is the family of Ananias, and the sin was malice and lying. The Church that was to provide disciplinary instruction was Peter. The result was that the offenders of church discipline were killed by the Holy Spirit Himself. Allums (2018) also cites this occasion as an instance of church discipline in the Bible. Therefore, in this case, death is used as punishment for sin.
Another instance in the Bible in which church discipline is fostered is when Aaron and his sister Miriam gossip against Moses, the man of God. As a result, they were stricken with leprosy. When Gehazi took provisions from Naaman the Syrian because Elisha the Prophet of God refused to take them, he was struck with leprosy. There are other examples of biblical instruction on church discipline that warns against sinning and the restoration of sanity in the worship of God.
Conclusion
It can be understood that church discipline is the act of restoring fallen Christians to a state of reconciliation with God. Parties involved in the church discipline are the sinner, the sin, the offended and the Church itself. It can easily be pointed out that the Church did not receive restoration of their fallen or backslidden members in many instances because they did not accurately follow the procedure that Jesus laid down as provided in the Bible. Personal seeking of peace is the first step, followed by engaging a witness or two. The Church comes in within the last stage should the offender refuse to submit. Ultimately, they are cast out and treated like non-believers if they should not accept change. There are many biblical examples pointing towards the importance of church discipline and the repercussions of failure to adhere.
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