“But those who are outside God judges. Therefore ‘put away from yourselves the evil person.’”

1 Corinthians 5:13

Does Christ’s church still truly believe in church discipline? This is a question that requires much attention, because it is an aspect of church life which is increasingly absent. As conservative and evangelical Christians rightly cry for and affirm ‘Biblical truth’, it is important to not simply clarify what that truth is, but to consider how that truth is applied. This starts with an understanding of the church as Christ’s bride. As bridegroom, He died for her, cleanses her and is now washing her with the water of the Word in preparation, but for what?

When they are united at the marriage supper of the Lamb (cf. Ephesians 5:25-27, Revelation 19:9). The church is a spiritual people, who belong to Christ, and she functions in a local church context with an authority from heaven (cf. Matthew 16:18-19, Acts 14:23). The importance and authority of the church then must be established when tackling the subject of ‘addressing sin’. It is also striking to note that our Lord’s second reference to the church in Matthew’s gospel is regarding her role in the process of church discipline, found in Matthew 18:15-17.

“If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that ‘by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.’ And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector.”

Operating According to the Pattern

There is a very clear pattern that must be followed if we are operating in accordance with what is outlined in Matthew’s gospel. For example, in many cases, the ‘first stage of church discipline’ is where sin is addressed. If you have spoken harshly about or to your brother, he addresses this sin, or you are already convicted of this sin and so you repent of it before the Lord and your brother, he forgives you and there is reconciliation. In this instance, the repentance and reconciliation process is achieved and resolved early on. 

However, if the sinning brother doesn’t listen, then what happens? The second stage of church discipline involves gathering witnesses to hear the case. Then, the offending brother is called to repentance. If the sinning brother is still unrepentant, then there is a final stage, in which this must be brought before the wider church. There, it becomes the responsibility of the church to call this brother to repentance. This is a summary of the process, but we must then consider the importance of this both for the sinning brother and the church at large.

Discipline for the Sinning Brother

In 1 Corinthians 5, the Apostle Paul is addressing sexual immorality and a specific matter which has not been addressed by the church. This chapter lays out consequences for unrepentant sin – having already carried out the Matthew 18 approach – which has now reached a point where this brother is being excommunicated. This is the consequence and it is essential for this sinning brother. In 1 Corinthians 5:5 it says: “…deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.”

If you are sinning in a particular area in your life, and continue to do so, but think: “Oh well, I’m glad I’m saved”, you have a serious problem. Your joy is not in God’s grace, but the abuse of that grace in the face of sin. For example, I would not respond to upsetting my wife by saying: “I’m glad I’m married.” In such a case, it is because I am married that my love and care for my wife drives me to repent for sinful behaviour and to grow as a godly husband. This must be the framework – it is for the sake of the purity of Christ’s bride, because of grace.

“Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us.”

Discipline for the Wider Church

Church discipline is also crucial for the wider church, as we see in 1 Corinthians 5:6-7 (see above). The church in Corinth did not mourn over this sin, they stood ‘loud and proud’. How many videos have I seen of churches celebrating new and bigger buildings, growing numbers and great ministry programmes for all ages while sin is left unchecked, ravaging the church body? The picture given by Paul is of leaven, a symbol of sin, and it is allowed to spread to the whole body when there is not repentance. Where not dealt with, it becomes standard practice.

This makes a mockery of the gospel and is the accepted standard in most churches today. If we were to study the standards of Biblical membership following the Reformation, significant numbers of today’s church members would be under church discipline, and rightly so. Because as Christians, our very identity and desire is now for Christ and so for the sake of our individual lives and the church body, we must cleanse out – or, more literally, ‘purge’ – old leaven. This is why the Puritan, John Owen, famously wrote: ‘Be killing sin, or sin will be killing you.’

The Challenges of Church Discipline

We ‘cut out’ sin as our Lord teaches in the Sermon on the Mount. As a church, we must welcome ‘dealing with sin’ in the process of loving church discipline. A Biblical attitude towards sin is a crucial foundation for its application. However, another crucial foundation is a Biblical attitude towards church authority, and the boldness of church leaders to carry out church discipline. One common problem is that when elders apply the ‘shepherding the flock’ exhortation (1 Peter 5:2), this can often be met with a rejection of that authority from members.

Man, in his flesh, does not want to be held to Biblical standards by a church and it is all the more reason for these to be applied. It is hard work and it can be very taxing on elders to do so. In the area of church discipline, when dealing with specific sin, this can be especially difficult. For example, what should a church leadership do if the sinning member in question either says in response to, or more likely, at the beginning of addressing sin: “I’m done here, I resign”? This is where the importance of church membership and authority is to be understood.

Members yielded to Christ and part of the church do not simply leave when they please, especially when addressing an area of sin or pastoral concern. Sadly, I have heard of churches responding to members who resign when committing sins like adultery with an attitude of: ‘Well, there’s nothing we can do since he’s resigned’. This is Biblically incoherent because there is something that can and must be done by the church. If a child misbehaves, a father does not stand by unable to do anything, because he has the authority to do something.

This is the authority given to the church, in order to deal with sin, and sin must be dealt with. The church is Christ’s bride, and individually we are joined to it. Confronting sin, calling to repentance and even excommunicating unrepentant sin is for the sake of the sinning member but also upholds the purity of Christ’s bride. Its application within is how we know if we truly believe in church discipline. May we pray for Biblical clarity, conviction and application in the church as well as for the growth and upbuilding of Christ’s church in our nation.