“I need more explanation on the importance of church discipline.”

September 2021 – Grace & Truth Magazine

QUESTION: I need more explanation on the importance of church discipline. What is the biblical way of discipline? Why are some people running from one assembly to another in order not to be disciplined for the wrong they have done?

ANSWER: Much has been written on this subject. We want to attempt to be brief in order to answer the questions asked, but to do so it is important to understand what Scripture teaches the Assembly is, and what local assemblies should be in light of this. As we begin let’s be reminded that we are distinguishing the Assembly (or Church) to which all believers belong by capitalizing it, while using a lowercase “a” or “c” when referring to an assembly (or church) in any given locality.

First of all, it is important to notice that the Assembly had its beginning when in Acts 2 the Holy Spirit came down upon 120 followers of the Lord Jesus and united them into one body. This is what the Bible refers to as the baptism of the Spirit, a term that is often misused today. The Lord Jesus, who had ascended back into heaven ten days earlier, is the Head of this Body. Three thousand of these Jewish people, who heard Peter preach about how God had raised Jesus from the dead and exalted Him to His own right hand, accepted this word and were baptized and thus “added” to the Assembly (v.41 NKJV). As time went on, the Lord added those who got saved to the Assembly. They did not join: the Lord added them. In this the Assembly grew as a living organism, not an as organization, increasing rapidly in the time of the Acts, growing to include Samaritans and then also Gentiles.

Shortly after its beginning as one body in Jerusalem, the Assembly was scattered abroad through persecution and evangelization, so assemblies sprang up in many localities. Yet, Scripture presents the Assembly as one body, not as many bodies. Local assemblies should always remember that they are not independent fellowships responsible only to the Lord, but that they are simply the local representation of the one Assembly to which the Lord is still adding people as they trust Him as Savior. Denominations and denominational assemblies (churches) are not scriptural according to what 1 Corinthians 1:10-13, Ephesians 4:1-6 and many other passages of God’s Word teach us. God does not sanction, or approve, forming organizations based on certain doctrines or practices that separate Christians from each other.

To answer the last of the questions prompting this article, when local assemblies act independently one of another rather than respecting one another’s decisions made in dependence upon the Lord, the Head of the Assembly, this opens the door for people to run from one assembly to another in order to escape potential discipline for wrong they are doing or wrong teaching they hold. We are living in a period just like the times of Israel’s judges when there was no king in Israel and “everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Jud. 21:25), completely disregarding God’s will as expressed in His Word. All still “seek their own, not the things which are of Christ Jesus” (Phil. 2:21). Our more convenient means of transportation, too, make it easier for us than for our ancestors to indulge our desires and go elsewhere.

If sheep are well fed and properly cared and provided for by watchful, loving shepherds, they will be less inclined to wander away. Peter instructs his fellow elders to “shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock” (1 Pet. 5:2-3). Yet, as the Lord indicated in His parable in Luke 15, even when 99 are happily not wandering, there is always the one that goes astray. Scripture speaks of various kinds of leaven – always a type of evil. The Epistles especially warn Christians against the leaven of false doctrine in Galatians 5 and the leaven of immoral conduct in 1 Corinthians 5. If unchecked, either one will often lead to the other.

Among its many descriptions, Scripture presents the Assembly as the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12), the bride of Christ (Eph. 5), a holy temple and the dwelling place of God in the Spirit (Eph. 2), and a pearl of great price (Mt. 13). In all these, purity is of utmost importance. How can we associate our Lord Jesus or the Holy Spirit with evil? The Lord is sanctifying and cleansing His Assembly with the washing of water by the Word that He might present her to Himself a glorious Assembly, spotless, wrinkle-free, holy and without blemish.

Being a local representation of the Assembly, every assembly is the Lord’s testimony in its particular surroundings. As such it is responsible to seek to maintain purity both in doctrine and morality. The world is often more aware than we realize of what is going on in an assembly. This is the first reason for the necessity of discipline: a Christian assembly represents the Lord Jesus in its community. His interests and the holiness of His name must be paramount, or of chief importance, in any action of discipline. Psalm 93:5 says that holiness is becoming to the Lord’s house forever.

But just as the Lord, the Good Shepherd, has the needs of His sheep, each of whom as individuals are different one from the other, on His loving heart, so discipline within an assembly will vary according to each situation. It will have as its object to keep the individual from that which would be harmful to him or her; or if there has been a fall, to seek restoration. Punishment or public exposure of evil is not the object of discipline, although it may seem that way to the person being disciplined. Trying to evade it may be a reason for his efforts to go elsewhere.

Excommunication – putting a person out of fellowship – is in one sense a confession that all efforts to help the person have been unsuccessful, that the person has demonstrated that he or she is a wicked person. This is thus not a beginning step and should not be the first thing to be considered when a problem arises. Where it becomes necessary, the assembly should feel its failure in not having been able to win the heart and conscience of the person involved, and should be bowed in deep humiliation and mourning before the Lord.

Books have been written about discipline in the local assembly. Various grades of discipline have been suggested depending on the nature of the offense and the attitude of the person involved. They include:

• Follow the steps given by the Lord in the case of a personal trespass (Mt. 18);

• Avoid people who are causing divisions and offenses contrary to the sound doctrine we are taught in God’s Word (Rom. 16);

• Warn those who are unruly (1 Th. 5);

• Withdraw from and don’t keep company with a person who does not obey the directions given in Scripture (2 Th. 3);

• Rebuke publicly before the assembly those elders who are convicted of sinning (1 Tim. 5);

• Cleanse oneself personally from vessels to dishonor by withdrawing from them where an assembly will not take action (2 Tim. 2:19-21);

• Deal with people “whose mouths must be stopped” (Ti. 1:11);

• Reject a person who insists on forcing his opinion after a first and second admonition (Ti. 3).

Some of these steps would be appropriate to try before resorting to the final step of excommunication as a wicked person.

It is well to note that, while a brother or sister may fall under the penalty of excommunication, they are not put out as a sister or brother but as a wicked person. Excommunication is a most solemn action, one that should humble any assembly where it must be applied in obedience to God’s Word. In 2 Corinthians 7 we see how important it is for an assembly to clear itself after having taken such a serious action. Restoration of the individual should be earnestly prayed for, but the Holy Spirit must do His divine work of restoration, and this may take time.

The direction in 1 Corinthians 5:11 not to eat with a person who has had to be excommunicated makes plain that normal social interaction with such a one cannot continue. If excommunication is properly applied, hugs and kisses, even handshakes, are out of place, as well as calling him or her brother or sister. Excommunication, however, does not dissolve family relationships and their corresponding responsibilities, although it may well cause strains in these. A husband is still responsible to love his wife, and a wife to submit to her husband, and children to obey their parents.

In conclusion, how much better it would be if those who are spiritual in an assembly would in a spirit of meekness, lovingly labor to restore a saint who is overtaken in a trespass, as Galatians 6:1 exhorts us to do, considering that they themselves are capable of falling too. And how much better it is for a person caught in something sinful to submit thankfully to the efforts of those seeking to help him rather than running away from correction, intending to continue in his wrong path! Since every true believer is a vital member of the Assembly, local assemblies should respect the actions of other assemblies taken under the direction of the Head of the Assembly, our Lord Jesus Christ, and not be a refuge for those trying to escape the consequences of their false teaching or wicked conduct.

Answered by Eugene P. Vedder, Jr.