As a Student Minister I am burdened by research that states that about 85% of students will NEVER come back to church after they graduate. That means that they will be without Christian Community for the rest of their lives. This is heartbreaking! Thom Ranier of Lifeway states, "We are baptizing fewer of our own children, and fewer lost people."
I think that if we are honest we will realize that our Church Culture is dominated by the Culture in which we live. This means that we are less prone to preach on sin, and repentance, and more prone to preach happy, watered down messages of self-help like Joel Osteen. We have watered down the Gospel so much that when we reach out to the World they respond by stating they already believe in what we are preaching...they are living better than we are, so why in the world come to Church?
I think that in order for the Church to be the Church that it needs to be, we need to get back to the forgotten Doctrine of Church Discipline. These are words that dont usually go together, especially in the Southern Baptist Chuch (in which I serve).
What is Church Discipline?
According to the Bible...its a command!
Jesus gives us a great view of what it looks like in Matthew 1815-20 (NIV):
"If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that 'every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.' If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector. "I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.
"Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them."
Jesus states if your brother sins against you...This means that we are to discipline believers.
For far too long, we have left the Church in sin, while we protest everything and everyone else. We allow unregerated believers to infest the church while we crusade against "the World" like they are our enemy. We must understand that it is God who judges the World not us. Paul puts it like this, in response to Church Discipline: "God will judge those outside" (1 Corinthians 5:13).
When the members of our local body of believers are in sin, we must go to them to restore them. Church Discipline then is an act of love directed toward a wayward believer in an attempt to lovingly restore them to a regenerated heart.
We must exercise a measure of Church Discipline in order that sin doesn't have a foothold on our Church.
How do we do Church Discipline?
We do it like Jesus...with compassion.
Notice that Jesus wants the wayward believer to be restored. Every effort must be made to restore the one who has sinned. The reason is for that believer to get his heart right. We should not seek to be vengeful, but seek to be compassioniate. We Discipline because we love.
We also Discipline because we have a responsibility. If there is "sin in the camp" (Achan's Sin) all can be held liable for it. This is not a popular teaching, but it must be noted that we state "I am not hurting anybody else" when it comes to our own sin, but that is just not a biblical statement. Our sin (public or private) effects the people around us. Therefore, as Church leaders we must look to the welfare of the whole not just to the individual.
Al Mohler states, "The theological category of sin has been replaced, in many circles, with the psychological concept of therapy." We must realize that sin is real, and it is rampant. We must exercise Church Discipline in order to maintain a measure of biblical faithfulness. We must seek to restore members so that we can have better fellowship wiht one another.
Characteristics of Proper Church Disicpline:
1. Maturity. Notice that Jesus states that the one who is sinned against go to the one who sinned. This is very important for us to look at, because Jesus wants us to be leaders. It is possible (and sometimes probable) that the person who has sinned, doesnt realize that he has. So if we go to the person in order to correct him, we are helping him out by being the more mature believer.
Too often, what we do is backbite, and gossip, about what people have done to us instead of being mature about it and going to the person. We must step up and be mature Christians by going to the person.
2. Humilty. We must not seek to hurt the individual but seek his restoration. We seek his betterment. We look to his self-interest. We cannot do this by seeking vengance. Most cases of Church Discipline are not done because of pride, and we cannot make that better if we go to them in pride. We must be humble when we go them, in order that both parties are restored and Church harmony is restored.
We must have a refound era of Church Discipline if we want the Church to lead people to Jesus. We cannot expect a watching world to come to Christ if dont hold our own to higher standard. The world is watching and looking for someone to change their lives, and it starts with Jesus. If Jesus has changed our lives and our hearts, we must do all that we can to ensure that his Bride is as spotless as she can be. We must renew our efforts at Church Discipline so that we can renew our place of influence in the World.
Church Discipline Resources:
Al Mohler (President of Southern Seminary)
Mark Dever's 9 Marks of a Healthy Church
Article from the Brethren Church
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