The Godly Discipline of Disfellowship
The title of this sermon comes from F. LaGard Smith’s book “Who Is My Brother?” In the book, Brother Smith has one chapter so named. When we study the purpose, the reasons, and the process of church discipline we come to understand that this is indeed a godly practice. When properly understood and rightly applied, a serious student of the Bible comes to understand that even though it is “tough,” nevertheless, it is an expression of love. It is an effort to "snatch others from the fire and save them” (Jude 23).
In this sermon we will be examining closely these Bible texts: Matthew 18:15-17; 1 Corinthians 5; 2 Corinthians 2:5-11; 1 Thessalonians 5:12-22; 2 Thessalonians 3:6-15; Titus 3:9-11.
I. The Purpose of Discipline
God is a holy God (Joshua 24:19; Isaiah 6:3), and His “eyes are too pure to look on evil” (Habakkuk 1:13a). Not only is He set apart, but He also demands wholehearted devotion. He is a God of order and not disorder (1 Corinthians 14:33).
Even a careless reading of these texts would make clear the purposes of discipline: First, church discipline is exercised “…so that the sinful nature may be destroyed and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord.” (1 Cor 5:5). The immersion of repentant believer takes a way the penalty of sin, but it does not mean that it takes away the “sinful nature.” The sinful nature, that is “sarkos,” will take time to be removed. We need daily to fight against it. Leaving behind sinful nature and developing the new man inside us requires us to walk in the Spirit (Gal 5:16-25). The “sinful nature” and the “Spirit” are against each other. Christians need to crucify “the sinful nature with its passion and desires” and to keep in step with the Spirit. The Christian Family, the Church is one of the tools that God has given in disposal. When one is not utilizing the tool that God has given him/her, God may choose to remove that tool. Here the idea is that when the person looses his “community” this will cause him to think and ponder. It will cause him to change his life and heart and turn to God. When he does so, then “…his spirit saved on the day of the Lord.” (Acts 8:22; 1 John 1:8-9).
Second, another purpose of church discipline is to “Expel the wicked man from among you” (1 Cor 5:13). Here Paul is quoting from the Book of Deuteronomy (Deut 17:7; 19:19; 21:21; 22:21, 24; 24:7.) They were to purge the evil from among them. The reason for that was to remove signs and possible influences of evil. Paul argument in 1 Corinthians 5 is that the same as a little yeast “corrupts” the whole dough, in the same way that one man’s influence can corrupt the whole body. “A rotted apple, rots the whole basket. ” Barclay says about this quote: “So Paul comes to an end with the definite command, “Put away the wicked man from amongst you.” That is a quotation from Deuteronomy 17:7 and 24:7. There are times when a cancer must be cut out; there are times when drastic measures must be taken to avoid infection. It is not the desire to hurt or the wish to show his power that moves Paul; it is the pastor’s desire to protect his infant Church from the everthreatening infection of the world.”
Finally, in writing to Macedonian congregation of Thessalonica, Paul speaks about those who don’t work to put them out of church’s fellowship “…in order that he may feel ashamed.” (2 The 3:14). Again it is not the purpose of Paul to embarrass them in a pejorative way. His idea is that when he sees himself cut off from the community, he will see what he is missing and would be prompted to change.
So the purpose of church discipline is to cause change, to destroy the sinful nature and to rid all the evil influences within the people of God.
II. The Reasons for Discipline
When reading the Matthew text we see that the issue is a brother who has sinned against another brother and will not accept correction. That tells us that they don’t have a proper relationship with God, for they do not understand the idea of repentance. In 1 Corinthians 5, there is sexual immorality. A man has sex with his step-mother, and is bringing shame to the name of Christ among pagans and is mining the proclamation of the Gospel. The work of God is being hindered because of Him. If that’s Christianity (“a kind that does not occur even among pagans”), what would make people desire it? In 1 and 2 Thessalonians the problem is idleness. People would not work and are robbing their fellow-believers with their “give-me” attitude. They are self-centered. And finally in the Titus text, the problem is bringing divisions among the body. The unity of the body of Christ is fragmented because of these people.
All sin is bad. There are no comparison degrees with sin. All are a rebellion to the will of God and to His majesty. But what we see here is improper relationship with God, improper testimony to the world, self-centered people and fragmentation. This is the picture the devil tries to create everywhere. All of the above make his malefactor mission easier and successful. We “do not give the devil a foothold” (Eph 4:27). Discipline is a serious thing! It is the removal of the “foothold” for the devil, because if you give him a finger he will take the whole hand .
III. The Process of Discipline
Having seen the purpose and reasons for discipline, the natural question that pops to mind is: “How is discipline carried?” This is the goal of this final section.
First, create the proper context to administer discipline. Paul wrote, “Yet do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother.” (2 Thessalonians 3:15). Seeing a person under the lens of brotherhood and not of enemy sounds simplistic, but it is very important. We need to “speak the truth in love” (Eph 4:15), and in order to do so we have to see them as brothers and not as our enemies. It is our purpose that they renew and restore their relationship with God. Pray to God, be thoughtful, choose the words, speak with grace and leave God with the results. Love and harmony is what we are trying to promote, and that is what we need to display in the context.
Second, it is time to confront the person with his problem. Matthew 18:15-17 gives us the steps we are to take in this phase. First it needs to be in the individual level. There is no need for the whole world to learn. We need to respect confidentiality at this time (this is tied in with the idea context). Then, if it does not work we are to take it to the next level. We need to take one or two with us and confront the person again. They serve as witnesses. If the person persists in his stubbornness, the next step is church discipline. That is: you announce it to the whole church. If he refuses to listen, then you “treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector” (Mat 18:17). Pagans and tax collectors in the time of Jesus were among the most despised people. They were object of racial / religious and economical prejudice. At the time Jesus speaks these words, we also need to keep in mind that Jews had a very strong sense of community. At this time being treated as a pagan or tax collector, meant for them to be cut of all life’s support.
Third, withdraw fellowship from the person. This step is connected with the last step of confrontation. Paul’s instructions are: 1) warn him once (Titus 3:10a); 2) warn him twice (Titus 3:10a); 3) take note of the person (2 Thessalonians 3:14); 4) do not associate / do not eat with him (2 Thessalonians 3:14; 1 Corinthians 5:11); and 5) keep away from the person (2 Thessalonians 3:6; Titus 3:10b).
Finally, prayerfully this final step will complete the circle. Restoration is the goal of this whole process. After Paul wrote to the church in Corinth to withdraw fellowship from the erring brother, he would write in the Second Letter to the Corinthians, chapter 2, and verses 5 to 11 to restore this man to fellowship. “If anyone has caused grief, he has not so much grieved me as he has grieved all of you, to some extent-not to put it too severely. 6 The punishment inflicted on him by the majority is sufficient for him. 7 Now instead, you ought to forgive and comfort him, so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. 8 I urge you, therefore, to reaffirm your love for him. 9 The reason I wrote you was to see if you would stand the test and be obedient in everything. 10 If you forgive anyone, I also forgive him. And what I have forgiven-if there was anything to forgive-I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake, 11 in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.” Here comes in play the restoration. Full restoration means forgiveness, comforting and reaffirmation of love. The person needs them in order to heal. God knows the heart, and we trust to see him/her “produce fruit in keeping with repentance” (Matthew 3:8).
Conclusion
Above all things God desires a relationship with mankind. His desire and longing and willingness to have a relationship with mankind have been clearly manifested in the sending of His Son Jesus to take the penalty of sin upon Himself. God is a holy and just God. He will not allow His character to be compromised.
He has provided the redeemed in Christ with a community that would love, encourage and support him, as well as hold him accountable. It is the responsibility of the community to help the Christian to crucify the sinful nature and help walk by the Spirit. At times carrying this responsibility gets tough, and the community of believers needs to step in and confront the brother by holding him accountable and if necessary withdraw fellowship temporarily. It is the goal of church discipline to bring the sinner to his senses and restore him to fellowship with God and His people. Praise be to God when this happens! For when it does, the Satan looses and God triumphs again.
