Holiness and Discipline
Text: Matthew 18:15-20
Introduction: It is difficult to read a paper or watch the news today without hearing something about an upcoming, and according to some, inevitable pandemic of the avian influenza virus. You might know it as the "Bird" flu. This influenza A virus subtype occurs mainly in birds, is highly contagious among them, and sometimes deadly. The H5N1 virus, as it has been labeled by scientists, does not usually infect people. However, some cases have occurred in humans. Most of these have resulted from people having direct or close contact with infected poultry or contaminated surfaces. Here are a few additional facts about the virus.
„X As of March 20, 2006, there have been 186 human cases of the "Bird Flu" reported to the World Health Organization since 2003. It has accounted for 105 deaths so far, about a 56% fatality rate.
„X The "Bird" flu has proven resistant to amantadine and rimantadine, the two most common antiviral medications used for influenza.
„X To date, human infections with avian influenza A viruses detected since 1997 have not resulted in sustained human-to-human transmission. However, because influenza A viruses have the potential to change and gain the ability to spread easily between people, monitoring for human infection and person-to-person transmission is important.
„X The most effective way to prevent the spread of the disease is to immunize healthy birds (China has recently found some success in this area) while destroying potentially affected animals.
„X There currently is no commercially available vaccine to protect humans against the H5N1 virus that is being seen in Asia and Europe. However, vaccine development efforts are taking place. Research studies to test a vaccine to protect humans against H5N1 virus began in April 2005, and a series of clinical trials is under way. Therefore, when humans are infected, the primary treatment is to quarantine those carrying the virus until it has run its course.
I’m not sharing this information with you to incite panic. The Bible tells us to worry about nothing, but to pray about everything (See Philippians 4:6-7). Neither am I attempting to convince you that mankind is about to suffer the wrath of God because we have filled up the measure of our sin (See Matthew 23:32). I can’t speak for God on that. No, I share this with you because it is important for us to understand that extreme measures sometimes need to be taken when a potentially destructive situation threatens the welfare of many.
This morning, in our last message in the series on holiness entitled, "In the World, But Not Of It," I want to look at what God has to say about how to keep the sin of some, with its amazingly destructive potential, from infecting others in the body of Christ. Lest we think for a moment that sin is not too destructive, let me remind you what the Scriptures say about it (See Romans 6:23a; Proverbs 14:11; Romans 5:12). When the sin of one believer affects the well-being of another, God has designed a way to bring spiritual health back to the body through a process that has become known as church discipline. Our Lord speaks of it in Matthew 18:15-20. I invite you now to turn in your Bibles to this text and let’s discover what God says about how to keep sin from spreading to the rest of the body.
I. The Purpose of Church Discipline. Just as loving parents discipline their children (See Proverbs 13:24) and God disciplines those whom He loves (See Hebrews 12:6), so the church is called to discipline its members. There are at least four good reasons for us to do so.
A. It results in reconciliation. The word ’reconcile’ means to change the condition of a relationship from one of conflict to one of fellowship. This happens as we remove the barriers to peace and unity. When a person sins against another believer, not only has their friendship been affected and a barrier erected, but so has the offender’s relationship with God (See Isaiah 59:2). Both can be reconciled when sin, which was previously hidden, is brought to the light, confessed and forgiven (See Matthew 18:21-22).
B. It results in repentance. Discipline is always intended to improve one’s character (See Hebrews 12:10-11). This is exactly what happened to the man who was living an immoral lifestyle in the church at Corinth (See 1 Corinthians 5:1, 12-13; 2 Corinthians 2:5-8). He stopped walking in the flesh and renewed his commitment to follow after Christ.
C. It protects the body from infectious sin. When conflict is not resolved quickly, it is common that it will spread to others. The writer of Hebrews understood this (See Hebrews 12:15). The Apostle Paul agrees, warning that a little leaven, leavens the whole lump (See 1 Corinthians 5:6).
D. It protects the reputation of Christ. When a church member continues to sin in a way that is evident to others, Christ, as the head of the church (See Ephesians 5:23), is dishonored (See Romans 2:21-24).
Illustration: In March of 2002, six Catholic priests, including one bishop were arrested and charged with sexual abuse in the Diocese of Santa Rosa, CA. One hundred forty thousand Catholics and more than a 100 clergy live in this diocese, most of them in Sonoma County. Obviously, the sin of a few did not do much to advance the cause of the many. Sister Jane Kelly who blew the whistle on these men says that for 27 years she watched the cases pile up, and the local diocese circle the wagons. She had been speaking out for most of that time and was usually ignored. When she could take it no long, she wrote a book, "Taught to Believe the Unbelievable" detailing the sins of the clergy. Said Sister Jane, "We’ve taken Peter’s Rock and turned it over and oh my..., what do we find? People are rising up and not saying the yeses any longer and they are demanding answers, and they are demanding accountability and responsibility. And the Church will never be the same." I would add, "...neither will the reputation of Christ in Santa Rosa, CA." Why? Because the church made an attempt to hide sin rather than deal with it.
II. The Process of Church Discipline. The ideal situation for believers is to be actively involved in each other’s lives so that at the first clear evidence of sin a gentle admonition can restore the offender (See Galatians 6:1). If this were to happen more regularly, very little church discipline would have to be carried out. Yet we have a new phenomenon that seems to be occurring in many of our larger churches today. A large percentage of the people are attending services, but deliberately avoiding involvement with others. Many do this because they don’t want Christians to be peering into their lives. But look we must! And when it is necessary that discipline be applied, God has designed a process for it. Before we look at the steps here at two principles to consider. (1) Knowledge of the sin should always be kept to the smallest group possible and (2) discipline should increase in strength until there is a solution.
A. Step 1: The person who has been wronged should go to the offending party (See Matthew 18:15). If the sin is confessed and the relationship is reconciled, the process ends here. If not...
B. Step 2: The person who has been wronged goes a second time to the offending party, but with one or two witnesses (See Matthew 18:16) who will confirm everything that was said and done. Again, the next step is only taken if confession and reconciliation do not occur.
C. Step 3: The person who has been wronged is to take his or her case to the church (See Matthew 18:17a). Here at CLCBC this means the elders who are charged with the responsibility to shepherd the flock (See 1 Peter 5:2). If the elders agree with the offended party, then it is their task to seek confession of sin and reconciliation between the two parties. Only when these three steps have failed to produced a godly outcome is the last step taken.
D. Step 4: The rest of the church is to be notified and the offending party is to be treated as an unbeliever (See Matthew 18:17b-20). This includes denying the opportunity to worship with the body and anything else associated with this gathering (i.e. communion etc.). The Lord finishes this part of His teaching by assuring the disciples that they act with no less authority than that given to them by God Himself. What they bind on earth or loose on earth will be likewise done in heaven.
E. Step 5: The final step is to restore the person if and when true repentance has occurred. Application: Because we have so many congregations that are disconnected from one another, it is possible and even likely, that individuals who have been disciplined in one church can simply hide in another. You need to know that if we discover that someone is being disciplined by another congregation, we will cooperate in the process.
III. The Practice of Church Discipline. Any discussion of this topic, must ask the question, "For what sins do we apply church discipline?" If someone places too much importance on food (i.e. gluttony -- See Hebrews 12:16) or plays too many video games (i.e. the inappropriate use of time -- See Ephesians 5:15-16 NASV) should we take them through the process? What about if someone engages in an extramarital affair (i.e. adultery -- See Exodus 20:14) or cheats on his income tax (i.e. failing to submit to God-ordained authorities -- See Romans 13:1)? The Bible doesn’t provide a single list of sins which are to be subject to church discipline. If we’re going to rightly apply this important teaching, we have to survey God’s instructions for the church found throughout the New Testament. When we do, we find that we’re told to break fellowship with those who are: (1) DIVISIVE - See Romans 16:17. (2) SEXUALLY IMMORAL, GREEDY, IDOLATROUS, ABUSIVE, GIVEN TO DRUNKENNESS, BLACKMAILERS - See 1 Corinthians 5:11. (3) LAZY AND REFUSE TO WORK - See 2 Thessalonians 3:6-10. (4) SHAMING CHRIST - See 1 Timothy 1:20. (5) TEACHING HERETICAL DOCTRINE - See 2 John 10-11. Application: It seems to me that all of these offenses have at least two things in common as we have noted previously. First, they are ongoing, public sins that bring reproach to the church, and far worse, to the reputation of Christ. Second, they are the kind of sins that can easily spread to others. If we want to be a holy church, then we have no choice but to follow the principles that God has given us to bring it about. One of the most important and neglected of these is church discipline.
Conclusion: The Christian life is compared to a race that we are all running together (See Hebrews 12:1). The winners are not those who finish first, but those who finish at all. Part of our responsibility as followers of Christ is to come alongside of those who have stumbled in this race, pick them up and help them finish. I have only been involved in disciplining a few believers. I have never found it to be an enjoyable experience. The truth is that it is usually somewhat messy and always emotionally taxing. But if believers don’t take the initiative to help restore a brother or sister who is living in sin and ruining the reputation of Christ, who will? I close by sharing the story of six young men were slated to compete against one another in Seattle, Washington. The event was the hundred-yard dash. The men lined up, waited for the starting gun, and took off in a sprint. About halfway down the track the man in front stumbled and fell, skinning his hands and knees. The other five men stopped and helped him up. After they brushed him off and were sure that he was unhurt, they decided to finish the race together, holding hands. None of the judges could tell who won the blue ribbon; none of them could see through their tears. No one in the stands that day would ever forget this demonstration of compassion. As the race ended the crowd stood and cheered for ten minutes. You see, these young men were competing in the Special Olympics, and they reminded us that when a friend falls, we must come to their aid so that all of us can finish the race. How much do you care about your church family? Enough to come to their aid when they fall?
