THE DUTY OF DISCIPLINE

 

As concerning church discipline, when all is said and done, there is often more said than done. We may be hearers of the Word, but not doers of the Word—and that is self-deception. Too often we use grace as a license to tolerate the intolerable. That is what had occurred in the Corinthian church as we hear Paul forcefully confronting a matter of egregious promiscuity in 1 Corinthians 5. 

Paul underscores the duty of THE ASSEMBLY, “In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together, along with my spirit,” (v. 4a). The saints assemble in the name of the Lord to proclaim the glory of His name. All that occurs in that assembly is to honor Him. If we tolerate that which He would never endorse, then we defame His name. Notice that Paul calls on the church to take action. He does not act on his own, nor tell the pastor to excommunicate the unrepentant member. The sin was public and so the correction was to be public also. 

Church discipline does not begin here. There is a process as our Lord declared in Matt. 18:15-20. But if one on one confrontation does not bring repentance, then there must be two or three to communicate the seriousness of the sin, and should that fail it is the duty of the assembly to demand repentance, or else the member is to be removed.

This action rests in THE AUTHORITY, “with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ,” (v. 4b).  When the church assembles, the Living Lord Jesus Christ is present with the congregation. It is not human authority, but heavenly authority that is foundational to such a grave action. In Revelation, we see Jesus walking among His churches, (cf. Rev. 1-3), and over and over He calls out to them, “Repent, or else!”  

The church is not the pastor’s church.  It is not the people’s church. It is the Lord’s church—and He carries absolute authority. So, the body of Christ can act with authority in directing and disciplining the membership as those who are under His authority. The body cannot be healthy unless its immune system defends against the infection of iniquity. Failure to do so brings the eventual death of that congregation.

The seriousness of church discipline is seen in THE ACTIVITY, “deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus,” (v. 5‬‬). When a member is excommunicated from the body, they are moved from the church’s spiritual protection and thrust into the domain of Satan. They will suffer physically in order to be saved spiritually. 

The activity of discipline is not ultimately punitive, but restorative. The church’s responsibility is not ended when the wayward member is removed. Through intercession and compassion, they may be led back to the fold as they confess their sin. The act of discipline reveals whether they are a straying saint or a stubborn sinner—the difference seen in Peter’s repentance after denying Jesus and Judas’ recalcitrance after betraying Jesus.

RELATIONSHIP RULES

 

The church is all about relationships—our love relationship with our Father that establishes our love relationship with the family. The ministry of the church will progress or regress according to the quality of the relationships. Paul gives to Timothy and to us relationship rules in chapter 5. The key verse says, “In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of the elect angels I charge you to keep these rules without prejudging, doing nothing from partiality,” (v. ‭21‬‬). 

Rule #1 concerns HOW THE PASTORS RELATE TO MEMBERS, (v. 1-2).  The church is the family of God, and properly relating to each other is demanded. Pastors are to set the tone. 

Older men are to be encouraged as fathers. Timothy is told not to rebuke them. There is a high level of respect that is due them. The wisdom gained through the years by older men can be very helpful to a young pastor willing to listen. 

Younger men are to be viewed as brothers. A young pastor like Timothy is not to see them as rivals, but as peers. We should work alongside each other and support one another. 

Older women are to be honored as mothers. There is a tendency for some young men in ministry to be brash and think that time has passed the older generation by. A young pastor will find that these older godly women have powerful prayers and a measure of compassion that we desperately need.

Younger women are to be treated as sisters. The need for “purity,” is stressed by Paul. Many a preacher has disqualified himself for ministry by sexual sin with young women in the church. We are not to see them as sensual objects, but as spiritual sisters. 

Rule #2 involves HOW THE CHURCH RELATES TO WIDOWS, (v. 3-16). Pastors must lead the church to care for widows. These have the special attention of God’s affection and woe to the church that neglects them!  James said that the essence of pure religion is to care for widows, (James 1:27). While it is the responsibility of family members to care for them first—the church ministers to those without family to help them, (v. 4, 8, 16). 

These widows are qualified for church support because of their godly character, (v. 3-8). They also were designated for care due to their biological age—above 60, (v. 9). Then, they must have “a reputation for good works,” (v. 10). 

Younger widows were to remarry, (v. 11-15). The sexual desire in a younger widow would tend to lead to immoral behavior, unless properly fulfilled in marriage. They are still of child-bearing age, and their potential for Kingdom impact through producing godly offspring is vital for the church’s flourishing.

Rule #3 instructs HOW THE MEMBERS ARE TO RELATE TO ELDERS, (v. 17-25). How a church treats its pastors will be crucial in whether God blesses the church. 

There is a word about compensation for the elders, (v. 17-18).  You cannot pay a preacher for what he’s worth—no way you could afford him!  He deals with eternal souls. How much value would you assign to those?  Instead of paying him for a job, we enable him to do his job. By adequate compensation, he is freed to concentrate on his task, knowing the needs of his family are supplied. Double honor is due those pastors who do well. But, what about those who do not?

There is a process for charges against an elder, (v. 19-20). If an elder does not do his duty and compromises his integrity, he is to be confronted. But, it must be done through the process God has established. It requires specificity of the charges and multiplicity of the witnesses. Someone always has an axe to grind. No preacher is immune from accusations and the Devil will raise up false witnesses to divide a church and destroy a ministry. So, this is not to be a private, “whisper campaign.”  It is to be a public rebuke when required. 

There is a demand for character in the elders, (v. 21-25). How a church relates to God’s man is done in light of God’s scrutiny, (v. 21) and is to be done without prejudging or partiality. The God who will judge angels will judge churches and elders someday, so we are to judge righteously. 

One of the reasons  men fail in ministry is that they have been prematurely selected for service, (v. 22). A pastoral candidate must be thoroughly vetted. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Timothy, as a pastor, would help lead the church in ordaining men to ministry. He is to be thorough and unyielding in Scriptural standards for the elders, (cf. 1 Tim. 3:1-7). 

Self-control is important for an elder, but Timothy may have been excessive in his own life, (v. 23). He was so scrupulous that he would not drink a drop of wine, yet the unclean water he was consuming was making him sick and hindering his ability to serve. To mix in some wine would purify the water while not making intoxication likely. Before a contemporary pastor embraces this as an excuse to have a beer, glass of wine, or shot of whiskey, understand that obtaining clean water is not typically an issue in our culture. So, have a glass of sweet tea instead!  Should you be in a place where the water is tainted—then Paul’s counsel is wise, so “Don’t get your bowels in an uproar!”

Ultimately, God will judge the elders—either now or in eternity, (v. 24). He will reward us for good works now, or later, (v. 25). What a difference it makes when the elders realize God is watching!  It checks us before we yield to temptation and encourages to serve Him when no one else takes note.

SERVING AND SPEAKING WITH SINCERITY

 

Preachers are not to be peddlers—snake oil salesmen—who are not being a prophet, but about making profit. They mix in enough truth to label it as the Word of God, but what is in the bottle has no saving power. It is a placebo that makes people feel better about themselves, but cannot cure the terminal disease of sin.  Paul’s example was one of serving and speaking with sincerity. There are three basic elements of such motivation and manner of ministry the Apostle presents in 2 Corinthians 2. 

Serving and speaking with sincerity calls for RESTRAINT, (v.1-4). Paul had chosen to communicate with tenderness in a letter, rather than with toughness in a visit. There were many issues in the Corinthian church that called for confrontation. So, he had addressed these needful matters in his first epistle to them. It was painful discipline, but essential correction.  The pastor must lead the church to exercise discipline properly.

Paul felt no joy in having to bring them to tears. His hope was that their repentance would be an ongoing work of the Spirit among them, so when he did visit there would be joy and not grief. While there were still issues (and always will be until  Christ returns and we are glorified), the Apostle writes with restraint. Having “spanked,” them, Paul will now hug them.  Corporal punishment of a child is not to become damaging abuse. It is to be administered with restraint and done in love rather than anger. This is true in dealing with sin in the church.  Then sorrow is supplanted with smiles!

Serving and speaking with sincerity seeks RECONCILIATION, (v.5-11). By this, we do not refer primarily to the reconciliation with God brought in salvation, but reconciliation among the members attained by church discipline for sanctification. 

Sin in the body affects the whole body. When a member must be disciplined, it is a painful process—a spiritual surgery. Apparently that rebellious member was now repentant. The correction had achieved its purpose, so the erring member was to be forgiven and reconciled to the congregation. Failing to practice church discipline is wrong, but so is a purpose of rejection instead of restoration of the sinning member. Satan will take advantage of being permissive or punitive concerning sin in the body. 

Unrepentant sin is a cancer of the soul. If the church is soft and overlooks the sin in the name of love (while shirking truth), then the malignancy spreads. This is what Paul had to forcefully address in his first epistle to them. Yet, if we are severe in confronting the sin in the name of truth (while neglecting love), the result is the amputation of the member, bringing loss to both them and the church. Admittedly, if the cancer of sin is not dealt with through the removal of the malignancy of wickedness, then to save the body, the member has to be “amputated,” but the hope is that the chemotherapy of confrontation and the radiation of repentance will deal with the disease, without the amputation of excommunication!  Satan would kill or at least cripple the church body by diverting us in being permissive or punitive. He is so crafty, promoting either “love,” or “truth,” when God’s way calls for both in balance. 

Carl Sandburg described Abraham Lincoln this way: "Not often in the story of mankind does a man arrive on earth who is both steel and velvet, who is hard as a rock and soft as a drifting fog, who holds in his heart and mind the paradox of terrible storm and peace unspeakable and perfect."  In dealing with erring members, we must have a hand of steel in a glove of velvet!  This is the nature of pastoral ministry.

Serving and speaking with sincerity demands RELIANCE, (v.12-17). As we consider the challenges in church life in this pagan environment  and our own human frailties, we ask with Paul, “Who is sufficient for these things?”  How can I be tough and tender?  The answer is, “I can’t,” but Jesus can—and He is in me!  Paul will answer this question, “Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.” (3‬:‭5‬-‭6‬‬). It is in reliance on Jesus—His virtue and victory—that we can serve and speak with sincerity.  Preacher, Jesus indwells you—rely on Him!

At Troas, Paul would see a vision of a man from Macedonia begging him to come share the Gospel. Paul would be obedient and take the message of Christ to Europe for the first time, (v.12-13). That is how the Gospel came to Corinth on the Grecian peninsula and the church was established. It was in reliance on God’s guidance and grace that the Apostle accomplished this work.

Relying on Christ, we are “more than conquerors,” (cf. Rom.8:37). Paul illustrates the principle here, of being conquered by Christ in order to be conquerors with Christ, (v.14-17). The Apostle uses the imagery of a Roman general returning in triumph from battle. The cavalcade winds through the city of Rome, preceding through the cheering throngs, with the priests swinging burning braziers of incense. To the captives who had surrendered to the conqueror, it was the smell of life, but to those who had resisted it was the stench of death. The former group would become servants while the latter would be slain. The Gospel we share has the same effect. Those who receive it find eternal life, while those who reject it enter everlasting death. The Gospel witness has a fragrant aroma of heaven, as well as the smell of hell’s smoke and sulphur. 

None of us are sufficient for the magnitude of such a ministry. For this, we need the power of God and Christ’s Gospel. Only then can we avoid being religious racketeers who peddle God’s Word—offering scraps of truth concealing toxin—for personal glory and gain. Let us take our calling with utmost sincerity. God has appointed us and holds us accountable as to whether we are speaking an undiluted message with unselfish motive.

TOUGH AND TENDER

Picture in your mind, an NFL linebacker with rippling muscles and hands of viselike grip, who on Sunday afternoon can bring down a quarterback on a blitz—and on Sunday night can rock his newborn to sleep and caress his wife with those same hands. That is illustrative of the balance between tough and tender needed in a pastor leading a church to confront sin among the membership.

There has been a lack of toughness to tackle this issue in many churches. It is in part a reason for the anemic faith and compromised testimony of a significant number of members.  Yet, there are pastors who are leading their church to confront spiritual malignancy in the body of Christ.  Obviously texts such as Matthew 18:15-20, 1 Corinthians 5-6, and 2 Corinthians 2:5-11 are prominent in guiding the church in this matter. But, do not forget Galatians 6:1. It reminds us that we must deal with the erring not only with toughness, but tenderness. 

Think of a doctor setting a broken bone to heal. Someone was running, they stumbled and fell, fracturing their arm. They are in pain. Sin can do that to any of us. That is why Paul warns the church to be gentle in dealing with such brokenness. We all can be tripped up by temptation. Pastors are not immune. The competent doctor does not just grab the arm and roughly yank it here and there, for such would bring further hurt and not healing. Skillfully, he sets the bone. He does not ignore the problem, but he does not exacerbate it either.

Discern the cause and cure for correcting the stumbling soul. Apply the proper measure of church discipline with the right mix of toughness and tenderness. The church elders must teach and model this for the church members to follow. It is part of preaching the whole counsel of God.