Church Discipline

James D. Orten
Christian Expositor Spring 2003

Over the fifty years that I have been an adult member of the church, I have observed several instances of a brother being disfellowshipped from the body. The last one was just a few months ago. As far as I can remember, in every case this extremely serious action by the church had a bad effect. The Christians disciplined did not repent, and in many cases it caused trouble in the congregations. With such results, I see no way to define these actions except as colossal failures.

In my judgment, the reason for such disappointing results was that the congregations had not prepared for church discipline before they got into the stress of actually doing it. Because they were guided by emotions, rather than reason and Scripture, they were not effective with the subjects, and often did not obtain full support of the churches. Thus, I believe every congregation should study church discipline when no need for it is in view. That is precisely, the time, perhaps the only time, the topic can be studied objectively, and a clear Biblical plan made for doing the task appropriately.

The Basis for Discipline
Church discipline is based on the principle that every Christian is a member of the body of Christ, the church. Each member must function in unity with the body so that the member may be nourished spiritually and the body may function properly. Clearly, this principle was intended to benefit individual members and the body. Consider the human arm as an example. If it is cut off from the body, it will deteriorate within several hours and can never be restored. But the body too will suffer; it can continue to live, but it can not function as well as it should without it's arm. That is exactly the principle Paul sets forth in 1 Corinthians 12:12 31.

Other Scriptures teach the same principle. “Remember those who rule over you, who have spoken the word of God to you, whose faith follow, considering the outcome of their conduct” (Hebrews 13:7). The word “remember’’ means to keep in mind, especially considering the work they do and the responsibility they have.

Hebrews 13:17at states this principle in stronger terms: “Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive. For they watch out for your souls, as these who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would not be profitable for you.’’ In both verses the phrase ‘‘those who rule over you’’ means “your leaders.” Several translations say, “obey your leaders.” In the ideal case, these leaders would be qualified elders and deacons. But the apostle did not say elders and deacons. He used a general term for leaders, probably suggesting the truth that all churches have leaders, whether or not they have ordained elders. And the obligation for all Christians to work in unity with their leaders applies.

Consider Titus 1:5: “For this reason I left you in Crete, that you should set in order the things that are lacking, and appoint elders in every city as I commanded you.” Most people believe Christianity was established in Create by Jews who heard Peter preach on Pentecost and took the gospel with them when they returned home. Persons from that island are specifically mentioned among the nations represented in Acts 2:11. This would suggest that some of those churches had existed for years, perhaps thirty years, before Paul wrote to Titus In AD. 65 or 66. Even though these churches did not have ordained elders, they did have leaders, because they had men who were spiritually advanced enough to qualify as elders and be ordained by Titus.

Thus, all churches have leaders, and all Christians should work with their leaders under the direction of the Great Shepherd, Christ. And all churches should conduct Biblical discipline as needed and appropriate.

Purposes of Discipline
All acts of church discipline are done for two purposes that are of equal importance. Such phrases as “that the spirit may be saved” (1 Corinthians 5:5), “restore such a one to fellowship in the body’’ (Galatians 6:1), and “that they may learn not to blaspheme” (1 Timothy 1:20), point to an emphasis on saving the erring brother. Even a brother who has been put out of the church is not to be simply forgotten. We are told not to “count him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother” (2 Thessalonians 3:15). This refers to continued efforts to reclaim him to repentance and salvation.

The second goal of church discipline is to protect and spiritually strengthen the church. Speaking of the incestuous fornicator and heretic at Corinth, Paul said “a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump” (1 Corinthians 5:6). Leaving that incestuous person in the church would weaken respect for the morality the Christian life demands. Putting such an unrepentant one out would confirm the church’s faith in the morals it taught. Paul also suggested that this man’s flagrant and open life would harm the reputation of the church. He said that such “sexual immorality is not even named among the Gentiles.” The man s excommunication showed the world that he was living an aberrant lifestyle that was not approved by the body of Christ.

We cannot correctly understand disfellowship, if we remove it from the broad context of church discipline. Yet, that is what we usually do. We often speak and behave as if disfellowship were the only form of discipline available to the church. If that were true, the church would he comparable to parents who for every infraction of their rules – large or small -- beat their child in the severest manner. That would he a prescription for destroying the child. In contrast to that, disfellowship is the terminal point in a continuum of discipline; it is the action of last resort.

A Continuum of Discipline

1. Teaching and instruction. Just as all children need to learn in order to face life on their own, so all Christians must grow spiritually to prepare to live with the Lord in eternity. The truths and principles of Christ are food for the soul. Instruction against sin is preventive discipline. Whenever we learn new truths and submit ourselves to them, we are accepting discipline All Christians need such instructions throughout their lives. Such positive discipline compares to parents who give their children allowances to help them learn to manage money. It assumes good intentions on the part of the teacher and the taught. Every teacher contributes to church discipline and every listener receives it.

2. Mild negative discipline. The word for this in Scripture is “reproof.” In 2 Timothy 4:2, Paul told Timothy to “reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.” The word “reprove” seems to combine the ideas of teaching and rebuke. Several translations give the word as “convince,” others say “correct.” The writer suggests that the bearer is not accepting the teaching readily and needs somewhat more urging to do so. But the ideas of teaching and patience are still present. Note that Paul says “with all long suffering and teaching.”

3. Rebuke is similar to reproof but with a stronger tone. The Greek word Paul used means “a strong expression of disapproval.” Even here, however, Paul’s charge for patience and instruction is still in effect. Just stopping wrong behaviors is never sufficient. We must teach the spiritual behaviors that should be put in their places.

4. Sharp rebuke is a still stronger reprimand. Paul recommended it to Titus 1:12—13: “One of them, a prophet of their own, said, ‘Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons. This testimony is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith.. .“ The Cretan society had apparently influenced Cretan Christians to live a riotous lifestyle. According to verse 10, “whole houses” had been subverted. As sin always does, their consciences had become hardened. Only severe rebuke would likely crack the shell of these stubborn hearts.

5. Disfellowship is the final act of discipline for an offending Christian. In the early days of Christianity, this action acquired the descriptive title of excommunication, but it is spoken of in the Scriptures by such terms as “withdraw yourselves from” (2 Thessalonians. 3:6), “have no company with” (2 Thessalonians. 3:14), “mark and avoid” (Romans 16:17), and so on. After this action there is nothing more church leaders can do, except to pray for him.

Discipline Directly from God
There is a more severe form of chastisement, but it is exercised directly by God. When there were divinely inspired prophets and apostles it was sometimes administered through them. Paul called this form of divine discipline “delivering to Satan” and spoke of it in 1 Corinthians 5:5 and 1 Timothy 1:20. The first case was that infamous fornicator in Corinth, and the second was two brothers named Hymenaeus and Alexander, who had sinned so their consciences were defiled. Some Bible scholars believe the “destruction of the flesh” spoken of by Paul was literal, meaning these men would get sick and die, if they did not repent (2 Corinthians 2:14); we are not told of the results produced in Hymenaeus and Alexander.

There is remarkable agreement in good commentaries (i.e. Ellicott, MacKnight, Clarke) on the two passages noted above. Here is a sample comment by Ellicott on 1 Timothy 1:20:

“In this fearful formula the offender is delivered over to Satan, the evil one. It is a solemn excommunication or expulsion from the church accompanied with infliction of bodily disease or death. In ordinary cases, the offender was quietly expelled from the Christian society. But an apostle, and only an apostle, seems to have possessed the awful powers of inflicting bodily suffering in the form of disease and death.”

God’s direct discipline was also administered by Peter on Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5:1-11 and by Paul on Elymas the sorcerer in Acts 13:8. It was administered on Moses in Exodus 4:24-26 because he had not circumcised his youngest son. In these and other cases in the Old Testament, the direct actions of the Lord are clear. We can infer the reasons for God’s actions, and they fit the purposes for discipline noted earlier. This form of discipline, along with other special powers of the Spirit, passed out of human hands with the death of the inspired apostles. That does not mean that God does not still administer it. Paul said, “whom the Lord loves He chastens..,’’ (Hebrews 12:6).

When we look at this continuum, we can infer from it how God wants discipline administered. God wants church leaders to inform the unlearned, strengthen the weak, correct the unruly, and humble the hard-hearted. He clearly does not want a one-size-fits-all approach in which a tender new convert is given the same discipline as an arrogant heretic. Several passages lead to this conclusion.

“And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord” (Ephesian 6:4). There is a companion verse in Colossians 3:21. MacKnight explains that verse as: “Fathers, do not exasperate your children by harsh commands, or by rebuking and chastising them more severely, and more frequently, than their faults deserve, lest they be discouraged.”

Several times over the years I have heard Brethren say “strong discipline is what causes people to repent.’ That may well be true of stubborn and arrogant persons. But administered indiscriminately, I am certain it will hurt as many Christians as it helps.

“Now we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are unruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all’’ (1 Thessalonians 5:14). One brother said that we behave as if this passage read, “Warn the unruly, warn the fainthearted, warn the weak, and be patient with no one.”

“And on some have compassion, making a distinction; but others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh” (Jude 22-23). MacKnight gives verse 22 like this:

“And making a distinction in your methods of reclaiming sinners, have compassion indeed on some who have erred through ignorance and weakness, and reclaim them by the gentle method of persuasion.”

He advises stronger methods for those whose behavior shows a corrupt heart.

The type of measured discipline we have been talking about was not foreign to the Old Testament. There is a wonderful parable in Isaiah 28:23-28 that explains how God disciplined Israel, and it was in the same way His inspired writers taught it in the New Testament.

Taken together, these Scriptures teach that the effective discipline God wants is discipline that is fitted to the condition of the sinner’s heart and to the behavior he commits. A mean-spirited, unruly person needs sharp rebuke, in contrast to a tenderhearted but misguided person who needs gentle instruction and support. Not all of this discipline can be done from the pulpit. It seems a miscarriage of justice to lash out at an entire congregation for the sins of one or a few persons. Just as most patents would shrink from disciplining their children in public, so the pulpit is not a fit place to carry out much of the discipline needed in a church. Even the process of excommunication is to start in private (Matthew 18:15).

What Sins Merit Church Discipline?
The answer to the above question is “all types.” Christians should be taught that sins of every sort are against our new nature in Christ and should be put away (2 Corinthians 5:17). The great principles of spiritual living should be taught so as to cause Christians to shrink in horror from sin. As with children, an emphasis on positive training will often obviate the need for harsh discipline later.

Although the church through its leaders executes formal discipline, all Christians can help in the training and growth of their brothers and sisters. Whenever we see a fellow Christian sin, or one who is not growing spiritually, we should talk with him. Talking with others, however, obligates us to learn to do it appropriately. One is not a good parent just because be spanks his child; he is a good parent only when be effectively in stills godly principles. A church leader is not effective just because lie gets an erring Christian “told,” he is effective when he incites spiritual growth. Although all sins call for training and instruction, not all sins merit excommunication.

What Sins Merit Disfellowship?
We have great difficulty answering this question. There has been general agreement on some sins, such as fornication (1 Corinthian 5:11), but other sins named in the same passage are ignored. How many persons have you known to be disfellowshipped for coveoutness? And questions arise even on those that seem clear at first. For example, why did Paul order the church at Corinth to put out the incestuous man in I Corinthians 5, and not tell them to take action against other fornicators who were in the same church (see 2 Corinthians 12:21)? 1 believe our difficulty here is that we are asking the wrong question.

The church does not disfellowship sins, it disfellowships Christians who commit sins. The appropriate question is, “What type of erring Christian merits disfellowship?” The answer is, a Christian who stubbornly and openly continues in sin, for which lesser forms of discipline have not worked.An application of this principle will help one understand Paul’s seemingly inconsistent actions discussed in the preceding paragraph.

Not all Christians who commit the same sinful act are the same type of sinners. One may be sinning out of ignorance, another may be a new convert who has not yet grown, another may be under milder forms of church discipline, and on and on. All Christians deserve an opportunity to repent. Christ gave Jezebel of Thyatira, a fornicator and heretic similar to the man in I Corinthians 5, “time to repent” (Revelation 2:21). We will have no person who is more a disgrace to, or corrupter of, the church than was she.

A congregation might have to postpone excommunication of a brother because to do so at the time would hurt the church more than it would help. It makes no sense to “protect the church” by a process that might destroy it. Doctors must constantly weigh the benefits of an operation with untoward consequences it may have. This truth is taught in Jesus’ Parable of the Tares and the Wheat in Matthew 13. Stated succinctly the principle there is: Save the wheat first. And it is the principle that explains Paul’s decision not to throw out at once all fornicators in Corinth. He said, I am “prepared to punish all disobedience, when your obedience is completed” (2 Corinthians 10:6). MacKnight paraphrases Paul’s statement: “And with respect to those who profess themselves Christians, [we] are prepared by our miraculous power to punish all disobedience, as I shall do in Corinth, when the obedience of such of you as are disposed to repent is completed.”

The Process of Disfellowshipment
How is excommunication performed? The process of the final act of discipline is given in Matthew 18:15-17. It consists of:

A first warning given in private. The reason for this seems obvious. A person approached in private by someone he respects is more apt to listen. If he repents, “you have gained your brother.” If he does not repent within a reasonable period:

A second warning is given in the presence of one or two witnesses. The person sent the first time, and those added as witnesses, should be individuals most likely to elicit repentance. If after another period for reflection the person still refuses to repent:

The matter is taken before the church for final action. Note that in churches with fully qualified elders and deacons, this action must be done by a majority of the body The man in I Corinthians was delivered to Satan on Paul’s orders by a ‘‘majority” of the church (2 Corinthians 2:6). Apparently some in the church continued to support him, but the majority followed Paul and the action was effective. “This punishment which was inflicted by the majority is sufficient for such a man.”

Throughout this process the congregation should maintain an attitude of mourning for the loss of the sinner’s soul and for the hurt done to the body of Christ. The appropriate attitude toward a brother who sins is sadness, not anger (Matthew 18:31, 1 Cor-inthians 5:2, and 2 Corinthians 12:21). The reason for this response is that grief is an emotion that pulls people together (witness how people behave at funerals), while anger repels them. Any disciplinary action taken in anger is almost certain to harden rather than soften the sinner.

I am aware that some Christian’s take the position that the process described here applies only to “personal sins” while “sins against the church” may be handled differently Usually the appeal is to I Corinthians 5 and the wish is to dispense a faster form of “justice.” But the Scriptures do not substantiate such a conclusion. First, Paul said the man in I Corinthians 5 had sinned against a person. “I did not write to you for the sake of him who did the wrong, nor for the sake of him who suffered the wrong..” (2 Corinthians 7:12). Second, no sin hurts only an individual. All sins are against God whose law has been broken. Most sins are against other persons; and all sins hurt the church to some extent. For example, the man who commits fornication sins against his own body (1 Corinthians 6:18), against God (2 Samuel 12:13), against the partner with whom he participates in sin, against the spouse of his partner (2 Corinthians 7:12), and against the church (1 Corinthians 5: 1). The brother against whom a sin was committed is the logical one to start the process of discipline because he knows most about it, but Jesus (in Matthew 18) was talking about how to handle sin in the church,

Church leaders have the responsibility of learning to use the full continuum of procedures that promote spiritual growth. When that is done, there will be few instances in which a brother or sister will require the discipline of last resort. When it is needed, and done in the appropriate attitude and the right way, it will likely leave the church stronger and probably reclaim the erring disciple.

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