[Biblemat] The Buckhorn Teacher 4-29-07

Sat Apr 28 08:12:13 CDT 2007

THE  BUCKHORN  TEACHER

"Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching." 2.Tim.4:2

Buckhorn church of Christ - Thomas Thornhill - editor. 13675 Hwy 341, Randolph MS 38864-9117. Tel. 662-568-2960. Cell 662-419-5378. E-mail thornhill1 at frontiernet.net 

Vol.5                                                   April 29, 2007                                                 No.25

CHURCH DISCIPLINE  No.3

It is best to read the previous two articles to retain continuity of thought.

Previously, it was pointed out that church discipline is a necessity. Why? For the greatest reason in the world, God commanded it, "But we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you withdraw from every brother who walks disorderly and not according to the traditions which he received from us" 2.Thes.3:6. God expects His people to follow His standard of purity in both doctrine and life See previous article for other appropriate scriptures. Do we believe them? Will we obey them? If God said, "do it," that should be enough for a church wanting to be well-pleasing to God. 

In studying church discipline one needs to understand there are two different kinds of disciplinary action taught in the Bible. One is instructive and the other is corrective. What is the difference? Instructive discipline is preventive by nature, whereas corrective discipline is punitive and more severe in nature. It involves the withdrawal of fellowship by the church from the offending party. Withdrawal is the last resort. It is used only when preventive action fails. Preventive discipline is always better than the punitive cure. Punitive action against an offending member is good for the church if it is necessary, to restore the offender is better, but to prevent the offense is best. 

Instructive discipline involves teaching and training that begins when one first becomes a disciple of Christ by obeying the gospel. This is the discipline taught in the Great Commission, "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of The Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you." Matt.28:19-20. Also see Jn.6:44-45. 

This is the training and exercise of one's faculties by education and development. This type of discipline is done by both public and private instruction. Acts 5:42; 20:20; 18:26; 1.Thes.5:14; 2.Tim.2:2; 4:1-3; Tit.2:11-12; Heb.10:24-25. It is instructing the disciple of Christ how to act in accordance with the established rules which are found in the New Testament. It is teaching one to be submissive to the order and control of the great teacher, Jesus Christ. "Nevertheless, to the degree that we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us be of the same mind."  Phil.3:16. If the whole church submits to this rule, and walks accordingly, then all will be well with the church. 

Jesus gave Himself for the church "that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish." Eph.5:25b-27. The members of the church are responsible for continuing to maintain this purity so they may continue to have fellowship with the Father and the Son, and with one another.

To maintain this purity in doctrine or life, or both, members must walk in the light. "But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin" 1.Jn.1:7. When one chooses to no longer walk in the light then John says they are walking in darkness and do not practice the truth 1.Jn.1:6. To walk in darkness means one is walking in sin, thus he/she becomes a spot or blemish in the church. Such a one is no longer following the established rules laid down by Christ. Once the sin becomes known to the body, both the sin and the sinner must be dealt with, for the spot or blemish must not be allowed to remain in the body. If it is allowed to remain it will slowly contaminate the whole body, just as a deadly cancer will finally destroy the whole body if it is not removed. Paul described sin as leaven, that can leaven the whole lump if it is not purged from the lump 1.Cor.5:6-7; Gal.5:9. So, sin in the church left unchecked will ultimately destroy the church. Remember, Jesus will present the church to Himself without spot or wrinkle and if you want this church to be part of that group then you will work to remove the spots and blemishes. 

When instructive discipline does not work, sterner discipline must be exercised, but not necessarily by withdrawal at this time. That may be necessary later, but first it is time to seek to remove the sin and restore the sinner. If restoration then takes place the purpose of discipline is accomplished and there will be no need for further action, i.e., the withdrawal of fellowship.  If the sin is private in nature, then Matt.18:15-16 show the procedure to be followed to remove the stain of sin. If step one, or steps one and two work, then that should be the end of it. The sin has been removed and fellowship between the offending parties has been restored. If the word of God is followed it will be. It serves no good purpose to publish private sins and make them public. 

When the sin is more public, then we turn to Gal.6:1; Jas.5:19-20. "Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted."  "Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins." Note that the ones seeking to restore those overtaken in sins must first make sure they themselves are spiritual, and handle the sinner with gentleness. They reprove, rebuke and exhort the sinner as Paul taught Timothy 2.Tim.4:2. They do this with love and tenderness, loving the sinner while hating the sin. 

If all the above steps fail to restore a brother and remove the sins then it will finally be necessary for punitive discipline to be exercised. This is a drastic step and should be approached with much prayer and meditation. In the next issue I will write more about why punitive discipline is sometimes necessary and what it is designed to accomplish. 
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