My previous article, which asked whether church discipline is necessary, began with the observation that formal correction is fairly rare in local churches today. Growing up in the church I can’t remember a single instance. Looking around Angolan churches today, it’s uncommon to the point of being strange. But the Bible explicitly teaches about—indeed expects—the exercise of discipline in the local church. Having already made a case for it, in this article I will unpack Jesus’ direction for the process of church discipline.
Formal correction is fairly rare in the local churches today.
As Jesus puts it, in Matthew 18:15-17, “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.”
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The Process for Church Discipline
1. Private Rebuke
Repentance is always the goal of discipline.
Notice, in the passage quoted above, that the emphasis is on repentance. This is always the goal of discipline, at every step, that the sinner will repent and be restored. Christ wasn’t primarily concerned with exposing sin, but leading the offending party to repentance. “Go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone.” It’s a private affair, in a spirit of meekness. There should be no arrogance on the part of the one rebuking his brother or sister. Though Christ doesn’t explicitly state it, we should cover the process in prayer.
“If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you.” That is the second step.
2. Communal Correction
In the next step of the process two or even three more people are involved. Consistent with the previous step, the purpose isn’t to defame. We confront the brother or sister with love, admonishing them and urging them to repent. The other people serve as witnesses to this step of the process (Matthew 18:16). They aren’t there to heap up the burning coals or bully. This actually builds on the Old Testament practice of not condemning someone solely on the basis of a personal opinion (Numbers 35:30; Deuteronomy 17:6; 19:15).
This step reduces the chances of injustice.
Jonathan Leeman comments very helpfully on this. “The process should involve as few people as possible for yielding repentance. When the process moves beyond one or several people, church leaders should lead the process. The length of the process depends on how long it takes to establish that a person is characteristically unrepentant. Individuals should receive the benefit of the doubt until the evidence indicates otherwise. Leaders should involve and instruct the congregation as appropriate.”
Crucially, then, this step reduces the chances of injustice. But if there is no repentance, it moves us towards the third step in the church discipline process.
3. Public Confrontation
This step involves the elders of the local church. It might also result in a public announcement. But why the church? Jesus taught that the local church holds the keys (i.e. the authority) to declare to the nations who belongs to Jesus and who doesn’t (Matthew 16:19). Therefore, only the church possesses the authority to declare someone’s profession of faith illegitimate. This is because the church is Christ’s representative institution on earth.
Church discipline is a means of grace.
The final and regrettable step of the process is excommunication (Luke 19:2-10). This is the last resort, and only when all the evidence has been weighed. It also shouldn’t be immediate but the final stop of a long, fair process.
The Reasons We Do Discipline
Though it isn’t usually seen as such, church discipline is a means of grace. It’s given by the Lord and it’s for our good (1 Corinthians 5:1-13; 2 Corinthians 2:6; 2 Thessalonians 3:6-15). Even though it is initially painful to receive discipline, it restores us to spiritual health and protects the church from the leaven of sin. So, writes Giovanni Casimiro, “the goal of every true church should be to be a healthy community, and biblical discipline is an essential requirement for our churches to be healthier.”
Church discipline must be applied for the glory of God.
Casimiro continues, “although both Luther and Calvin did not include church discipline when speaking of the marks of a true church, they nevertheless recognised it as indispensable to the church. “In Calvin’s view, discipline, or the exercise of the power of the keys, played a necessary role in the life of the church, for it provided a bond that united the congregation and preserved people in the faith.”
Church discipline must be applied for the health of the church; for the sake of the disciplined and the local members; for the collective witness of the church; and for the glory of God.
