We have been studying Matthew 18:15-20 and what has traditionally been called 'church discipline' (I'm not sure that is a good description of this process). There are some foundational principles that allow such a process to work. Jesus established these earlier in chapter 18:
1. A commitment to holiness (Matt 18:7–9).
2. A sense of brotherly responsibility (Matt 18:5-6; 10-14)
3. Personal openness in our relationships (Matt 18:15; James 5:16).
In his book Walking Together: A Congregational Reflection on Biblical Church Discipline, Wyman Richardson points out the wrong presuppositions that exist is some church's today that undermine effective 'church discipline.'
“Here are the tenets of a cultural ecclesiology:
1. Doctrine is a matter of personal opinion.
2. Churches should operate on the basis of what works.
3. A Christian is never, under any circumstances, to judge another Christian.
4. Churches should never remove a member from membership.
5. Love means never telling somebody that they are wrong.
6. Christians are to mind their own business.
“In contrast, here are some tenets of biblical ecclesiology:
1. Doctrine must be in accord with the apostles’ teaching that they received from Jesus (Gal 1:6-89; Matt 28:20)
2. Churches should operate on the basis of what Jesus has instructed. (Matt 28:20)
3. A Christian is sometimes, in certain circumstances, to judge another Christian (1 Cor 5:12-13)
4. Churches should sometimes (i.e., in cases of open, unrepentant rebellion) remove a person from membership. (1 Cor 5:2, Matt 18:17)
5. Love means being willing to tell somebody that they are wrong. (Jas 5:19-20)
6. Christians are to help one another and hold one another accountable.”
I would only add here that "remove a person from membership," in the way many churches would understand this, is not the best description of what is happening in 1 Cor 5. There is a serious spiritual and social action being taken by the congregation, they are not merely erasing his name off of the membership list.
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