Thursday March 26, 2015

Read Matthew 18:15-20

Regarding membership in the local church, we have seen that the accepted practice throughout the entire New Testament was that a new convert would immediately join a local church and be committed to that group. We also saw that the existence of church government through elders and the commands given to them and the congregation suggest strongly that committed membership was the norm rather than the exception throughout the New Testament Church. We also mentioned in passing yesterday the idea of church discipline. Today we delve deeper into an area that many of us would rather ignore - the area of church discipline.

In Matthew 18:15-17, Jesus outlines the way the church is to seek the restoration of a believer who has fallen into sin - a four-step process commonly known as church discipline.

First, when a brother sins, he is to be confronted privately by a single individual against whom he has sinned (vs 15). If he refuses to repent, that individual is to take one or two other believers along to confront him again (vs 16). If the sinning brother refuses to listen to the two or three, they are then to tell it to the church (vs 17). If there is still no repentance, the final step is to put the person out of the assembly (v17; cf. 1 Cor. 5:1-13).

The exercise of church discipline according to Matthew 18 and other passages (1 Cor. 5:1-13; 1 Tim. 5:20; Titus 3:10-11) presupposes that the elders of a church know who their members are and that these members are committed. Without committed membership, a difficult situation can easily arise. If, for example, person A has been attending Peevesville Church for some time and needs to be disciplined then without committed membership, person A can simply leave the church and attend another church. In fact, this is no hypothetical example - it’s a common problem in most churches so much so that discipline rarely happens. Many ministers and elders are reticent to discipline because it will almost invariably lead to a reduction of church numbers and/or giving. In fact, disciplining the wrong person could lead to a severe reduction in both.

Even worse, without committed membership couples or groups of people could indulge in sin and move churches when confronted to avoid discipline. They could continue to indulge in sin and attend church without ever being confronted about their sinfulness! 

Discipline was seen by many of the late reformers as one of the marks of a true church. Given that discipline has all but fallen by the wayside, in unison with the fall in commitment and membership, these reformers would not see many of today’s churches as true, genuine and biblical churches. But the fault is not always on the leadership. Many godly leaders have sought to follow godly discipline only to find the person in question moving to another church. Some even move more regularly to avoid any chance of being found out, challenged or disciplined by the church.

 Prayer:

Based on today’s reading passage and notes jot down your own prayer points.

Adoration:

Confession:

Thanks:

Supplication:

· Pray that each and every believer in your church would be willing to be a member of your church and that they would joyfully submit themselves to the leadership/eldership.

· Pray for the missions that your church supports.

 Discussion & Reflection

1. Should the church be involved in discipline? Why or why not?

2. How can the church cope with the decline in commitment that allows people to run to another church instead of being confronted with their sinfulness?