Why We Practice Church Discipline

Introduction

As a church we believe in and practice church discipline (henceforth CD) (Handbook 10.0). This is because we are a believers’ church comprised of members who have made and continue to make a credible profession of faith (Statement of Faith-The Church; Church Covenant; Handbook 7.0). We not only believe in the Gospel but a Gospel order, which includes CD. These are flip sides of the same coin.
[Corrective[1]] Discipline, in a worldly sense, may simply be defined as “the practice of training people to obey rules or a code of behaviour, using punishment to correct disobedience” (Oxford). Biblically, the word discipline (paideia) means to train a child to reach maturity.

In Christian theology and ethics all precepts ultimately flow from principles and these from the person of God. A study of CD at the level of precept (especially in our culture) can lead to an emotional knee jerk reactions (intolerance, unaccepting, etc) but understanding the heart of what CD flows from reinforces our understanding and informs our practice.

Person: The Character of God

God is both a God of mercy and justice, grace/love and truth (e.g. Ex 34:6–7; Jn 1:17; 1 Jn 4:12).

It may be said that His discipline is directed against unbelievers in His wrath and wayward believers in His correction. Speaking of the latter Heb 12:7b–12 says:

“God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? 8 If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. 9 Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? 10 For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. 11 For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.”

God is the perfect disciplinarian.  

Principles from the Bible

A Believer’s Church- A Christian is one who has believed the Gospel and been added to the church through baptism. We can see the believing nature early in Acts, such as Acts 2:41. Unlike the Old Covenant people and many systems of Christianity today that uphold a mixed nature of God’s visible people (i.e. believers and unbelievers), the New Covenant people are a believing community. While it is true false professors creep in and that the Lord knows those who are His, we have an obligation to ensure membership is based upon a credible profession.

Perseverance of the Saints- The Bible teaches that those who are truly the Lord will ultimately not fail in the faith but persevere to the end. This means that the Church holds members accountable in the Lord. Only those who give a credible profession of faith and practice may be counted as part of it. If assurance is persistently and unrepentantly removed, the assurance of membership must likewise be withdrawn.
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The church is a believing community that is given shape through regenerate membership (baptism and discipline).

Precepts: What the Bible says.

There are a number of related Bible verses/passages that speak to the subject of Church discipline. Some of the most noteworthy are:

I.The Correct Spirit: The Lost Sheep precedes Mt 18; Gal 6:1; Lk 17:3
II.As A General Command: 1 Cor 5:9–13; 2 Thes 3:6
III.A Typical Threefold Process: Mt 18:15–20; Tit 3:10
IV.The Authority to Bind (bring into membership) and Loose (exclude from membership): Mt 16:16; Mt 18:19
V.The Example of the Man Excluded and then Restored because of Incest, 1 Cor 5:1 ; 2 Cor 2:5–11
VI.The Example of the Judgement of Ananias and Sapphira: Acts 5:1–11
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Those professing believers who persist in unrepentant sin, whether in faith or practice, must be excluded.

Summary

​Ultimately CD is for the glory of God (doing what God has said); the purity of the church (ensuring it remains a believers’ church); the good of the sinner (not allowing them to walk in false assurance) and the fear of the church (a renewed call for us to confirm our calling and election). (See Five Minute Moment, June 13, 2021, here). 

​“Today, many professing Christians see church discipline as unloving, and many church leaders are afraid to practice it for fear of appearing merciless. Yet refusing to apply church discipline in careful obedience to Scripture is the most unloving and merciless thing the church can do. When the church does not call out impenitent people, it gives them false assurance that they are in a state of salvation.” - Ligioner 

A Short Survey of Church Discipline from Church History

The church has tended to oscillate in this area [CD] between extreme severity (disciplining members for the most trivial offences) and extreme laxity (exercising no discipline at all, even for serious offences). John Stott, "The Message of Acts," p. 112.

1. Many early Fathers speak of a rigorous system of church discipline enforced by Church Elders that involved exclusion, penance and public confession.
2. In the early through the late Medieval Church, Roman Catholicism developed a complex system of church discipline:
   1. Sacrament of Penance (RCC 1422)
      1. Venial Sins- less serious sins which did not separate one’s communion with God or the Church
      2. Mortal Sins- serious sins that separated oneself from the grace of God until repented of through the appointed means of penance (e.g. something you did to demonstrate your contrition).
   2. Excommunication (to put out of communion, RCC 1463)- for major or minor reasons, which disallowed the Eucharist or participation in the life of the Church
3. At the Reformation all major Reformers upheld, and Biblically modified, the practice of CD:
   1. Martin Luther wrote widely on CD.
   2. John Calvin (The Institutes 4.12.1–28)
      1. Belgic Confession, 32.
   3. Mennonites (The Ban, Dordrecht Confession, 1632, 16)
   4. Anglicanism, Book of Common Prayer, Canons of 1604
   5. Westminster Confession, 1633, 30.3 & 4 (to which was appended a work on church discipline)
   6. Early Baptists (2nd London Baptist Confession, 1689- 26.7)
      1. Andrew Fuller spoke of CD in his work “The Backslider.”
      2. Upon coming to Broadmead Baptist Bristol, John Ryland practice CD to tidy up the messy church membership lists that had been left to him.
      3. C.H. Spurgeon preached many sermons on CD
   7. John Wesley made CD a part of the success of the spread of Methodism, stating it was “a plain command of God.”
4. In the 1800s with the rise of theological liberalism came the faulty notion that God alone “is love.” This impacted numerous areas of church life, including belief in regenerate church membership and CD. As a result the practice began to fall into disuse amongst many Protestant churches. For example, many Baptist churches are known to have created “active and inactive” membership lists so they wouldn’t have to be “unloving.”
5. In the late 20th century and early 21st century many churches have sought o stem the tide of secularism and bring about renewed church health through a rediscovery of Biblical methods such as CD (e.g. 9 Marks). 

Recommended Resources

9 Marks of a Healthy Church (In Library)

Ligonier Ministries

Church Discipline
The Process of Discipline
Love Church Discipline

​[1] There is also formative discipline (e.g. training in godliness) and restorative discipline (reconciliation).