Church dicipline steps

A Beautiful mess

The proses

Discipline for Division

Dicipline for Division

Example of Discipline

Titus 3:9–11 ESV

9 But avoid foolish controversies, genealogies, dissensions, and quarrels about the law, for they are unprofitable and worthless. 10 As for a person who stirs up division, after warning him once and then twice, have nothing more to do with him, 11 knowing that such a person is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned.

Introduction

Why Do we Practice Church Discipline?

Answer: To keep the purity of the CHurch

What is the puropse of Church dicipline

Answer: To restore the one from His sin

Church dicipline involves the spiritual care of people. it is the prosess by which members of the church guard one another from from the deceitfulness of sin and uphold the truth of the gospel.

It is important that we note most instances of church Discipline take place informally as Christians speak the truth in love to one another. and point each other back to Christ. However, in a world full of sin, there will be times in which informal Discipline will not be enough.

This happens when Church members refuse to repent and follow down a road of sin.

theese situations are why Jesues provides instructions on this topic.

these situations are why Jesus provides instructions on this topic.

First of all we must identify what dicipline is not:

The goal is never to remove someone form Membership.

The Goal is always to re-direct and restore

There are nine steps

Have a conversation with the individual privately

if nesesary Take one or two witneses with you (V. 16)

If necessary, involve pastors by informing them of the situation

if nesesary Give notice to the one caught in sin

if nesesary Tell it to the Church

Remove the person from membership (last resort)

if necessary, Take one or two witnesses with you (V. 16)

If necessary, involve pastors by informing them of the situation

if necessary, give notice to the one caught in sin

if necessary, Tell it to the Church

Remove the person from membership (last resort)

1 Corinthians 5:1–13 ESV

1 It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans, for a man has his father’s wife. 2 And you are arrogant! Ought you not rather to mourn? Let him who has done this be removed from among you. 3 For though absent in body, I am present in spirit; and as if present, I have already pronounced judgment on the one who did such a thing. 4 When you are assembled in the name of the Lord Jesus and my spirit is present, with the power of our Lord Jesus, 5 you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord. 6 Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? 7 Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. 8 Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. 9 I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— 10 not at all meaning the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. 11 But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one. 12 For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? 13 God judges those outside. “Purge the evil person from among you.”

Matthew 6:5–13 ESV

5 “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 6 But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. 7 “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. 9 Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. 10 Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread, 12 and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

Matthew 4 ESV

1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” 4 But he answered, “It is written, “ ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ” 5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple 6 and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, “ ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and “ ‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’ ” 7 Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ” 8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “ ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’ ” 11 Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him. 12 Now when he heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew into Galilee. 13 And leaving Nazareth he went and lived in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, 14 so that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: 15 “The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles— 16 the people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, on them a light has dawned.” 17 From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” 18 While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. 19 And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” 20 Immediately they left their nets and followed him. 21 And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. 22 Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him. 23 And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people. 24 So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, those having seizures, and paralytics, and he healed them. 25 And great crowds followed him from Galilee and the Decapolis, and from Jerusalem and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.

1 John 5:1–16 ESV

1 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him. 2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. 3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. 4 For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. 5 Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? 6 This is he who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not by the water only but by the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. 7 For there are three that testify: 8 the Spirit and the water and the blood; and these three agree. 9 If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater, for this is the testimony of God that he has borne concerning his Son. 10 Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning his Son. 11 And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. 13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life. 14 And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him. 16 If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and God will give him life—to those who commit sins that do not lead to death. There is sin that leads to death; I do not say that one should pray for that.

Matthew 18:15–17 KJV 1900

15 Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. 16 But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. 17 And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.

1 Chon 5:1-16

Matthew 18:18 ESV

18 Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

Matthew 18:118

Have a conversation with the individual privately (V. 15)

Matthew 18:15 KJV 1900

15 Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.

Notice where it begins, a private confrontation. If you know of unrepentant sin you should go to the one who is in sin in love and encourage him to repent.

However, do not gossip or then you are the one in sin gossip only causes division and a host of other problems we are not to go to others and tell them about the concerns we have we are to go to the one that the problem exists with

this includes both

Hoever do not gosip or then you are the one in sin gosip only causes division and a host of other probums we are not to go to others and tell them anout the concerns we have we are to go to the one that the problum exists with

this inclueds both

Instances where we were offended

Instances where we observed sin.

The Command of our savior is that you speak privately first

When confronting another believer there are four rules of communication you should keep in mind

1. Be honest

2. Keep current

3.Attack the Problem not the person

4. Act don’t react

The first step is always dealing with the situation alone without involving others. If the individual repents at this stage, there is no need to go any further with the proses. As the believer has been restored.

Note: if the sin is a public sin that everyone knows about start at step #3

examples would be

-getting arrested

-pregnancy out of wedlock

-ext.

II. if necessary Take one or two witnesses with you (V. 16)

if nesesary Take one or two witneses with you (V. 16)

Matthew 18:16 KJV 1900

16 But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.

This step only takes place if the individual does not repent in step one.

It should also be noted here that this proses is only used for Clear Biblical sins not interpretive sins.

Christ here instructs us to take one or two others along here, but not yet involve the church if the pastors have already been notified it might be a good idea here for him to go along hat this point.

In addition at this point it may be wise to talk to a friend of the offending party maby that friend can be involved here to help the offending party see his error.

THose involved at this point shoul evaluate the responce of the individual and determine if the evidince can be established.

this step may take a significant amount of time as it should. This is not a prosess to be rushed as the goal is restoration.

However there may be times that repentance is not going to take place and in this situation in keeping with the word of God the prosess must be advanced to step 3

If nesesary Involve pastors by informing them of the situation

This step is part of step 2

At some point during this prosess the pastor and other nesesary church leaders should be notified of the charges against the individual.

never talks about the involvement of the pastor but given the responsibilities they have over the church as shown in other parts of scripture it makes since that he would be involved in the proses of church discipline at some point.

As we talked about above in more public sin and difficult situations this is where the proses starts.

At this point the leadership has the responsibility to consider the charges and weather the sin is serious enough to weren’t Church discipline. Are there circumstances that the accuser may not be aware of? are there other members that might be better to speak to the one caught in sin?

The leaders of the church need to think through a verity of questions and carefully Shepard those involved through the church discipline proses.

if nesesary Give notice to the one caught in sin

Before taking the matter to the church the leadership needs to make contact with the individual caught in sin.

This is always important but especially important when the information has been given to leadership second hand.

The goal here is to explain the charges against them. and express love and concern. If the charges are founded and the person remains unrepentant at this point the person should be informed that the charges will be shared with the church body.

The key in this step is to insure there is no misunderstanding and to put the one who has sinned on the correct path. the sin is not taken to the church unless it is unrented at this stage or it is public sin.

if nesesary Tell it to the Church

if nesesary Tell it to the Church

Matthew 18:17 KJV 1900

17 And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.

At this step the pastor will communicate to the congregation what has taken place.

A ton of wisdom for the pastor is needed in this step. enough needs to be communicates so that the church knows what has taken place and that church discipline is required. However, they need not communicate so much that it would make returning after restoration so difficult because of embracement or public shame

At this point the church members should be instructed to pray, not gossip, and those who have a personal relationship with the offending party should be encouraged to prayerfully reach out. enough time should be given for members to lovingly reach out.

most cases the church should give some time in this proses but there may be times when quicker action is required, maybe even immediate action if the church is confident about the lack of repentance

1 Corinthians 5:1–5 ESV

1 It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans, for a man has his father’s wife. 2 And you are arrogant! Ought you not rather to mourn? Let him who has done this be removed from among you. 3 For though absent in body, I am present in spirit; and as if present, I have already pronounced judgment on the one who did such a thing. 4 When you are assembled in the name of the Lord Jesus and my spirit is present, with the power of our Lord Jesus, 5 you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.

Remove the person from membership (last resort)

if nesesary Give notice to the one caught in sin

Remove the person from membership (last resort)

Matthew 18:17 KJV 1900

17 And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.

Remove the person from membership (last resort)

This step is only taken after all others have been exhausted

notice what the text says “let him be to you as a gentile and tax collector”

If removed the church is to treat the removed individual as they would to one that is not of the family of God.

This individual now belongs to the world.

The goal is not to shun him or cut off all relationship together rather he should be treated as one who is in need of the gospel.

any interaction should be to call the person to repentance and remind him of the hope in the gospel members should encourage him to attend the services of the church and sit under the preaching of the word.

The key is even in this step resortation is key. even after an individual has been removed in order to keep the reputation of the church pure the goal shuld be to resore the person the goal of church disipline is never to remove.

The key is even in this step restoration is key. even after an individual has been removed in order to keep the reputation of the church pure the goal should be to restore the person the goal of church discipline is never to remove.

Conclusion

I. Step one V. 15

II. Step two V. 16

III. Step three V. 17

Conclusion

So What are the Steps of Church dicipline

Have a conversation with the individual privately

if necessary, Take one or two witnesses with you (V. 16)

If necessary, involve pastors by informing them of the situation

if necessary, give notice to the one caught in sin

if necessary, Tell it to the Church

Remove the person from membership (last resort)

The key in church Discipline is always restoration, but not restoration at any cost

The key in church Disipline is always restoration, but not restoration at any cost

Church discipline should never be a gossip event

Church dicipline should never be a gosip event