Church Discipline

Why Do We Do Church Discipline?

What is this practice we call church discipline?

 “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. 16 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. 17 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. 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. 19 Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”

First off I want you to notice how this process begins.

It DOES NOT BEGIN WITH THE CHURCH

We should not use the church as a crutch to deal with our personal offenses.

This is simple one of you offends me I go directly to you. I don’t go discuss it with my or your friends, we do that just to gather support to our side.

No we go straight to the offending person.

Now 80% of church discipline ends right here. Usually a misunderstanding or the offender does not realize what they did.

Secondly Take two or three others with you.

This is not a witch hunt, do not go get 2 or 3 of your buddies and gang up on them.

At this point you would involve church leadership, for you guys that would be pastor Jamie, myself, Greg, Wes and Michelle, Adam. These others should be ones of spiritual discernment and authority.

This is purposed to not establish the sin but to establish the lack of repentance to 2 or 3 witnesses.

Thirdly, bring it before the church

The churches job at this point is not to ostracize but to love and correct.

Point is no different than second to bring to repentance and if they refuse the church is now a witness to it.

Fourth and final, they will be treated as an unbeliever.

In our current policies their name is read from the pulpit and they are no longer members.

How are we to treat unbelievers, share the gospel with love in hopes of repentance.

We must remember that through every step the absolute goal is repentance and restoration.

This is a long process

 "19 Do not admit a charge against an elder except on the evidence of two or three witnesses.”

Elders are a different matter

tells us that we should not even entertain charges unless there are at least 2 or 3 witnesses.

Why So that the elders do not get burdened down by sinful accusations.

These men should already have the proven intergrity to be given this much

So what do we do with verses 18-20?

First lets deal with verse 18

Does this teach we can change what is done in heaven.

NO! what it means is that when we follow this process we the church is simply agreeing on earth what the Father has already done in heaven.

John MacArthur says it like this “Now the point is this, a very simple point, heaven ratifies what is done on earth when the church follows this process of discipline. That’s exactly what it means. Now that’s authority. Listen, if you’re a sinning person in the church and somebody goes to you and you don’t repent and two or three go to you and you don’t repent and the whole church is pursuing you and you don’t repent, we can say your sins are bound on you and we can say that because we’ve gone through the process to determine that based upon the revelation of the word of God and when we say that we are simply saying what the Father has already said in heaven. In other words, the church is acting in the behalf of the will of God. The Father in heaven is acting with us. What a tremendous thought.” 2014

Verses 19-20 two of the most misused verses in all of Scripture.

How many have heard “when 2 or 3 of us are together praying Jesus is there with us and what we pray for will be done.”

This is so wrong it is a false teaching, these verses are a continuance of 18

Why? what is the first few words of verse 19, people say that these two verses are totally separate. Why would Jesus say “and again i say”

The ultimate point of doing this church discipline process is to make the church holy as he is holy.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .