Discipline Leads to Biblical Peace

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Sermon Introduction

What if I told you that there is a neglected responsibility in many churches today? Not hard to imagine is it? Just look at the state of the church, and that one is easy.

What if I said that this thing that many churches leave out is a source of peace? Peace in your home, peace in the church…. Would you want to be sure to our church studies the Scripture, learns about it, and pursues it?

As individuals…. Would you seek to learn more about it, prayerfully ask God to let this ministry be practiced in your church, and trust that God could act for the good of all through it?

Yes! Peace, and the good of all are certainly worth pursuing are they not?

Discipline. Discipline is often neglected in much of the church in the U.S. these days. Ours is an age of cafeteria religion – take the items you like, put aside what you don’t. And discipline is the rutabagas on the menu. Not many churches have it on the menu, and those that do often are inconsistent in how it is practiced.

“In a [broad] sense, discipline is everything the church does to help its members pursue holiness and fight sin. Preaching, teaching, prayer, corporate worship, accountability relationships, and godly oversight by pastors and elders are all forms of discipline.” [source: 9Marks.org]

So, that is broad isn’t it? You can see the relationship of discipling to other activities of the church like accountability, or corrective discipline.

Usually when we say “church discipline” we mean that aspect of corrective discipline.

Church discipline is when we confront someone’s sin and call them to repent. IF they repent, great!

If they don’t repent, we have to take another person with us, and hopefully they see we’re serious. If not, the church leaders / elders have to ensure they know repentance is needed and that the consequence of refusing to repent will be exclusion from membership in the church (excommunication).

Notice we don’t just mean “excommunication” when we talk about church discipline. It is more nuanced, not so black and white, just like discipline of a child by a father doesn’t just include a whooping.

But, church discipline can get serious, can’t it? When membership, or as we call it at New City “partnership” is meaningful and a reflection of membership in the kingdom of heaven…. To take that away is serious! We as a church, going through this process with an unrepentant person, eventually removing them from partnership would be saying, “We’re very concerned that you are living in rebellion, bringing shame on the church and the name of Christ. It is not good for you or anyone, and worst yet, you may not be a follower of Christ because you’re unrepentant.”

Heavy isn’t it!? Spiritual life is weighty. And weighty and hard work is so often neglected.

But when practiced in that broader context of discipline, most of the times it never gets to the point of having to remove someone from fellowship. Much pain is avoided when it is done in love, and everyone involved is submitting to the Lord Jesus.

This morning we will see in our text the restoration that happens through biblical discipline.

Prayer

· Father, you are holy. I’m a sinner in need of grace.

· We want to see your kingdom come to bear more fully in Middle GA

· Grow is in doing biblical church discipline so that you are glorified, lifted up in our eyes, magnified in the hearts of those around us here in Middle GA too.

· Use us. Make us holy like Jesus.

· May this text be made clear for us this morning.

· In Jesus’s name.

Big Idea: We must practice biblical church discipline for the building up of the body of Christ.

Please turn to 2 Cor 2.

As you’re turning there, recall that Paul wrote this letter to help mend some broken relationships with the Corinthians. Paul had written in 1 Corinthians that he had travel plans: Paul would visit Corinth on the way to Macedonia, stay a long while, go to Macedonia, and then come back to Corinth to collect their offering supporting the Jewish church in Jerusalem.

But, plans changed. Paul actually came back sooner - for an emergency visit, a painful visit – because problems sprang up after they received 1 Corinthians.

And something happened during that painful visit. It seems Paul was attacked or slandered. His character was called into question by someone in the church. And out of necessity, perhaps because the church wasn’t handling the situation, he left and wrote a letter that we don’t have today, a letter we hear about in 2:3-4, a tearful letter.

Paul wrote the tearful letter so they would address one man in particular that caused a lot of pain during that visit, sinning against Paul and the church body. This tearful letter gave the church instructions on how to discipline this man who remained unrepentant after Paul’s visit.

So let’s read 2 Cor 2:3-5 where we will see that Paul’s tearful letter calling for discipline was motivated by joy and love, and that Biblical discipline is motivated by joy and love:

Biblical discipline is…

I. … Motivated by joy and love (2:3-4)

2 Corinthians 2:3–4 ESV

And I wrote as I did, so that when I came I might not suffer pain from those who should have made me rejoice, for I felt sure of all of you, that my joy would be the joy of you all. For I wrote to you out of much affliction and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to cause you pain but to let you know the abundant love that I have for you.

2 Corinthians 2:3–4

3 And I wrote as I did, so that when I came I might not suffer pain from those who should have made me rejoice, for I felt sure of all of you, that my joy would be the joy of you all. 4 For I wrote to you out of much affliction and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to cause you pain but to let you know the abundant love that I have for you.

Was Paul being selfish in calling for the church’s discipline on the unrepentant sinner? No. What drove Paul, and what should drive us to be faithful in church discipline?

A. Joy

v. 3 shows Paul doesn’t want pain, but wants rejoicing when he visits them again. He desires that long-term joy would outweigh the short-term pain that may result.

Not a selfish pleasure, not a desire for vengeance, but the desire for godly joy of all.

So a godly pursuit of joy in Christ is driving Paul, and should be what drives us to exercise church discipline.

And when we pursue someone else’s joy, desiring that they find deep joy in Christ… what’s that?

That’s love – pursuing someone’s joy in Christ.

B. Love

4 For I wrote to you out of much affliction and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to cause you pain but to let you know the abundant love that I have for you.

What would have been easiest for Paul?

Often times the easiest thing to do in difficult situations involving sin is to just walk away. But that’s not what we should do if we truly love someone. Because sin isn’t good for anyone, and because walking obediently with the Lord will bring more joy in Christ, we are motivated by love to pursue the good of others, their joy in Christ.

Joy in Christ, love for Christ, and love for one another are good and powerful motivators for us to follow Christ obediently. These motivate us to pursue living holy lives.

Transition: While it is motivated by joy in Christ and love, it can be painful.

II. … Painful (2:5-6)

2 Corinthians 2:5–6 ESV

Now if anyone has caused pain, he has caused it not to me, but in some measure—not to put it too severely—to all of you. For such a one, this punishment by the majority is enough,

2 Corinthians 2:5–6

5 Now if anyone has caused pain, he has caused it not to me, but in some measure—not to put it too severely—to all of you. 6 For such a one, this punishment by the majority is enough,

The church confronted the man who was in sin, using church discipline to show him the error of his sinful ways. After that, Paul hears the report of the church doing well in disciplining the man. It has been tough, it has caused pain. Pain for the whole church. Pain for the individual under discipline.

But, it has accomplished the good goal. He has repented. He has turned to God. He has believed the good news in this area of his life.

We also must be willing to face a little short-term pain for the good of one another. I have to be willing to swallow my pride and admit my sin when you confront me. And you have to be willing to face me, and show me the error of my ways, that I am sinning.

The fear of being told, “The bible says, ‘don’t judge’” (Matt 7:1) can’t stop us from loving one another. No, we don’t pronounce the final sentence on anyone. We don’t condemn. And yes, we take the log out of our own eye before trying to take the spec out of our brother’s eye.

But we still take it out! And in the same book we are commanded to discipline, to confront the one that sins against us (Matt. 18:15-20).

The short-term pain can now give way to long-term gain that they aimed for. Biblical discipline is aimed at restoration / biblical peace.

III. … Aimed at restoration / biblical peace (2:7-11)

2 Corinthians 2:7–11 ESV

so you should rather turn to forgive and comfort him, or he may be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. So I beg you to reaffirm your love for him. For this is why I wrote, that I might test you and know whether you are obedient in everything. Anyone whom you forgive, I also forgive. Indeed, what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sake in the presence of Christ, so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs.

2 Corinthians 2:7–11

7 so you should rather turn to forgive and comfort him, or he may be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. 8 So I beg you to reaffirm your love for him. 9 For this is why I wrote, that I might test you and know whether you are obedient in everything. 10 Anyone whom you forgive, I also forgive. Indeed, what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sake in the presence of Christ, 11 so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs.

So confrontation precedes comfort.

Now that the man has repented, he can be comforted by hearing of the forgiveness.

The church now gets to love on him, restore him to fellowship with the believers.

Hallelujah!

Hopefully it is clear why this is our big idea:

Big Idea: We must practice biblical church discipline for the building up of the body of Christ.

Truly we aim for and pray for restoration in biblical church discipline. The goal Jesus had on the cross, to redeem and restore that which was broken is our mission, our witness as a church. So lastly I want to help us see all of this through the lens of the gospel.

We may have been together long enough for you to be expecting that New City always strives to see everything the Scripture commands us to do in light of what Jesus has already done.

If we take out of context what God tells us to do, we mess it up.

We can take good biblical commands and easily lose our way if we do not look at it in light of the gospel.

It may be that we get self-righteous and proud about following the command. Or, we start thinking the strength comes from us rather than from Jesus.

We must keep in mind who God is, what He’s done in Christ, and who He has made us.

That’s what I want to be sure I share clearly this morning: connecting biblical discipline to the gospel.

So, we’ve saved the best for last!

Biblical discipline is ...

IV. … Part of living in light of the gospel

Gospel

[Adapting from Jonathan Leeman’s book “Church Discipline”:]

Look at two statements of the gospel and its implications. One is shorter and the other is longer and more complete.

The shorter version sounds pretty decent, but lends itself to leaving out discipline and more towards cheap grace.

The longer version lends itself to providing a biblical context for church discipline.

See what you think.

God is holy. We have all sinned, separating us from God. But God sent his Son to die on the cross and rise again so that we might be forgiven. Everyone who believes in Jesus can have eternal life. We’re not justified by works. We’re justified by faith alone. The gospel therefore calls all people to “just believe!” An unconditionally loving God will take you as you are.

God is holy. We have all sinned, separating us from God. But God sent his Son to die on the cross and rise again so that we might be forgiven [and begin to follow the Son as King and Lord]. Anyone who [repents and] believes can have eternal life, [a life which begins today and stretches into eternity]. We’re not justified by works. We’re justified by faith alone, [but the faith which works is never alone]. The gospel therefore calls all people to “[repent and] believe.” God’s love is beyond unconditional, even to the point of against all conditions, and this loving God will take you [contrary to what you deserve, and then enable you by the power of the Spirit to become holy and obedient like his Son. By reconciling you to himself, God also reconciles you to his family, the church, and enables you as his people to represent together his own holy character and triune glory.]

In this summary we see that the gospel leads us to practice church discipline …

A. Because our Lord is holy

Because God is Lord, our ruler, I should submit to Him and obey Him.

Because God holy, I should revere Him and never think ill of Him.

Because God is holy, He has every right to pronounce on sinful humanity His condemnation.

I choose to spit on His face and make little of His holiness when I prefer my sin and its false promises.

But, He has dealt with sin in Christ Jesus….

So the gospel leads us to practice church discipline …

B. Because our Savior pursues our good

Jesus is the perfect man, and lived a perfectly holy life, and yet took the discipline from God that we deserved. We should have been separated from God forever because of what we did. But Jesus stepped in because He and the Father wanted to show off God’s grace. Our sins were paid for by Jesus’s death on the cross. And He conquered sin and death for everyone by His righteous sacrifice and resurrection from the dead 3 days later.

Now, everyone who repents and believes trades in all their sin, and gets all of Jesus’s righteousness!

And the ultimate good is achieved – God has not destined us for wrath but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep, we might live with Him. (1 Thes. 5:9).

Our ultimate good is that we get God! Eternal life with Him, enjoying Him forever!

So the gospel leads us to practice church discipline …

C. Because we are family

Good fathers discipline their children.

Families love one another and aim at good for one another.

New City, we are family! We get to be more than just a Sunday morning gathering. We get to be the church all the time! We are to be involved in one another’s lives on more than a superficial level.

We grow in love for one another in trusting relationships so that we dare to help when we see a sibling in sin, rather than simply walking away or gossiping behind their backs.

So let us pursue love and joy in Christ for one another.

And let’s represent Jesus to one another!

D. Because we are to represent Jesus

What if we truly acted as Jesus would act for one another?

We would help the weaker or deceived brother or sister like Jesus helped.

We would remind one another of what it is to live holy, rooted in a strong faith in the Christ and his work, so that we live in light of the good news.

We are ambassadors, missionaries, representatives to those outside, showing them what Jesus is like.

God has made us family, made new by the Spirit because our holy God pursued us!

What grace that God has given us one another to walk together as God’s children!

Conclusion: Be about building up the family

[Resolution]

Do we as NCC ES practice church discipline? Yes! While it is not always pleasant, it is for our good.

I know people who see God’s good design in discipline and want it.

I have experienced the loving confrontation of my sin by a brother, and I am grateful for it.

NCC has seen marriages restored after a spouse was unfaithful.

And we’ve seen people not respond to the discipline, and seem to walk away from the Lord, or at best hold to some different gospel. They say some of the same names we do, but truly believe something the Scriptures do not teach.

We’ve seen through our Missional Communities the body of Christ walking with one another, lovingly checking on one another’s spiritual condition.

That’s a difference that only the gospel can make!

And whether or not we see church discipline through the lens of the gospel will determine whether we have the joy and love of Christ available to drive us toward one another.

If we see the gospel clearly, remembering who God is (He is holy), that Jesus pursued us when we were running from Him, and He has brought us into His family, then we will represent Him to our brothers and sisters. We will prayerfully and actively pursue discipline. We will accept it from others, and lovingly give it to others.

Let’s do this well. Let’s be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger.

Therefore, if any of us has reason to believe that another follower of Christ is drifting… growing cold… weakening in faith… getting close to danger… we ought to pray for them. WE ought to pray about our role. We ought not gossip about it. Then…

Perhaps he or she invites the other into his or her home and says, “I don’t mean to be nosy. I don’t mean to precipitate a crisis or meddle in your affairs, but I’m a little concerned. It seems to me you’re down recently. I haven’t noticed you praying anymore. Is there something wrong that I can help you with? Please, I’m not talking down to you. I’ve gone through those things myself. Can I help?”[1]

The gospel should humble us, so we can then come alongside the person, not come down on the person. We can build up the family for God’s glory and the church’s good.

Prayer

Lord’s Supper.

[1] D. A. Carson, “Some New Testament Principles on Church Discipline,” in D. A. Carson Sermon Library (Bellingham, WA: Faithlife, 2016), 1 Co 5.