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- Preaching the Living WORD through the Written WORD - 2 Tim 4:2
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THE DOCTRINE OF CHURCH DISCIPLINE - 1 (6/10/12) Grace Bible Church, Gillette, Wyoming Pastor Daryl Hilbert I. PURPOSES IN CHURCH
DISCIPLINE A. Restoration in Fellowship
(Gal 6:1) 1. Meaning
of “restore” a) The word
“restore” (katartizō) in Gal. 6:1 means
to mend a net or something broken, to repair, to fit out, equip, put in order,
arrange, or adjust. It does not carry the idea of legalistic or vindictive
punishment. (1) Restoration
means to “mend, fix, or restore” the sinning believer’s fellowship with God
and believers (Mat 4:21; Mar 1:9). (2) Restoration means to “fully train” the
sinning believer to have victory over temptation and sin as well as be
Christ-like (Luk 6:40). (3) Restoration means to “equip” the sinning
believer with the spiritual means to live and minister for Christ (Eph 4:12;
Heb 13:21). (4) Restoration means to “complete or perfect”
the sinning believer to maturity (1Co 1:10; 1Th 3:10; 1Pe 5:10). b) Restoration
is instantaneous when sin is confessed to God but also a continuous process
of mending, maintaining, and maturing (present imperative - katartizō - “You must keep on restoring). 2. Fellowship
with God (1Jo 1:3,6,7, 9) a) The Greek
word for “fellowship” is koinōnia. Basically
it means to have in “common.” Some suggest that it stems from the preposition
sun which means together. b) When the believer trusts in Christ He is
forgiven of his sins and enters into a relationship with God as his Father
(1Jo 1:3). The believer will never lose that relationship but may interrupt
his walk and fellowship with God through sin. c) When that sin is confessed, fellowship is
restored with God and the believer is to walk in fellowship with God by not
sinning and walking in righteousness (1Jo 1:6, 7, 9 cp. 1Jo 2:1). 3. Fellowship
with believers (Mat 5:23-24 ) a) Jesus
taught that fellowship with other believers held a high value to God. b) He taught in Mat 5:23-24 that if you are
presenting an “offering” (dōron -
gift) to God at His altar but remember that you have an offended brother;
your first (prōtos - first in number)
priority should be to make things right with your brother. Then your offering
to God will be in keeping with God’s character and will. B. Removal of Defilement (1Co
5:6-8) 1. After
restoration, the next purpose for church discipline would be that it removes
sin from the church and its influence in the lives of believers. 2. The Corinthians had a high tolerance for
sin and as a result it would influence others in the church. 3. Sin is never stagnant but is like the
active “leaven” (zúmê - yeast)
in a lump of dough. The only remedy for sin, just like leaven
in a lump of dough, is to remove it and start over. 4. Typically, like the Feast of Unleavened
Bread (Ex 12:15-17), the absence of leaven was a symbol for freedom from
Egypt; here it was a picture of the believer’s position of freedom from sin. C. Warning of Believers (1Ti
5:20) 1. Church
discipline not only rebukes the “one who continues in sin” (present
participle of harmat,anō
- sin or miss the mark) but warns the rest of the church not to sin. 2. It causes a holy “fear” (phobos - fear or terror, Eng. phobia) in
the hearts of God’s people. It is in this aspect we ascertain the phrase the
“fear of the Lord.” It is a reverence for God’s holiness and the knowledge
that He does not wink at sin. It also acknowledges that as His children, we
have reverential trust toward Him and submit to His will. D. Makes Sound in the Faith
(Tit 1:13) 1. Another
purpose for church discipline is so that the sinning believer will be sound
in the faith. 2. To be “sound in the faith” means to have
a “sound” (hugai,nō
- healthy) view of God’s Word as its implemented into the believer’s
life. 3. It also produces a sound, healthy, and
godly perspective of sin and its destructive consequences. II. PERSPECTIVES IN CHURCH
DISCIPLINE A. Mourning for the Brother
(1Co 5:2; 2Th 3:15) 1. Paul
states that the Corinthians were arrogant in their tolerance of sin rather
than mourning over it. 2. “Mourn” (penthe,ō)
means to grieve and lament. Believers are to grieve and lament over sin
whether in our own lives or the lives of others. 3. Believers mourn over sin because it
offends God, nailed Christ to the cross, ruins lives, diminishes ministry,
and stains God’s reputation. B. Spiritual Decorum (Gal
6:1b,c,d) 1. When
approaching church discipline believers are to respond spiritually and not
carnally. To respond spiritually means to view church discipline from the
perspective of God and His Word. 2. Therefore church discipline is to be
dealt with in a spirit of gentleness. “Gentleness” is the Greek word prau,tês which could
be translated as “meekness” in in original sense. Meekness is not weakness
but balance and strength over emotions. It regards sin as sin but understands
the struggle of the sin nature in believers. It seeks to restore the believer
but not to destroy him. C. Humility in Temptation
(Gal 6:1e,f) 1. In
addition, church discipline must be approached with an attitude of humility.
Those who do the restoring must be do so “looking to themselves,” which means
that they need to realize that they themselves as well as every believer is
susceptible to sin and temptation. 2. This produces humility and guards against
super pious “holier-that you” attitude. In fact, we are able to minister only
when we have s humble attitude (cp. Mat 7:3-5). D. Uncompromising to Sin (1Co
5:2, 6-8, 13) 1. Church discipline
also must be approached with the perspective of not compromising on what God
calls sin in His Word. 2. The Corinthians did not take sin
seriously nor did they seem to regard sin as sin. They should have removed
the sinning brother from their midst long before Paul told them to. E. Forgiveness at Repentance
(2Co 2:5-9) 1. Since
the purpose is restoration and not punishment, it behooves believers to
accept the one who has been restored. 2. There is the need for forgiveness,
comfort, love, and encouragement to the one who has sinned (vs. 7-8). 3. Ostracizing and unforgiveness
after repentance and restoration will make all restoration efforts
counterproductive (vs. 7b, 9). Furthermore, the unforgiving parties will be
in disobedience and sin (9). |
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