A Hole in the Process
This month marks the 6th anniversary of our church plant here in Southwest Idaho. Lord willing, this is the first and last church I pastor, and I’ll be buried here. One of the curious things I have observed over these years is a misunderstanding regarding the process known as “church discipline.” I am satisfied with the descriptive phrase, though it is somewhat of a misnomer in getting to the heart of the matter.
Discipline is definitely involved in “church discipline,” and it is not at all an unloving term. When we are unable to exhibit sufficient, godly self-discipline, then Scripture provides us with principles for disciplining one another in the body of Christ. Yet, another valid description of the process would be “biblical restoration,” because the heart of the church’s effort is to see a sinner restored to right standing with God and fellowship with the church body.
Most pastors are familiar with the Lord’s teaching in Matthew 18:15-20 (NASB1995). This text, along with Galatians 6:1-5 and the case study of 1 Corinthians 5, constitutes the majority of the principles and steps to take with regard to dealing with sin in the local church. However, even among churches that affirm the importance of church discipline and who are ostensibly committed to following the Matthew 18 process, I have found a significant hole in their practice. And what is that hole? It is the refusal of other churches to honor and support the discipline process of other churches.
When a church is seeking to counsel and discipline members of their body, it is not uncommon for the one who is unrepentant to flee accountability. They reject the diagnosis of sin or they refuse the remedy, often justifying themselves by impugning the character of those who are seeking to love them with the truth of Scripture. It is common for a person to run away from their church before the elders ever get to the final step of formally putting them out of the church. We live in a day when commitment and allegiance to a local church and submission to elders is very low. And so, when a person flees from the Matthew 18 process, they often wind up attending another church. What seems to be the most common approach of other churches is to allow a person who is in the process of discipline at another church, to attend, fellowship, and receive the Lord’s Supper with them. Most churches do not have much of a concept of shepherding the front door. They may even boast of being a church that practices church discipline, willing to open the back door and give them the boot of disfellowship. They are “Bible-believing” and affirm Matthew 18, agreeing that this passage applies to ministry in their church. But when it comes to those who enter the front door of their church, “we do not refuse sinners who wish to enter here.” They fail to see the significance of a major point of the restoration process—the spiritual pressure of isolation.
What is Best?
I recently had a conversation with another pastor of a church that is not too far from us, having learned that someone under discipline in our church has been attending church with them. So, I called him to level up on what was going on with this individual and to see what he thought about it all. And I heard from him what I’ve heard before: “They are welcome at our church just like all sinners.” We don’t approve of their sin, but if they want to attend here, they are welcome. Even though their immorality is confirmed, we will not send them back to their previous church. After all, we think it is best that they hear the Word preached somewhere and perhaps God will use the teaching here to convict them and soften their heart.
It sounds very loving and spiritual, but is this really best? Is it important for a person who is fleeing accountability from one church, to find asylum under the preaching ministry of another? I believe the biblical answer is, “No, it is not best,” and worse, it is short-circuiting the real biblical process. In 1 Corinthians 5, Paul addresses the case of a man who was living in unrepentant sexual sin with his stepmother. In a case of mistaken priority and a wrong view of what was best, the church had refused to separate from this man and had continued to welcome him into the body and remain under the preaching of the Word. They were arrogant (5:2) as demonstrated by their refusal to remove the person from their midst. What does that removal really mean? 1 Corinthians 5:5: I have decided to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.” The unrepentant sinner was to be put out of the church and “delivered to Satan,” meaning he returns to the world where Satan roams to live out his immorality away from the privileges and protections of preaching, fellowship, and communion. This professing brother was to be isolated from the brethren (Matt 18:17). The church was to refuse association with one who was professing to be a Christian but was living in unrepentant sin (5:9-13). No preaching, no fellowship, no Lord’s Table.
Isolation Following Unrepentance
This principle of isolation is actually not all that foreign to us. In parenting, when we discipline our children there are times when we isolate a child for the purpose of peace for the rest of the family, and for the child to reflect on their sin. Isolation is used as a way to encourage a change in their behavior before being welcomed back into fellowship with the family. I remember being told as a child (after a spanking) to stay in my room with the door shut, and when I was ready to change my attitude, I could come out.
We do this in society as well. If you can’t behave yourself and insist on committing crime, then you are isolated from the rest of law-abiding society by going to jail. The intention is for law-breakers to think about what they have done and that their isolation from friends, family, and the comforts of home will motivate them to repentance and restoration.
Now, to be clear, there was no other Christian church near Corinth for the sinning man to flee to. He would have had to pack up and move a significant distance to run from accountability while maintaining his Christian profession. However, it seems very clear to me that if there were two Christian churches in Corinth, Paul would not be encouraging the other church to welcome this immoral man. It is not a matter of devaluing preaching. It is a matter of calling the sinner to obey the preaching and counsel he has already received. That Word is sufficient for the Holy Spirit to use in concert with the prescribed discipline of isolation. The welcome given to a runaway sinner by another church is confused with the welcome of Christ. That person’s soul is in danger, and they ought not to be given false assurance and peace with God’s people. Besides, as 1 Corinthians 5:6 says, Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough? Welcoming unrepentant sinners who are in sin and fleeing accountability to spiritual authority is influencing your congregation toward sin and its tolerance among them.
But What About…?
When a church seeks to deal properly with sin in their midst, other churches frequently undermine and disrespect that process for various reasons. I’m not saying that all churches who discipline their members do it properly themselves every time. If a person comes to our church and says they are under discipline at their previous church, our knee-jerk reaction to a clear case of sin is that they don’t get to stay here. However, if there is a question of whether their discipline is legitimate, a basic investigation is warranted and a conversation between the elders of both churches is necessary.
Let’s say someone arrives, claiming to be under discipline for believing in predestination at their “free-will” church. They are not confessing their sin and you have heard only one side of the story (Prov 18:17). It is possible that an overzealous pastor could discipline a member for their “heretical” beliefs. After all, genuine Christians were excommunicated and anathematized, for example, by the Roman Catholic Church for believing and teaching the biblical gospel. It is possible to be wrongly disciplined, and it is possible that a church may receive someone who is under discipline at another church. However, that acceptance should only be done after thorough and careful investigation, dialogue with the other elders, and respect for the authority and discipline of another church. Jesus told His disciples that their decisions were recognized in heaven and that where two or three are gathered in His name, He is present with them (Matt 18:18-20). That means Jesus is present with the elders for the purpose of discipline, and He approves of this process for dealing with sin in His church. We must take that very seriously. If a true church has falsely disciplined and the elders are the ones who are sinning and abusing their authority, then with great humility and care a church may accept a persecuted believer into fellowship.
Encouraging Restoration
On the other hand, it is also possible that this fleeing member is under discipline, not for their beliefs, but for their divisiveness and refusal to obey the elders in how they handled their disagreement with what the church teaches. This “cage-stage Calvinist” may need to be sent back to his prior church to resolve the matter of his sinful behavior and seek forgiveness before being released “in good standing” to attend another church. Even if we disagree with the theology of the church from which a man comes, we must honor and respect their efforts to deal with sin. We must not accept into fellowship someone who is sinfully leaving and running from accountability. Yes, sinners attend church, but we must be repentant and submissive to the authoritative process of restoration in our local congregations. Church discipline is about restoring a person to a right relationship with God and fellowship with their church.
We ought to encourage people to be restored to the church they are fleeing from and let the Spirit work through the ministry of isolation as biblically prescribed.
