Failure to carry out any
command of God is a serious failure. The New Testament emphasizes the
duties of the individual, but there are certain responsibilities
assigned to groups of Christians (churches) because we are to work
together as a family or body under Christ, our Chief Shepherd
(Rom
16:16; Titus 1:5; 1 Tim 5:17; 1 Pet 5:1-5).
1) No
Discipline Causes Men To Be Lost: --
God does not want any to perish because every soul is precious to Him
(Matt
16:26; 2 Pet 3:9).
If a brother sins, he endangers his own soul. Any Christian near him
should seek to convert or restore him to God
(James
5:19,20; Gal 6:1).
If efforts of this type fail, the important task of rescuing this one
form perishing falls upon the church
(1 Cor
5). Let every
member be aware of the fact that the effort is to save the sinner as
well as to protect the reputation of the church
(1 Cor
5:4-8). We must
admonish the sinner as a brother because we are interested in his
spiritual welfare. We want him to be ashamed of his sinful way, so we
withdraw from him
(2
Thess. 3:6,14,15).
2) No
Discipline Allows Leaven's Wickedness To Enter The Lump: --
The church at Corinth was "puffed
up" with its own
wisdom rather than depending on the counsel of God concerning the member
who was a fornicator. Allowing one couple to live in violation of the
law was a way of letting the leaven of wickedness to enter the "lump."
It was true then as it is now that "a
little leaven leaveneth the whole lump"
(1 Cor
5:6-8). If the
church closes its eyes to one case, there will likely soon be another
and then others.
3) No
Discipline Will Keep Men From Enduring Sound Doctrine: --
Timothy was charged to
"preach, reprove, rebuke and exhort"
in an urgent way, if he would push off the day when they would not
endure sound doctrine
(2 Tim
4:1-5). The mouths
of those who speak unsound doctrine should be stopped but who will do
this, if the people like the perverted pattern?
(Titus
1:10-14; 2 Pet 2:1-3).
Timothy was urged to be forceful and faithful in his preaching, and the
churches were taught to mark, avoid and reject false teachers. They were
to purge out the leaven of wickedness and disorder to avoid the evil day
when they would not endure sound doctrine
(Rom
16:17,18; Acts 20;29-31; Gal 1:6-10).
4) No
Discipline Encourages The Worldly: --
If a church looks the other way and refuses to notice when more and more
members become ungodly, that church will become a gathering place for
the worldly. It will also lose the respect of the community. Its zeal
for Christ will vanish, so it will fall into the same condition that had
come to Israel when Isaiah and Jeremiah lived. God was displeased with a
church that tolerated doctrine and practices that were contrary to His
Will
(Rev
2:14,15).
Other Articles
How Men Act When They Repent
The Progression From Sound Doctrine to False
Teaching
Can We Withdraw From the Withdrawn?
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