Tonight at our Wednesday night Bible study, we ended up discussing church discipline, or as some might call it - excommunication. We very quickly looked at 3 major passages that dealt with this topic: 1 Tim.1:18-20; 1 Corin.5; and Matt.18:15-17. This is a really tough subject for the modern church for many reasons. One reason is, for years now pastors just haven't had the backbone to preach the whole counsel of God, and therefore many sincere believers are completely ignorant of what God's word says. Another reason is, we live in a very tolerant, relativistic culture... which boils down to everyone is afraid to tell anyone their wrong about anything. People have forgotten that we are not the standard, God's word is, we aren't the Judge; He is. And finally, church discipline is for maintaining the purity of the collective body of Christ, as well as helping individuals believers be as close to God as possible... and its sad to say, but I just don't think the vast majority of believers in churches across this nation today are really all that concerned with their own personal holiness before God. So, if we're not concerned with our own, then we're certainly not going to hold anyone else accountable, and rightly so.
Now, one very important aspect about this is, people MUST understand... this is not about punishment or retribution... it's about RESTORATION. Because a professing believer living in a lifestyle of unrepentant sin is NOT in fellowship with God, and gives more evidence of being still dead in their sin and separated from God, as opposed to being alive in Christ and reconciled to God. And it truly breaks my heart for the millions of people out there with their name on a church roll, who believe when they die they're going to heaven, when in all probability... they're not. And it absolutely infuriates me with all the pseudo-churches out there, who claim to be Christian, but who have long since abandoned the Scriptures, who do nothing but deceive and lull people into spiritual apathy. I fear for the pastors of those so-called churches when they stand before God and answer for all the souls who were under their care. Church Discipline is indeed a tough subject... but one desperately needed in the modern church in America.
