Scripture Reading: Matt. 18:15-20; Titus 1:13; 2:15; 1 Cor. 5:2-8; 2 Tim. 3:1-5, 16; John 15:1-2; Rom. 16:17; Gal. 6:1; Heb. 3:6; 2 Thes. 3:6
Second Timothy 3:16 says, "All Scripture is God-breathed." The object of Scripture is fourfold: "for teaching, for conviction, for correction, for instruction in righteousness." In reading these words we cannot help but notice that the purposes for which the Scripture has been given are chiefly negative. The negative element outweighs the positive. This indicates the corruption of the human heart. The tendency in man is always to go astray, so there is the constant need of correction to bring him back to the way of righteousness. Man does wrong continually, so he has to be dealt with continually. Sometimes God deals with His children through circumstances, sometimes through His Word, and sometimes through His other children. Today we shall consider four different ways of discipline: (1) discipline by the brothers; (2) discipline by the fathers; (3) discipline by the Son; and (4) individual discipline.
In contemplating the matter of discipline, a thought immediately presents itself: How totally out of place it is for one sinner to discipline another. The more we realize our failures and weaknesses, the more we are convinced that we are altogether unsuited for this task. Yet we have to admit that God has committed this very thing to man, which by nature, he is so unqualified for. Before looking further into this subject, let this fact be clearly established: We are weak, utterly weak, and in ourselves we do not have the status to discipline our brothers. If we have any part or lot in this ministry of correction, we can never exercise it on the ground of our superiority over those we seek to deal with. All have sinned. The only difference between them and us is that our sin has been dealt with by the grace of God, while theirs has not. We deal with them in the hope that grace may be shown to them as it has been shown to us.
Matthew 18:15 shows that the first mode of discipline is that of a brother dealing with a brother. We should note that the one who is exercising the discipline is the offended party. This is not a case of one brother wronging another brother, and a third party taking up the case. No, if your brother offends you, you are the one who is appointed to deal with him. But the vital question is: How are you going to do it? On what ground are you going to discipline him? You can only discipline him on the ground of brotherhood. Your attitude toward him should be one of a brother dealing with a brother. If a brother offends me, there are two ways of dealing with the situation that are according to convenience: I can either lose my temper and vent my wrath on him, or I can forgive him and forget the whole affair. Getting angry with him is a very simple matter, and forgiving him is also a very simple matter. However, both of these ways are far too cheap and easy, and neither of them is the God-appointed way. If I simply flare up at my brother, I am treating him as an enemy. If I simply gloss the matter over, I am treating him as a stranger. In neither case am I treating him as a brother. In the first case I am putting myself in a distant relationship to him; in the second case I am putting myself in a superior position to him, that is, I am making myself magnanimous by pardoning him. He is not helped any more in this way than in the previous way, because the trouble is not disposed of; it is only covered over. When he sees me he will remember that he wronged me, and when I see him I will remember that I have forgiven him. We naturally think that passing over an offense committed against us is a sign of strength; as a matter of fact, it is a sign of weakness. It is a weakness to treat such a matter as though it did not exist; it is a strength to face it squarely and deal with it fully.
How then should such a matter be dealt with? We should treat it exactly as we would had the offense been committed against another and not against ourselves, that is, we should deal with this case as though we were a third party. We should take our brother aside and seek to point out his fault. Nevertheless, our attitude should not be that of the offended party bringing a charge against the offending party, but of brother dealing with brother for the specific purpose of gaining him. "You have gained your brother" (Matt. 18:15) is the goal before us in all discipline. If our brother responds, then we have gained him; if he fails to respond, then we should take two or three other brothers with us and seek him out again. Remember, in taking two or three witnesses, our attitude should still be the same as it was the first time, that of seeking to win our brother, not of seeking to win a case. If on this second occasion he is still unresponsive, then bring the matter before the whole assembly. However, we should still seek to gain him as a brother, not as bringing a charge against him. If he refuses to listen to the church, then we should treat him "just like the Gentile and the tax collector" (Matt. 18:17), because refusing to heed the church is refusing to heed the Lord. This does not imply excommunication; it merely means that the offending brother is ignored. Even at this stage of the brother's discipline, judgment is not an end, but merely a means to the end. The end is the brother's restoration.
Our Lord said, "My Father is the husbandman" (John 15:1). There is a discipline which might be termed parental discipline, in contrast to the brotherly discipline of which we have just spoken. In the latter case the one corrected and the one who corrects stand on equal footing; in the former case the one who corrects is in a place of spiritual seniority. This is indicated in Paul's word: "You who are spiritual restore such a one" (Gal. 6:1). But even one who is spiritually more advanced than another should never take a "better-than-thou" position, as if he is looking down from a pedestal to correct an inferior. On the basis of spiritual seniority he can draw on his past experience to help the offender; but he should recall the injunction: "Restore such a one in a spirit of meekness, looking to yourself lest you also be tempted" (Gal. 6:1). This mode of discipline is the most precious of all, yet it is the kind that is most sadly lacking in the church. There is a simple reason for this: the church lacks "fathers," that is, mature Christians with ripe spiritual experience.
The discipline of the Son is commonly termed "excommunication." In the two previous forms of discipline the individual is the one taking the initiative; in this instance the church rises up to purge the church. We know that the church is the house of God, but it is the Son who administers the affairs of God's house (Heb. 3:6). The house of God demands righteousness and holiness from all who abide there; it also demands order and subjection to authority. But it should be clearly recognized that it is the Son over God's house who exercises all authority in the house; the church has no authority whatsoever. Determining whether or not a member shall be excommunicated does not rest with the church. The church simply bows to the authority of the Head and gives effect to His instructions. The excommunication of any member should never be merely a matter of business; it should be a matter of heart-concern for the whole church. It is an abominable thing to see the excommunication of any child of God carried out in a trifling manner, as though it were a light thing. It is no less abominable to see it carried out in a serious manner, if the seriousness is only that of a law court. How tragic it is to witness brothers excommunicating brothers, as though one were witnessing the procedure of a law case! The matter of church discipline is on a plane far different from that of enforcing the righteousness of the law. No excommunication should be without grief and tears on the part of those who exercise discipline; and no excommunication can be without grief and tears on the part of those who exercise discipline if they have clearly seen what the church is. In 1 Corinthians 5:1 Paul wrote, "There is fornication among you." Paul did not locate this sin in any individual believer; he located it in the church. He also said, "You are puffed up? And have you not rather mourned?" (1 Cor. 5:2). This sin was not just the sin of one member, but of the whole Body. Therefore, the shame was not just the shame of one member, but of the whole Body. Consequently, the mourning should not be just the mourning of one member, but of the whole Body. In church discipline we need to see the oneness of the Body of Christ and the potentiality as well as the fact of sin. We must first locate in ourselves the sin that is manifest in our brother, and not until we have judged it in ourselves should we dare judge it in him. By the grace of God we may not have committed the same act, but we have within us the same sin that provoked the act. If we express any personal sympathy when a brother has been excommunicated by the church, this is a clear indication that we have not judged that sin in ourselves.
This type of discipline is exercised by individual Christians, and this discipline is a matter of simply avoiding the offender. "Turn away from them" (Rom. 16:17). "From these also turn away" (2 Tim. 3:5). "Keep away from every brother walking disorderly" (2 Thes. 3:6). There must be no element of personal grievance in this form of discipline, because even though it is relegated to the individual, it is never exercised on individual ground. The reason we are told to avoid certain classes of believers is because their intercourse with us is not only of no help to them, but is obviously of no help to us. It may even be distinctly harmful. By such intercourse there is no hope of gaining anything, and there is the possibility of losing much. It is a blessed situation indeed when a brother dealing with a brother, "fathers" dealing with "children," or the church dealing with an offending member proves effective in the restoration of the sinning one. However, when other modes of correction prove futile and there is no way of helping a brother, then he should be avoided lest he contaminate others. This form of discipline consists simply in steering clear of the offender. But let us again beware lest we adopt a "holier-than-thou" attitude.
This kind of discipline is exercised when sin has become clearly manifest. The discipline of the fathers is exercised when sin is still hidden. As a consequence, it is the most difficult form of discipline, but at the same time, it is also the most precious because it can hide a multitude of sins. We should not want to wait until sin comes to full fruition so that the church must deal with it openly. The fathers should nip it in the bud. Ninety percent of the work of recovery in the church lies in the hands of the fathers. Pity the local church that has no fathers! It will either have to excommunicate most of its members or be able to excommunicate none.
In the cases of discipline by the brothers and discipline exercised by the fathers, it is the individual who takes the initiative, not the church. If the brothers and the fathers would bear responsibility regarding the weaker members of the church, the necessity for excommunication would be obviated in many cases. If the individual shirks responsibility and waits for the church to act, it may be too late, for the church does not deal with sin until it is clearly manifest. The fathers deal with unexposed sin; the Son deals with exposed sin. Our Lord knew well who Judas was, but as the Son He could deal only with proven sin. Judas was under the discipline of the Father right up to the point when the Lord handed him the morsel. The measure of his iniquity was full by then; therefore, he came under the discipline of the Son at this point.
In closing let me emphasize the fact that discipline is always a remedial measure. The ultimate object of discipline is the recovery of the one disciplined. From the standpoint of the church, discipline is a matter of judgment; but from God's standpoint it is a means of recovery. Even if the church disciplines a member by delivering him over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, it is with the view "that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord" (1 Cor. 5:5). Where God's children are concerned, there is mercy in all His judgments; and when we judge any of His children on His behalf, whether we are acting as the whole church or as individuals, we should be full of mercy in our judgments. Even if the outward act is one of discipline, our inward attitude should be one of love.
