Posts tagged church discipline
An Exposition of Article Thirty-Two of the Belgic Confession

There is no subject which brings as much tension as the subject of church discipline. While church discipline is always a difficult thing to do, it is something we must do. A church which does not discipline erring members is a church which risks heresy in its midst, or which allows erring members to profess that they are Christ’s and then through shameful conduct bring disgrace to the master whom they claim bought them (cf. 2 Peter 2:1). While we are all sinners, we are not allowed to bring scandal upon the church, nor shame to its head, Jesus Christ.

We miss the whole point of church discipline if we see it as people often do, the self-righteous removing unpopular or victimized people from their midst. That is not what church discipline is about. Church discipline is about ministers and elders who have been called to shepherd the flock, driving savages wolves away from the sheep. No one likes doing it, but it must be done.

We come to the last article in the Belgic Confession dealing with the doctrine of the church. In Article Thirty-Two, our confession now fleshes out some of the practical ramifications of Paul’s exhortation to the church of Corinth, “but all things should be done decently and in order” (1 Corinthians 14:40). As we have seen, the New Testament teaches that local churches are to be governed by elders together with the minister(s), and that these same churches are to be served by deacons who ensure that no one in the congregation goes without. Collectively, these men form the church council, which conducts the day to day business of the church.

We have seen that the local church is the visible manifestation of Christ’s invisible body, and that God equips the members of his church for service by giving us gifts of the Holy Spirit for the common good. Since the church is so important to the well-being of every Christian, the New Testament has no category for someone who professes faith in Jesus Christ, but who is also not a member of the local church. Our confession has also identified the three marks of a true church; the clear and consistent preaching of the gospel, the proper administration of the sacraments, and the exercise of church discipline. It is the third mark–church discipline–which is the subject of Article Thirty-Two.

To read the rest, An Exposition of Belgic Confession Article Thirty-Two

Read More
The Keys of the Kingdom

Church discipline is one of those subjects no one really wants to talk about. This keeps pastors and elders up at night and can create unease and tension in a congregation, For one thing, church members fear that such discipline entails church officers snooping around in someone’s private business and then outing their private sins to others in the church. For another, church members don’t wish to perceived as being judgmental toward others. If snooping is what biblical church discipline entails, then people would be right to be worried. Fortunately, this is not the case.

The prime example where church discipline is applied in the New Testament is found in Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians. In chapter 5, Paul describes a situation in which a member of the church (presumably a prominent member) has “taken his father’s wife.” Paul seems utterly perplexed that someone could do such a thing. “It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans” (1 Corinthians 5:1). Not only was this man’s behavior a violation of biblical morality, apparently his act was considered scandalous to pagans outside the church. Paul’s remedy for this was to excommunicate this man– “you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord” (v. 5).

To read the rest, follow the link below

Read More