Church Discipline – Satya Shiksha Seva

“When discipline leaves a church, Christ goes with it.”

– John L. Dagg, Baptist theologian

In our time and culture, we are falling prey to individualism so much that we are no more willing and able to take corrections without a hitch. ‘Intolerance’ is not an unfamiliar word! And the term ‘discipline’ suddenly carries a negative connotation. But discipline is proven to be inevitable and is woven into our life for the sake of growth and meaningful living.

A Universal Principle

Be it our own home, school, office, organisation, or even a game/sport, each of it believes in discipline and so do most of us, if not all of us. Even traffic (signals) is no exception! Nothing can truly function, grow, and mature without discipline. Discipline is a basic and important factor in our daily life.

A Biblical Mandate

“If another member of the church sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone. If the member listens to you, you have regained that one. But … if the offender refuses to listen even to the church, let such a one be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.”

– Matthew 18:15-17

Paul too talks about church discipline sternly and takes it so seriously that even excommunication is considered a practical part of church discipline (1 Corinthians 5:4-5).

Mind you, both Christ and Paul have commanded in the scriptures to practice church discipline. Church discipline is a mandate of God, a command, and we cannot afford to ignore it if we are to continue serving Christ and His church faithfully.

Church will truly grow, mature, and be the kind of bride Christ expects it to be, not by eluding the church discipline but through it.

An Unnoticed Tragedy

Sadly, we lead ourselves to believe that the church can do well without discipline. ‘Love should cover a multitude of sins’ (1 Peter 4:8), which we think hardly leaves a room for discipline.

Alas! How the church has degraded church discipline – a divine mandate! Consequently, in the past few decades, church discipline has almost disappeared from our churches. Today, we hardly hear of it being practiced or even discussed in our churches.

Jonathan Leeman, the author of the book “Church Discipline” writes in his article, “In the 19th century, Baptist churches in America excommunicated an average of 2% of their members per year, and yet the growth of these churches outpaced general population growth. Toward the end of the 19th and early 20th century, churches became more interested in reforming society (e.g., temperance movements) than in reforming themselves.

The advent of church marketing in the middle of the 20th century led churches to focus more on product appeal than on holiness. No voices rose up to speak against discipline. Rather, the practice just faded away.”¹

A Helpful Reconsideration

As church ministers, rethink about the mandate of church discipline.

Do you take church discipline as seriously as would our Lord and Paul?
What fears overtake the fear of God when you think of practising church discipline?
How will you look at church discipline from this moment on?
Will you decide to obey this command of Christ in your local church from now on and equip His bride (Col 1:28-29)?

If you want more help and resources, feel free to connect with us and we will be more than happy to serve you.

^{1 https://www.crossway.org/articles/10-things-you-should-know-about-church-discipline/}