Church Discipline Part 3
Correcting the Body
Introduction
For the past few Sundays we have been discussing the difficult topic of Church Discipline. I think you can see with me that this is an accurate title, but at the same time it lacks the richness and the depth of this ministry in the church. Visions of tribunals, censure, punishment, etc. all come from this word: discipline.
Some of you may be saying, “It’s a lot easier to talk about confronting someone than actually doing it.” You are right. So let me start by saying a couple of personal and pastoral things.
#1. 99% of the time the fear and the anxiety of approaching someone never is realized. (I have to remind myself of that all the time.)
#2. I would say, on a conservative estimate, that I am involved in at least 2 to 3 situations per month, and have been for the last 19 years – and very few of you have ever noticed. Most of this type of ministry is like an iceberg --- the mass of it is usually unseen. Can we improve? Yes! Have we made mistakes? Yes! I can think of situations where I have grievously erred in not dealing correctly with certain situations. I have to live with the regret of that; but also live with the forgiveness and grace of God.
#3. Thirdly, I have been greatly helped in a number of ways:
a. In the first message I pointed you toward a ministry I think is 2nd to none: Peacemakers Ministries. They have great resources available that you would find of great assistance. They can be located at www.peacemakers.net.
b. Probably the most practical of writers in this area is a man by the name of David W. Augsberger. His series such as Caring Enough to Confront, etc. is deeply practical. We have some of his books in our library. I highly recommend them.
c. Lastly, I have enjoyed, for the most part, men on our leadership team that have helped me immensely. Being part of this type of leadership council and the friendships that have ensued has benefited me exponentially. I cannot overstate this. None of us are sufficient for the task – it is as we serve with each other we gain counsel, encouragement and wisdom.
So today we want to look at the 3rd and last part of this topic.
I - THE ATTITUDE OF CORRECTION
I think one of the greatest examples of “attitude” that helps us in dealing with this very difficult ministry is the Apostle Paul himself. Turn with me to 1 Corinthians chapter 1. As you look there, let me remind you of the context.
1) Paul is principally writing a letter of correction. There are 15 and one-half chapters of “correction” in this letter.
2) The litanies of crimes against this church are infamous. These Christians:
a. Were divisive (torn apart by factions),
b. Were Carnal,
c. Were Immature,
d. Were Proud;
e. Were abusing the Lord’s Table;
f. Were disorderly in worship;
g. Were morally confused;
h. Had major, significant theological problems;
i. Lacked love; and under all this they
j. Were critical of Paul, their founding pastor.
Under today’s market-driven, success-oriented culture, this church would have been disbanded without question. It was riddled with problems. Listen to the heart of Paul as he confronts these hard issues with the Church – listen carefully, listen prayerfully: Turn to 2 Corinthians 7:2-4 (page 143 N.T.):
2 Make room for us in your hearts; we wronged no one, we corrupted no one, we took advantage of no one. 3 I do not speak to condemn you, for I have said before that you are in our hearts to die together and to live together. 4 Great is my confidence in you; great is my boasting on your behalf. I am filled with comfort; I am overflowing with joy in all our affliction. (emphasis mine)
Now the skeptic would say, “Paul, this is political baloney.” This pragmatist would say, “Paul you are self-deceived.” The critic would say, “Paul you are demented.” But there was a reason why Paul could look at the people of God in Corinth, who are exceptionally dysfunctional, and be proud, loving, and confident of them. There is a reason for this; and this reason is key to our relationships. Turn back a couple pages to 2 Corinthians 5:16.
"Therefore from now on we recognize no one according to the flesh; even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him in this way no longer."
After Paul was saved he not only viewed Jesus Christ differently (remember Paul was from mixed ancestry: Jews thought of Jesus as a heretic; Gentiles thought of Him as a fool.). He now saw Christ it a totally different light. Likewise he no longer looks at people the same way. He no longer evaluates people through the glasses of externals, outside appearances and worldly standards. He did not “recognize” (oida; lit. “know,” or “perceive”) people the same way anymore.
If we go back to 1 Corinthians 1:4-9 (page 130 N.T.) we will see more clearly how Paul viewed these people. What did Paul look for that gave him loving, proud confidence in them?
4 I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus, 5 that in everything you were enriched in Him, in all speech and all knowledge, 6 even as the testimony concerning Christ was confirmed in you, 7 so that you are not lacking in any gift, awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, 8 who will also confirm you to the end, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Let us make some important observations and formulate some principles regarding what Paul saw!
1. It is characteristic of Paul to always express thankfulness to his congregations. (In Romans 1, Philippians 1, Colossians 1, etc. he begins with thankfulness.) Now when you consider the list of 10 key areas where this church was incredibly deficient, you might suggest that thankfulness is a formidable task, if not a fiction! Paul makes the most incredible statement: “I thank my God always concerning you.” Notice that he is thanking God for them!
When you and I truly understand the Doctrine of the Communion of Saints (as we discussed it earlier) we will be able to look without question to God in thankfulness for one another. Why is it important to be truly thankful to God for someone prior to applying correction? There may be many reasons, but the most important reason to be thankful for our brothers and sisters is that it acknowledges the sovereignty to God. To pray, “God I thank You for these people” is to acknowledge that these people are God’s sovereign gift to you. That means that they are in my life because God put them there and their existence is precious and for a purpose.
Suppose you had an heirloom in your family. You are now the 4th generation to have it. It needs cleaning. If you are not thankful for the one that gave it to you, you might fail to treat it with honor and care.
Before we correct someone we must find ourselves in honest, heartfelt thanksgiving to God for that person or persons – because they are God’s gracious gift to us.
2. He reminds himself of the grace that brought them salvation. To quote our friend Pastor John McGregor, he said, “Under the Cross the ground is level.” If we believe we are saved by grace – alone, apart from works, apart from merit, apart from anything good foreseen in us, then our attitude toward an erring brother or sister has to change. When Paul reminds himself of the grace that saved him and them, he is intentionally humbling himself.
Thomas Watson[1] has been a huge help to me in understanding what humility truly is. Listen to how he describes a humble man:
a. A humble man has lower thoughts of himself than others can have of him. Paul thought of himself as the “chief of sinners”. If the truth be known most of us are far more wretched than we like to consider ourselves. To correct someone thinking that you and I are somehow better than they, less worthy of Hell, less worthy of God’s justice is to deny the grace of God. A humble man sees his own sin before others and cries, “Oh wretched man that I am!”
b. A humble man has low esteem of his duties. After all is said and done, those of true humility can only say “I have only done my duty – and that not very well – and that only by the grace of God.”
c. A humble man is willing to have his gifts, abilities, talents, successes and reputation “eclipsed” so that God receives the glory. To understand grace is to be able to say, “Let this ______?_______ make much of Christ. Let me decrease and let Him increase.”
3. He is aware of the grace of God that is evident in the daily lives of the Corinthians. “God had so enriched the lives of these people in spiritual perception and expression that they had been given increased ability in speaking. The extent of their enrichment is seen in the use of the adjective "all" with both concepts—"speaking" ("word," logos) and "knowledge" (v. 5). Paul is convinced that this was a real work of God's grace because he saw his witness about Christ established in their lives at the time of their conversion and had heard about it since then.”[2]
What’s the point for us? Well just like the Corinthians, when we necessarily need to correct a fellow-believer we ought to bring to mind the work of God’s grace in their lives. Before you go to someone to correct their lives you ought to follow the example of Paul and identify and rejoice in the grace of God that IS evident in their lives (And tell them!).
4. Paul also says, “In everything you are enriched … you are not lacking any gift.” By this he means that they lack nothing of God’s grace that is able to counteract “the sins and faults so prevalent in the Corinthian congregation.”[3] To give correction to someone and not encourage them in the resources of God to be able to change is to leave the person exasperated. Do you recall that fathers are told not to exasperate their children? Exasperated people are left without help, without tools, without understanding. Paul told these saints that God’s grace has given them everything they need to make the necessary changes.
I sometimes have to counsel couples who are having difficulty. The most common trait that I have witnessed to date is this: one or both have been left without hope. You can correct a person’s habits. You can correct a person’s attitude. But if you rob that person of hope you have robbed them of life. Paul was confident in the grace that God had given these people to bring about His will.
5. He is confident of God’s promise to bring them into perfection. Paul believes in God’s faithfulness and he is assured of hope. Correction (whether it is parent-child or between people, that leaves the other hopeless is cruel. Paul is saying to them as he said to the Philippians, “"For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus." (Philippians 1:6).
In summary, before Paul corrects this erring church, we see within him:
#1. An attitude of thankfulness for them;
#2. An attitude of humility;
#3. A focus on the grace of God within them; and
#4. Confidence that’s God’s grace is sufficient, His power is able and His faithfulness is certain to bring about the necessary change.
Eugene Peterson writes:
Paul doesn’t disown them as brother and sister Christians, doesn’t throw them out because of their bad behavior, and doesn’t fly into a tirade over their irresponsible ways. He takes it all more or less in-stride, but also takes them by the hand and goes over all the old ground again, directing them in how to work all the glorious details of God’s saving love into their love for one another.[4]
John Newton was once asked for assistance from a friend as to how to approach someone with whom he is having conflict. Part of Newton’s letter to this friend was this:
‘I wish, that, before you set pen to paper against him, and during the whole time you are preparing your answer, you may commend him by earnest prayer to the Lord's teaching and blessing. This practice will have a direct tendency to conciliate your heart to love and pity him; and such a disposition will have a good influence upon every page you write. If you account him a believer, though greatly mistaken in the subject of debate between you, the words of David to Joab, concerning Absalom, are very applicable: "Deal gently with him for my sake." The Lord loves him and bears with him; therefore you must not despise him, or treat him harshly. The Lord bears with you likewise, and expects that you should show tenderness to others, from a sense of the much forgiveness you need yourself.
In a little while you will meet in heaven; he will then be dearer to you than the nearest friend you have upon earth is to you now. Anticipate that period in your thoughts; and though you may find it necessary to oppose his errors, view him personally as a kindred soul, with whom you are to be happy in Christ forever. But if you look upon him as an unconverted person, in a state of enmity against God and his grace, (a supposition which, without good evidence, you should be very unwilling to admit,) he is a more proper object of your pity and compassion than of your anger. Alas! "he knows not what he does." But you know who has made you to differ. If God, in his sovereign pleasure, had so appointed, you might have been as he is now; and he, instead of you, might have been set for the defense of the Gospel. You were both equally blind by nature. If you attend to this, you will not reproach or hate him, because the Lord has been pleased to open your eyes, and not his. [5]
Did you catch that? Previously I said that the goal of correction is to “save the mind” – to bring health to the mind. It is through correction we seek to apply the wisdom and truth of God to the mind. We all assumed that this only applied to the one being corrected – but this is where we miss it dear brothers and sisters:
IT IS ALSO THE ONE DOING THE CORRECTION
THAT MUST HAVE THEIR HEARTS AND EYES OPENED!
Conclusion
To seek to bring correction upon another person without the right attitude is encourage failure. If you do not find it in your heart to love someone; if you do not find it in your heart to thank God for the evidence of grace in their lives; if you do not find it in your heart to find hope and confidence in God’s faithfulness – you will be a very poor instrument of peace – and so will I.
[1] Watson, Thomas, The Godly Man’s Picture, The Banner of Truth Trust, Carlisle, PA, 1992, Pages 77ff
[2] Expositor's Bible Commentary, The, Pradis CD-ROM:1 Corinthians/Exposition of 1 Corinthians/II. Paul's Thanksgiving for God's Work in the Lives of the Saints (1:4-9), Book Version: 4.0.2
[3] “Expositor's Bible Commentary, The, Pradis CD-ROM:1 Corinthians/Exposition of 1 Corinthians/II. Paul's Thanksgiving for God's Work in the Lives of the Saints (1:4-9), Book Version: 4.0.2
[4] Peterson, Eugene, The Message, 1 Corinthians, NavPress, Colorado, CO, 1993, Page 398
[5] Cecil, Rev. John, The Works of the Rev. John Newton, Uriah Hunt Pub., Philadelphia, 1839, Page 154 (Can be viewed at: http://books.google.ca/books?id=uHZWgFhIC9YC&pg=PA154&lpg=PA154&dq=%22As+you+are+likely+to+be+engaged+in+controversy,+and+your+love+of+truth+is+joined+with+a+natural%22&source=web&ots=EAwAE0UhMI&sig=sSTrYxIdbWD3wuFl7CSYZrE-iBY&hl=en )
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