The Severe Grace of Church Discipline

This sermon was preached on February 25, AD 2024 at King's Cross Church in Moscow, Idaho.

Introduction

“Church discipline” is the term we use when the elders of a congregation use the authority delegated to them by Christ to correct members who are engaging in unrepentant and persistent sin. 

“Excommunication” is the practice of formally removing a member who is engaging in high-handed, serious, and unrepentant sin from the congregation.

Now it could be said that there are two kinds of church discipline. The first kind is formative discipline—we all sit under the preaching/teaching of God’s Word, we receive the sacraments, and we participate in the ebb and flow of community life. This is positive discipline, that maintains order, and encourages godliness. 

The second kind is corrective discipline—beginning with private admonition, bringing in two or three witnesses, suspension from the Lord’s Supper, and ultimately public excommunication from the congregation (Mt. 18:15–20). This is remedial discipline and what is in view in our passage this morning. ///

As a young church, we have not yet experienced a public church discipline case. While the elders have been active in encouraging, admonishing, and occasionally suspending individuals from the Lord’s Supper privately, we have not yet reached the point of needing to go through the formal process of excommunication.

But—if we are a faithful church, a time will come when we will have to work through this together. Therefore, we should seek to understand the biblical practice of church discipline now in order that we may be found faithful when confronted with the task. 

Now many people today, when they hear the word “discipline” or especially “excommunication,” immediately think of cult-like activity. We all have heard of stories where strict (usually heretical) religious groups kick out, or completely cut off, former members when they make a decision to leave. In these groups, this often even leads to cutting off natural relations—division in the family, where parents no longer speak to their children who have left or spouses are separated from one another. The first thing to note right away is that is not what biblical excommunication looks like in the church. 

Second, we must recognize that discipline is inevitable anywhere there is a “group.” Every household, every organization, every business, practices discipline—both informally and formally. 

This is how God has designed the world. If there is an “in” then there is a way to be “out”—there are lines that are maintained. So for example, if you were a leader in a political party but start to vote out of step with your party’s stated values and goals, you will be eventually voted out. If you are a doctor who commits malpractice, your license will be revoked. If you are in a family but begin to behave and live in a way that is harmful to the family, at some point and in some way you will be removed. 

And so the practice of church discipline both follows the natural order of God’s world and how organizations and societies work, but it also follows the commands of God found in Scripture—it is not a man-made religious practice but a divinely instituted requirement or mark of God’s people. 

What We Discipline

It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and such sexual immorality as is not even named among the Gentiles—that a man has his father’s wife! (1 Cor. 5:1).

Throughout this letter from the Apostle Paul to the Corinthians, he is continually correcting and admonishing them regarding various sins in the church—such as disunity/factions, sexual immorality (as we see here), lawsuits, and various others. At the end of Chapter 4 prior to our passage, Paul explains that he does this for their good. He says, “I do not write these things to shame you, but as my beloved children, I warn you” (1 Cor. 4:14). 

One of the things Paul is required to address in this letter is the public report of serious sin that is being tolerated by the church in Corinth. Note the word “reported”—this is not some private sin or something the church was unaware of. It is public, even to the point of Paul hearing about it all the way in Ephesus. 

And so the sin at hand in our passage is that of sexual immorality—specifically, he says, a kind of sexual sin “that is not even named among the Gentiles.” By this, Paul means that even the pagan Roman society, which tolerated adultery and homosexuality and prostitution, even they would find this activity unthinkable. He says that there is a man in the church “who has his father’s wife.” The word “has” seems to indicate an ongoing relationship, rather than a one-time or past sin. Rather, the sin at hand is that of a man maintaining a sexual relationship of some sort with his stepmother, a kind of incest. 

Without even considering if Scripture speaks to this kind of activity, if your immediate reaction to that is, “gross”—then that is good. And that is what Paul is pointing out regarding the pagans, even they know there is something inherently wrong here—that the light of nature teaches us this is not morally right. And yes, Old Testament law does speak to this activity and names it as sin. Leviticus 18 is a chapter covering all kinds of sexual sins, and included in the list is this—“The nakedness of your father’s wife you shall not uncover, it is your father’s nakedness” (Lev. 18:8). 

This is a grievous sin and it is being done in public. The man is clearly not hiding it in the dark, he is not ashamed of it, but the whole church knows of it and it has become common knowledge. But note that for Paul, the shock is not merely the presence of the sin. For him, what is even more controversial is that the church has not taken any action against the man to address his sinful behavior.

And you are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he who has done this deed might be taken away from among you. For I indeed, as absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged (as though I were present) him who has so done this deed (1 Cor. 5:2–3).

The Corinthians are “puffed up,” they are proud. Either they have been ignoring this glaring issue in their congregation or maybe they think highly of themselves for allowing it. 

In contrast to this disposition, Paul says they ought to be mourning, they ought to be ashamed that such an unrepentant person is known to be among them. If they were rightly mourning, rightly distraught over this sin, then Paul says that they would have already removed the man from the congregation, they would have already excommunicated him.

Now it’s important to point out that Paul is calling for the man’s excommunication because he is unrepentant—he is actively engaged in high-handed and public sin. In terms of “what” kind of sin should lead to formal church discipline, they are first and foremost this kind—unrepentant sin. And they are the kinds of sin that when a man is given over to them, when the sin is embraced, Scripture says they will not inherit the kingdom of God. 

We see this in just the next chapter where Paul writes, “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Cor. 6:9–10). 

While in one sense, you could say all sin is “equal” in that all sin is deserving of God’s eternal and righteous wrath—we know clearly from the testimony of Scripture and from life itself that some sins are more serious than others sins. It is sinful to become upset with your wife. And we know that it is a much more terrible sin to strike or hit your wife. The first is sinful and wrong and must be repented of. The second is a crime. 

Therefore, the kinds of sins that lead to formal church discipline are unrepentant, serious, and outward. By outward we mean that they are sins that can be pointed to and observed. Sins that can be witnessed by others. The church has no ability to formally discipline sins that only occur in your head and are not manifested in your conduct—such as hidden anger or lust. 

Nor is the church required to be hyper-vigilant and anxious, and chase down every suspected instance of sin, demanding the person to immediately repent or else. Christ bears with His people with patience, and we are being sanctified and growing in our walk. I think we all know there are some sins that are covered in love, some that are addressed in private conversation, and some that we trust the Spirit to work out in the person’s life. And so what we are looking at in this passage when it comes to formal church discipline is again, sin that is unrepentant, serious, and outward. 

Why We Discipline 

In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together, along with my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, ⁵ deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus (1 Cor. 5:4–5).

This is a difficult passage to understand at first, but there are two very clear and important principles concerning church discipline here. The first is this: All discipline is done by the church “in the name” of Christ and “with the power” of Christ. 

The elders do not have the some inherent authority within themselves as men to undertake any kind of discipline. Rather, they do so under the authority of Christ, as men delegated by Christ and selected and called by the congregation itself to shepherd and rule. This means that if the elders are doing so in the name of Christ, they must be sure that what they are rebuking is clearly a sin in the Word of God. 

Additionally, when the church does take disciplinary action through the elders, whether by private admonition in a conversation or if it has escalated all the way to excommunication, what is done is done with Christ’s power, not their own. We see this in Matthew 18 which is a great passage to review this morning. We have that popular verse, often somewhat taken out of context, which reads, “For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them” (Mt. 18:20). 

In context, this passage is directly talking about discipline. Jesus is teaching His disciples on what to do with a wayward and unrepentant brother. Jesus says in verse 17 there, that if the brother in serious error will not repent, “let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector (Mt. 18:17). And this judgment is not a mere earthly one, but has heavenly consequences. Verse 18, “Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven” (Mt. 18:18). 

So we see here that when a church gathers together to pronounce such a judgment, when an individual is placed under church discipline by the elders, it is not merely private judgment or based on our own whims or desires. Rather, it is all soberly done according to Christ. When someone is excommunicated, the church, in the name and power of Christ, is proclaiming that the person has placed themselves outside of the church by their conduct. It is a recognition of a current reality. It is to declare and pronounce that the unrepentant sinner has nothing to do with the church, with Christ, with His benefits, the sacraments, and no hope of eternal life—unless they repent. 

...deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus (1 Cor. 5:5).

The second point is this: We practice discipline for the good of the offender, with the strong desire and hope that they would repent and be restored. 

Paul is commanding the Corinthians to place the unrepentant man outside the church, delivering him to Satan for the destruction of his flesh. The exact meaning of what this means has been debated since the early church—specifically what it means for their flesh to be destroyed. What is agreed on by all, however, is that the act of formally placing an unrepentant sinner outside the church is to, in a sense, hand them over to the reign of Satan. They are no longer under Christ’s authority and protection, they no longer receive the benefits of being members of the covenant community, but rather are now cast out into the world where Satan reigns. 

Now with regards to the destruction of the flesh, some believe this refers to literal physical judgment—such as bodily sickness and affliction. This may be in view, but there is also a strong theme in Paul’s writings of contrasting “flesh” and “spirit.” And often when Paul does this, he does not mean “flesh” as in “physical body” primarily, but rather moreso the works of the flesh—our sinful nature. Or put another way, our old and new natures. So this could be interpreted as being removed from the church (handed over to Satan) in order that they would put their wicked deeds to death (that their flesh would be destroyed). Regardless of the exact interpretation, it is clear that the offenders are put out of the church to suffer the consequences of their actions—whether that is physical, emotional, social, or spiritual. 

But it’s very important to note the goal of such a thing—as Paul writes, it is done so that their “spirit would be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.”  The purpose is that by their suffering outside the Body, they would be led to repentance. 

Discipline is always practiced with the goal of restoration, with a view towards what is truly best for the offender in their specific situation. And so even when it escalates to excommunication, to removal from the congregation, the strong desire is that we would be able to welcome the person back soon. And as Paul states, that on the final day of judgment, they would be found once again as a brother or sister, reconciled to Christ and in communion with His saints. 

Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth (1 Cor. 5:6–8).

Another reason we practice discipline is for the good of the church. A church that fails to discipline its members is a church that has no immune system. It is a church that will suffer infections from all kinds of sins and erroneous teaching, which will ultimately lead to its death. 

We see this so clearly in the mainline churches in our country. There are Presbyterian churches that hold, at least technically on paper, to the same confessional standards that we do. And they are the ones that display rainbow flags more prominently than crosses in their buildings. Things like that do not happen overnight, but they occur slowly, as the church begins to tolerate and embrace sin.

Here Paul uses the Passover imagery of leaven to explain what the presence of unaddressed sin does in a church. Just as the smallest amount of leaven works its way through the whole lump, so too will sin work its way through a church. During the feast of Passover, the Jews would purify their homes by purging all their leaven. And just as God required the Israelites to discard all leaven and purify their homes, He requires the church to discard the leaven of sin and purify our congregations. We are now to “keep the feast,” not by literally observing Passover (for that has been fulfilled in Christ), But by living lives that are marked by joy and purity, by removing the leaven of malice and wickedness and any other sin, and embracing the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. 

We are able to do this because Christ is our true Passover lamb. As Hebrews states, He is the supreme and final sacrifice for God’s people. And as John the Baptist declared, He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world (Jn. 1:29). Just as the Jews were liberated from the bondage of Egypt, so too is the church liberated from bondage to sin. Just as the blood of the Passover lamb protected God’s people, so too does the blood of Christ. Therefore, as a church we are required to live in accordance with these truths and not allow evil in our midst. 

Lastly, church discipline also protects the church’s witness to the world and prevents the Lord’s judgment upon the church. We see the first point here regarding our witness back in verse 1 where the man’s sin is a public fact and one that even the pagan world abhors. 

This is significant because there are many evangelical churches in our day which are filled with marriages and children that look much like the world. Sin is not properly preached on, nor is it pastorally addressed, and discipline is completely absent. When this begins to happen, we are no longer able to be true witnesses to the power of the gospel. If we look and act just look the world, what do we have to offer them? And if we have gross hypocrisy among us, why would they take us seriously? If we preach against adultery and divorce, but practice it all the same—would they listen to us? As Jesus says in Matthew 5, “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men” (Mt. 5:13). 

Now regarding the Lord’s judgment, we see this theme in Jesus’ letters to the churches in Revelation. There the churches are either praised for their intolerance of sin or they are warned for tolerating sin. For example, Jesus writes to the church in Pergamum, which was tolerating sexual immorality, and He says, “Repent, or else I will come to you quickly and will fight against them with the sword of My mouth” (Rev. 2:16). To ignore, or tolerate, or embrace open sin in our churches, is to invite Jesus to come visit us with a sword. 

A little leaven leavens the whole lump. Therefore, if we allow impurity and sin and hypocrisy to fester and grow and spread in our congregation, we are asking God to come against us in judgment. For He is jealous for His people, and He is also jealous for His own Name which we bear. 

How We Discipline

Now I believe it would be helpful to touch on the specifics of how formal church discipline is conducted in our congregation, according to the principles laid down in Scripture (like Matthew 18) and also our church constitution. 

Many of you probably come from churches that rarely, if ever, practiced formal discipline. But even in my seven years in Moscow, I think I can recall maybe just one case of excommunication, and even then I wasn’t very familiar with what exactly took place.  

So first, I want to emphasize that all of this is conducted with a lot patience from the elders, as we strive to imitate Jesus and rely on His grace. Discipline is done incrementally and methodically, although not in a clunky, strict way but in a pastoral and relational manner. The last thing I want you to take from a sermon on discipline is a sense of fear or worry, that the elders are judgmental, or severe, or out to get you. That is the furthest from the truth. Rather, we desire to imitate the Father’s heart for you, we desire to look and act like the Good Shepherd who leaves the ninety-nine to rescue the one. 

Now for the process. When it comes to the attention of the elders that someone is struggling with some specific sin, typically their parish elder or Pastor Toby will meet with them to see how they can be helped and encouraged. I would say that 95% of what you could call “church discipline” takes place in this context—private meetings and counseling sessions where you are admonished, encouraged, equipped, and cheered on to fight the good fight and put your sin to death by God’s grace. 

In the pattern found in Matthew 18, this would fall under the first one or two steps. If your brother sins against you, confront him alone. If he repents—glorious—you have gained your brother. If he refuses, then take two or three witnesses. 

If the sin rises to the nature of either being very serious—whether that’s because of its ongoing or habitual nature (think ongoing, long-lasting drunkenness) or because of its immediate severity (like adultery or abuse) the situation will be privately brought before the other elders, and they may determine to suspend the brother from partaking of the Lord’s Supper for a very limited amount of time (a week or two). 

Note: if the sin at hand is something that is a crime or should be reported to the authorities, the elders would encourage or require them to do so, and we would let them handle that as we proceed with our responsibilties in discipline. But none of this replaces the proper role of the civil magistrate.

Now this practice of suspension is meant to be a warning, a wake up call to the brother of where their sin is leading them. It is also to make sure that the Lord’s Supper is not taken in an unworthy manner. While suspension from the Supper is not found as a step in Matthew 18, we do find principle support for this practice from Paul in 2 Thessalonians which reads, “And if anyone does not obey our word in this epistle, note that person and do not keep company with him, that he may be ashamed. Yet do not count him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother” (2 Thess. 3:14–15). So here we have that practice of not keeping company, of withdrawing, but notice that they are not yet put in the category of the heathen or tax collector (Mt. 18:17). Rather, they are still considered for the time as wayward brothers.

Now, as you can imagine, there are many variables at play in every case of counseling and discipline. If the elders are dealing with the kind of lower-level sin that is of course is serious but also contained—such as drunkenness, or pornography use, or anger—there is a typically a lot of up and down as someone repents of their sin and seeks to walk in the light. And therefore, there is a lot of patience and encouragement along the way. The last thing the elders desire is for a situation with a genuine believer, struggling with sin, to be escalated to the level of excommunication. In fact, unless the person is refusing to repent, or by their actions demonstrates they are blatantly unrepentant, it would be wrong to get to that point.

But, if the sin is of the magnitude of the one in our passage this morning, and if the offender is clearly unrepentant, then eventually the elders would begin the process of excommunication, which is the final step of church discipline. This typically involves a formal hearing, in which the elders bring forth the charges of sin along with witnesses, and the individual, if they wish, has the opportunity to defend themselves. After this takes place, at a subsequent elders meeting a verdict is voted on (requires 4/5^th majority) and the results are communicated to the congregation at the next Lord’s Day service. Just as people are publicly brought into church membership by taking vows, they are also publicly removed from membership for breaking their membership vows.

Now, often the question comes regarding how an excommunicated person is to be treated by the church. In our passage today, Paul states that we are not to “keep company” with the offender nor “even eat with such a person.” (5:11). 

First, an excommunicated person is welcome to attend Lord’s Day worship, unless their sin was of the kind that it would be unsafe for the congregation to have them present. Because all discipline is meant for their good, we actually desire for them to hear the gospel again and again and to sit under God’s Word. But they are not welcome to partake of the Lord’s Supper. This is why when we celebrate the communion the minister will state that all believers who are baptized and not under church discipline are welcome. If they are excommunicated, the church has made the sobering determination that they are actually not believers, and therefore they may not partake.

When it comes to personal interactions, this is what we typically encourage. First, we do not believe that Scripture requires the severing of any natural relations. Therefore, if dad is excommunicated from the congregation, his family is not required to no longer eat dinner with him. His wife, unless she has grounds for divorce, is still his wife. 

Likewise, we may maintain social and civil relationships. If the barista at the coffee shop was excommunicated last week, you are still welcome to have them make you coffee this week. Your neighbor is still your neighbor, and you should love them. 

When it comes to friendships, naturally there will be a sizeable shift in the relationship. For you no longer connect on the deepest level. But this does not mean that you must cut  them off or be unkind. Rather, your ultimate goal now should be to pursue them and to seek their repentance. But what you must not do is continue on as if nothing has changed. You must not give the impression that you agree with their behavior or that everything is just alright. For that would not be loving to them. 

Conclusion: The Severe Grace of Discipline

“Therefore, put away from yourselves the evil person” (1 Cor. 5:13b).

This is a direct quotation from the law in Deuteronomy, in which the unrepentant sinner was removed from the covenant community by execution. They were put to death. 

Now under the New Covenant, while the civil magistrate still bears the sword (Rom. 13:4), the people of God remove the unrepentant offender from the covenant community by excommunication. In a very real sense, this is an obvious mercy under the New Covenant. For if the sin in question does not rise to the level of a crime deserving capital punishment in the civil sphere—then the offender obviously gets to keep their life and even has the opportunity to repent.  

At the same time, if we truly understand what excommunication means, then we know that we are talking about something even more serious earthly death. Yes, God’s people are no longer called to put sinners to death. But excommunication points to a spiritual reality more severe than physical death—that is, spiritual death. As Jesus says in Matthew 10, man can destroy the body but they cannot touch the soul. But God is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. 

Excommunication points to a sobering eschatological reality. Meaning, we are stating that on that Last Day, we do not have any reason currently to believe that the one removed from the Body of Christ will be found safe in Him—unless they repent and display fruit of that repentance. Revelation 20 speaks of what is called the “second death.” All mankind suffers the first death—physical death. But those who are not found in Christ, those who were never part of His Body or were removed from His Body, whose names are not found written in the Book of Life suffer the second death by being cast into the lake of fire. This is what excommunication is pointing to. It is a judgment here on earth, telling the unrepentant sinner that if they continue in their way, they will perish. 

Therefore, church discipline and excommunication that honors Christ must be exercised with a sober understanding of the severity of such a judgment. And it must be done with meekness, humility, and genuine love and affection for the offender. Remember—the goal of excommunication is not punishment but restoration. It is a severe act of mercy and grace toward the unrepentant sinner. It is telling them the truth, it is pointing out their sin, so that they would have the opportunity to repent. Our prayer then for all who are under discipline is that they would be awakened to their state by the Holy Spirit, repent, and seek the forgiveness that is only found in Christ.

When we come to Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians, there is actually a passage in Chapter 2 in which he is commanding them to receive back into fellowship a repentant sinner, and many believe that this person is likely the one he speaks of in our passage today.  And he writes this, “I urge you to reaffirm your love for him.” Church discipline is all about love. It is love that confronts brothers or sisters in their sin, and love that welcomes them back into fellowship with open arms.