As Christians grow in their appreciation of the nature of the local church, so they grow in their commitment to guarding that for which the Lord Jesus Christ purchased with his blood.
Over the last several decades, there has been renewed concern for biblical church discipline. This is an indication of a healthy renewal of biblical ecclesiology. As Christians grow in their appreciation of the nature of the local church, so they grow in their commitment to guarding that for which the Lord Jesus Christ purchased with his blood (Acts 20:28). Hence the need for the righteous exercise of biblical church discipline to promote and protect the holiness of the bride of Christ. Her Groom demands and deserves this.
As the elders have sought to instruct over years, this pursuit of holiness, and hence practice of church discipline, is the duty of every church member. Pastor Walker defines the church as “the people of God—a picture of covenantal identity as constituted by the Lord Jesus, comprising the Redeemer and his fellow pilgrims.” The local church’s identity is inseparable from Jesus Christ, who is holy. Therefore the church’s holiness is a priority and calls for both formative and corrective church discipline.
Formative discipline is seen in the many “one another” passages of the New Testament. Coming alongside fellow church members—encouraging, instructing, rebuking, training in righteousness—is a means of shaping one another into the image of Jesus Christ. If such formative discipline is rejected, corrective (what we might call congregational) discipline becomes necessary. In such a case, the congregation pursues the disobedient member. If there is still no repentance, then the member is disciplined to the point where the congregation votes to remove them from membership (Matthew 18:15–20). Since the individual chooses to behave like an unbeliever (i.e. persistent unrepentance), the congregation is therefore obligated, under Jesus Christ, to excommunicate the individual (to put one “out of the fellowship” of the church).
Our church is no stranger to either the principle of church discipline or to its practice. But perhaps emphasising the why of discipline needs more attention.
Having noted that “the church exists for the praise of the triune God” and “is called to be holy,” Walker argues that “it is hard to imagine that the triune God would form such a people for his praise and then leave them without direction as to their character and conduct.” He then unfolds God’s “direction” of church discipline, including six purposes, concluding that “church discipline aims to please the Head of the church and so preserve the power of the gospel.”
We can summarise that forming disciples of Jesus Christ is the purpose of the discipline of the church. And this purpose, of course, is driven by godly love. Such congregation-wide love compels us, when necessary, to engage in corrective discipline to “correct sinful aberrations among those called disciples, and to restore wandering sheep to the flock.”
From many years of experience, Walker pastorally observes, “Everyone believes in church discipline until they have to do it.” Because it is difficult, it is painful, and because we are sinners, it can be risky. In fact, as a congregation pursues holiness and practices what is often the hard work of mutual accountability, tears of sorrow will accompany our real-life application of the various texts concerning church discipline. And yet the discipline of the church remains a non-negotiable for the promotion of godliness and for the protection of the gospel. It is a non-negotiable responsibility of the local church that loves both Christ and their fellow Christians.
Brackenhurst Baptist Church practices what we believe is the biblical pattern of local church self-government, known as elder-led congregationalism. This means that the elders lead by feeding the church to equip the congregation to wisely (i.e. biblically) fulfil its role as the final authority (under Jesus Christ) in its faith and practice. This includes our corporate pursuit of holiness and hence our congregational carrying out of church discipline. As Walker puts it, “all Christians share responsibility for encouraging both right belief and godly conduct.” Though elders will usually lead in matters of church discipline, every member carries the responsibility. This emphasis goes a long way towards guarding against mishandling or abusing God’s directive for discipline in the church.
Church discipline is no novel practice or merely the latest evangelical fad.
Though much more could be said about this, let us acknowledge that church discipline is no novel practice or merely the latest evangelical fad. The apostle Peter, writing to new covenant believers, repeated God’s expectation of his old covenant people: “You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy” (1 Peter 1:15–16; see Leviticus 19:1–2). Therefore, with this mandate informing us and the Lord’s grace equipping us, let us answer the call both individually and corporately to pursue holiness through the discipline of and for the church.
Doug