Church Discipline

Titus 3:9-11
P. G. Mathew | Sunday, July 12, 2015
Copyright © 2015, P. G. Mathew
Language [Japanese]

In Titus 3:9–11, Paul speaks about church discipline. Discipline has two aspects: teaching and punishment. There is discipline in all three institutions that God established in the world: the family, the church, and the state.

Parents, especially the father, are responsible for order in the family. Eli failed in ruling his family (1 Sam. 3:18). Samuel also failed (1 Sam. 8:3). Pastors are responsible for order in God’s church. So Paul instructed the elders of the church of Ephesus, “Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has [appointed] you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood” (Acts 20:28). The Hebrews writer exhorts his readers, “Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account [to God]” (Heb. 13:17). The state is also ruled by God-ordained human authorities.

Parents are given the power of the rod to keep order in the family. The rod, when it is administered, drives out foolishness and drives in the fear of God, that is, wisdom. The state is given the power of the sword to keep order; the church is given the power of the keys. Jesus told his disciples, “I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven” (Matt. 18:18). He also declared, “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven” (Matt. 16:19). He said, “If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven” (John 20:23).

The seriousness of the power of the keys should cause us to fear and tremble. In truth, the most spiritually powerful institution in the world is not the family or the state; it is the church. The power of the keys is the most powerful authority. Jesus Christ himself is building his church, and no power on earth can destroy it. He alone is the head of the church. He rules it through pastors and teachers who are appointed by Christ and by the Holy Spirit, and therefore, ordained by God’s holy church.

Jesus Christ personally adds to the church each true believer and disciples him. And each true Christian will obey the will of his Father in heaven. He is given the Holy Spirit, and he will obey the Holy Spirit. Each true believer will hear and do the will of God. And each true believer will obey true ministers of the gospel as they command them to obey all the teachings of the Lord of the church.

The visible church contains true and false believers. The visible church is the church as we see it. The invisible church consists of only true believers. It is the church as God sees it. False believers, though they are in the visible church, are non-elect and so are not born of God. They are like the branches without fruit that Jesus spoke of: “He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. . . . If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned” (John 15:2, 6). This is speaking of eternal hell. Paul writes, “Nevertheless, God’s solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: ‘The Lord knows those who are his,’ and, ‘Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness’” (2 Tim. 2:19).

In due time, false believers will prove themselves to be children of the devil, like Judas and Demas. Many of them will be thrown out of the church by Christ and his holy people as the church exercises discipline. They will be cast out to be destroyed by the devil unless they repent truly of their wickedness and prove their repentance by lifelong obedience to Christ.

Keep in mind, there is no autonomy in Christ’s church. There is no autonomy anywhere in God’s world. We are ruled either by Christ or by the devil under Christ’s authority. The idea of autonomy is itself demonic.

In regard to order and discipline in Christ’s church, the apostle instructs Titus to do the following.

 

I. What to Avoid

Paul begins, “But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless” (v. 9). A pastor is to preach and teach only the authoritative word of God. Elsewhere Paul declares, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:16–17). A true minister should not preach anything else. All human opinions are lies. We cannot be saved by the dung of our own opinion. The gospel alone is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes (Rom. 1:16).

If a church does not preach the gospel, it is not a church of Christ; it is a synagogue of the devil. Sadly, very few churches today preach the gospel of the holy Scriptures. So Paul exhorts, “Avoid always foolish questionings, genealogies, dissensions, fights about the law, for they are unprofitable and worthless.” What we find in most churches is useless, worthless dung. Their teachings are the so-called deep things of Satan that Jesus spoke of: “Now I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets” (Rev. 2:24). They are foolish (i.e., godless) speculations. They are anti-gospel.

The apostle warned frequently about such speculative teaching that we find in most modern churches:

 

• Titus 1:10–11: “For there are many rebellious people, mere talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision group. They must be silenced, because they are ruining whole households by teaching things they ought not to teach—and that for the sake of dishonest gain.”
• Titus 1:15–16: “To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted [perverted]. They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are disobedient and unfit for doing anything good.”
• 1 Timothy 1:3–7: “As I urged you when I went into Macedonia, stay there in Ephesus so that you may command certain men not to teach false doctrines any longer nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies. These promote controversies rather than God’s work—which is by faith. The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. Some have wandered away from these and turned to meaningless talk. They want to be teachers of the law, but they do not know what they are talking about or what they so confidently affirm.” Run away from stupid, ignorant preachers. What we need are pious and learned pastors.
• 1 Timothy 1:19–20: “holding on to faith and a good conscience. Some have rejected these and so have shipwrecked their faith. Among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan to be taught not to blaspheme.”
• 1 Timothy 4:7: “Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly.”
• 1 Timothy 6:3–6: “If anyone teaches false doctrines and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching, he is conceited and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions and constant friction between men of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain. But godliness with contentment is great gain.”
• 2 Timothy 2:14: “Keep reminding them of these things. Warn them before God against quarreling about words; it is of no value, and only ruins those who listen.”
• 2 Timothy 2:16–19: “Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly. Their teaching will spread like [cancer] gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, who have wandered away from the truth. They say that the resurrection has already taken place, and they destroy the faith of some. Nevertheless, God’s solid foundation stands.”
• 2 Timothy 2:23: “Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels.”
• 2 Timothy 3:5–9: “[They have] a form of godliness but [deny] its power. Have nothing to do with them.” Run away from them! “They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over weak-willed women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth. Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these men oppose the truth—men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected. But they will not get very far because, as in the case of those men, their folly will be clear to everyone.”
• 2 Corinthians 11:3–4: “But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough.”
• Galatians 1:6–8: “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned!” False ministers are cursed, and Paul confines them to hell itself.

Pastors are to preach only God’s word because the word of God only is profitable for eternal life. Jesus asked, “What does it profit if you gain the whole world and lose your soul?” So we must avoid the anti-gospel propaganda of the devil. Run away from any church of the devil. Run, just as Lot was told to do from Sodom. A minister must preach the word and must fight for the word, as Jesus and his apostles did. Paul wrote, “Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses” (1 Tim. 6:12).

Jesus fought, and was crucified. Peter fought, and was crucified. James fought, and was beheaded. Stephen fought, and they stoned him to death. Paul fought, and as he was waiting to be killed, he wrote, “For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. I have fought the good fight” (2 Tim. 4:6–7). I am in this fight every day, as is every true minister. We are fighting for the truth of the gospel, both inside and outside the church.

 

II. Reject/Excommunicate Heretics

Paul’s second command to Titus is to excommunicate heretics: “Warn a divisive person once, and then warn him a second time. After that, have nothing to do with him” (v. 10). Heretics are those who oppose the gospel and oppose holy living. Heretics are divisive people. When the authority of parents or pastors comes, they will not listen, although such authorities are representing the kingdom of God. Jesus said, “Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand.” The apostles said the same thing. We are under authority, either of God or of the devil.

Heretics are those who oppose the gospel and oppose holiness. Heretics are divisive people, opposing orthodox doctrine and biblical ethics. As agents of the devil, they promote doctrines of demons and every sin, like adultery, homosexuality, and greed. They are against the Ten Commandments even while they support the devil’s every commandment. They actively work to destroy the unity of God’s church that is based on God’s word.

The Bible alone is word of God; thus, it alone determines our doctrine and ethics. It does not matter what the Supreme Court or the president of the United States says; we must do what God says in his word. Jesus prayed, “I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word” (John 17:6). If we do not want to obey the word of God, we do not belong to Jesus Christ. Jesus also prayed, “Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth” (John 17:17). Let God be true and every man a liar (Rom. 3:4).

Jesus also prayed, “I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one” (John 17:22). Where there is division, the devil is at work. Watch out for division. Confront divisive people and tell the pastor, “That person is a heretic.” All of us have a responsibility to give nouthetic counsel to others in the church (Rom. 15:14).

Christ’s church is characterized by unity. Paul writes, “Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope when you were called—one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all” (Eph. 4:3–6).

The devil only destroys. He comes to steal, kill, and destroy. He actively seeks to destroy unity in marriage, unity in the family, and unity in God’s church. He does so through heretical teachings that oppose God’s word. Paul taught against all such divisions (1 Cor. 1:11–12).

Such heretical teachings proliferate today. For example, former President Jimmy Carter, a Sunday school teacher, was recently asked “whether he believes Jesus would approve of gay marriage, and Carter said he does.” He said, “I believe Jesus would. I don’t have any verse in scripture . . . I believe Jesus would approve gay marriage, but that’s just my own personal belief. I think Jesus would encourage any love affair if it was honest and sincere and was not damaging to anyone else, and I don’t see that gay marriage damages anyone else.”¹ Carter’s view is nothing new. I remember that in 1965 or so I went with Professor Cornelius van Til to hear Bishop Joseph Fletcher, who was promoting new morality. The new morality is, in truth, the old immorality.

In this passage, therefore, Paul is giving Titus the apostolic instruction of how to deal with a heretic, a divisive person, in the church. We are to warn him the first time by showing him his error from the Bible. To warn means to put the word of God into his foolish, godless mind, and to exhort and rebuke him so that he may repent of his sin. If he refuses to repent, we are to warn him a second time. Pastors are especially charged to do this. They are to urge him in the Lord to change. If he still refuses to repent, the church must cast him out from the safety of Christ’s church and deliver him over to the destructive control of the devil.

Those who will not repent are thrown out from God’s church to be outside, under the control and rule of the devil. The devil rules this world under the authority of God. John writes, “We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one” (1 John 5:19). Paul says, “The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2 Cor. 4:4). John also writes, “Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood” (Rev. 22:15).

If the one who is thrown out truly repents, he can be restored. Yet such true repentance is very rare. Instead, what usually happens is that a disciplined person will often go to and be welcomed into another church, with no questions asked. Such churches are synagogues of Satan. They claim to be churches of “love.” “Love” churches incorporate sin as part of their doctrine. They teach that one can sin and still be in good standing in the church.

A true church of Jesus Christ is characterized by certain marks. First, there is preaching of the whole Bible, the entire word of God. Second, there must be valid administration of the sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Third, it must exercise church discipline. Fourth, there must be a vital community life of love, based on  Luke 10:27: “Love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and your neighbor as yourself.”

False churches lack all these marks, and few are the true churches with these marks. In this church, we are characterized by all these biblical character qualities. That is why we must reject unrepentant, divisive, members of the church. We must disfellowship them and have nothing to do with them. The church must exercise the power granted to her by Christ—the power of the keys. By this power the church opens and admits people, and by the same keys, it closes the doors and puts unrepentant people out.

So Paul writes about an unrepentant sinner, “Hand this man over to Satan, so that the sinful nature may be destroyed and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord” (1 Cor. 5:5). There is no guarantee that a disciplined sinner will be saved. But the church has the power to exercise discipline, and it must do so. Paul also says, “Some . . . have shipwrecked their faith. Among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan to be taught not to blaspheme” (1 Tim. 1:19b–20). He also writes, “I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them. For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people” (Rom. 16:17–18). Those who are ignorant of theology will be targets of the devil. If you do not understand what the minister is preaching, you are double-minded and in danger of falling.

Paul states, “For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve” (2 Cor. 11:13–15). Never think that you can float around and continue to be a divisive person and wind up in heaven. It will never happen.

So the church must expel the unrepentant heretics from the church into the sphere of the devil. It must do so without prejudice, putting out very powerful members as well as those who are not so powerful. If people will not repent, based on the first and second warnings given to them, they must be put out.

The church must do so to maintain the purity of the church. Yet it is Christ himself who is acting through the church. It is not the pastor’s church but Christ’s church, and he will discipline, whether the pastor does it or not. He does so because he will have a radiant bride, not a dirty one filled with immorality, adultery, fornication, homosexuality, lying, and cheating. He is the Lord who makes us holy. Paul writes, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless” (Eph. 5:25–27). And we read in Revelation 19:7–8, “‘Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.’ (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints.)’”

When pastors sin, they must be rebuked publicly. A church should not accept a charge against a pastor without two or three witnesses because he is a public figure and anyone can bring a charge. But he must be publicly rebuked for his sin, if the charges are true.

Let us then look at the disciplinary action described in 1 Corinthians 5. At least five times in this passage, Paul is asking the church to expel the wicked man who was sexually immoral. It was a public sin. So we read, “Expel the wicked man from among you” (1 Cor. 5:13b). Put him out! This is a quotation from the Old Testament book of Deuteronomy in the Septuagint. “Expel him” appears there six times, beginning with Deuteronomy 17:7. Look at Korah and Achan and others. They were expelled and destroyed. Today we put them out.

I pray that we will fear and tremble, if we are members of God’s holy church. He sees everything we do. He sees us sinning. He even sees our motivations. It is with him we have to do.

Let us consider 1 Corinthians 5:1–5. We are told in verse 3 that the apostle already judged the wicked man from afar. (PGM) In verse 4 he tells us when the church was assembled together, or the representatives of the church, the council of elders, were assembled, they must take action. Also in verse 4 Paul says they must act, “by the authority of Christ.” “In the name of Christ” means “by the authority of Christ.” When the elders take a disciplinary action, they are acting by the authority of Christ. In the same verse we read, “by the power of our Lord Jesus.” When we exercise church discipline, Christ himself is present in his power by the Spirit. As Jesus said, “If two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am in their midst” (Matt. 18:20).

In verse 5 we read, “Hand this man over to the power of Satan.” The purpose is to inflict punishment on his body, for the destruction of his flesh. In Deuteronomy 28:28 we read, “The Lord will afflict you with madness, blindness, and confusion of mind.” When a person sins, all of a sudden his mind does not work. It cannot judge anything correctly. Craziness comes in. He cannot put two and two together. There is confusion. He does not know what is right and what is wrong because he embraced sin. All of a sudden, the distinction between right and wrong is gone.

Such a person must be thrown out away from the sphere of Christ to the sphere of the devil. And in verse 5 we also read, “so that the flesh may be destroyed.” Elsewhere Paul writes, “For this reason,” for the reason of sin, “many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep [died]” (1 Cor. 11:30). So the punishment graduates, if a person does not repent. First, there is a general weakness. And if he still does not repent, his weakness will graduate into sickness. So he goes to the doctor and he says it is cancer. But he still does not want to put two and two together to connect how he got that cancer. And then he dies.

If the man who is thrown out is a good-soil, born-of-God, elect believer, in due time he will repent and be restored. If not, this action of Christ and his church will send him to hell. But we must not think that all who are excommunicated are going to repent. In my own experience, the vast majority do not.

Jesus spoke about this in the parable of the sheep and the goats: “Then [the king] will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels’” (Matt. 25:41). Hell is already prepared for those who will not repent. Who prepared it? Jesus himself. If you do not receive Jesus Christ as Lord, he will throw you out into outer darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.

So if you find a person who is divisive and wicked, counsel him. If he repents, it is all right. If not, inform the church.

 

III. Divine Assurance

The third point is divine assurance. Paul writes, “You may be sure that such a man is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned” (v. 11).

The heretic who promoted disunity in the church is given opportunity to repent a first time and again a second time. But he refuses to repent and remains stiff-necked. What happens to stiff-necked people? Remember Eli, who was ninety-eight years of age. God threw him backward, he broke his neck and died. He did not honor God. He honored his children above God. He refused to restrain them from doing evil. And in Proverbs 29 we read, “A man who remains stiff-necked after many rebukes will suddenly be destroyed—without remedy” (Prov. 29:1). God himself destroys him.

Most people think that believing in Jesus is just another option one can have. They will say, “If you want to believe in Christ, you can do so. But if you don’t want to, you don’t have to.” But the greatest thing that can happen to us is to hear the gospel from a man of God. It comes to us, and if we repent and believe in Jesus Christ, we shall be saved forever.

The church that expels a wicked person, a person who deliberately violated his covenant, must be assured of three things about the one who is being expelled.

First, though, consider these words from the writer to the Hebrews.

It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace. Land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is farmed receives the blessing of God. But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless and is in danger of being cursed. In the end it will be burned. (Heb. 6:4–8)

If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know him who said, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” and again, “The Lord will judge his people.” It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. (Heb. 10:26–31)

 

The church must know three things about the person whom the church is putting out. First, he is a pervert. That is the Greek word (exestraptai). He is a person who is twisted inside out. The Greek expression says he became a pervert in the past and he continues to be a pervert, in spite of warnings from Christ. Psalm 78:57 and Hosea 7:16 speak about a faulty bow. It is a constitutional and congenital problem. If you take that bow and shoot it, every time it will go the wrong way.

Second, such a person is sinning continually (hamartanei). He hates the straight and narrow way that leads to eternal life. Like Cain, he loves his sin; and like Esau and Judas, he will not and cannot repent. Oh, he may smile and tell you that everything is fine. But he cannot fool Christ.

Third, he is self-condemned (autokatakritos). He is condemned by his own actions, by his own sins. He is like the one who buried his one talent and justified himself before his Lord. The master told him, “I will judge you by your own words, you wicked servant! You knew, did you, that I am a hard man, taking out what I did not put in, and reaping what I did not sow? Why then didn’t you put my money on deposit, so that when I came back, I could have collected it with interest?” (Luke 19:22–23). And though he is self-condemned, such a person will justify himself and blame the church, especially the pastor. You can count on it.

Therefore, the pastor and the church must not blame themselves for throwing out a wicked, divisive, unrepentant person. In fact, God commended the church of Ephesus for exercising such discipline (Rev. 2:2, 6). At the same time, he condemned the churches of Pergamum and Thyatira for not expelling wicked people from the church (Rev. 2:14, 20–23). Christ is pleased with his church when it obeys him and maintains order and purity through exercising discipline.

 

IV. The Purpose of Church Discipline

There are five reasons a church should exercise discipline.

 

1. It must punish the wicked person in the church by handing him over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh (Deut. 28:28; also 1 Cor. 5:5; 11:30; 1 Tim. 1:20). The church cannot tolerate sin.
2. The church must be protected from impurity. In other words, it must maintain purity. So we read, “See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many” (Heb. 12:15; see also 1 Cor. 5:6–7).
3. The church must preserve Christ’s honor. A sinning Christian is dishonoring Christ just like a disobedient child is dishonoring his parents. The Bible says, “Honor your parents.” So Paul says in Romans 2:24, “As it is written: ‘God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.’” A sinning Christian is shaming God in the world.
4. The church must base the restoration of the sinner on true repentance. This is only true if he was a true believer to begin with. Most excommunicated people never truly repent and return.
5. The believing members of the church must take warning. Consider Achan and Judas. Consider Ananias and Sapphira, who were killed by God, the head of the church. We read in Acts 5, “Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events” (Acts 5:11). God has his own way of getting rid of the stubborn, rebellious, and wicked. We sin in his presence. The Lord Jesus Christ never sleeps nor slumbers. He is ever awake.

 

 

V. Some Biblical Reasons for Excommunication

What are some of the sins identified in the Bible that lead to excommunication if they are not repented of?

 

1. Divisiveness. The church is Christ’s body. It is united, and we are to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Titus 3:9–11 is speaking about divisiveness. Paul says the same thing in Romans 16:17. Whenever you hear someone attempting to divide the church, rebuke him to his face. Everyone in the church has the right to do so. We are not to join him in his sin; that is what he wants. Paul wrote, “Chloe’s household reported to me that there are divisions among you: I am of Paul, I am of Apollos, I am of Cephas, I am of Christ” (see 1 Cor. 1:11–12). Divisive people may appear to be very nice, but they are demons who sow division.
2. Sexual immorality. This is the sin addressed in 1 Corinthians 5:1 and Revelation 2:14, 20–23.
3. Failure to work and provide for oneself and one’s family. This is a violation of the fourth commandment. Have you ever considered this is a reason to throw someone out of the church? Paul wrote to the Thessalonian church, “In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you, brothers, to keep away from every brother who is idle and does not live according to the teaching you received from us. For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example. We were not idle when we were with you, nor did we eat anyone’s food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you. We did this, not because we do not have the right to such help, but in order to make ourselves a model for you to follow. For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: ‘If a man will not work, he shall not eat’” (2 Thess. 3:6–10).
4. Disobeying Scripture. Paul also told the Thessalonian believers, “If anyone does not obey our instruction in this letter, take special note of him. Do not associate with him, in order that he may feel ashamed. Yet do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother” (2 Thess. 3:14–15).
5. Blasphemy. Paul told Timothy, “Among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan to be taught not to blaspheme” (1 Tim. 1:20).
6. Teaching heresies. John writes, “If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not take him into your house or welcome him. Anyone who welcomes him shares in his wicked work” (2 John 10–11). We must maintain orthodoxy. A church must be educated and serious about theology.
7. Committing the sin unto death. John writes, “If anyone sees his brother commit a sin that does not lead to death, he should pray and God will give him life. I refer to those whose sin does not lead to death. There is a sin that leads to death. I am not saying that he should pray about that. All wrongdoing is sin, and there is sin that does not lead to death” (1 John 5:16–17). What is the sin that leads to death? It is rejecting Jesus Christ as the Son of God. It is rejecting the atonement of Christ. It is the idea that one can be saved and sin. All these are wretched ideas.

 

 

Application

Let us consider the following applications:

1. We must make our calling and election sure (2 Pet. 1:10). We must not believe our own opinion about ourselves. Our opinion of ourselves may not be God’s opinion; in fact, our opinion is usually wrong.

2. All four-soil Christians (Matt. 13) are in the visible church, but only the fourth soil Christians are true believers. Such people will persevere to the end.

3. If the Lord added us to his holy church, he will make us holy (Eph. 5:25–27).

4. A true child of God will be characterized by the following:

a. He will confess Jesus is Lord by the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 12:3). That is the first thing he does.

b. He will hear and obey the word of the Lord (Matt. 7:24).

c. He will do the will of his heavenly Father (Matt. 12:50).

d. He will be led by the Spirit and obey the Spirit and God’s ministers (Heb. 13:17; Acts 5:32; Rom. 8:14).

e. If he is expelled from the church, he will repent and return.

f. He will live by repentance and faith all of life. That is why when we celebrate the Lord’s Supper, we ask God to forgive us our sins, because the truth is, we all sin in thought, word, and deed—sins of omission and sins of commission.

g. He will live a holy life and not conform to the world. He will not say, “The world says this sin is all right. Who are you, pastor, to say it is not the right way to go?” No, we must conform to Christ (2 Cor. 6:14–7:1; Rom. 8:29; Rom. 12:1–2; 1 Pet. 1:15–16).

May God help us to submit to the Lord’s work of sanctification, including the exercise of church discipline, so that we may become a radiant bride for Christ, without stain or wrinkle, made holy by the Lord himself. And as the bride of Christ, may we shine as stars in the universe as we hold forth the word of life to a crooked and depraved generation.

 

¹ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/07/07/jimmy-carter-gay-marriage_n_7744390.html