Matthew 18:15-20 - The Lost Art of Maintaining a Healthy Church - Part 1

Introduction

The church is a holy community created by God and intended to reflect His character and glory in the midst of a fallen world. God loves the church and His ultimate purpose for His church is to make it a gift to His Son; thus He calls it the Bride of Christ. For this reason the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are constantly at work to purify the church and bring her to maturity (Eph 4:7-16; 5:25-27).

Until He returns for His bride, He has given believers and church leaders the privilege, responsibility and authority to keep it pure, essentially saying, "You represent Me in that church and act on my behalf as an undershepherd of my sheep!

But the biblical disciplining of sinning Christians in a church body family is almost unheard of in our society. The question is, “Why?”

1. We haven’t seen it modeled and don’t know how to do it! (Ignorance)
2. We don’t want to be perceived as judgmental or unloving (Pride)
3. We don’t want the hassle of the corrective process (Apathy/indifference)
4. We fear losing long-time friends and ministry associates (Cowardice)
5. We are afraid of losing church members -- and their tithe (Greed)
6. We are afraid of lawsuits (Fear of man). Prov 29:25 “Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe.”

Regardless of what excuse we use for not following God’s directive to exercise church discipline, at the end of the day, it amounts to disobedience to His clear directives and commands!

I The Purpose of Church Discipline

What is Church Discipline? “It is the corrective process instituted by Christ Jesus to bring repentance, restoration and recovery to a sinning member of His body and to protect the church from the corrupting influence of sin.”

( 7/27/2014)

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