{"id":31124,"date":"2022-09-10T15:17:49","date_gmt":"2022-09-10T20:17:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/3-questions-to-ask-before-practicing-church-discipline\/"},"modified":"2022-09-10T15:17:49","modified_gmt":"2022-09-10T20:17:49","slug":"3-questions-to-ask-before-practicing-church-discipline","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/3-questions-to-ask-before-practicing-church-discipline\/","title":{"rendered":"3 Questions to Ask Before Practicing Church Discipline"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Jack Sharp photo – Unsplash<\/div>\n

By Juan R. Sanchez<\/em><\/p>\n

The very idea of church discipline sounds antiquated, unloving, and, to some, even hateful. But I assure you: Church discipline is the most loving act you can practice for church members living in unrepentant sin.<\/p>\n

And yet, before practicing church discipline, we must first ask and answer three questions.<\/p>\n

1. Why should we practice church discipline?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

We are to practice church discipline for the glory of God. As a church, we are to display the wisdom and glory of God (Ephesians 3:10). How? By living together as a church in unity (Ephesians 2:11-22; 4:1-16) and holiness (Ephesians 4:17-5:2).<\/p>\n

God called us out of darkness and made us children of light. Therefore, we are to walk as children of light (Ephesians 5:3-14). We blaspheme the name of our God when we call ourselves Christians and continue living like the world.<\/p>\n

We also practice church discipline for the testimony of the church. We are salt and light (Matthew 5:13-16). God chose us out of the world and made us a holy nation to proclaim the good news of his salvation (1 Peter 2:9).<\/p>\n

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Our holy lives attest to the truth of the gospel, showing the world the power of God by our transformed lives (1 Peter 2:11-12). We lie to the world about who our God is and how he has changed us when we call ourselves Christians and continue in our sin.<\/p>\n

Finally, we practice church discipline for the salvation of unrepentant sinners. Formal church discipline is the removal of an unrepentant sinner from membership in the church.<\/p>\n

What does that accomplish? Consider Paul\u2019s explanation in 1 Corinthians. When the church permitted a man in gross, unrepentant sexual sin to continue in membership in the church, the apostle Paul rebuked them, urging them \u201cto hand that one over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord\u201d (1 Corinthians 5:5).<\/p>\n

When we remove a professing Christian from our membership, our hope is that they may realize they are outside the community of faith and in danger of God\u2019s coming judgment. Our temporal judgment is meant to lead them to repentance.<\/p>\n

2. When should we practice church discipline?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

But even when you are convinced from Scripture of the need to practice church discipline, it may still be hard to know when<\/em> to practice it. Before you lead your church to discipline an unrepentant member, consider these four categories:<\/p>\n