Transcript Ecclesial Discipline - San Francisco Peninsula Ecclesia

Scriptural Discipline
San Francisco Peninsula Ecclesia
January 2013
Class 3
Rebuke, Correction, Withdrawal
• Dimensions of sin
• What we MUST judge and what we MUST NOT
• Another look at Matthew 18
• A few Scriptural examples of rebuke and correction
Grouping of Types of Sins
Entangled in
corrupt/ immoral
behavior
Destroyed unity
and relationships
Rebellion or
rejection of
God and His
Word
Harming
testimony and
witness of the
Truth
Important Scriptural Fact!
NOT ALL SINS ARE CREATED
EQUAL
“All unrighteousness is
sin…”
1 John 5:17
Sin, Iniquity, Transgression –
All the Same?
“And the LORD descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and
proclaimed the name of the LORD. And the LORD passed by before him,
and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious,
longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, Keeping mercy for
thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will
by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the
children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the
fourth generation.”
Exodus 34:5-7
• “iniquity” – avon – perversity, evil (Isaiah 1:4 – a people “laden in iniquity”
• “transgression” – pescha – revolt, rebellion (worshipping false gods, inciting folly)
• “sin” – chattaah – an offence
Rebellion in the Wilderness
• Complaining about manna
• Murmuring over lack of water
• Challenging leadership of Moses
God Hates Rebellion!
• “For I know thy rebellion, and thy stiff neck: behold, while I am yet alive with
you this day, ye have been rebellious against the LORD; and how much more
after my death?” Deuteronomy 31:27
• “That this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear
the law of the LORD.”
Isaiah 30:9
• “Son of man, thou dwellest in the midst of a rebellious house, which have
eyes to see, and see not; they have ears to hear, and hear not: for they are a
rebellious house.” Ezekiel 12:2
Important Foundations
• God condemns all sin
• However, He distinguishes between sins
• Some sins are due to thoughtless weakness
• Some are a pronounced statement that they will not have
God to rule over them
• God views these as different
• In our examination of
Scriptural discipline,
we must too!
JUDGING
Catholic Doctrine of Judgment
“In the Sacrament of Penance the guilt of sin
is removed, and with it eternal punishment
due to mortal sin; but there still remains the
temporal punishment required by Divine
justice, and this requirement must be
fulfilled either in the present life or in
the world to come, i.e., Purgatory. An
indulgence offers the penitent sinner the
means of discharging this debt during his life
here on earth.”
The New Advent, Catholic
Encyclopedia, 2011
Compare to Standard of Scripture
“This is the covenant that I will make with them after those
days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and
in their minds will I write them; And their sins and
iniquities will I remember no more. Now where remission
of these is, there is no more offering for sin. …. Let us draw
near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our
hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, ….”
Hebrews 10:16-23
Repented Sins Not to be
Dragged Along
Importance to Our Discussion
• In Christ, forgiven sins are sins that no longer exist
in the mind of God
• We must reject any concept of having to pay “Divine
justice” for forgiven sins – Divine intervention is to
GET US TO REPENTANCE!
• The command is for us to no longer have an “evil
(guilty) conscience” and get on with our
participation in the Truth
“Judge” - The Verb in New Testament
• krino – to separate, select, choose, to pronounce
judgment. This is used for the role of a judge, in the
process of a trial or the execution of sentence
• anakrino – to examine, investigate, question, discern.
“He that judgeth me is the Lord”
• diakrino – to separate throughout as in the sense of
arbitrating (“if we judged ourselves” is in RV – “if we
discerned ourselves”)
Krino – To Pronounce Like A Judge
“But love ye your enemies, and do good, …..
and ye shall be the children of the Highest:
for He is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil. Be ye therefore
merciful, as your Father also is merciful. Judge not, and ye shall
not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned:
forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:….. For with the same measure
that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.”
Luke 6:35-38
Krino – To Pronounce Like A Judge
“But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at
nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment
seat of Christ. ….
So every one of us shall give account of himself to God. Let us
not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather,
that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his
brother's way.”
Romans 14:10-13
Here judging is connected to the Judgment Seat of Christ. We all give
account to him. Let us not pronounce judgment on our brother.
Krino – But One Lawgiver
“Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaks evil of
his brother, and judges his brother, speaks evil of the law, and
judges the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer
of the law, but a judge. There is one lawgiver, who is able to
save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another?”
James 4:10-12
“lawgiver” - nomothetēs - a legislator
Differing Types of Judgment
“…we must not set one part of Scripture against another. Jesus was
speaking of self-righteous “judges” who could not see the beam in their
own eye (Luke 6). In 1 Corinthians 4:5 Paul was speaking of judging
whether a steward is faithful, worthy to be given eternal life. The word
“judge” of verse 3 is a different word, meaning to examine, or pass under
review. In Romans 14 he is dealing with censorious judgments on matters
of food and drink and observance of days, where liberty of conscience
was allowable.
Bro. Fred Pearce,The Christadelphian,
“The Duty to Withdraw”, 1974
Differing Types of Judgment
“We need to distinguish between “judging” whether a man is
worthy of salvation, and “judging” that a persistent
fornicator, for example, cannot be retained in fellowship, while
leaving the final judgment in his case to the Lord.”
Bro. Fred Pearce, The Christadelphian,
“The Duty to Withdraw”, 1974
“Judge Not” Islip Collyer, 1912
“The spirit of the law deals mainly in positives in which
none but we ourselves and Christ can judge us. If a man
steals or commits adultery we are called upon to judge, and
withdraw from his company, although even then we must
act with humility and the desire that he shall be saved. If a
man spends the whole of his life without any real love for
God or for man in his heart he must be left to the judgment
of the Master.
Continued on next slide
“Judge Not” Islip Collyer, 1912
We cannot withdraw from a brother simply on the grounds that he is
lacking in love.Yet the sins of omission may be far more serious than the
sins of commission. The one wicked act may only be the expression of a
moment’s weakness. The loveless inactivity may express the tendency of
a lifetime. Humanity may judge that a certain one never did anything
wrong. Christ may judge that neither did he ever do anything right. The
picture of the judgment in the twenty-fifth chapter of Matthew shows
us the righteous commended for what they had done, not for what they
had avoided, and the wicked condemned for what they had neglected,
not for what they had done.”
Understanding The Difference
Judging behavior
Judging the heart
• He eats food offered to
idols
• He must be an idolater!
• Not attending meeting
• No longer values the
Truth
• Has once again abused
illegal substances
• Was not really sincere in
his repentance
A Man Gathering Sticks
“And while the children of Israel were in the wilderness,
they found a man that gathered sticks upon the sabbath day.
And they that found him gathering sticks brought him unto
Moses and Aaron, and unto all the congregation. And they
put him in ward, because it was not declared what should be
done to him. And the LORD said unto Moses, The man
shall be surely put to death: all the congregation shall stone
him with stones without the camp. And all the congregation
brought him without the camp, and stoned him with stones,
and he died; as the LORD commanded Moses.”
Numbers 15:32-36
Judgment in the Ecclesia
• We are to judge!
• But it is essential to know what we do and don’t judge
• We are to judge MANIFEST behaviors that are
contrary to the Law of Christ
• But, we are NOT to judge matters where there is liberty
in Christ or the motive and thoughts of the heart
Parable of Tares and Wheat
Darnell - Lolium temulentum
Observations – Parable of the Tares
• This parable is about FINAL judgment
• Jesus sows only good seed
• While servants sleep, the enemy sows tare seeds
• Tares look almost identical to wheat in early development
• Only distinguishable at harvest by it’s fruit – tares make
animals, men sick when eaten (not poultry)
Observations – Parable of the Tares
• The primary concern is not the tares, but the safety of the good seed
and how it bares fruit
• The tares themselves don’t disturb wheat growth, but are a danger to
be dealt with at the harvest
• The angels separate out the tares at the harvest for destruction
• The tares do NOT represent members who have visible, sins unto
death
• Tares are insincere hearts, producing a fruit that is not genuine –
however, the judgment of the insincerity is not performed before the
harvest
Principles for Scriptural Discipline
• Ours is NOT to judge sincerity of heart
• Ours is NOT to judge production or fruit of a brother
• Ours is NOT to judge a man based on matters of liberty, where we are
permitted to have personal conscience (e.g., holy days)
• If there are visible sins that jeopardize the brother’s eternal life, they
MUST be responded to
• In some cases, the sin may only call for correction or rebuke
• But for all others, the judgment awaits the Lord’s return
Matthew 18
Context of Matthew 18
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Be converted and become as little children
Woe to him that causes offences
Remove foot, hands, eye if it offends you
Despise not one of these little ones
Searching for the lost sheep of the flock of 100
Forgive seventy times seven
The unrighteous servant and forgiving from the heart your brother
of his trespasses
The six verses dealing with sin fit into the context of the
rest of the chapter!
Principle of Family Governance
"If your brother, the son of your mother, or your son or your daughter or
the wife you embrace or your friend who is as your own soul entices you
secretly, saying, 'Let us go and serve other gods,' which neither you nor
your fathers have known, some of the gods of the peoples who are around
you, whether near you or far off from you, from the one end of the earth
to the other, you shall not yield to him or listen to him, nor shall your eye
pity him, nor shall you spare him, nor shall you conceal him. But you shall
kill him. Your hand shall be first against him to put him to death, and
afterward the hand of all the people. You shall stone him to death with
stones, because he sought to draw you away from the LORD your God,
who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
Deuteronomy 13:6-10
Principle Of Family Governance
• God established the principle of governance within
families and formally within the nation
• The role of all was to work together so that as a family, a
tribe, a nation they would all be holy people unto their
God
• Discipline is best handled closest to the
individual and as early as possible
• No member was to be an island, but accountable to the
body
Restoration Process – Matthew 18
“Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him
his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou
hast gained thy brother. But if he will not hear thee, then take with
thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses
every word may be established. And if he shall neglect to hear
them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church,
let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.”
Matthew 18:15-17
Restoration Process – Matthew 18
Matthew 18:15-17
Heathen
One
2-3
The
or
Ecclesia
Witnesses
brother
Publican
Excerpt From John Thomas’s Writings,
Published 1888
“Nothing tends more to the keeping or the restoring of peace
than the observance of this law; and no law is more
constantly broken. The universal impulse, when anything is
supposed to be wrong, is to tell the matter to third persons.
From them, it spreads with the result of causing much bad
feeling which, perhaps, the original cause does not warrant,
and would not have produced if the aggrieved person had
taken the course prescribed by Christ, and told the fault
“between thee and him alone.”
Continued on Next Slide
Excerpt From John Thomas’s Writings,
Published 1888
Continued: If good men, or those who consider themselves such
would adopt the rule of refusing to listen to an evil
report privately conveyed, until it had been dealt with to the
last stage according to the rule prescribed by Christ, much evil
would be prevented. Disobedience is almost the universal rule in
this matter. The results are serious now, in the generation of
hatred instead of love. Much more serious will the result be to
the offenders against this rule in the day when all matters will be
measured and settled by the divine rule…”
Robert Roberts, 1895
“For the present it will suffice to note that the sin or
trespass that Christ alludes to is a palpable, obvious, fatal
sin. When doubt exists on this point, let us not apply
Matthew 18:15–17 . “Some men’s sins are open
beforehand”. Some are not, and therefore, we have to wait
for later circumstances, or Christ’s infallible judgment, to
disclose them.”
“Trespass Against Thee”
“Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee…”
• Challenge you to broaden your view of this passage
• This is not solely about someone who offends you or sins against
you
• It is also when you become aware of a brother who is sinning
against the Lord and has not repented
• In either case, it is incumbent on a brother to begin the restoration
process
Robertson’s Word Pictures
If thy brother sin against thee (ean hamartēsēi adelphos sou).
Literally, commit a sin (ingressive aorist subjunctive of
hamartanō). Aleph B Sahidic do not have “against thee” (eis se).
Sahidic is Egyptian Coptic. It is believed to date back to the 200’s
AD and due to the climate in Egypt, most transcripts are intact.
Recent translations have used Sahidic texts frequently.
Modern Translations And Sahidic Texts
• “If thy brother commits a sin, go and take the matter up with him…”
Matt. 18:15 New English Bible
• “If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just
between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over.”
Matt. 18:15 NIV
• “Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents,
forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times a day, and returns to
you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ forgive him.” Luke 17:3-4 NASB
Confirming Principle in the Law
“Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or
favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly. Do not
go about spreading slander among your people. Do not do
anything that endangers your neighbor’s life. I am the LORD.
Do not hate a fellow Israelite in your heart. Rebuke your
neighbor frankly so you will not share in their guilt.”
Leviticus 19:15-17 NIV
In KJV margin – “that thou bear not sin for him”
We Must Act!
“Rescue those who are being taken
away to death; hold back those who
are stumbling to the slaughter. If you
say, "Behold, we did not know this,"
does not he who weighs the heart
perceive it? Does not he who keeps
watch over your soul know it, and
will he not repay man according to
his work?”
Proverbs 24:11-12 ESV
Foundations In The Prophets
“Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel:
therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from
me. Again, When a righteous man doth turn from his righteousness,
and commit iniquity, and I lay a stumbling-block before him, he shall
die: because thou hast not given him warning, he shall die in his sin,
and his righteousness which he hath done shall not be remembered;
but his blood will I require at thine hand. Nevertheless if thou warn
the righteous man, that the righteous sin not, and he doth not sin, he
shall surely live, because he is warned; also thou hast delivered thy
soul.”
Ezekiel 3:17,20-21
Matthew 18
• Refuses to examine self
• Refuses to hear rebuke of a faithful brother
• Refuses to hear rebuke of faithful witnesses
• Refuses to hear the rebuke of the ecclesia
The Object Of Ecclesial Discipline
Not Punishment,
but
Restoration!
Robert Roberts, 1895
“If thy brother shall trespass against thee.” A serious sin is implied, as
already shown. Let us not forget that until this degree of perverseness
is reached our duty is confined to exhortation and education, either by
friendly chat, correspondence, or any way that may suggest itself to us
as skilful, faithful servants of Christ. Again, Christ’s law is not for
application in the case of one who has sinned, however dreadfully, if
that sin is acknowledged and repented of…”
Continued on next Slide
Robert Roberts, 1895
Continued
“….A brother may sin against another in manifold ways: by
slandering, maligning, defrauding, tryannising, brutally illtreating. But,
as previously pointed out, Christ’s law extends also to any and every
sin which the scriptures tell us will exclude from eternal life—sins
not to be countenanced, and necessitating withdrawal from the
habitual practisers of them.”
Process (1)
• Remember your own weakness and need – critical starting
place!
• Forgive (aphiemi) and give the resolution of this matter to
the Lord
• Prayer
Continued next slide
Process (2)
Private conversation
• Make an appointment, select an appropriate time/place
• Begin with affirmation of your love (been praying for you,
concerned)
• Ask permission to share your concern
• Share (behaviorally) your concern
• Listen
• Use Scripture to govern standards
• Promise to continue praying
• Follow-up
Continued next slide
Process (3)
• Private corroboration (2-3 witnesses)
• Ecclesial exposure and confrontation
• Public condemnation and censure (delivered unto Satan
for destruction of the flesh)
What Not to Do!
• Assume anything before speaking to brother
• Let this issue (at this point) change your existing
relationship with him
• Gossip to others
• Procrastinate
Witnesses Under The Law
“If there be found among you, ….. that hath wrought wickedness,….. And
it be told thee, and thou hast heard of it, and enquired diligently,
and, behold, it be true, and the thing certain, …. Then shalt thou bring
forth that man or that woman……and shalt stone them with stones, till they
die. At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall he that is worthy
of death be put to death…. The hands of the witnesses shall be first
upon him to put him to death, and afterward the hands of all the
people. So thou shalt put the evil away from among you.”
Deuteronomy 17:2-7
Witnesses Under The Law
Deuteronomy 17:2-7
Under the Law, witnesses were gathered to establish guilt.
Today, witnesses are gathered to ensure efforts are made properly to
bring about restoration!
Witnesses And Repentance
John 8:3-11
These witnesses are all about
establishing guilt.
Today, witnesses are about
restoration of the one fallen in sin.
Lessons From This Incident- John 8:3-11
• Witnesses had borne an accurate witness – no denial of the
charge (what of the man involved?)
• Jesus saw this as opportunity to teach valuable lesson – that
even this convicted woman, if she repented, could go and sin no
more
• Beginning at eldest, they had their conscience convicted and
they walked away (why this detail?)
• What was the lesson? That the Law wasn’t designed for
punishment, but for leading men to repentance and
righteousness
• Only by the grace of God are we not in the position of this
accused woman
Selection Of Witnesses
• If the object is to restore, how would this impact your
selection of witnesses?
• Are they apt to teach, strong in the Word?
• Should they be known to the offending brother and perhaps
have experience with him?
• Do they understand their role as witnesses?
• Will they keep this confidential?
• Will their testimony to the ecclesia be acceptable?
Selection Of Witnesses
The ideal witness is one who cares deeply about the brother
and the brother knows that the motivation of that witness
can only be for his wellbeing.
What If No Expression Of Repentance?
“If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they
refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would
a pagan or a tax collector.”
Matthew 18:17 NIV
Specifically, this is what we will discuss in tomorrow’s
class, “Delivering Unto Satan…”
Understanding Matthew 18
• So, what does it mean to treat a rebellious brother (one
who will not hear a loving brother, witnesses or the
ecclesia) as a pagan or tax collector?
• What happens when no human intervention has had an
impact on the unrepentant brother?
• Is this the end of the restorative process?
Other Forms Of Discipline
Other Forms Of Discipline
• Romans 16:17-18 - “mark them”; “avoid them” that are involved in
divisions
• 2 Thessalonians 3:6-15 – “withdraw” is to shrink from, avoid (not
disfellowship), “note” those who walk disorderly, busybodies
• 1 Timothy 6:5 – “withdraw” (aphistemi – remove, draw away, desist)
yourselves from those of corrupt minds, destitute of the Truth.
• 1 Timothy 5:20 – elders who sin are to be rebuked before all
• Titus 3:3-11 – a heretick after two admonitions – reject – to have no
formal communication with
• 1 Thessalonians 5:14 – “warn” them that are unruly
Bro. J.B. Norris, The First Century Ecclesia,
pages 55-56
“There were degrees of discipline in the first century meetings. The
extreme step of excommunication is indicated in 1 Cor. 5, 1, Tim.1:20,
and Titus 3. But a lesser step would seem to be meant in Paul’s
prescription for loafers. In the meeting in Thessalonica the belief that
Christ would be here soon was so strong that some had decided that there
was no further need to work. The disorderly meant the idlers, and by the
term “withdraw” may not be certainly meant full ecclesial disfellowship,
but a strong disapproval by the ecclesia until they started working
properly.”
Continued next slide
Bro. J.B. Norris, The First Century Ecclesia,
pages 55-56
Continued
“….Our technical use of the word “withdrawal” must not
lead us to suppose that that is the Scriptural meaning of the
word wherever it occurs. Paul would not have addressed
these loafers as he does if he had intended them to be
excommunicated. A reasonable counterpart in modern
ecclesial life, certainly the strongest allowable, would be
temporary suspension of fellowship.”
It’s between him and God
It’s none of my business
Disfellowshipping is
so unloving
Too harsh!
Who are we to judge?
Discipline will just drive
him away!
Our job is to love, not condemn
Sunday School class
Delivering unto Satan and Restoration