Transcript Document

The Goal of Church Discipline - Restoration
II Cor. 2:5-11
I. The Pain of Sin (It affects everyone)
A. Paul is sorrowful for the grief caused by the
conflict.
1. Most of the sorrow or grief was to the
assembly.
But if any have caused sorrow (lupe), he has not sorrowed
(lupe) me, but in a part: (alla apo merous – “to some measure” that I
may not over burden (epibareo) you all. II Cor. 2:5
B. The Possible Sin Paul to which Paul Alludes
I Cor. 5:1-13
It is reported commonly [that there is] fornication among
you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the
Gentiles, that one should have his father's wife. 2 And ye are puffed
up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed
might be taken away (exairo) from among you. 1-2
For I truly, as absent in body, but
present in spirit, have judged already, as
though I were present, [concerning] him that
has so done this deed, 4 In the name of our
Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together, and my spirit,
with the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, 5 To deliver such an
one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be
saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. 6 Your glorying [is] not good.
Don’t you know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? 7 Purge
out therefore the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, as you are
unleavened. For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us: 8
Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the
leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened [bread] of
sincerity and truth. 9 I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company
with fornicators: I Cor. 5: 3-9
Yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with
the covetous, or extortionist, or with idolaters; for then must ye
needs go out of the world. 11 But now I have written unto you, do
not keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator,
or greedy, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an
extortionist; with such an one no not to eat. 13 But them that are
outside God judges. Therefore put away from among yourselves
that wicked (ponero) person. 10-13
God Saved us from sin not to sin.
….. Don’t you know that the unrighteous shall not inherit the
kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters,
nor adulterers, nor men acting like women (malakos) , nor
homosexuals (arsenokoites), 10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor
drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortionist, shall inherit the kingdom
of God. 11 And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but you
are sanctified, but you are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus,
and by the Spirit of our God. I Cor. 6:9-11
And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us, and has given
himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling
aroma. But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it
not be once named among you, as saints; Neither obscenities, nor
foolish talking, nor immoral humor, which are not beneficial: but
rather giving of thanks. For this you know, that no fornicator/male
prostitute, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater,
has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no
man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things comes
the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. 7 Therefore,
don’t you be partakers with them. 8 For you were sometimes
darkness, but now are you light in the Lord: walk as children of
light: 9 (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and
righteousness and truth;) 10 Proving what is acceptable unto the
Lord. 11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of
darkness, but rather reprove them. 12 For it is a shame even to
speak of those things which are done of them in secret.Eph. 5:2-12
C. The Three Fold Purpose of Disciplining Sin
1. Maintenance of Church Purity
a. Sin impacts the assembly
(1) On the inside
Don’t you know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?
I Cor. 5:6
(2) On the outside
You that make your boast of the law, through breaking the
law you dishonor God? 24 For the name of God is blasphemed
among the Gentiles through you, as it is written. Rom. 2:23-24
(See I Tim. 2:1 and Titus 2:5 – same principle for Christians)
b. Sin Must be judged
•
Every local assembly has been authorized by God to judge,
discipline, and even excommunicate. (See Matt. 18)
•
She must rid herself of that which attacks the body the same way
we would desire to rid ourselves of a cancer.
In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered
together, and my spirit, with the authority of our Lord Jesus
Christ, 5 To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction
of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord
Jesus. I Cor. 1:4-5
Purge out therefore the old leaven I Cor. 1:7
Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked
(ponero) person. 10-13
2. Restoration of The Offender (Doctor)
a. Discipline is not an end, rather a means.
b. When properly done it is an extension of
Gods love
Sufficient to such a one [is] this punishment (Epitimia – price
paid), which [was inflicted] of many. 7 So that on the contrary you
ought rather (mallon - to a greater degree) forgive (Charizomai )
[him], and comfort (parakalesai) [him], lest by some means such a
one should be swallowed up with to much sorrow (lupe). 8
Wherefore I beseech (parakaleo) you that you would confirm (kuroo –
confirm publicly, validate) [your] love (agape) toward him.
II Cor. 2:6-8
•When scandal breaks out, carnal and ignorant Christians just see it
as something to talk about.Scandalous malignancy is more exciting
and interesting to these than godly virtues. Gossip in most cases is to
elevate oneself.
•Do any think for a moment that gossip is a force to awaken the
conscience, and redemptively work to bring a fallen person back to
God. Is this way of Christ?
•If this is all we have, let us be silent. Every word spoken against a
brother or sister that is not redemptive in its spirit, sound in its
theology, that reverberate with God’s love is a sin against the grace
and mercy of God.
•Where no wood is, there the fire goes out: so where there is no
gossip, the strife ceases. 21 As coals are to burning coals, and wood
to fire; so is a contentious man to kindle strife.22 The words of a
gossip are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of
the belly. Prov. 26:20-22
c. Therefore, the mark of true repentance is godly sorrow.
•The sign that you really see that what you did was wrong is that you
begin to see the hurt that you have caused by it; and it creates a
sense of sorrow, of remorse that you have been the instrument by
which many have been damaged in their faith or in their feelings.
•This man had come to that point, therefore, it was time to end the
discipline. Of course, the purpose of the whole process of discipline
at any stage is to bring somebody to recovery. The minute he
achieves that, it is time to end all the sanctions and degrees of
pressure that are being put on him for repentance, and to begin to
extend forgiveness and restoring love. That is what Paul pleads for in
Verse 8:
3. To Prove Obedience in the Church
a. Church discipline is a command to be
obeyed according to the word of God
For to this end also did I write, that I might know the proof
(dokime – experiment) of you, whether ye be obedient (hupekoos – to
give ear) in all things. II Cor. 2:9
The Corinthians had obeyed; they had done what Matthew 18
required by telling it to the church. That is always a very painful,
difficult thing to do.
One of the reasons so many churches are rife with splits, divisions,
and problems today is because their leadership seems to be made up
of gutless wonders who have no moral courage and who are not
willing to act themselves in obedience to what the Scripture says.
We have had to resist reproof by many people in the congregation,
and around, who misjudged and did not understand the situation,
who thought it was wrong to act the way we did. So it has taken
courage to stand, sometimes, and obey the Word of God. But as
Scripture says, "the effect of righteousness will be peace," {cf, Isa
32:17}.
If you will act rightly, in love, and frontally, with courage, the result
ultimately is peace; and this is what was happening here in Corinth.
The place to start, therefore, is with a faithful confrontation.
b. Church Discipline Without The Heart of God.
Gives Satan a Superior grasp.
To whom you forgive (Charizomai) any thing, I also: for if I forgave
(Charizomai) any thing, to whom I forgave (Charizomai) it, I
forgave it for your sakes in the person of Christ; 11 Lest Satan
(Satanas – the adversary) should get an advantage (pleonekteopleon =superior + echo = to have or hold) of us: for we are not
ignorant (agnoeo – without knowledge) of his devices (“noema” –
mental thoughts from Gr. Word “nous”). II Cor. 2:10-11
……forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath
forgiven you. Eph. 4:32
Forgiveness, basically, is a promise that you make; it is a promise
you make to three different individuals.
First, it is a promise that you make to the individual who has
offended you and now has repented, in which you are saying to him
or her, "I will not let my attitude toward you be governed any longer
by this offense. It has been put aside. My treatment of you from here
on will be as though this had never happened." It is a promise you
make never to bring it up again. In marriage many problems go on
for years and years because we tend to go back and dig up all the
past, which is an indication that it has never been forgiven. Some
mates don't get hysterical, they get historical!
Second, it is a promise not to pass it on to anybody else. When
a matter is forgiven it is to be forgotten. Now it may be that everyone
knows it, because, as in this case in Corinth, it had been told to the
whole church. But what it means is that nobody throws it at him
again, or holds it over his head, or reminds him of it every time any
further difficulty occurs. It is a promise to drop the matter, leave it
in the past, and never bring it up to anybody again.
Third, and probably most important of all, it is a promise to
yourself that, when your memory goes back to it, as it will
occasionally, you are not going to allow it to seize hold of your heart
and make you angry all over again. The minute it comes back to
mind, you put it aside as something that belongs to the past, you are
not going to dwell on it. It is a promise, therefore, to repeat your act
of forgiveness, no matter how often the memory comes up
People say sometimes, "Well, I just can't forgive in this case. The
person said it was wrong, and has asked me to forgive him, but I just
can't do it. It hurt me too much." Well, that is a revelation to me that
that person has never realized how much he has been forgiven
already. The basis for Christian forgiveness is always, "Forgive,
because you have been forgiven." If you cannot forgive it is because
you have forgotten that you were forgiven. Paul says this to the
Ephesians:
……forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath
forgiven you. Eph. 4:32
Be aware that we are in a battle, and an enemy is constantly
trying to take advantage of the situation, that we must realize that
the thing that defeats him is to extend ready and full forgiveness
when there are broken relationships within us. When you let it go on
and on and on, unresolved, you are giving the devil an opportunity
to get hold of everybody involved, to create more problems and
spread it widely and turn the whole church upside down eventually.
Forgive one another As God For Christ’s Sake Has forgiven You