SOVEREIGN GRACE FELLOWSHIP December 5, 2010 DEALING WITH SIN IN THE CAMP: A PRIMER ON CHURCH DISCIPLINE 1 CORINTHIANS 4:21

PASTOR JIMMY SNOWDEN INTRODUCTION Christians often reduce the character of Christ down to gentleness, unending patience, and a sort of limp-wristed love. This is, of course, not true of all Christians. In fact, some Christians go to the opposite extreme and end up crafting a view of Jesus that is equally unbiblical, emphasizing His justice and righteous indignation against sin to the neglect of His love and grace. I would say, however, that the knee jerk reaction of most modern day Christians is to err on the side of emphasizing the love and grace of Christ to the neglect of His justice and wrath. Either way, our goal as Christians is to develop a holistic view of the biblical Jesus. One of the characteristics of the life of Jesus that is often neglected in modern day church culture is the way he dealt with unrepentant/blatant sin. To put it bluntly, Jesus abhors sin. What we will find in our text this morning is that there is a place for serious confrontation of sin in the body of Christ. I am not in any way arguing that this should be the auto-pilot posture of the Christian life. Rather, I am suggesting that the church is oftentimes called to take swift and uncompromising action against sin and those who commit it. In a worst-case-scenario the church is even called to expel the sinning brother or sister from her midst. Because our culture has almost completely neglected this side of Jesus, I would like to show you just a few examples in the Scriptures where Jesus dealt with sin in this manner. Turn with me first to John 2:13-16.
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The Jewish Passover was near, so Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 In the temple complex He found people selling oxen, sheep, and doves, and [He also found] the money changers sitting there. 15 After making a whip out of cords, He drove everyone out of the temple complex with their sheep and oxen. He also poured out the money changers' coins and overturned the tables. 16 He told those who were selling doves, "Get these things out of here! Stop turning My Father's house into a marketplace!" What is the first word that comes to mind when you read this passage? Gentleness? Far from it. I must note that Jesus was not here flying off the handle. His emotions had not gotten the best of Him. Jesus actions were calculated. Jesus cleansed the temple in the way that He did because it needed to be done. It had to be done. The sinful chaos at the temple needed to be confronted. Gods temple was being profaned. Turn with me also to Matthew 23:13, 27-28, 33.
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"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to make one proselyte, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as fit for hell as you are!... 27 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of dead men's bones and every impurity. 28 In the same way, on the outside you seem righteous to people, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness 33 "Snakes! Brood of vipers! How can you escape being condemned to hell?

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Once again, what is the first thing that you think of when you read this passage? Gentleness? Patience? Of course not. But so often we only think of Jesus in terms of gentleness and patience. Jesus was certainly gentle. However, He was not always gentle (as seen in John 2). And we must understand that Jesus was not always patient. Just like with gentleness, God is certainly patient, but He is not always patient. Lets think about patience for a moment. God is not eternally patient. In fact, eternal patience is a contradiction in terms. Eternal patience is not patience, it is inactivity. What is patience? For starters, it must be said that inherent in the idea of patience is temporality. Wayne Grudem suggests that patience is Gods goodness in withholding of punishment toward those who sin over a period of time.1 The emphasis is on over a period of time. Believe it or not, God will never exercise patient to a human being ever again once Jesus comes back in all of His glory at His second coming. The second coming is the official end of the period of time of Gods patience. In fact, Peter argues, in 2 Peter 3:9-10, that it is the patience of God that drives Him to prolong the day of His second coming.
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The Lord does not delay His promise, as some understand delay, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance. 10 But the Day of the Lord will come like a thief; on that [day] the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, the elements will burn and be dissolved, and the earth and the works on it will be disclosed. Why has God not come back yet? His patience is what restrains Him. The Lords delay is the result of His longsuffering, because He takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked (Ezekiel 33:11). However, we see in vs. 10 (with the strong But) that His patience will come to a close. He doesnt delight in the destruction of the wicked, and yet that day of destruction must come. And on that day, God will no longer be patient to those who have rejected His Son. He will pour out His wrath upon them in eternal, unrelenting, merciless judgment. And He will no longer exercise patience to those who have believed on Jesus because we will all be sinlessand thus He wont have to exercise patience. Here is my own definition of patience: patience is a temporary period of time whereby God, in His grace, puts off judgment for the sake of allowing opportunities for change and repentance. Parents, you know very well the difference between patience and negligence. As a patient parent you do not fly off the handle at the slightest sin or mistake of your child. However, you also want your children to learn that you will deal with disobedience. You want them to trust that you will not fly off the handle, but you also want them to know that disobedience is not tolerated and that it will be dealt with. We learn in the Scriptures that God is slow to anger (Exodus 34:6-7). Never do the Scriptures say that God is angerless, but rather, slow to anger. What God is affirming is that He does not fly off the handle. God is not negligent, and yet He offers a time for repentance. He is slow to anger; however, there is a time when He does act in anger. God hates sin and yet He puts up with it for a period of time for the purpose of allowing room for repentance. This aspect of the character of God is pictured in the way he dealt with Israel in the Old Testament. God warned Northern Israel of impending
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Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1994), 1250.

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judgment if they would not repent. He put up with their rebellious ways literally for centuries. He sent prophet after prophet after prophet to them, to call them back to Himself. However, His period of patience came to a close when He sent the Assyrian army against them in 722 B.C. God did the same with Southern Israel. He put up with their idolatry and unrepentant rebellion for centuries. Just as with Northern Israel, He sent prophet after prophet after prophet to warn them to repent. In 586 B.C. Gods patience came to a close and He sent the Babylonians against Southern Israel. This is the character of our God. He is infinitely just and loving. We cannot emphasize one part of His character to the neglect of the other(s). AN INTENSE WARNING (1 CORINTHIANS 4:21) So, how does all of this fit in with what we have going on in 1 Corinthians 4-5? Paul clearly teaches that we are to be Christ-like in our dealing with sin. We are to be gracious and patient, as Jesus was, and yet we must never be negligent when it comes to our dealings with sin. There is a time, as evidenced in the life of Jesus, when we must, with a swift, uncompromising hand, deal with sin. Look at 4:21 with me.
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What do you want? Should I come to you with a rod, or in love and a spirit of gentleness? The Corinthians were a messed up bunch of folks. Not only were they were fighting one another (1:10-4:20), as we will see in the next two chapters, some in their congregation were involved in unthinkable sin and immorality. Paul, then, calls the church to repentance. But he doesnt merely call the church to repentance, He issues a warning. He asks them if they would rather him come with a rod or with a spirit of love and gentleness. The choice is theirs to make. Paul is not threatening the church as a vindictive powerhouse. Rather, he is warning the church that sin is not tolerated in the body of Christ. Sin is intolerable. The church as a corporate body and Christians as individuals that make up the corporate body must never grow comfortable in their sin. This is not to say that any of us will ever live sinlessly. In fact, the opposite is true; we will all battle against the flesh until the day we die (1 John 1:8-10). However, we must be repenters. We must always be repenting. We must always be dealing with our sin. This is the warning that Paul is giving to the Corinthian church. He is warning them that if they do not repent of their sin, he will come with a rod. Do not think for one minute that Paul was warning them of physical punishment. When he says that he will come with a rod, he is saying that he will come with the purpose and intent of exposing their sin, confronting their sin, and, if need be, expelling the sin from within through the process of church discipline. Paul has warned them. The ball is now in their court. It is now their decision. What sort of a visit do they want when Paul comes to Corinth againdo they want to peaceably fellowship in the things of Christ together or do they want a confrontational visit? CHURCH DISCIPLINE I want to say a thing or two about church discipline. I will be discussing the issue of church discipline in the next few weeks (because our text forces the issue). I believe that it deserves an introduction of sorts. I am well aware that the majority of churches in America do not practice church discipline. SGF does practice church discipline. The reason I want to give

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this basic overview of is because I dont want anyone here to get a wrong understanding of what church discipline is (or consists of) by looking only at 1 Corinthians. The fact is that the situation in Corinth was more on the extreme side of things. Pauls admonition to the Corinthians was a bit more extreme than the directives that you will find elsewhere in the New Testament about the churchs responsibility in regard to dealing with sin . This does not mean that 1 Corinthians 5 is not important, but it does mean that I do not wish anyone to come away from our study in 1 Corinthians with an idea that all sin in the church must be dealt with in the same fashion as Paul directs in 1 Corinthians 5. From this point I will seek to do two things; I will first give a definition of church discipline and then I will take you to a few passages to give you a basic sense of what the New Testament has to say about church discipline on the whole. First, a definition is in order: church discipline is the process by which the church deals with sin. 2 Notice that I refer to church discipline as a process. So often our knee jerk reaction is to equate church discipline with excommunication. The Bible certainly does teach that there is a place for excommunication in the life of the church. However, excommunication is just one part of the process. Excommunication, in fact, is the last step in the process of church discipline. If church discipline is done correctly, excommunication will be a last resort effort at bringing restoration to an unrepentant brother or sister. Some churches are almost trigger happy about excommunication. Let me submit to you that a church that is trigger happy with excommunication is an unbiblical church. Church discipline is a multi-step process. Second, let us examine a few of the many passages which speak to the issue of church discipline.3 We will get a quick glance at five of the most popular church discipline passages in the New Testament. First, turn with me to the classic passage on church discipline, Matthew 18:15-17.
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"If your brother sins against you, go and rebuke him in private. If he listens to you, you have won your brother. 16 But if he won't listen, take one or two more with you, so that by the testimony of two or three witnesses every fact may be established. 17 If he pays no attention to them, tell the church. But if he doesn't pay attention even to the church, let him be like an unbeliever and a tax collector to you. I want you to notice three things about this passage. First, there is a four stage process to church discipline. Notice as well that excommunication is the very last step in that process. The first step in the process is to talk to the brother or sister in a one-on-one setting (vs. 15), the second is to confront him/her with two or three witnesses so that his/her unrepentant rebellion might be well established (vs. 16), the third step is to bring the issue of sin before the congregation (vs. 17a), and the last step is excommunication (vs. 17b). In this text we see the
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I am completely aware that there is both a negative side (corrective disciplinefor example, Revelation 3:19) and a positive side (training disciplinefor example, Hebrews 11:1-12:13) to church discipline. I do not intend to boil all church discipline down to this negative side of church discipline, but it is this sort of discipline that our text in 1 Corinthians addresses. 3 I will warn before proceeding that my intent is merely to skim the surface of what the New Testament has to say to the issue of church discipline. My purpose is not go into all the details of each respective passage, but merely to get the basic sense of each passage.

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basic process of church discipline. The reason there is a four step process is for the sake of giving the unrepentant brother or sister ample room and time to repent and change, and to assure that he/she is dealt with fairly (i.e., on the basis of two or three witnesses4). Second, notice the third step in the processthe issue needs to be brought to the church body. This is where most churches fail to fulfill their biblical duty. It is one thing to rebuke a brother/sister in private, it is quite another to expose his/her shameful rebellion to a corporate body. This step is usually side-stepped for the sake of either protecting the reputation of the unrepentant brother/sister or for preserving the peace of the body. However, churches ought to feel a weight of responsibility before God to deal with sin in the way that He has set forth in His word, regardless of how others may receive or reject it. Third, notice the extreme nature of the fourth step. We are to treat such an unrepentant brother/sister as an unbeliever and a tax collector. This is not the easiest thing to do. But it must be done. Why must it be done? For the sake of the unrepentant brother or sister, so that he/she might be restored, for the sake of the glory of Christ in the community, and for the sake of the purity of Christs body.5 Turn with me next to 2 Thessalonians 3:14-15.
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The two or three witnesses rule is so very important in cases of church discipline, and yet it is often overlooked. It implies that the process of church discipline is not perfect. Oftentimes Christians are blamed or rebuked for sins that they never committed. The two or three witnesses rule is meant to protect the innocent from unwarranted discipline (this, by the way, was the purpose for the two or three witnesses rule in the Old Testament Deuteronomy 17:6; 19:15). May it also be said that many Christians seem to think that if they confront a brother about a certain sin in their life that they must repent or suffer the consequences of the process of church discipline. No merely starting the process of church discipline gains no moral high ground with which to beat or batter a fellow brother or sister in Christ. You may just learn that you were wrong about your brother or sister once you confront him/her about what seemed to you to be an issue of sin in his/her life. This is why the process laid forth by Jesus is so very important. Let it also be said that this process is not the sole job of the elders in the church. Sometimes pastors use Matthew 18 as a way of bullying Gods sheep. Whenever they bring an accusation against a brother or sister they claim to do so with the authority of their respective office. The process of church discipline is never to be approached as a way of strong arming the defenseless. Rather, it is the pastoral process (which need not be done by those who hold the office of elder) of counseling/shepherding a professing brother or sister to repentance. This is why we should never (except in extreme circumstances) rebuke another brother or sister in the faith by prefacing it with, I am officially beginning the process of church discipline as set forth by Jesus in Matthew 18. The process of church discipline, if done correctly, will not be consciously engaged until or unless the brother or sister proves to be evidentially hard-hearted. Even the second step in the process of church discipline must approached with much thought, prayer, and discernment. That is to say not only should the church not be trigger happy with excommunication, but the church also must not be trigger happy with even the second step (bringing two or three witnesses) in the process of church discipline. 5 One technical comment about Matthew 18. Many scholars suggest that the words against you in vs. 15 were not in the oldest and most reliable manuscripts. Thus, many posit that Jesu s teaching about church discipline here in Matthew 18 deals, not with personal offenses, but with sin in general. This text is often used as a proof text to justify unloading on other Christians out of frustration. You offended me and now I am coming in the spirit of Matthew 18 to show you how wrong you were to sin against me. Matthew 18 does not support this kind of confrontation. Rather, it follows what we may find in Galatians 6:1-2. In other words, the second, third, and fourth step in the process of Matthew 18 would be a parallel with the command to carry one anothers burdens in Galatians 6:2. See Grant R. Osbornes discussion of this text in his commentary on Matthew: Grant R. Osborne, Matthew, Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2010), 685.

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And if anyone does not obey our instruction in this letter, take note of that person; don't associate with him, so that he may be ashamed. 15 Yet don't treat him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother. One thing to note in this passage. The situation seems to be less dire than that of either Matthew 18 or 1 Corinthians 5. This is evidenced by the fact that sinning brother/sister should simply be warned as a brother. Nonetheless, Paul seems to be warning the congregation of involving themselves too closely with such a brother (i.e., dont associate with him).6 This is only the second of five texts that we will be considering this morning and it is already becoming clear that each passage deals with unique situations. Next, turn with me to 1 Timothy 5:19-20.
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Don't accept an accusation against an elder unless it is supported by two or three witnesses. 20 Publicly rebuke those who sin, so that the rest will also be afraid. I want you to notice two things about this passage. First, Paul is here giving directions about how to deal with, specifically, the sins of church leaders. Once again, you will notice that each passage dealing with church discipline is unique. Second, you will see that elders who refuse to conform their lives to the clear teaching of the word of God are in need of a public rebuke, as Paul rebuked Peter in Galatians 2:11-14. A public rebuke is necessary in light of the great influence that elders have over the flock (as Peter did over the early church). This should be proof enough to indicate that pastors are not the ultimate authority in the church and that they themselves are subject to the discipline of the local church. Third, Paul seems to put a hefty amount of emphasis on the two or three witness rule when it comes to dealing with the sin of leaders. The idea is that an accusation against an elder must not even be entertained. Why? Because, as can be seen in 2 Corinthians, Satan loves to discredit Gods messen gers. He knows that if he can discredit the messenger, he can discredit his message. Paul, then, is communicating that all forms of gossip about leaders must be put death immediately. Unfounded seeds of doubt about the integrity of the leader can bring in unwarranted doubt about the message that leader proclaims, which results in fruitless preaching, teaching, and/or counseling. Turn with me next to Titus 3:9-11.
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But avoid foolish debates, genealogies, quarrels, and disputes about the law, for they are unprofitable and worthless. 10 Reject a divisive person after a first and second warning, 11 knowing that such a person is perverted and sins, being self-condemned. This passage is unique in that the sinning brother is identified specifically as divisive person (most likely a false teacher) who is pushing the Gospel to the periphery of the church by overwhelming the church with quibbles about the law. He is thus dealing with those who show a consistent pattern of dividing the church over debatable issues. Titus 3:9-11, then, reflects
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Gary Shogren has an excellent treatment of this text in his forthcoming commentary on 1 Thessalonians in Zondervans Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament series. He persuasively argues that the situation dealt with in 2 Thessalonians is less severe than the situation Paul dealt with in 1 Corinthians 5. See Gary S. Shogren, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, forthcoming).

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how God would have us deal with divisive people. Pauls letter to the Galatians would reflect a similar position. The thing to note is that false teachers are to be pleaded with and only excommunicated after two warnings. Often times we think that church discipline is to be reserved only for drunkards or the sexually immoral. However, Paul clearly advocates the church to take just as seriously the sin of divisiveness. Lastly, we will do a fly-by of the passage that we will be considering in the weeks (hopefully not months) to come, 1 Corinthians 4:215:11.
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What do you want? Should I come to you with a rod, or in love and a spirit of gentleness? 5:1 It is widely reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and the kind of sexual immorality that is not even condoned among the Gentiles a man is living with his father's wife. 2 And you are inflated with pride, instead of filled with grief so that he who has committed this act might be removed from among you. 3 For though absent in body but present in spirit, I have already decided about him who has done this thing as though I were present. 4 In the name of our Lord Jesus, when you are assembled, along with my spirit and with the power of our Lord Jesus, 5 turn that one over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the Day of the Lord. 6 Your boasting is not good. Don't you know that a little yeast permeates the whole batch of dough? 7 Clean out the old yeast so that you may be a new batch, since you are unleavened. For Christ our Passover has been sacrificed. 8 Therefore, let us observe the feast, not with old yeast, or with the yeast of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. 9 I wrote to you in a letter not to associate with sexually immoral people 10 by no means referring to this world's immoral people, or to the greedy and swindlers, or to idolaters; otherwise you would have to leave the world. 11 But now I am writing you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother who is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a reviler, a drunkard or a swindler. Do not even eat with such a person. You will notice that this last situation is the most drastic of them all. I will reserve any specific comments about this text for the weeks to come. However, I will bring one thing to your attention this morning. We know that the situation in Corinth was on the extreme side of things because Paul does not encourage the church to proceed with the process of church discipline. One must wonder whether the Corinthians have already begun the process of discipline but have failed to carry it to completion for one reason or another. In other words, Pauls only exhortation to the church is to excommunicate the man immediately. This is why it was essential that I gave an overview of church discipline before diving into 1 Corinthians 5. If the church bases all cases of church discipline on 1 Corinthians 5 alone, the process as set forth by Jesus in Matthew 18 will be neglected altogether. I want you to notice the large variety of issues addressed in each one of the 5 passages above: 1. Matthew 18 deals with church discipline in a general way, 2. 1 Corinthians 5 deals with an extreme case of open, public unrepentant sin that the church has left untouched, 3. 2 Thessalonians 3 deals with a minor issue of discipline where certain members of the church

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were lazily mooching off the church, 4. 1 Timothy 5 sets forth instruction on how to deal with the evidential sin of those in leadership, and 5. Titus 3 deals with church discipline over the sin of divisiveness (specifically as it comes through false teaching). The variety of situations dealt with in the biblical record reflects the variety of situations that almost every church will confront throughout the course of her existence. We have been given a guide, as it were, for all sorts of situations.

CONCLUSION: LOOKING AT CHURCH DISCIPLINE THROUGH THE EYES OF THE GOSPEL My purpose here is to tie everything that I have said thus far together. We must be Christ-like in our confrontation against sin. We must be gentle and patient as we deal with sin in the life of the church. However, there is a time when sin must be dealt withthere is a time when the church must even expel sin from her midst. I am convinced that one of the reasons why the church often times does not deal with sin the way that God would have us to is because the church does not hate sin as Jesus does. If we ever expect to deal with sin as God has prescribed in His word, we must abhor sin as He does. This is why I am convinced that the church will only take church discipline seriously if she keeps a constant glance at the cross of Jesus Christ. You may ask yourself, How would the cross lead us to take church discipline seriously? Well, turn with me to Isaiah 53:4-6.
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Yet He Himself bore our sicknesses, and He carried our pains; but we in turn regarded Him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted. 5 But He was pierced because of our transgressions, crushed because of our iniquities; punishment for our peace was on Him, and we are healed by His wounds. 6 We all went astray like sheep; we all have turned to our own way; and the LORD has punished Him for the iniquity of us all. Notice the emphasis on the pronouns in this passage: He, He, Him (vs. 4), He, Him, His (vs. 5), Him (vs. 6) and on our, our, we (vs. 4), our, our, our, we (vs. 5), we, we, our, us, (vs. 6). Why do I point you to these pronouns? Everything that was ours Christ assumedHe assumed our sicknesses, pains, afflictions, transgressions, iniquities, punishments, and iniquity. And everything that was His we assumedbecause of His assuming our sin and afflictions and iniquity we are healed by His wounds. Here is what I want you to see. It pleased the Lord to crush Jesus (53:10) even though He was His only begotten Sonthe perfect, spotless Lamb of God. Jesus was sinless, perfect, and innocent (which is evidence by the fact that the Lord punished Him for the iniquity of us all. In other words, God did not punish Jesus for His own iniquity, but because of our iniquity.) And yet, when this perfect and innocent Son of God assumed our sins as His own, God crushed Him. If there ever was a time for God to suspend His justice, or dumb down the payment of sin, it would have been then. But even when Gods one and only perfect Son assumed our sin and guilt, God poured out the full strength of His wrath, without hesitation. This is what God thinks of sin. If we wish to see sin as utterly sinful, we must go to the cross. Because it is at the cross that we see Gods hatred of sin in full. The cross should give us sufficient theological reason why church discipline is necessary. We cannot love what God disdains. We cannot tolerate

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what God abhors. Sin must be confronted, dealt with, and, if necessary, even expelled. The fierce fury of Gods anger was aimed at Jesus on the cross so that the penalty of sin might be removed and our sins atoned for. What we see at the cross is both infinite love and infinite justice. He was pierced (infinite justice) for our transgression (infinite love). The Gospel is the greatest example of Gods attitude toward sin. God cannot have company with sin, even if it is His perfect and unique Son who is bearing it. God is patient with those who transgress His law, and yet we must always remember that Gods patience is not eternal. God abhors sin and calls us to abhor it as well. God was neither gentle nor patient with Jesus when He bore our sins on the cross. And yet it was love that drove Him to pour out His wrath on Jesus. God wants us to share with Him His patience and gentleness, but He also wants us to share with Him His view of sin. By embracing a holistic picture of God we will protect ourselves against both an unloving spirit of punishment and also an apathetic and negligent attitude toward sin. If we keep the cross at the center of all that we do, we will both love as Christ loved and we will deal with sin and Christ did.

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