What Is Biblical Discipleship And Growth (Part 7)

Mark Dever, in his book "Nine Marks Of A Healthy Church", outlines the key factors in biblical discipleship and growth. Today, we examine the highly suppressed issue of church discipline.

7. Biblical Understanding of Church Discipline

What ever happened to church discipline? Once a normal part of church life (especially in Baptist and Presbyterian circles), biblical correction, admonition, rebuke, and excommunication have become all but extinct - dinosaurs on a contemporary horizon that is now more dominated by worship wars and polished programs than by biblical health and holiness. The flowering and fading of modernity has popularized a moral relativism and a mystic spiritual individualism that have combined to make "judgment" sound like the most recently coined four letter word. Jesus certainly wouldn't use such foul language…would He? He who said Do not judge, so that you will not be judged (Matt 7:1) also said Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgement (John 7:24). And Paul queries the Corinthians Do you not judge those who are within the church? But those who are outside, God judges. "Remove the wicked man from among yourselves" (1Cor 5:12-13). Evidently both Jesus and Paul really do want us to judge one another in some ways, even though they do not want us to judge one another in other ways. And with that, of course, we arrive at the matter of church discipline - Mark Dever

We will grow as disciples in a church that is willing to discipline members for sinful activity. What sin should qualify for church discipline – any sin unrepented of. Church discipline is meant to restore the true believer and remove the false. And unrepentance is the issue. We all sin and we always hope that if we have tender hearts then we will respond to correction in humility and gratitude. But unrepentant sin is a cancer that must be removed or it can kill the whole body. Jesus laid this out in Matthew 18:

"If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them." (Matthew 18:15-20)

It is interesting to note that verses 18 to 20 are verses that I have heard quoted so many times but never in the context of church discipline. Paul teaches that God deals with those outside the church but He gives church elders the authority on earth to deal with those within the fellowship.

I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people — not at all meaning the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler — not even to eat with such a one. For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? God judges those outside. "Purge the evil person from among you." (1 Corinthians 5:9-13)

The following two videos feature a thirteen minute interview Todd Friel did with Pastor Jeff Noblit on the very subject of church discipline - an issue Pastor Noblit deems important enough to devote a whole conference to the subject:





Part 8 will continue this series and cover the subject of a biblical understanding of church leadership. There are some high profile pastors out there who will need to duck for cover!

Go On To Part 8
Go Back To Part 6
Go Back To Part 1

A True Church Practices Church Discipline (Part 3)

Church discipline is a critical life and death function of the local church. It is worth continuing the discussion on this subject, especially in the light of this therapeutic age of scape goats and victim mentalities. Here is another interview with Pastor Jeff Noblit where he nails this issue . . .



Does delving into this subject over the last week affirm your place of worship, or does it raise your urgency to find somewhere else to be each sunday. If action is necessary, please don't put it off. As descendants of Adam, redeemed by God, but still dwelling in fallen flesh, we cannot afford not to find ourselves under the authority of godly church leadership that practices biblical church discipline.

Go Back To Part 2
Go Back To Part 1

A True Church Practices Church Discipline (Part 2)

Continuing on from Monday's post here is the second part of Todd Friel's interview with Jeff Noblit in which they discuss biblical church discipline . . .



I think two of the most interesting things Pastor Noblit said in the course of the interview were that:

1. People who find themselves in a local church that does not practice church discipline "should find themselves a church". The church, the body of Christ, is the "ekklesia" - the called out ones. We are a separate people, strangers in a strange land looking for a city who's builder and maker is God. Church discipline is vital in the maintenance of this purity and separation (this in no way invalidates our need to evangelize an unbelieving world - to be in the world but not of the world).

2. That churches are not to discipline sin but to discipline unrepentance. It is not about the scale of the sin but the unwillingness to repent.

Biblical church discipline is the Christian's true friend and a reality check for the false convert! Let's inhabit and cultivate churches that practice this vital function - the consequences of doing otherwise are on large scale display in the world of "modern evangelicalism"!

Go On To Part 3
Go Back To Part 1

A True Church Practices Church Discipline (Part 1)

The oldest of the doctrinal standards of the Christian Reformed Church is the Confession of Faith, popularly known as the Belgic Confession. How "relevant" could a document from 1561 be? You might be surprised. Have a read of Article 29 which contains this definition of a true church and see if this doesn't provide helpful clarity for the confused church-goer:

We believe that we ought to discern diligently and very carefully, by the Word of God, what is the true church - for all sects in the world today claim for themselves the name of "the church."

We are not speaking here of the company of hypocrites who are mixed among the good in the church and who nonetheless are not part of it, even though they are physically there. But we are speaking of distinguishing the body and fellowship of the true church from all sects that call themselves "the church."

The true church can be recognized if it has the following marks: The church engages in the pure preaching of the gospel; it makes use of the pure administration of the sacraments as Christ instituted them; it practices church discipline for correcting faults. In short, it governs itself according to the pure Word of God, rejecting all things contrary to it and holding Jesus Christ as the only Head. By these marks one can be assured of recognizing the true church - and no one ought to be separated from it.

As for those who can belong to the church, we can recognize them by the distinguishing marks of Christians: namely by faith, and by their fleeing from sin and pursuing righteousness, once they have received the one and only Savior, Jesus Christ. They love the true God and their neighbors, without turning to the right or left, and they crucify the flesh and its works.

Though great weakness remains in them, they fight against it by the Spirit all the days of their lives, appealing constantly to the blood, suffering, death, and obedience of the Lord Jesus, in whom they have forgiveness of their sins, through faith in him.

As for the false church, it assigns more authority to itself and its ordinances than to the Word of God; it does not want to subject itself to the yoke of Christ; it does not administer the sacraments as Christ commanded in his Word; it rather adds to them or subtracts from them as it pleases; it bases itself on men, more than on Jesus Christ; it persecutes those who live holy lives according to the Word of God and who rebuke it for its faults, greed, and idolatry.

These two churches are easy to recognize and thus to distinguish from each other.

It is interesting to note that one of these distinguishing marks of a true church is that it "practices church discipline for correcting faults". Todd Friel interviewed Jeff Noblit to discuss the issue of church discipline, how vital it is, and why it is a necessary attribute of a true body of believers. This is really worth hearing because Jeff Noblit turns church growth philosophy on its head . . .



On Wednesday I will post the second part of this spicy interview.

Go On To Part 2

Someone Who Gets The Gospel Right

Do you remember my series "The Anatomy Of The Gospel"? In it I laid out the five fundamental elements (or five pillars) of presenting the Gospel of Jesus Christ:

1. The Holiness of God
2. The depravity of man
3. The necessity of judgment
4. The work of Christ
5. The human response this demands

Over the last 2 weeks I have been giving an example of a false gospel courtesy of hillsong church who fail at this abysmally. Today I wanted to put an excellent Gospel presentation on display. Jeff Noblit is the pastor of Grace Life Church of the Shoals which is Paul Washer's home fellowship. He has a presentation called The Great Answer To The Great Question. I was so impressed I put it at the top of my website. Be blessed as you read through this and see if you can spot those five pillars (the Holiness of God, the depravity of man, the necessity of judgment, the work of Christ, and the human response this demands) as you read through:

The Great Answer To The Great Question

QUESTION: What is life all about?

ANSWER: Life is all about the glory of God!

ALL OF CREATION IS FOR GOD’S GLORY
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.(GENESIS 1:1 NKJV™)
Let the glory of the Lord endure forever; let the Lord be glad in His works. (PSALM 104:31 NASB®)
May the whole earth be filled with His glory. (PSALM 72:19 NASB®)
The heavens declare the glory of God. (PSALM 19:1 NKJV™)

In a very special and unique way, God created man in His own image to bring Him glory.

God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. (GENESIS 1:27 NKJV™)

GLORIFYING GOD IS MAN’S REASON FOR EXISTENCE
Everyone who is called by My name, whom I have created for My glory; I have formed him, yes, I have made him. (ISAIAH 43:7 NKJV™)
Give to the Lord, O families of the peoples, give to the Lord glory and strength. Give to the Lord the glory due His name. (I CHRONICLES 16:28-29 NKJV™)

BUT MAN HAS FAILED TO GLORIFY GOD
Man loves only himself and is constantly disobedient.

For men will be lovers of self…rather than lovers of God. (II TIMOTHY 3:2,4 NASB®)

The Bible calls this lack of love and obedience SIN.

SINFUL ACTIONS:
We sin and fail to glorify God in our actions.

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way. (ISAIAH 53:6 NKJV™)

Instead of loving and obeying God, man has followed the ways of this sinful world, Satan, and his own lusts.

…in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. (EPHESIANS 2:2-3 NASB®)

Think of the ways we all fail to glorify God in our actions: Lying, stealing, gossiping, cheating, adultery, murder, etc. We glorify God when we love God and obey Him with all our heart.

In Matthew 22:37-38 Jesus said, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and foremost commandment. (NASB®, emphasis added)

SINFUL ATTITUDES:
We sin and fail to glorify God in our attitudes. God knows all of our thoughts and attitudes.

The Lord knows the thoughts of man. (PSALM 94:11 NKJV™)
Even before there is a word on my tongue, behold, O Lord, You know it all. (PSALM 139:4 NASB®)
Then the Lord said, “Because this people draw near with their words and honor Me with their lip service, but they remove their hearts far from Me.” (ISAIAH 29:13 NASB®)
But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. (MATTHEW 15:18-19 NKJV™)

Think of all the ways we fail to glorify God in our attitudes: Envy, jealousy, anger, lust, hatred, selfishness, etc. Man has miserably failed to love and obey God and bring Him the glory He deserves.

That is what Romans 3:23 means when it says, For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (NKJV ™)

GOD IS GLORIFIED BY CALLING ALL MEN TO JUDGMENT
It is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment. (HEBREWS 9:27 NKJV™)
Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. (REVELATION 20:11-12 NKJV™)

GOD IS GLORIFIED BY HIS PROPER PUNISHMENT OF SINNERS
The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (MATTHEW 13:41-42 NASB®)
In glorifying God for His punishment of sinners, the people already in heaven cry, “Just and true are Your ways.” (REVELATION 15:3 NKJV™)

God is in every way superior to man; therefore, His punishment is greater!

GOD THE GLORIOUS JUDGE
God has glorified Himself through creation. God will glorify Himself through judgment. It is wonderful beyond compare that He has chosen to glorify Himself by saving hopeless, lost sinners!

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. (JOHN 3:16 NKJV™)

God has love beyond that of man. God has chosen to glorify Himself by saving us when we could not save ourselves. In saving us, He demonstrates the greatness of His love and forgiveness.

…that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory. (EPHESIANS 1:12 NKJV™)

GOD THE GLORIOUS SAVIOR
God's glorious love was demonstrated when He punished and killed His Son Jesus in our place.

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (ROMANS 5:8 NKJV™)
He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? (ROMANS 8:32 NKJV™)
But the Lord was pleased to crush Him, putting Him to grief; if He would render Himself as a guilt offering… (ISAIAH 53:10 NASB®)
He poured out His soul unto death, and He was numbered with the transgressors, and He bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. (ISAIAH 53:12 NKJV™)

Jesus, God’s Son, took our wrath and punishment through His death on the cross. Then God raised Him from the dead, and He lives forever. His resurrection proves that 100% of the punishment for sin was paid.

…who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification. (ROMANS 4:25 NKJV™)

God’s desire is to glorify Himself by saving us. A change of heart to turn from loving yourself and sin and to begin to love and obey God is called REPENTANCE. A new confidence in Christ to forgive all your sin and to be your new Lord (Boss) is called FAITH. REPENTANCE and FAITH are essential for salvation.

…how I kept back nothing that was helpful, but proclaimed it to you, and taught you publicly and from house to house, testifying to Jews, and also to Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. (ACTS 20:20-21 NKJV™)

The Bible also calls faith BELIEF.

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. (JOHN 3:16 NKJV™)

If we repent of sin and have faith in Christ, we are saved.

REPENT AND BELIEVE TODAY!
Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation. (II CORINTHIANS 6:2 NKJV™)

Do you feel deeply sorry and regretful for your sin and failure to glorify God? Do you truly believe Jesus died in your place, has taken your punishment, and will forgive you? Do you truly desire to begin obeying Him as the Lord (Boss) of your life?

IF GOD HAS CHANGED YOUR HEART, AND YOU NOW BELIEVE THESE THINGS TO BE TRUE, THEN EXPRESS YOUR FAITH (CONFIDENCE, TRUST, COMMITMENT) TO GOD IN PRAYER.
Tell Him of your sin and disobedience. Tell Him of your deep sorrow for failing to glorify Him. Tell Him you now rely on Him through His death to forgive you and to save you from sin. Tell Him you now commit to stop loving sin and self and to start learning to love and obey Him.

REPENT AND BELIEVE TODAY!

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