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! Introduction
            It is nearly two years ago that the ministerial began to look at Scripture to examine the matter of church discipline.
It seems that the history of this church includes a time when discipline was exercised very rigorously.
For some reason, it has not been exercised for a number of years.
Something seemed wrong with this scenario and we felt, as a ministerial, that we needed to address it.
After a year of studying scripture and praying about this matter and meeting with the other region 6 churches, we began to develop a discipline policy.
At a members meeting on September 19, 2002 we accepted the church discipline procedure.
You will find a copy of it in your bulletin.
Why all this focus on discipline?
It seems so negative.
The idea of discipline conjures up images of excommunication, rejection, shunning, long and difficult church meetings.
Why would we even want to mention something like this?
I would like to think with you Biblically about this matter this morning.
I hope that some of the negative images can be set aside and that we can see what is important in God’s eyes.
!
I. Why do I have a right to speak to you about your life?
To begin with, I would like to talk about why we have a right or a need to speak to each other about sin.
We live in a world in which “live and let live” is the normal way.
If someone accuses us of some wrong doing, we have a sense that it is none of their business.
As people who have been taught to love each other, it is very difficult for us to speak in a way that might hurt another.
It seems so foreign to us to say to someone else, “what you are doing is a sin.”
It usually seems much easier to ignore it.
Why do I put myself and you through the pain of talking about discipline?
!! A. We Are All On A Journey
            I once went on a trip with a friend.
He was hauling a grain dryer from Illinois to Manitoba and I went along to keep him company.
One night we stopped at a huge truck stop, probably one of the largest in the country.
Our motel was at one end of the truck parking lot and the restaurant at the other.
We drove to the restaurant after checking in and had supper.
I suggested that I would walk back to the hotel through the truck parking lot, just to stretch my legs.
My friend wouldn’t let me do that.
He warned me about what can happen in such places, he told me stories of the dangers that are sometimes there and he told me I was coming with him in the truck.
I appreciated his warning.
I don’t know if it is as bad as he said, but he was sure it was and was simply trying to protect me from danger.
As Christians, we are on a journey.
None of us has arrived at the destination yet.
On the way, there is great danger.
Sin is present and seeking to destroy us.
I John 1:8 reminds us that, "If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us."
The Bible further teaches us that sin is destructive.
Romans 6:23 says, "For the wages of sin is death..." and Colossians 3:5,6 warns us: "Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, "Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.”
The reason we need to warn each other about sin is because none of us is immune to sin and it is terribly destructive.
Like my friend who was warning me in order to protect me, we need to warn each other in order to protect each other from the destructive, death dealing dangers of sin.
!! B. We Are Members Of One Another
            But why should we be concerned about each other?
We live in a society which is very individualistic.
In fact, to some degree the Bible teaches us the same thing.
Galatians 6:5 teaches that each person should bear his own burden.
If that is true, why should we meddle in another’s life?
Why be concerned if another person is destroying themselves?
Why not just let them go their own way and hope that God will guide them?
Why become involved if they are capable of making their own decisions and it seems difficult to influence them?
Bearing our own burdens is an important thought in that we need to take responsibility for our own life, but the Bible is very clear that we have responsibility for each other.
Ephesians 5:30 is one of many verses that tells us that we are all members of one body.
As members of the one body, which is the body of Christ, we are in essence members of one another.
We all belong to each another and are intimately connected to one another as members of Christ’s body.
Because we have such a connection and such a love for one another, we are called to care for one another’s spiritual life.
So we learn from the Bible that when a brother sins, we should help them understand their sin and move away from it.
James 5:19 says, “My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back; remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins.”
Galatians 6:1 also says, “Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently…” This tells us that we must love each other enough to warn each other about sin.
Another way to look at this is to realize that we have a covenant with each other as members of Christ’s church and so need to watch over each other.
If you are involved in sin, I am in such a love relationship with you that I would hate to see you destroy yourself and so it is my duty to speak to you and your duty to speak to me about sin.
!! C. We Are A Holy Church
            Another reason why we need to speak to each other about sin is because of the body of Christ.
Not only does being members of one another mean that we are concerned about each other individually, by we are also concerned about the church, the body of Christ.
He has called us to be a holy people who will walk with him and bring glory to him.
I Peter 2:9 says, “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”
God has set his people apart so that there is a difference between those who follow Him and those who do not.
Righteousness and holiness must mark those who follow Christ and the church of Christ must be recognized as different from the rest of the world.
Any sin in the body of Christ reflects negatively on the Lord who has died to save us.
Galatians 5:9 warns us that "“A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough.”"
If we don’t deal with that little yeast, sin multiplies and soon the body of Christ, which is intended to be a glorious representation of its holy head, is compromised.
!
II.
How do we speak to each other when sin is involved?
I doubt if we would disagree with these thoughts and I hope we see just how important such loving concern is.
That is what it really is, loving concern for each other.
But that does not make it easy, so lets think about how we can do such a thing effectively.
!! A. Participate With God
            One of the things that is most powerful is to realize that we exercise this concern recognizing that God is much more concerned about the spiritual life of our brother or sister than we are.
We recognize that God is greatly involved in the life of each individual.
It is freeing to understand that our involvement is not the beginning and the end of what can happen in that person’s life.
Just look at the ways in which God is involved in our lives.
John 15:1,2 tells us, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.
He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful."
What is God doing in each of our lives?
He is cutting off what does not bear fruit and he is pruning all fruit bearing branches so that they will be more fruitful.
This is not our work in each other, this is God’s work in each one of us.
Do you think that God does not care or is not active?
He is very involved!
That allows us to work with God and to recognize that we are His partners.
It allows us to let Him take the lead and it allows us to let go when that is the right thing to do and know that something is still happening.
As we enter into each other’s lives in the matter of discipline, we need to do so with this understanding solidly in place.
We are not God, we are His helpers and must be faithful in doing our part.
!! B. Confront Sin
            Furthermore, when we begin to enter into another person’s life, let us also recognize that it is very tempting to approach people on what we think is sin, but is really only a man made principle.
In the gospels, Jesus was particularly hard on the legalism of the Pharisees and accused them of enforcing rules which were not the Word of God, but rules made by men.
In Matthew 15:9 Jesus said, "They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.”
When we confront someone we need to make sure that we are confronting that which is sin, that which will truly destroy them according to God’s thinking.
The church has at times had long lists of rules which it expected its members to follow.
It has sometimes destroyed lives by enforcing those rules through church discipline, not realizing that they were not the Word of God.
When we confront someone, we also need to make sure that the other person has indeed been involved in the sin which we are confronting them about.
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