Church Discipline (Part 06) - Sins that Merit Church Discipline - Gal 5:20-21

Watch the video of this sermon on YouTube: Church Discipline (Part 6). For a master copy of the outline and the other sermons in the series, click here: Church Discipline. To listen to or watch the previous sermon in the series, click here: Part 5. To listen to or watch the next sermon in the series, click here: Part 7. xii. Strife n. (Gal 5:20) - 1. a. The action of striving together or contending in opposition; a condition of antagonism, enmity, or discord; contention, dispute. a. Dispute v. - 1. To contend with opposing arguments or assertions; to debate or discourse argumentatively; to discuss, argue, hold disputation; often, to debate in a vehement manner or with altercation about something. b. Strife is the product of variance. c. Strife is of the devil (Jam 3:14-15). d. Strife causes confusion and further problems (Jam 3:16). e. God hates those who sow discord among brethren (Pro 6:16,19). f. While we should not be striving with each other, we should be striving together for the faith of the gospel (Phi 1:27). g. Those who are commonly known to be striving and contending with brethren against the truth will be put out of the church. xiii. Sedition n. (Gal 5:20) - 1. Violent party strife; an instance of this, esp. a factious contest attended with rioting and disorder. obs. 2. a. A concerted movement to overthrow an established government; a revolt, rebellion, mutiny. b. Conduct or language inciting to rebellion against the constituted authority in a state. a. As with all excludable offenses, we must always remember that the fact that someone is accused of one doesn't necessarily mean that they are guilty of it (Act 24:5). b. Those who are commonly known to be attempting to foment a rebellion or mutiny to overthrow an established authority, whether in the church or in other areas of life, will be put out of the church. xiv. Heresy n. (Gal 5:20) - 1. a. Theological or religious opinion or doctrine maintained in opposition, or held to be contrary, to the ‘catholic’ or orthodox doctrine of the Christian Church, or, by extension, to that of any church, creed, or religious system, considered as orthodox. a. Heresy is holding an opinion or doctrine that is contrary to what the scripture teaches and is believed by the church. b. Heresy causes variance and strife if it is disseminated among the church. c. Church members are all supposed to be of one mind and one accord (1Co 1:10; Rom 12:16; Rom 15:5-6). d. God allows heresy to creep into the church to prove the members and make manifest those who are approved and sound in the faith (1Co 11:18-19). e. This is why we must study to show ourselves approved (2Ti 2:15) so that we will not be carried away with every wind of doctrine (Eph 4:14). f. Heretic n. - 1. One who maintains theological or religious opinions at variance with the ‘catholic’ or orthodox doctrine of the Christian Church, or, by extension, that of any church or religious system, considered as orthodox. g. A heretic must be admonished twice before being rejected and excluded from the church (Tit 3:10-11). (i) If after being admonished, the man still doesn't agree with the church's belief on a certain point of doctrine, but agrees to keep it to himself and not try to spread his false doctrine among the brethren, he doesn't need to be excluded for heresy. (ii) Once a heretic has been admonished twice and still has not changed his mind and continues to spread his false doctrine and gainsay the truth, he must be rejected and excluded from the church on a charge of heresy. h. Those who promote a false doctrine within the church, or publicly, after having been admonished twice will be put out of the church. xv. Envying (Gal 5:21) a. Envy n. - 1. Malignant or hostile feeling; ill-will, malice, enmity. Obs. 3. The feeling of mortification and ill-will occasioned by the contemplation of superior advantages possessed by another. Const. at, of, to, upon (persons), at, of (things). Phrases, to feel (have) envy. b. Envy v. 1. trans. To feel displeasure and ill-will at the superiority of (another person) in happiness, success, reputation, or the possession of anything desirable; to regard with discontent another's possession of (some superior advantage which one would like to have for oneself). Also in less unfavourable sense: To wish oneself on a level with (another) in happiness or in the possession of something desirable; to wish oneself possessed of (something which another has) c. Envy is a sin that we are all prone to by nature (Jam 4:5). d. Envy causes strife and contention (Act 13:45). e. Envy causes sedition (Act 17:5). f. Envy is worse than anger and wrath (Pro 27:4). g. Envy will destroy your health (Pro 14:30). h. Envy will kill you (Job 5:2). i. Envy was the inspiration behind the murder of Jesus Christ (Mar 15:10). j. Those who are commonly known to be envious of others will be put out of the church. xvi. Murder n. (Gal 5:21) - 1. a. The most heinous kind of criminal homicide; also, an instance of this. In English (also Sc. and U.S.) Law, defined as the unlawful killing of a human being with malice aforethought; often more explicitly wilful murder. a. Murder v. - 1. a. trans. To kill (a human being) unlawfully with malice aforethought; in early use often with the additional notion of concealment of the offence (see murder n. 1); to kill wickedly, inhumanly, or barbarously. b. A unrepentant murderer has no evidence of eternal life abiding in him (1Jo 3:15). c. "Abortion" is murdering an unborn human being. (i) At the moment of conception a child is created (Isa 7:14 c/w Mat 1:23). (ii) An abortion kills an unborn child and is therefore murder. d. Those who are commonly known to have murdered someone, including a child in the womb, will be put out of the church. (i) If an abortion was performed prior to conversion it is washed away by blood of Christ and will not be punished by the church (1Co 6:11). (ii) The same is true for any other sin that was committed prior to conversion. xvii. Drunkenness n. (Gal 5:21) - (see 1Co 5:11 - Section VII,1,A) xviii. Revelling n. (Gal 5:21) - Riotous or disorderly merry-making or festivity; a revel; also, great delight or joy. a. Reveling is wild partying. b. Going to rock concerts (or other types of concerts) and acting riotously is reveling. c. Reveling and wild partying should be in the past of a Christians life, not in the present (1Pe 4:3). d. Your friends will think you're strange and speak evil of you when you stop partying, but you must if you are a Christian (1Pe 4:4). e. Those who are commonly known to have been reveling or partying hard will be put out of the church. xix. Such like sins (Gal 5:21) a. Such-like - A. adj. Of such a kind; of the like or a similar kind; of the before-mentioned sort or character. b. Any sin that is a similar kind of sin to any of the sins in this list or any of the lists of excludable offences will be met with church discipline. c. Therefore, getting high by smoking marijuana or other mind-altering drugs is an excludable offence because it is a sin "such like" drunkenness. d. Therefore, for women to dress, wear their hair, or act like men is an excludable offence because these are sins "such like" effeminacy. e. Therefore, bestiality, necrophilia, pedophilia, etc. are excludable offences because they are sexual sins "such like" fornication and sodomy.