Church Discipline (Part 02) - Method of Church Discipline (Part A)

Watch the video of this sermon on YouTube: Church Discipline (Part 2). 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 1. To listen to or watch the next sermon in the series, click here: Part 3. IV. A church must not be yoked together with unbelievers (2Co 6:14). 1. A house divided against itself cannot stand (Mar 3:25). 2. A church should have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness (Eph 5:11-12). 3. A church can't have fellowship with devils (1Co 10:20-21 c/w Joh 6:70). 4. A church should not keep company with the wicked, for their sacrifice is an abomination to God (Pro 15:8). 5. Dogs don't deserve what is holy (Mat 7:6). 6. God will despise the service of the whole church if it is tainted with sin (Amo 5:21-24). 7. A little leaven will leaven the whole lump (Gal 5:7-9). 8. Those who fail to understand why a church needs to exercise judgment on its members are not in good company (Pro 28:5). V. The local church is the kingdom of God (which will become very important in the next sections). 1. The kingdom of God/heaven was prophesied to come in the days of the Roman Empire which was the fourth kingdom in Daniel's interpretation of king Nebuchadnezzar's dream (Dan 2:37-40,44). 2. The kingdom of God/heaven came in the first century AD in the days of the Roman Empire, just as was prophesied (Mar 1:14-15). 3. The kingdom of God is the local church that Jesus built (Mat 16:18-19). 4. The local church is the kingdom of God/heaven that will never be destroyed, but will last until the end of the world (Dan 2:44; Mat 16:18; Heb 12:28; Eph 3:21). 5. The local church is the kingdom of God which is entered by baptism (Luk 16:16; Luk 7:29-30 c/w Mat 21:31-32; Act 2:41-42,47). 6. The local church is the kingdom of God where we eat and drink with Jesus at His table (Luk 22:29-30 c/w 1Co 10:16,21 c/w 1Co 11:23-25). VI. The method of church discipline (1Co 5) 1. Church discipline results in loss of inheritance in the kingdom of God and exclusion from church membership and from participating in the ordinances. 2. In order to be disciplined by the church, a man must have committed an excludable offense (see Section VII) which is commonly known among the church (1Co 5:1). A. Commonly - 1. After a fashion or in a way common to all; in common; generally, universally. B. Depending on the size of the church, if the sin is only known by one, or possibly a few people, the brother doesn't have to be put out of the church but can be dealt with privately (see Section VIII). 3. It is not right or acceptable for a church to cover or ignore a sin that is commonly known among them (1Co 5:2). 4. Judgment of a sinner can be executed based on credible testimony from multiple witnesses, even if the pastor is not present at the time but instructs the church to act in his absence (1Co 5:3). 5. The man that has committed an excludable and commonly known sin must be put out of the church and delivered unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh (1Co 5:4-5). A. The punishment that Satan will inflict on the sinner is only of the flesh; that is, temporal punishment. B. If he is a child of God, the man will not, and cannot, lose his eternal life (Joh 10:28-29), for the purpose of the punishment is that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. C. The church is the city of refuge where God's children find protection. D. When they are put out of the church, they lose that protection and Satan has permission to destroy them (Num 35:26-28). E. The excluded brother will experience a death to fellowship in the church (1Jo 5:16; Luk 15:24; Rom 11:17 c/w Rom 11:15; Rev 3:1; Jam 5:19-20). F. As a branch in Christ that bore no fruit, he is cut off and burned (destruction of the flesh) (Joh 15:6); nevertheless, he is still in Christ and is eternally saved (Joh 15:2 c/w Eph 1:4). G. If a man defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him in this way (1Co 3:17). H. Jonah provides a good picture of being turned over to fleshly destruction to experience a death to fellowship with God in order to ultimately be taught a lesson and saved in the end (Jon 2:1-10). I. The filthiness must be purged from the house of God (2Ch 29:5,18). J. As was the case with Achan who sinned and brought judgment on all Israel, so the man in the congregation that defiles the church by his sin must be put to death (in a church fellowship sense), so that the whole church will not be judged and destroyed by God (Jos 7:1,11,19-21,25). 6. The reason why a commonly known sinner needs put out of the church is because he will infect the rest of the church: a little leaven leavens the whole lump (1Co 5:6). A. Leaven is representative of sin, hypocrisy, and false doctrine (Mat 16:6,12; Mar 8:15; Luk 12:1). B. When leaven is added to bread it gets worked around in it until the whole is leavened, so it is in the church (Mat 13:33). C. Leaven spreads quickly and many can be defiled by it (Heb 12:15). D. Leaven (yeast) adds no substance to bread, but only air, making the bread appear larger by separating the molecules. E. So it is with sinners in the church; they only put separation between the members, but add no substance.