What comes to mind when you hear the term “church discipline”? Maybe you think of Christians shunning and ostracizing church members for violating certain rules. Maybe you think of churches prying into the private lives of their members. Or you think of a pastor scolding a student who is doubting his faith. The idea of church discipline elicits strong negative reactions in our culture.
What Is Church Discipline?
In its most basic form, church discipline is simply the process of church elders and pastors teaching and guiding church members in the faith. Church leaders are called to teach congregants the doctrines of Scripture. They are to teach about creation, salvation, sin, and God’s redemption in Jesus Christ, helping Christians understand who God is and why we need him in our lives.
Likewise, church leaders guide and counsel members of the congregation in applying these doctrines to their daily lives. Being a Christian is more than just believing certain doctrines; it’s also a life that is being formed more and more into the image of Christ.
This is one side of church discipline: instructing and guiding church members in the way they should go by teaching and shepherding them as God’s sheep. But church discipline can also take another equally important form.
There are times when elders must discipline by correcting false beliefs and calling sinners to repentance. For example, elders may need to correct false views about Jesus in a small group setting, or explain to someone that his or her views on human sexuality do not align with Scripture. Elders are called not only to guide Christians in faithful living but also to call them to repentance when they stray from Christ. Sadly, this part of discipline can sometimes lead to the elders of the church removing an unrepentant member from the church’s fellowship.
Where Does Church Discipline Come From?
We see church discipline throughout the New Testament, especially in the writings of Paul, who references it in First and Second Corinthians, addressing a member of the church who was unrepentant about their sexual sin. The clearest expressions of church discipline appear in two teachings of Jesus.
The first is in the Great Commission. Jesus instructs the apostles—the earliest leaders of the church—to “make disciples of all nations … teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Matt. 28:19–20). Here, Jesus commissions church leaders to guide believers in what they should believe and how they should live.
Jesus also outlines a pattern for church discipline in Matthew 18. He teaches that when someone sins against us, there should be a process for reclaiming that person and calling him or her to repentance. Jesus says, “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault” (Matt. 18:15). In essence, Jesus is saying this is how church discipline should be conducted when someone sins. That person should be gently called back to repentance. But Jesus goes on to say that the church should become involved if the brother is unresponsive.
When church elders must conduct discipline in this way, there should be a deliberate and gentle process. It is never appropriate to jump right to excommunication, nor is it appropriate to publicly shame a person for his or her sin. Rather, church discipline should always begin with admonition, which means lovingly saying to a person walking contrary to God’s word: “Turn back to Jesus, receive his forgiveness, and seek to make right what you have done.”
However, if a person remains unresponsive to admonition, church elders may temporarily suspend that person from the Lord’s Supper. This serves as an intensified warning, reminding the individual that Christ is calling him or her to repentance.
Finally, if a person still refuses repeated calls to repentance, Jesus instructs the church to bar them from the communion and fellowship of the church. Jesus says:
“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” (Matt. 18:17).
But Doesn’t That Feel Unchristian?
On the surface, this kind of discipline may seem harsh or opposed to the spirit of the gospel. Yet the entire purpose of church discipline—from beginning to end—is restoration.
An admonition is meant to warn a person. Suspension from the sacraments is meant to intensify that warning. Excommunication is the church’s final plea, warning that unless a person turns back to Christ, he or she risks eternal separation from God.
Therefore, the purpose of church discipline is never to shame or exclude someone for its own sake. Rather, it is meant to reclaim a person and draw him or her back to the gracious throne of Christ and into fellowship with other believers.
Biblical church discipline is not an expression of cruelty but of love. It is the loving pursuit of wandering sheep by a faithful Shepherd who desires that his people walk in truth, holiness, and communion with Christ.
