SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 1/8/2023 4:36 PM
My Worship Time Focus: PT-2 “The
Process and Place for Discipline”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Matthew 18:16-17
Message of the verses: “16 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. 17 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” (ESV).
We begin this Sunday, short SD, by talking about the
fact that the guards against abuse and unjust accusation in discipline are to
protect church leaders. Paul writes to
Timothy in 1 Timothy 5:19-20 “19 Do not receive an accusation against an elder
except on the basis of two or three witnesses. 20 Those who continue in sin,
rebuke in the presence of all, so that the rest also will be fearful of
sinning.”
It seems to me that the more
responsibility that a person has then the greater responsibility that person
(leader of the church) has and when they sin they should receive greater
discipline.
If the second stage of the
discipline process fails to bring repentance, “if the person does not listen to
the two or three people (leaders) who have come to him or her then the next
step is to tell it to the church. Now the
brother or sister is to be brought before the entire congregation to be further
rebuked and encouraged to repent. The
whole church is responsible to call that person back to holiness.
Now I want to quote a couple of
paragraphs from MacArthur’s commentary that I think are very important for us
in order to better understand some things that we all need to understand,
especially the second paragraph.
“It has been the custom in our
church, upon enacting this third step, to clearly indicate to the congregation
that they are to pursue the person aggressively and plead with him to repent
before the fourth step becomes necessary.
That crucial and potent procedure often draws the sinner to repentance
and obedience.
“This great passage also indicates
that the place for discipline is within the church. Ekklesia (church) is here used in its
basic, nontechnical meaning of a congregation or assembly. In secular Greek literature it was used of town
meetings, local gatherings of citizens called together by their rulers to hear
official announcements or witness government ceremonies. In the context of Jesus’ teaching at this point
in His ministry, church refers to any group of redeemed people who assemble in
His name (v. 20).”
We will continue to talk more about
this in our next SD as I have some things to say about this that I think are
important for us to understand, so perhaps I need some more time to gather my
thoughts before I begin writing about this.
1/8/2023 4:59 PM
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