Advanced Sermon Search

International Ministries
Search Site

Account
Have an account? Sign in now.
‍
Create an account
Account FAQ
Forgot Password?
Learn about Church Membership

About

About
Welcome
History of Grace
Elders
Leadership
Visiting Our Campus
What We Teach
The Gospel
Doctrinal Statement
Distinctives
Connect
Membership
Sunday Fellowships
Bible Studies
Contact Information
Newsletter

Ministries

Ministries
Men of the Word
Women’s Ministry
College (Crossroads)
High School (180)
Middle School (Xchange)
Children’s (Grace Kids)
Grace en Español
Special Ministries
Music Ministry
Fellowship Groups
Anchored
Commissioned
Cornerstone
GraceLife
Joint Heirs
Sojourners
Steadfast
Family of Ministries
Grace to You
John MacArthur Trust
The Master’s Academy International
The Master’s Seminary
The Master’s University
Outreach
International Outreach
Short-Term Ministries
Local Outreach
Training & Resources
Fundamentals of the Faith
Grace Books
Grace Curriculum
Grace Education
Grace Evangelism
Grace Equip
Grace Media
Premarital & Marriage
Member Services
Membership
Serving
Counseling
Congregational Care
Prayer
Weddings
Other
Camp Regeneration
Conferencia Expositores
Grace Advance
Shepherds Conference
Vacation Bible School

Sermons

Sermons
Featured
All Sermons
Livestream
Podcasts
Series
Topics
Videos
FAQ

News & Events

News & Events

Featured
Recent News
Event Calendar
Sunday Bulletin
Newsletter

Give

Give
Grace Church Ministries
International Outreach
Short-Term Ministries
Giving FAQ
Pending Giving
You have 0 items in your pending giving.

Give now
What We Teach
Church Discipline
On occasion a Christian will wander away from the fellowship of other believers and
find himself ensnared by sin through ignorance or willful disobedience. It then
becomes necessary for the church, and particularly its shepherds, to actively seek
the repentance and restoration of that Christian. As shepherds of the flock, the
elders love the sheep and are also held accountable by God for their spiritual
welfare, including that of the wandering sheep. As in Jesus’ parable in Luke 15:3-
8, it is a time of joy, both in heaven and within the church, when the wandering
Christian truly repents.

One means by which the church seeks to lovingly restore wandering believers is the
process of church discipline. In Matthew 18, the Lord explains to His disciples how
to respond when a fellow believer sins. The principles He sets forth must guide the
body of Christ as she seeks to implement discipline in the church today.

The Purpose of Discipline

The purpose of church discipline is the spiritual restoration of fallen members and
the consequent strengthening of the church and glorifying of the Lord. When a
sinning believer is rebuked and he turns from his sin and is forgiven, he is won
back to fellowship with the body and with its head, Jesus Christ.

The goal of church discipline, then, is not to throw people out of the church or to
feed the self-righteous pride of those who administer the discipline. It is not to
embarrass people or to exercise authority and power in some unbiblical manner. The
purpose is to restore a sinning believer to holiness and bring him back into a pure
relationship within the assembly.

In Matthew 18:15, Jesus says, “And if your brother sins, go and reprove him in
private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother.” The Greek word
translated “won” was originally used of accumulating wealth in the sense of
monetary commodities. Here it refers to the gaining back of something of value that
is lost, namely, an erring brother. When a brother or sister strays, a valuable
treasure is lost, and the church should not be content until he or she is restored.
The body of Christ is in the business of recovery (Gal. 6:1), and such is the
purpose of church discipline.

The Process of Discipline

In Matthew 18:15-17, Jesus sets forth the fourstep process of church discipline:
(1) tell him his sin alone; (2) take some witnesses; (3) tell the church; and (4)
treat him as an outsider.

Step One (Matt. 18:15). The process of church discipline begins on an individual
level. Jesus said, “And if your brother sins, go and reprove him in private” (v.
15a). Here, an individual believer is to go to a sinning brother privately and
confront him in a spirit of humility and gentleness. This confrontation involves
clearly exposing his sin so that he is aware of it and calling him to repentance.
If the sinning brother repents in response to the private confrontation, that
brother is forgiven and restored (v. 15b).

Step Two (Matt. 18:16). If the sinning brother refuses to listen to the one who has
rebuked him privately, the next step in the discipline process is to take one or
two more believers along to confront him again (v. 16a). The purpose of taking
other believers is so that “by the mouth of two or three witnesses every fact may
be confirmed” (v. 16b). In other words, the witnesses are present not only to
confirm that the sin was committed but, in addition, to confirm that the sinning
brother was properly rebuked and that he has or has not repented.

The presence of additional witnesses is as much a protection for the one being
approached as it is for the one approaching. After all, a biased person could
erroneously say, “Well, I tried to confront him, but he’s impenitent.” It would be
presumptuous to think that one person could make that ultimate determination,
especially if he was the one who had been sinned against. The witnesses need to
confirm whether there is a heart of repentance or one of indifference or rejection.
Such a report provides the basis for further action because the situation has been
verified beyond the report of one individual.

At this point, it should be hoped that the one or two who are brought along to
confront the sinner will not have to become public witnesses against him before the
rest of the church. Ideally, their added rebuke will be sufficient to induce a
change of heart in the offending brother that the initial rebuke did not cause. If
this change of heart does occur, that brother is forgiven and restored, and the
matter is dropped.

Step Three (Matt. 18:17a). If the sinning brother refuses to listen and respond to
the confrontation of the witnesses after a period of time, those witnesses are then
to tell it to the church (v. 17a). This is most appropriately done by bringing the
matter to the attention of the elders, who in turn oversee its communication to the
assembly as a whole.

How long should the witnesses continue to call the person to repentance before
telling the church? The elders at Grace Community Church avoid carrying out the
third or fourth stage of church discipline until they are absolutely certain that
the erring believer has truly sinned, or is continuing to sin, and that he has
refused to repent when appropriately confronted. The elders will routinely send a
letter by registered mail warning the individual that the third (or fourth) step of
discipline will be taken if they have not received word of repentance by a specific
date. When this date has passed, the person’s sin and refusal to repent are made
known publicly, either before the entire assembly during a Communion service or
through a fellowship group in which the person is known.

It has been the custom at Grace Community 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. If repentance does take place, the sinning believer is forgiven and
restored.

Step Four (Matt. 18:17b). The fourth and final step in the process of church
discipline is ostracism. If a sinning believer refuses to listen even to the
church, he is to be ostracized from the fellowship. Jesus said, “let him be to you
as a Gentile and a tax-gatherer” (v. 17b). The term “Gentile” was primarily used of
non-Jews who held to their traditional paganism and had no part in the covenant,
worship, or social life of the Jews. On the other hand, a “tax-gatherer” was an
outcast from the Jews by choice, having become a traitor to his own people. Jesus’
use of these terms doesn’t mean that the church is to treat these people badly. It
simply means that when a professing believer refuses to repent, the church is to
treat him as if he were outside of the fellowship. They are not to let him
associate and participate in the blessings and benefits of the Christian assembly.

When a man in the Corinthian church refused to forsake an incestuous relationship

with his stepmother, the apostle Paul commanded that the man be removed from their
midst (1 Cor. 5:13). The believers there were not even to share a meal with him (1
Cor. 5:11), for dining with someone was symbolic of a hospitable and cordial
fellowship. The one who is persistently unrepentant is to be totally ostracized
from the fellowship of the church and treated like an outcast, not a brother.

As far as the welfare of the church is concerned, the purpose of putting the
brother out is to protect the purity of the fellowship (1 Cor. 5:6), to warn the
assembly of the seriousness of sin (1 Tim. 5:20), and to give a testimony of
righteousness to a watching world. But as far as the welfare of the brother himself
is concerned, the purpose of the ostracism is not to punish but to awaken, and it
must therefore be done in humble love and never in a spirit of self-righteous
superiority (2 Thess. 3:15).

When a church has done everything it can to bring a sinning member back to purity
of life but is unsuccessful, that individual is to be left to his sin and his
shame. If he is truly a Christian, God will not cast him away, but He may allow him
to sink still deeper before he becomes desperate enough to turn from his sin.

The command not to have fellowship or even social contact with the unrepentant
brother does not exclude all contact. When there is an opportunity to admonish him
and try to call him back, the opportunity should be taken. In fact, such
opportunities should be sought. But the contact should be for the purpose of
admonishment and restoration and no other.

Adapted from John MacArthur, The MacArthur New Testament Commentary: Matthew 16–23
(Chicago: Moody Press, 1988); John MacArthur, The Master’s Plan for the Church
(Chicago: Moody Press, 1991); and Stuart Scott and George Crawford, “Restoring the
Wandering Sheep,” (unpublished paper). For a fuller treatment of church discipline,
consult these resources.

Biblical Eldership
Church Membership

John MacArthur, Pastor-Teacher

Service Times
Livestream
Bulletin
Location
Grace Community Church
13248 Roscoe Blvd
Sun Valley, CA 91352

Maps and Directions

Contact
Main Office
Monday–Friday 8 am–5 pm
818-909-5500

More contact information

Grace Church / About / Sermons / News & Events / Give / Search / Account

All Rights Reserved © Grace Community Church 2024

Back to top