Discipline in the Church

I’d Rather Swim with Alligators

Church Discipline is a dicey subject, but we jumped into it in our Discipleship Journey by way of looking at Joshua 7:off (which was the basis for the sermon on June 22. 2014),  discussing how the sin of one man was viewed by God, Himself, as the sin of the Community:

But the sons of Israel acted unfaithfully in regard to the things under the ban, for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, from the tribe of Judah, took some of the things under the ban, therefore the anger of the Lord burned against the sons of Israel. [emphasis mine]

Joshua 7:1 New American Standard Version

 

Eating the Elephant

Do you know the best way to eat an elephant?  One bite at a time.  The same is true when dealing with other problems:  take it nice and slow, but move forward.

Though confronting sin is difficult, and our natural tendency is to created more of a problem than to be redemptive, we focused more on the fact that God expects us to handle these concerns correctly.   And, I think, that most of us agreed… as we squirmed in our seats.

Judging others is most difficult when we corrupt the word ‘judging’ to make it mean ‘condemning’.   Our role as Christians is to discern the right from the wrong, while showing tough love towards that individual who has sinned.

Granted, it was extreme how the nation of Israel dealt with Achan and should not become a proof text of how we are to deal with the offender in our own congregation!  Yet, in order to not become swept away in some tirade of Biblical extremism it would be wise for us to focus on the holiness of God, while asking Him the question ‘how should we proceed in our own situation.

When we are honest with ourselves, most of us have been involved -at least to some extent- in situations where sin has shown itself, and we have failed miserably in not knowing how to handle it by erring on the extremes of doing nothing, or crushing the sinner while not dealing with his sin.

Counsel from One with Feet of Clay

Because of this, may I humbly give some counsel which I find in Psalm 139:

1O Lord, You have searched me and known me

23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Try me and know my anxious thoughts;
24 And see if there be any hurtful way in me,
And lead me in the everlasting way.

Psalms 139:1, 23-24 New American Standard Bible

There are several things to note here, that I think will help us all to deal with sin:

1. Ps 139:1 calls us to remember that God, Himself knows us inside out, that He knows our strengths and our weaknesses, our propensity to have faulty judgment, our desires to  do better, etc.  But, I wonder if just knowing this helps?
2. Ps 139:23-24 awakens us to our need to not only be mindful of this, but to become submissive to God’s discipline for our own lives.  This, then, is being willing to face ourselves ruthlessly.  (“Hey, reality TV, THIS is real!”)
3. Thus, our acknowledgement of being born with ‘feet of clay’ can become a foundation upon which we build authentic conversation with the individual who has sinned (or appears to be heading in a unhealthy direction).  Instead of passing a judgment of condemnation, we will be in a better place to pass a judgement based on tough love as we dialogue

It is not easy.  But being Christian is not easy.  That cross we are asked to bear is not light or comfortable.  Nor will it win us friends.

But, following Jesus will bring our Father’s affirmation of “well done my good and faithful servant”, and isn’t that worth even more than what the world has to offer?

Blessings on your journey

-Michael