We find ourselves in the midst of a serious situation. One of our number has been censured. Because it is so serious, it seemed good to the elders and me to review some of what the Scriptures teach concerning church discipline. We need to understand what has just happened so that we all might respond to it well. There are things here for all of us to learn from.
Let me start with this. A key element of the work of the church is to train Christians in the discipline of the Lord. Just as any good parent instructs his children in the right way to live, the church also instructs its members. Each sermon and Bible study, each time the Word is explained, each time there is teaching on what it means to be a faithful disciple of Jesus - that is church discipline, instructive discipline. And just as any good parent will correct his children when there is any wandering from that right way of living, the church also corrects its members. This is also church discipline, corrective discipline. For parents or the church, it might be as simple as saying, 'You really shouldn't do that.' If there is a good response, the matter has been dealt with and forgotten. But there are other times when it is not so simple. This morning the session of this church informed you of some corrective discipline.
In our text, Jesus pictures corrective discipline as chasing after wandering sheep. Jesus, as the Good Shepherd, gathers His own into the flock. That is the place of safety, the place of instruction in faithful discipleship. Christians are built to be in the flock. But there are times when some wander off. The point of Jesus' instruction in our text is clear. We need to go and find these wandering sheep. We need to chase after them and bring them back. And He gives us a good reason to do this. It is not the will of the Father that any of the sheep should perish. In this, Jesus explains the danger of wandering off: death. The flock is the place of safety. To wander away is to flirt with death. It is no surprise, then, that Jesus tells us that failure to chase after the wandering is the same as despising them. Failure to discipline - to chase after them - is a failure to love. Jesus went after wandering sheep. He came to seek and to save that which was lost. He came to seek and to save you. That is the only reason that you find yourself in the flock - the place of safety - today. He expects us all to imitate Him in this.
And that leads to this. The implicit assumption of this parable of the sheep is that we are responsible for each other. That becomes explicit in the next words of Jesus. Jesus said, 'If your brother sins against you, go to him and tell him his fault...' We are responsible before Jesus to do this, to chase after wandering brothers and sisters. '...go to him and tell him his fault.' This not only expresses the responsibility that we have for each other, it also tells us what we are to do to bring back a wandering sheep. We need to help him deal with his sin. Church discipline is not about telling people that they need to be good enough to be a part of our group. None of us is 'good enough'. The church is for sinners. Church discipline is about each of us sinners helping other sinners to deal with their sins. Church discipline is about repentance and faith because that is how anyone deals with his sin. So, church discipline is not about allowing only a certain kind of person in the church. The church is for sinners. But neither is it a matter of smoothing over hurt feelings. It is not accomplished by burying unresolved problems. It is not some simplistic kiss and make up. It is helping someone deal with his sins. It's pointing out sin so that that person can repent of it and come again in faith to Jesus to be forgiven and changed. This is what lies at the heart of being a disciple of Jesus. Repentance and faith. It is a key part of the normal Christian life. And what we must learn is that we need each other to do this well.
I've just explained some of the 'what' of church discipline. Now I want to talk to you about the 'why'. Why should you invest the time and energy in chasing after wandering sheep? Let me give you three reasons. First, and most obvious, you do it for the sake of the person who is wandering. Can we claim to love one another if we do not care that one of our number is wandering off, possibly to eternal death? We pursue this, as a group and individually, because of love. A failure to discipline is a failure to love.
Here's a second reason. The unrepented sin of someone in a group affects the whole group. Unrepented sin in Faith Reformed sin affects you. This is part of the dynamic of any community. We are not isolated from the others. What the other members of the congregation do affects us all. Let me give you two biblical examples of this. As most of you know, the church in Corinth was a mess. Paul responds to one particular report of sin that was not repented of. A man was involved sexually with his father's wife. Paul warns the Corinthians that they need to discipline this man. And the reason? '... a little leaven, leavens the whole lump.' The sin of the man will affect the whole church just as a little leaven affects the whole loaf. We are not isolated from each other. You can see this clearly in my second example, Aachan's sin. God's command was clear. Jericho, as the firstfruit of the conquest of Canaan, was to be completely devoted to God. The people were to take nothing as plunder. Aachen disobeyed. And what was the result? Did Aachen die in the next battle as a judgment on his sin? No. Instead, God dealt with the group. The whole community suffered. Israel was defeated at the next battle. Aachen didn't die in that battle, but others did. And the whole nation was thrown into confusion and began to doubt God. All because of one man's sin. We are not detached and isolated families that just happen to belong to the same church. Your sin affects me and my sin affects you. And if our sin is not dealt with, death follows.
The third reason why we should bother with church discipline is the most serious. Listen to Jesus. 'By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.' Did you catch the assumptions here? First, the world is watching us. We should expect this. After all, we make huge claims about how to live this life. But the second assumption is that what the world sees in us says something about Him. If it sees love, it will recognize that as the handiwork of Jesus. '...they will know you are My disciples.' But what does it say about Jesus if we refuse to deal with sin, if we live just like they do? Our life together is a statement to the watching world about Jesus. When we live as faithful disciples, Jesus gets the credit. When we fail to do that, Jesus gets the blame. Instead of our life together making Him look good, it makes Him look bad. Failure to deal with sin in our community is a statement about Jesus. The world is watching.
So, what happens now? The session has acted by forbidding our sister from taking the Lord's Supper. This only makes sense. The sacrament of the Supper is a time for renewing our promises. When we take, we are telling Jesus, once again, that we desire to follow Him faithfully. It would be a lie to do that while refusing to deal with some sin in your life. But it is not merely wrong. It is dangerous. Scripture is clear: 'Whoever ...eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord.' The Corinthians did this and what was the result? '... many of you are weak and ill, and some have died.' The censure is to warn about the seriousness of the situation and to protect our erring sister.
There is something, however, that you can all do. You can all pray. Jesus taught us that it is not the Father's will that any of His little ones should perish. We can appeal to the Father on that basis to send the Spirit to soften this heart so that there would be a sincere repentance that would lead to complete restoration. I hope that you will commit yourselves to that. As you do, remember that it could have been you who wandered.
It's also good for us all to use this situation to look at the larger picture. We are all at risk of becoming wandering sheep. That should not be a surprise. Remember the evil trinity arrayed against us: the world, the flesh and the devil. We are surrounded by a world filled with temptations of every sort, and they bombard us daily. That would be no problem if we were perfect, but we are not. Our fallen nature - 'the flesh' - is eager to follow after those temptations. Each day we give battle so that it does not. Each day we fight against the world and the flesh. These two things alone produce enough warfare. But there is still the devil to contend with. Our ancient foe gives us no rest. His schemes are subtle, and they work. None of us can assume that we are completely safe. We are all at risk of becoming wandering sheep. To be sure, the spiritual disciplines are important weapons in our fight to be faithful. We need to give ourselves to things like Bible reading and prayer. But we cannot win this battle to be faithful if we try to fight it alone. We need each other. That's one big reason Jesus established His church. We, each and all, need to be helping the others in this room in their battles to follow Jesus. And we need to do that before the problems arise, before the temptations have had so many successes that repentance becomes that much more difficult. We need to reach out to help the others. And that means that we need to allow others to help us in our battles. We need to learn how to ignore the very private style of our culture so that we can open some doors to our lives to let others in. That will be hard and require some significant changes. It will definitely cost. But it is necessary. Consider what is at stake not just for ourselves but for the reputation of Jesus before the world.
Let me close with this. This morning's sermon has been sobering. It has been a reminder of the seriousness of our situation in this fallen world. I hope that you all take that to heart. But as you do, remember: Jesus is Lord. He is our good shepherd. He has promised to get us home. Being reminded of the dangers around us should result in a deeper awareness of our frailty and a deeper understanding of what it means that Jesus has come to save us. To be sure, Jesus saves us from the guilt of our sin. But He also saves us from the power of evil. He will protect us from the world, the flesh and the devil. It is my hope that today's sermon will encourage you to look to Him for that also so that you might live boldly for Him in this present evil age.