Bonhoeffer Was Willing to Pay a High Price
Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a German pastor who was convinced that following Jesus required sacrifice. As Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party rose to power in Germany in the 1930’s, Bonhoeffer, and many others, courageously spoke out against the direction that Hitler and the Nazi’s were taking their country.
In 1938-39, Bonhoeffer realized that war was inevitable, but his conscience wouldn’t allow him to pick up a gun and fight in Hitler’s war, so he decided to go to America to teach at a seminary. As he traveled to America, he grew uneasy about his decision. Twenty-six days after arriving in New York, he boarded a boat and sailed back to Germany.
Bonhoeffer’s family had been involved in a conspiracy to assassinate Hitler for many years, so when he returned home, he joined their efforts. Bonhoeffer believed that failing to stand up for those who were being persecuted would be to disobey God’s call to live out one’s beliefs.
Years earlier, in his famous book The Cost of Discipleship, he’d warned Christians to not buy into the idea of “cheap grace,” the idea that following Jesus doesn’t have to cost us anything. He famously said, “When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.” Bonhoeffer went back to Germany because he was willing to pay whatever price necessary to help those who were in need. He was arrested in 1943 and executed in a Nazi concentration camp in 1945, three weeks before the war ended.
The Price of Committing to a Local Church
Jesus said, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” (Matt. 16:24). Bonhoeffer’s example is therefore the rule, not the exception. All Christians must be willing to pay whatever price necessary to follow Jesus.
This will undoubtedly look different in each of our lives. Some will pay with their lives. Some with their reputations. Some with their careers. Some with their possessions. We’ll all pay something. Following Jesus means denying ourselves and joining him on the road to the cross.
This road mustn’t be thought of only in individualistic terms. Following Jesus must be done in community with other believers, or in the context of a local church. When Jesus calls someone, he calls them to himself and to his body – the church.
One of the prices we must pay in following Jesus is being willing to commit our lives to a local church. Commitment to a local church is one of the ways that Jesus calls us to deny ourselves, to deny our idols of comfort, anonymity, and isolation, and to commit our lives to the lives of other Jesus followers.
One Price We Must Pay
Joining a local church entails many things. But one of the central things it means is that we willingly place ourselves in a position to care for and watch over other believers and allow them to do the same with us. Our Church Covenant says it like this, “We covenant to exercise an affectionate care and watchfulness over each other and (to) faithfully admonish and entreat one another as occasion may require.”
This kind of spiritual care takes time and effort and is especially difficult in our privatized and individualistic culture where everyone wants to be left alone.
But this is one price we must pay as we seek to follow Jesus together. We must commit to caring for one another spiritually. This means praying for one another regularly, encouraging one another, and teaching one another. But it also means confessing sins to one another (Js. 5:16) and admonishing one another (Col. 3:16).
Since our battle with sin is one of the primary components of our spiritual lives, Christians must be willing to address sin in each other’s lives and in the life of the church. A relationship with Jesus means a new kind of relationship with sin, one in which sin is taken seriously, for the good of the individual and the good of the church. When sin is not taken seriously, both the individual and the church are hurt and left alone to hurt others. So, in his love, God gave his church permission to address any of their own who persist in sin.
Entrance into the Kingdom
We’ll be discussing church discipline today, using Matthew 18 as our primary text. I want us to start at the beginning of the chapter so that we can see the context of Jesus’ words about discipline in the middle of the chapter.
In verses 1-4, Jesus begins by using an object lesson to illustrate what it means to be a Christian. The disciples ask Jesus about who’ll be the greatest in the kingdom (v. 1). Kingdoms typically have hierarchies, so the disciples are wondering who’ll be closest to the top. But Jesus’ kingdom isn’t like other kingdoms. If you want to be great in Jesus’ kingdom, Jesus says you must be small. If you even want to get in, Jesus says you must be humble. You must “turn and become like children” (v. 3).
To enter the kingdom of God, one must “turn,” or “change,” or “be converted,” and become “like a child.” This language of “turning” means that becoming a Christian requires a fundamental change in someone’s life. One must turn from themselves and their sin and turn to God through childlike faith in Jesus. We must “become like children” by turning from ourselves, humbling ourselves before God, confessing our need for him, and admit our inability to care for ourselves.
To enter the kingdom of God, we must become “like children,” not by becoming childish, but by humbling ourselves before God and joyfully throwing ourselves on him. The favorite part of my day is when I come home and my kids, with big smiles and laughter and screaming, sprint toward me with their arms in the air and throw themselves into my arms. That’s what becoming a Christian looks like.
Carefulness and Seriousness toward Sin
After this illustration about what it takes to enter God’s kingdom, Jesus begins to address several aspects of our life together in the community of the kingdom. His focus is on how we handle sin in our lives (vv. 5-9), in the lives of others (vv. 10-20), and how we should respond when we’ve been sinned against (vv. 21-35).
In verses 5-9, Jesus says that his followers should have a carefulness and a seriousness toward sin. In verses 5-6, “child” or “little one” refers to Christians. In verse 5, he’s saying that, when we “receive” or “welcome” another Christian, we receive Jesus himself. In verse 6, Jesus says that when a Christian “causes” another Christian to sin, there are great consequences. Verse 7 says that, though there will always be temptations in the world, we must not add to the world’s temptations by leading one another to sin in the church.
For example, gossiping in front of other believers will make it much harder for them not to gossip. Taking a friend to a bar who’s had an alcohol problem would be wrong. Boasting about our material possessions will hinder others from living sacrificially and generously with their possessions. We should be so concerned with other people’s holiness that we do nothing to cause them to sin. We should live carefully around others.
But we should also take our own sin very seriously (vv. 8-9). Jesus is using strong figurative language to help us see that drastic action is necessary to overcome temptation in our lives. He doesn’t want us to literally get rid of our hand or foot or eye. He wants us to take our battle against sin seriously. There should be a violence that characterizes our fight against sin. Followers of Jesus aren’t cool with their sin. They hate it. They make war against it. They do whatever they have to do to kill it.
One of the prices we must pay as Jesus’ followers is the price of walking carefully around our brothers and sisters and the price of taking our own sin seriously.
Pursue Straying Sheep
In verses 10-14, Jesus gives us one of the reasons why we should do the things mentioned in verses 5-9. The parable of the lost sheep is about Christians pursuing other Christians who’re straying from the Lord. Jesus’ logic is simple: we should love and pursue God’s straying children because God does the same. If God sends out angels to attend to the needs of his children (v. 10), then how can we remain indifferent to the needs of our brothers and sisters? God cares deeply about the spiritual condition of his “little ones” – and so should we.
Confront Sin in the Church
This is the context that sets up what Jesus says about church discipline in verses 15-20. In these verses, Jesus explains what the pursuit of straying Christians should look like in the context of a local church. This is the clearest teaching in the New Testament on church discipline.
Church discipline is about as popular today in the church as public spanking at the grocery store. But its disappearance from modern churches has come at great cost. One writer notes, “The church today is suffering from an infection which has been allowed to fester…As an infection weakens the body by destroying its defense mechanisms, so the church has been weakened by this ugly sore. The church has lost its power and effectiveness in serving as a vehicle for social, moral, and spiritual change. This illness is due, at least in part, to a neglect of church discipline.”
Before we look at each step involved in church discipline, notice how these verses are connected to verses 10-14. Just as the Shepherd is concerned about the one straying sheep and seeks to rescue it, so also the church should be concerned about straying sheep and seek to rescue them. The church should confront straying sheep because every sheep is valuable and loved by the Shepherd. Church discipline is about rescue and restoration, not punishment.
Private Correction
Jesus outlines four steps that should characterize this “rescue mission.” First, there must be private correction (v. 15). Whether Jesus is referring to someone who’s sinned specifically against you or someone who’s living in unrepentant sin in general, the first step is the same: private correction. “Go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone.”
The goal is to keep the circle as small as possible for as long as possible. Instead of talking to other people about someone’s sin, Jesus instructs us to go directly to them first. You don’t have to get anyone else involved, not even the elders of the church, before you go directly to the brother or sister and engage them in a private conversation: “you and him alone.”
This kind of conversation only needs to happen with a brother or sister who’s continuing in sin and refusing to turn from it, with someone unwilling to change. This kind of conversation isn’t needed every time someone sins. It’s needed when someone is caught in sin and refuses to turn from it. In that kind of situation, we should love our brother or sister enough to talk to them privately before we talk to anyone else. Love them enough to not sit back and watch them wander deeper and deeper into sin. Love them enough to not expect your elders or someone else to do something. Love them enough to have a hard conversation.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, in his book Life Together, describes why this step is crucial. He writes, “Sin demands to have a man by himself. It withdraws him from the community. The more isolated a person is, the more destructive will be the power of sin over him, and the more deeply he becomes involved in it, the more disastrous is his isolation. Sin wants to remain unknown. It shuns the light…(But) In confession, the light of the gospel breaks into the darkness and seclusion of the heart. The sin must be brought to the light.”
Small Group Meeting
If the brother or sister acknowledges the sin, owns it, repents, and asks for forgiveness, then Jesus says, “you have gained your brother.” If not, then a second step is required (v. 16). The Old Testament required two or three witnesses to establish a fact in a court setting (Deut. 19:15). Jesus applies the same principle here. The goal in this step is to bring in one or two other believers, preferably those who know and care for the person, to “establish evidence.”
The point isn’t to gang up on the person, but to involve other believers to help you think through the situation and, if necessary, to serve as witnesses to the fact that this brother or sister is indeed living in sin and is unrepentant.
Jesus’ instruction here is so practical because he knows that our usual response to confrontation is to get defensive. We get defensive because we’re proud and we don’t like admitting when we’re wrong.
Jesus’ lesson about becoming like “little children” in verse 3 applies here because much humility is needed. Bringing others along will help to humble the person living in sin, hopefully leading them to repentance. Being confronted always makes us feel small. But Jesus says in verse 3 that small is the only size allowed into the kingdom, and in verse 4 that advancement in the kingdom is only for the small.
“Tell It to the Church”
If the brother or sister still refuses to turn from their sin, then the third step is to bring the matter before the church (v. 17a). We might think that it’s unnecessary to tell the whole church at this point. But this is the church’s way of saying together, “We love you and we want you to come back to Christ.” I love how David Platt describes this. He says, “God loves us so much that if we are caught in sin, He will send an entire army of believers to us as a demonstration of his love and mercy.” The church should pursue straying sheep out of love. Love isn’t tolerance. Love is about rescuing people from themselves.
Church Excommunication
If the brother or sister still doesn’t repent, still “refuses to listen,” then the fourth and final step is to remove that person from the church (v. 17b). Jesus says to treat this individual like someone who’s betrayed the covenant (“tax collector”) or like someone who doesn’t currently believe in the covenant (“Gentile”). In other words, Jesus says to treat them like an unbeliever or someone who’s not part of the church. Jesus isn’t saying that the church makes them an unbeliever, only that the church can no longer affirm that they are a believer.
This is often called “excommunication.” It might sound harsh or unloving to do this but remember who’s to blame. It’s not the church. It’s the unrepentant brother or sister who’s repeatedly “refused to listen” – refused to hear and obey the clear commands of Scripture. This person disqualifies themselves from being part of the church.
An Objection
Jesus anticipates an objection that will inevitably come up as the church does this. People will ask, “By whose authority are you doing this?” Or, “You’re not God, who gives you the right to do this?” Simply put, Jesus gives the church the authority to do this in verse 18.
Jesus says the same thing in chapter 16 when discussing the “keys of the kingdom” (16:19). The “keys of the kingdom” is the authority given to the church to evaluate a person’s gospel words and deeds to determine if they’re a true gospel confessor or not, to stand in front of a person and consider their confession and their life and make a judgment on heaven’s behalf. The church is given the task of affirming who on earth is a citizen of the kingdom of heaven. This work is carried out when the church receives or dismisses members.
Two Promises
In verses 19-20, Jesus gives his church two promises as they engage in this difficult work. In verse 19, he promises his support when the church does what he lays out in verses 15-17. He’s just talked about the scenario when two or three believers confront another believer in sin. Now he says that, when (at least) two believers gather in unison to confront sin in the church, they have the full support of the Father in heaven. This is an important promise because Jesus knows that this will be extremely difficult and that we’ll be tempted to shy away from it, so he encourages his church to remember that the resources of heaven are behind them.
Then in verse 20 he gives a second promise. This verse is misused all the time. Jesus isn’t saying, “When a few believer’s come together for a prayer meeting, I’m there too.” Jesus is always with every believer. In context, he’s saying that, when two or three believers gather to address another believer in unrepentant sin, we can be assured that he’s with us, that his presence will be in the middle of the situation.
What mercy! Jesus himself comes to us in our sin through our brothers and sisters. He could let us go, but he chooses to come after us.
Other Texts on Church Discipline
Other passages also teach us that removing unrepentant people from the church should be a normal part of the church’s life. Titus 3:10, “As for a person who stirs up division, after warning him once and then twice, have nothing more to do with him.” 2 Thessalonians 3:13-15, “As for you, brothers, do not grow weary in doing good. If anyone does not obey what we say in this letter, take note of that person, and have nothing to do with him, that he may be ashamed. Do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother.”
When Should Churches Practice Corrective Discipline?
Scripture doesn’t provide a list of offenses that warrant church discipline. Wisdom and prayer must be used to determine what behaviors or sins require discipline. Churches damage themselves when they discipline members for behaviors that aren’t obviously sinful.
Here are three good questions to ask when determining whether church discipline is needed. First, is the sin outward? This excludes private sins of the heart like pride and lust. Is the sin publicly known? Do other people know and are other people affected by it? Second, is the sin serious? Cursing when you hit your hand with a hammer is not a serious sin. But adultery and stealing are. And third, is the sinner unrepentant? Does the person see the sin as sin and are they willing to turn from it? All three of these factors need to be present before moving forward with church discipline.
Church Discipline is about Love
Church discipline is hard because it means confronting people we love. But church discipline is about love. As I said earlier, church discipline is about rescue and restoration, not punishment. Church discipline is about restoring people out of love. I discipline my children because I love them and want good things for them, not because I hate them and do not want good things for them. The Bible says that if we’re left without discipline, then we’re like illegitimate children (Heb. 12:8). Church discipline is one way God shows sinners his love. He loves us enough to not leave us alone. He loves us enough to come after us.
The way he comes after us is through the loving and gentle and patient and prayerful pursuit of our brothers and sisters in Christ. God loves us so much that he’s willing to send real flesh and blood people into our lives to care for our souls. All so that we don’t deceive ourselves and die and go to hell. Church discipline turns out to be one of the most loving things God could do.
Church discipline is actually a beautiful picture of the gospel. In the gospel, a holy God comes after unholy people, gives them mercy instead of wrath, love instead of judgment, life instead of death. In the gospel, God points out our sin so that we’ll come to his Son. Church discipline is yet one display of God’s gospel in the church.
Through church discipline, God also shows his love to the church by helping her maintain her integrity and health and preserving the purity of her testimony in the world. These are gifts of grace from a God who loves his children enough to correct them when they go astray.
A Gated Community, Not a Public Park
Scripture shows us that the church is more like a gated community than a public park. Anyone can go to a public park, but only certain people can live in gated communities. Of course, anyone should be allowed to attend a church’s public worship services. But it doesn’t follow that anyone should be allowed to take up residence in the church, to join the church, or to stay a member of the church. The church body, like any family, has boundaries. It should be clear to all who lives in your house and who’s just over for a visit.
And as with any relationship, when certain boundaries are crossed, there are consequences. Membership is the boundary line for the church; discipline is the consequence when boundary lines aren’t honored.
Church discipline is hard because it means confronting people we love. But Jesus tells us to hold one another accountable. This is one of the prices we must pay as we follow Jesus on the road to the cross, a road he traveled with gladness for the good of others. May we join him on it as often as we have to do church discipline.