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One of the most painful realities in a local church is the difficult doctrine of church discipline. And yet, any faithful reading of Scripture cannot ignore the importance of this doctrine. (The following passages address this doctrine either directly or indirectly: Deuteronomy 5:11; 1 Kings 11:2; Ezra 6:21; Nehemiah 9:2; Psalm 119:115, 141:5; Proverbs 13:20; 15:5, 17:10, 25:12, 27:5, 28:7, 29:15; Ecclesiastes 7:5; Isaiah 52:11; Ezekiel 36:20; Matthew 5:13–16, 7:1-6, 18:15–17; Luke 17:3; John 15:8; Acts 5:1–11; Romans 2:24, 15:14; 1 Corinthians 4:14, 5:1-12, 15:33; 2 Corinthians 6:14–7:1; Galatians 6:1–5; Ephesians 1:4, 5:11, 5:27; 1 Thessalonians 5:14; 2 Thessalonians  3:6, 14–15; Titus 1:10-16, 3:9-11; 1 Timothy 1:20, 5:19-20; Titus 1:13–14; Hebrews 10:24–25, 12:4–11; James 1:22. 1 Peter 2:12; 2 Peter 2:2; 1 John 3:10; 2 John 10; Revelation 21:2)  

But how should church discipline normally be carried out? Jesus outlines a clear process for church discipline cases in Matthew 18:15-17:

 

15 “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. 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.

Phase One occurs when the sinning member is confronted by a fellow church member one-on-one (v. 15). This sort of loving biblical confrontation should happen regularly in a healthy church (Galatians 6:1; 2 Timothy 2:24-26; Hebrews 3:12-13). Most of the time church discipline should stop here as the sinning member repents and is restored without anything being made public and the process ends.

Phase Two should only occur if the sinning member did not repent after phase one. A fellow member should take one or two others along with him or her to confront the sinning member again (v. 16). If the sinning member repents and is restored, nothing should be made public and the process ends.

Phase Three should only occur if the sinning member did not repent after phase two. Think of this phase as an intermediate phase between verses 16 and 17a. Rather than individual members presenting their discipline cases before the church in a Members Meeting, it seems best to us to first recruit the help of the elders if they are not already involved. This helps ensure that all things are done decently and in good order (1 Corinthians 14:40). Furthermore, it should serve to effectively slow down the process a bit, ensuring that the church is not too aggressively rushing sinning members through the discipline process. If the sinning member repents and is restored after the elders are involved, nothing should be made public and the process ends.

Phase Four should only occur if the sinning member did not repent after phase three. In this phase the elders recruit the help of the entire church in pursuing the sinning member (v. 17a). A member is only to be excommunicated if he “refuses to listen even to the church,” implying that the church was involved in pursuing the sinning member. Since at this point the sin has now been made public to the entire church, repentance and restoration should also be public as well. The circle of confession should be as wide as the circle of knowledge. Usually this would mean the sinning member publicly confesses and asks to be restored at a Members Meeting. If this happens, the sinning member should be restored to the church.

Phase Five should only occur if the sinning member did not repent after phase four. In this phase the church takes the decisive action of removing the sinning member from membership (v. 17b). If after his or her removal the sinning former member publicly confesses and asks to be restored, he or she should be joyfully welcomed back into the church (1 Cor. 5:4-5; 2 Cor. 2:6).

The only exceptions to the ordinary church discipline process seem to be cases of egregious sin (for example, sins that would not even be tolerated “among the gentiles” as in 1 Cor 5:1-5) and exceptional divisiveness or false teaching (Titus 3:9-11). In these instances the elders may lead the church to move more quickly.