Here - Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

Perhaps this is a familiar scenario. It seems that few
churches teach on the issue of church discipline, and fewer
still practice it. On the one hand, this is understandable
since most think of “church discipline” as putting someone
out of the local church. To be sure, the practice of biblical
church discipline has become somewhat of a rarity in
contemporary evangelical churches, yet this is most unfortunate
since this demonstrates a certain negligence of a
church’s purity and Gospel witness. As I teach the doctrine
of the church, I ask my students to define church discipline
and to provide an example when they have seen it carried
out, either rightly or wrongly, in their home churches. Sadly,
over time I have grown accustomed to their blank stares
and silence. The absence of this biblical practice is to the
church’s detriment.
As Baptist theologian J. L. Dagg once contended, “When
(the practice of church) discipline leaves a church, Christ goes
with it.” To be sure, the practice was once common in our Baptist
churches. Baptist historian Greg Wills notes, “Through
discipline, Baptists sought to repristinate the apostolic church
and to stake their claim to primitive Christianity. Through
discipline, they would, moreover, sweep the nation, for they
believed that God rewarded faithful pruning by raining down
revival.” 1 After the Civil War, discipline began to fade from practice,
when the pursuit of church purity began to be replaced by
the quest for efficiency. Baptist churches had lost their resolve
in these matters. 2
What is church discipline and why is
it necessary? Is it necessary? Is it merely
putting an unrepentant member out of
a church? Church discipline has both
positive and negative aspects, and the
purpose of this essay is to sketch a few
answers to the questions of its nature,
biblical warrant and the church’s need.
The presupposition of church discipline: a committed
church membership
As Mark Dever argues in his helpful book 9 Marks of a
Healthy Church, the reason why we see so little church discipline,
with the resultant effect on the church’s purity, is
because we have lost what it means to be a member of the
local church. Membership matters, and one will not see the
biblical practice of church discipline where there is a low view
of commitment to a local body. This is why church membership
is the presupposition of church discipline. If membership
carries no obligations either for the church or the member,
then church discipline becomes a moot point and impossible
to practice. Recall that in 1 Corinthians 5, in order for Paul to
tell the church to exclude the immoral man, he at first had to
be included in that local body in some kind of fashion. 3
As Baptists, we acknowledge that being part of a local body
of believers does matter. Being a member of a local church
should mean commitment to a local church, coming together
regularly for worship, as well as the taking of communion and
giving to the ministries of the church. The local church is the
locale where believers exercise their spiritual gifts for the glory
of God and edification of Christ’s body. Membership means
taking responsibility. “The practice of church membership
among Christians occurs when Christians grasp hold of each
other in responsibility and love.” 4 We in fact are one another’s
Church
membership
matters.
keepers in a very real sense and the only way that this kind of
“keeping” occurs is in the context of the community of faith.
One must be part of this community (a local church) in order
for accountability to take place.
This kind of accountability among believers is not strongarmed,
micro-management, rather, it is one of the many practical
ways that believers love one another. Jesus’ words are
recorded in John 13:34-35, “A new commandment I give to
you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that
you also love one another. By this all men will know that you
are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” Loving one
another and humble accountability between committed believers
demonstrates the power of the Gospel to a watching world.
What does the world see? It sees a group of people committed
to one another under the lordship of Jesus Christ who love
one another enough to take a vested interest in one another’s
ongoing commitment to Christ.
The local church is the manifestation of this group of people
living under the lordship of Christ in loving accountability
to biblical truth. For instance, the writer of Hebrews says,
Let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance
of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from
an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure
water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope
without wavering, for He who promised is faithful;
and let us consider how to stimulate
one another to love and good deeds,
not forsaking our own assembling
together, as is the habit of some, but
encouraging one another; and all the
more as you see the day drawing near
(Heb 10:22-25).
Notice that, among other important
things, the writer of Hebrews emphasizes
the role of the Christian community in the context of
one another’s lives. They not only draw near together, but they
hold fast their Christian confession together, and they are to
give purposeful thought and attention as to how they might
stir up each other to live Christ-honoring lives. This is to occur
in the context of the local church. In addition, the little phrase
“as you see the day drawing near” contains an implicit warning:
Christ is coming and we all must be found faithful at His
return (Heb 3:12; 4:1-2, 6, 11; 9:27-28; 10:36-39). From this text
we see that we are to “draw near,” “hold fast” and “consider”
within the context of a local body of believers who anticipate
the Lord’s return.
Further, the writer of Hebrews exhorts his readers, “But
encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still
called ‘Today,’ so that none of you will be hardened by the
deceitfulness of sin” (Heb 3:13). The encouragement spoken
of here rightly occurs in a body of believers who place great
value on being committed and responsible to the Gospel
and to one another. This has immediate implications for our
Southern Baptist churches, where the average membership
is 233, yet only an average of 70 attend on any given Sunday. 5
Further, a recent Christianity Today editorial states that
convention records indicate that of our 16 million reported
members, fewer than 6 million people attend Southern Baptist
churches each week. This should not be the case. Before
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Fall 2007 | Southern Seminary Magazine