Here - Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

Moore:
“Your doctrine of the
church is fundamental
to what you believe
about God.”
Wills: Not all aspects of individualism are incorrect. We must
for example respond to the Gospel individually. But unscriptural
forms of individualism have grown in the past few generations.
Sinful forms of individualism tend to privilege personal
“fulfillment” and individual preference at the expense of the
good of the family or the church.
The best place to begin is to teach on the nature of the
church and the role of each member in it. Every member has a
role to play in the body, but we sometimes approach individual
gifts as sources of self-actualization and self-esteem, rather as
divinely appointed duties for the church as a body.
Q: In doing church discipline should we distinguish
between private offenses, as so many in our culture demand,
and public offenses? Where is the line?
Orrick: As a general rule, I think the discipline needs to be as public
as the offence. That being said, some private offences are public
knowledge, or will become public knowledge, and therefore
must be dealt with publicly. Furthermore, some private offences
are of such an egregious nature that they must be made public
and dealt with publicly. This is especially true when the integrity
of the Gospel or the purity of the church is at stake. While reclamation
of the disciplined person ought always to be in view in
the exercise of church discipline, I do not believe that his reclamation
is the primary concern of church discipline. Rather, the primary
concern is that we obey Christ and maintain the purity of
His body. Christ’s church is more important than any individual. I
believe that keeping this great purpose in mind will help to guide
us in dealing with those sins and situations that are not specifically
addressed in Scripture.
Whitney: While there are specific sins mentioned in the New
Testament which call for church discipline, the Bible doesn’t
give us an exhaustive list. Ultimately, any sin — public or private
— is a disciplinable offense if there is persistent unrepentance.
For even in those matters that a church would consider
relatively minor offenses, persistent unrepentance — after
repeated, loving appeals — eventually turns a minor offense
into a major one. For after awhile the real offense is no lon-
ger the original offense, but the individual’s rejection of the
church’s authority in the matter.
Wills:
The real question with the regard to church discipline
is not
whether the sin is known publicly. Adultery for example
is just
as heinous before it becomes public knowledge as after.
The question is what sins should the church take particular
notice
of through church discipline procedures. This is not an
easy question to answer, and in many cases we will not have
absolute certainty regarding our duty. But surely the church
must notice such sins as the Scriptures declare to be incompat-
ible with our profession of faith in Christ and with fellowship in
the church, as in 1 Cor 5:11; 6:9-10; Gal 5:19-21; and Eph. 5:3-5.
Q: Is
ecclesiology a doctrinal area that must be integrated
within our overall framework of theology or is it an
entirely separate issue? How do we counter the popular
argument that insists, “God is not interested in how you
worship (or govern your church). He is merely interested
that you worship?”
Moore: If that statement were true, we could dance around
golden calves. God is intensely interested in both how and
whom we worship. Your doctrine of the church is fundamental
to what you believe about God. If you don’t have a robust doctrine
of the church, it’s very difficult to understand the Trinity
because the church is modeled after the Trinity. If you don’t
have a strong view of the church, it’s very difficult to understand
the doctrine of Christ when Jesus says that He is united
to His church as a head to a body. Those who say, ‘I love Jesus.
I’m not interested in the church,’ are very similar to a husband
who would say to his wife, ‘I love you. It’s your body I can’t
stand.’ That’s not an option for Christians. For me, every doctrine
has to be understood through the grid of the church.
Orrick: Ecclesiology must be integrated within our overall framework
of theology because ecclesiology drastically affects our
understanding and practice of theology. The Lord has seen fit to
communicate His truth through the holy Scriptures, but it is the
church that has been charged with the task of proclaiming the
truth of Scripture to believers and to the world. The medium
through which something is communicated affects the message
of what is communicated. C.S. Lewis observed, “Every ideal of
style dictates not only how we should say things but what sort
of things we may say.” The second commandment (“no graven
images”) does not address the issue of whom we are to worship
— that is covered in the first commandment. The second commandment
addresses the issue of how we are to worship the one
true God. Why? Because how we worship affects our understanding
of the one whom we worship. The same thing may be asserted
with respect to church government.
Whitney: Ecclesiology should matter to us because the biblical
passages which speak of it show us that ecclesiology matters to
God.
In John 4:24 Jesus said that those who worship the Father
“must worship in spirit and truth.” Both aspects are equally
important. Acceptable worship is not only from the heart, but
it must also be offered according to the truth of Scripture.
Southern Seminary Magazine | Fall 2007 page 5