The Biblical Principles for Church Discipline

Topic: Discipline
Passage: Matthew 18:10–20

February 10, 2021

Commentary

Children are important to God. To demonstrate the importance God attaches to them, the Lord gave the disciples the following illustration (v. 10). Suppose a man who owns one hundred sheep suddenly discovers that one is missing (vv. 11-12). Will he not leave them and search for the one until he finds it. Then when he finds it there will be more rejoicing over that sheep than the ninety-nine which didn’t go astray (v. 13). In the same way God, the Father is concerned about these little ones (new babes in Christ) and does not want to lose any of them (v. 14).

What should we do when another Christian has sinned against us? The most important thing is to guard against snap judgments. Scripture insists that we listen to two or three witnesses precisely so we don’t make hasty judgments (Deut. 19:15; II Cor. 13:1; I Tim. 5:19). In this passage our Lord gave three guiding principles for every Christian to follow:

  1. Go to the person in private (v. 15). The goal is to win your brother back, not to win an argument. Privacy will make it easier for him to confess his sin.
  2. Ask for the help of others (v. 16). Step 2 comes after step 1. If your brother continues in sin, you can share the facts with one or two dependable believes, asking them for prayerful counsel. If they agree, then together you can once again try to win your brother.
  3. Ask the church for help (vv. 17-20). The Final step brings the matter before the whole church. If this person still refuses to acknowledge his sin he is to be treated as an outsider but not hated.

Application

I believe that all discipline in the Church needs to be carried out according to the Biblical principles outlined in Matthew 18. Lord, help me to support those who follow these principles.

Matthew 18:10– 20 (NET)

10 “See that you do not disdain one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven. 12 What do you think? If someone owns a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go look for the one that went astray? 13 And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he will rejoice more over it than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray. 14 In the same way, your Father in heaven is not willing that one of these little ones be lost.

15 “If your brother sins, go and show him his fault when the two of you are alone. If he listens to you, you have regained your brother. 16 But if he does not listen, take one or two others with you, so that at the testimony of two or three witnesses every matter may be established. 17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. If he refuses to listen to the church, treat him like a Gentile or a tax collector.

18 “I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven, and whatever you release on earth will have been released in heaven. 19 Again, I tell you the truth, if two of you on earth agree about whatever you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you. 20 For where two or three are assembled in my name, I am there among them.”