Church discipline

Matthew 18:15-20 explains what church discipline is all about. It is an act of love by which Christians seek to restore someone who has sinned and is impenitent. Because impenitence bars people from the kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 6:9-10), Christians seek to share God’s word with the impenitent so the Holy Spirit can work through the word to bring people to repentance, make it possible for them to enjoy the forgiveness of sins through faith and then move them to “produce fruit in keeping with repentance” (Matthew 3:8).

The book of James ends on this note: “My brothers and sisters, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring that person back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins” (James 5:19-20).  Those words underscore the importance of speaking to fellow Christians about sin and impenitence.

What drives church discipline is concern for the impenitent sinner and also concern for the congregation of believers (1 Corinthians 5:6-8).