Church Discipline

Okay, very good. Good afternoon, everyone. Welcome to Cornerstone Reform Baptist Church. I'm going to invite your brethren to please open up your Bibles to the book of Hebrews, Hebrews chapter 12. We come to the time of a service in which we are going to be doing the exposition of God's word.

So we're gonna be going to Hebrews chapter 12. Today we are going to be reading together verses 5 through 11, Hebrews chapter 12. Today we're going to continue with our series of studies on characteristics of a biblical church. And this afternoon we're going to be speaking about God's discipline upon His people, or what is also known as church discipline. We're going to be making the assertion that a group, a community of believers in Christ Jesus who are committed to the word of the Lord and who are committed to the Savior are going to be people that also are going to be committed to the discipline of the Lord among them.

I'm going to be calling your attention to Hebrews Chapter 12. As I said, we're gonna be reading verses 5. We're gonna be reading the first 17 verses just to get the context. But we're gonna be focusing our attention on verses 5 through 11. And I'm going to ask the reader if you can just give me a little bit more sound so that I don't have to speak so close to the microphone.

Thank you. But as I said, we're gonna speaking about a church discipline. And I know that this may be a topic that is quite new for many of you who have been Christians just perhaps for a few months or a year or that are coming from different backgrounds. So we're gonna be reading not only Hebrews chapter 12, but also we're gonna be going to 1 Corinthians chapter 5 to see an example of what the apostle Paul will refer to as church discipline or the discipline of the Lord upon his people. So Before we do this, let us come before the Lord and let us pray together that He will help us, guide us, give us the light that is needed, freedom to speak according to God's Word, according to His will, and that we will understand the will of the Lord for His people, for His church.

Let us pray together. Father, we come before You in the name of Your Son, Jesus Christ, where we give You thanks. for Your goodness, Your patience, Your kindness towards us, Lord, that You have not given us what we deserve, but You have given us the grace that comes from above. When we were dead in our sins and our trespasses, You loved us by sending Your Son, Jesus Christ, to die upon the cross for our sins. Lord, You rescued us from the place in which we were, the darkness of the kingdom of this world, and You rescued us into the kingdom of light of Your Son.

We did not deserve to be Your people. We did not deserve to be Your children. We did not deserve to be forgiven. But You did everything in Christ Jesus for us to be Your people. And as the children whom You love, You have also appointed for us to grow in conformity to Jesus Christ.

And we thank You, Lord, because of that great blessing that You have given us. That those who follow Christ Jesus daily, they take up their crosses, they follow the Lord Jesus Christ, they die to self, and they become more like Jesus Christ. I pray, O Lord, that the outcome of what we're going to be doing now will be that we will understand your will for your church, that we will understand your heart for your people, that you will protect us from within the boundaries of the truth of what is written, that you will protect us from the imaginations and the interpretations of men, and that you will lead us in the will of the Lord so that our faith will be strengthened individually and also our faith will be strengthened as your people and as a church. Bless us, Lord, I pray in Jesus' name. Amen.

Perhaps I'm going to be calling your attention first to 1st Corinthians, Chapter 5. If you come with me to 1st Corinthians, Chapter 5. And I do this for those of you, perhaps, who have never heard the concept of church discipline or the discipline of the Lord upon His people. In 1st Corinthians, Chapter 5, we have an example precisely of a situation that was happening in the Corinthian church. There was sin in the midst of the people of the Corinthian church, and the apostles were surprised.

The Corinthians have not addressed the situation of sin, and he's calling them basically to remove that person from the context of the community because of the sin that was committed. Let us just simply read the first two verses, and then you will see there an example of what we're gonna be addressing this afternoon in church discipline. So in 1 Corinthians chapter 5, verse 1, it says, "...it is actually reported that there is sexually immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans. For a man..."

This is the scene that was taking place in the Corinthian church. "...a man has his father's wife." So a man was sleeping with his father's wife. That was the scene that was happening in this church.

And you are arrogant, Corinthians, the Apostle Paul says. Ought you not to rather to mourn? Let him who has done this be removed from among you. And we're going to be quoting this passage once again as we progress through this sermon. But let us return to Hebrews chapter 12.

As I said, this afternoon we are going to be addressing this idea of the discipline of the Lord for His people or what is commonly known among Christians as church discipline. And we're going to be making the assertion that a church that is growing in conformity to Christ is also a church that is going to be growing in a desire to be concerned with these important matters of sin in the context of the church and to deal with sin in the context of the church according to God's will. We're gonna be calling that church discipline or the discipline of God for His people. There's going to be times and instances in which sin is going to be present in the context of God's people, and God expects that we will deal with that sin in a particular way. I know that this is a difficult thought, but I hope that by God's grace we can explore this biblically and understand God's will for that.

As I said, we're gonna be going through different scriptures this afternoon. Our departing point is going to be from Hebrews chapter 12. Here we're going to see mainly the heart of God towards his people when it comes to the discipline of God. So let us read together Hebrews chapter 12. We're gonna be reading the 1st 17 verses of the focus of our initial attention is gonna be from verse five.

2-11, but we're going to be reading those first 17 verses. So please, brethren, pay attention to how serious sin is in the eyes of God and how the Lord asked that He will deal with that sin in our lives personally. So this is Hebrews Chapter 12. Verse 1, Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. He says now to us, consider him, that is Jesus, who endured from sinners such a hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or faint-hearted.

In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by Him. For the Lord disciplines the one whom He loves, and chastises every son whom He receives. It is for discipline that you have to endure.

God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline in which you all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the father of spirits and leave?

For they discipline us for a short time, as it seems best to them. But He, that is God, disciplines us for our good, that we may share His holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by the discipline." Verse 12, "...therefore, Lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weakness and make straight paths for your feet so that what is laying may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed.

Strive for peace with everyone and for the holiness. without which no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one fails to obtain better the grace of God, that no root of bitterness springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled, that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who saw his birthright for a single meal, for you know that afterward When he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears." Amen. This is the reading of God's Word.

And brethren, as I said, I want us to consider this afternoon this topic of church discipline, of the discipline of God for His people. And as I said, the assertion that I'm making is that a biblical community of Christians that are growing in conformity to Jesus Christ is a community of Christians that are going to be committed to deal with the problem of sin in them and among them according to God's way. So when we're speaking about church discipline or God's discipline for his people, we are addressing the topic of sin. And I completely understand, my dear brother and sister and dear friend, that the topic of sin is not precisely one that is very popular among Christians and not one that is often, you know, proclaimed from the pulpit. But it's something that we need to understand and something that we need to address.

Let me actually submit to you that if we do not have a biblical understanding of sin, we are not going to have a biblical understanding of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. When we do not pay attention to... what the Bible says about sin, the consequences of sin, the penalty of sin, the presence of sin, the power of sin. When we do not comprehend sin from a biblical perspective, let me submit to you that we end up watering down the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and making the cross just simply a way with which I can become a friend of Jesus Christ and have a happy, successful and blessed life. If I do not understand that the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ primarily deals with the problem of sin that is found in me, not outside of me, as if I was a victim of sin, but rather that I was a criminal, a sinner who had broken God's commandments.

And hence, I was under God's wrath and under God's judgment. I will never understand nor appreciate the free gift of forgiveness that is found in the person of Jesus Christ. If I understand the depths and if I understand the consequences of sin, then I'm going to understand the greatness of the gift that is found upon the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ given to us purely by grace. And the problem of sin, my dear brother and my dear sister, is not only something that God deals with upon justification. In other words, when we first believe that we are forgiven for our sins, that is true.

But when we go through the Scriptures, we realize that the problem of sin continues to be dealt with by the grace of the Lord. That is that those whom the Lord has forgiven and justified Then the Lord is also going to bring into a process of sanctification, of conformity to the Lord Jesus Christ. What does that mean? That means that the sin that has been forgiven, my unrighteousness that now has been changed with the righteousness of Jesus Christ, now I'm going to enter into a process. in becoming more like the Lord Jesus Christ.

So even though I have been forgiven from the penalty of my sin, sin is still in me and within us. And because sin is still present among us, God instructs us how we are supposed to deal with that sin. What is the purpose? The purpose is not only that I will be forgiven, which I have already by God's grace, and those who are in Christ Jesus have been forgiven, but also that I will be partaker of the righteousness or the practical righteousness of Christ that is given to me. In other simpler words, that I become more and more like Jesus.

And to put it in even simpler words, to become more and more like Jesus Christ is that I die to self, that is my sinful nature, And that Jesus Christ, through the Spirit, prevails in my life. So that when I'm going to make choices in my life, I'm no longer being led by the flesh that dominates within me. Now, not anymore by God's grace, but rather by the Spirit that is in me, leading me to righteous decisions and to a righteous life in Christ Jesus. None of that is because of my ability or my strength to be a good person, but this is purely because of the grace of God that is given to every genuine believer. And when believers come together in the community of the church, they are not only bringing smiles and good and positive things, they are also bringing to the gathering of the saints They're seen.

We are not perfect. There's no one perfect. There's no one righteous. Not even one. It does not matter how well we dress.

It does not matter how we comb our hair. It does not matter if we shave or not. When we come together, there is something inside of us that is the nature of our sin that is still present and the coming together of the saints we are going to have issues we're going to have problems and we're going to have challenges that are related to sin and then just as god calls us to deal with sin individually god also calls us to deal with sin in the context of the church. And because this is such a controversial and difficult topic, our flesh is going to tempt us to either ignore the problem of sin that is in us and among us, and then just to simply live lives in a shallow, superficial way, not to have problems one with another, or on the other side, we're going to be so legalistic that we are going to become the standard of righteousness and everyone around me should be exactly like I am, because if you're not like I am, then you cannot belong to the context of my church." Of course, I'm not saying as a statement, I'm just simply portraying the two extremes there that can be present because of our flesh.

So, the question that we need to ask ourselves is, How are we supposed to deal with the problem of sin that happens within the context of the church? And I'm going to submit to you that there is going to be instances in which the sin that is in the context of the church, God is going to deal with it through his discipline. Of course, the easiest and the best and the most gracious way to deal with the problem of sin is to confess our sins. And we know that he's just and faithful to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. And when we truly repent of our sins by the work of the Holy Spirit, we receive that forgiveness.

But also, there is going to be instances in the context of the church in which there's going to be unrepentant sin that needs to be addressed from a biblical perspective. And at times, the judgment of God or the discipline of the Lord will come upon a person or a group of people with the purpose of purifying and keeping that people or that group of people walking in alignment with the will of the Lord. As you can see, this topic of church discipline, or better, as I call it, the discipline of God for His people, is not only a difficult one because it touches on aspects of our emotions that are uncomfortable. We do not want to speak about the things that are wrong with us. Usually, we want to speak about things that are good and positive and blessings to our souls.

But let me admit to you that the way that we grow, spiritually speaking, It is not only by speaking upon those blessings that we do have, which praise God that we do, but it's also by acknowledging through the truth of the Scriptures of those things that are wrong inside of us and among us so that we, perhaps by the grace of the Lord, can walk according to the will of the Lord. Let me say another thing before I get into this text. Every time that we're coming here and I'm saying these statements of a biblical church, by no means I'm saying statements that fully describe Cornerstone Reformed Baptist Church. By no means. Rather, I'm saying what are the statements that the scripture says that a biblical church should follow or should And in many of them, perhaps in all of them, we do fall short.

But the idea is that as we see the scriptures and the truth of what is contained here for a church, that we will desire by God's grace to walk in alignment to the will of the Lord individually and also as a people. So we've said that a church that is biblical is one that is committed to the word of God. So we are to grow in commitment to the word of the Lord. Are we perfectly committed to the word of the Lord? No, we are not.

We are to grow in commitment to the Word of the Lord. That a biblical church is one that is to be committed to prayer, we have said. Are we perfectly committed to prayer? No, but we are to grow. And in seeing growing commitment to prayer, we are to rejoice that the Lord is working.

Are we supposed to, as I said in my third statement, that a biblical church is one that is committed to discipleship or to fellowship? Are we perfectly having fellowship? No, but we are to grow in that fellowship and discipleship, as we said last week, and today, discipline. The discipline of the Lord upon His people. Do we perfectly apply church discipline?

No. Have we perfectly done it? No. But we are to be committed to grow in understanding of these important matters so that the more that we live our lives individually and as a church, we align closer and closer to the will of God for the church and for his people. So we're going to be addressing this discipline of God unto his people.

I want us to do two things. I could easily start just by telling you what am I talking about. But instead of doing that, what I want us from this passage and other passages is that I want us to see at least three first important principles from the Scriptures that are going to help us understand the meaning of church discipline. Once we have seen those principles from the Scriptures that will help us understand the meaning of church discipline or the discipline of God and to his people, then I want us if time allows, I'm speaking too much, but if times allows, then we will get into three or four practical applications or manifestations of church discipline in the context of the church. What is my goal?

My goal is that by God's grace, through the word of the Lord, we will understand not the definitions of things, but rather the principles in the scriptures that define those definitions so that you know, frame those definitions. And by understanding the definition of church discipline, then we will see how they connect with the application of them. So that when we ask ourselves the question, as a church, how are we supposed to deal with sin in the context of a church, we will see the principles that the scripture outline, and then we will see in which practical category it falls. So we're gonna be addressing three important principles that helps us define that and then some practical applications of church discipline in the scriptures. So be with me because we're going to be addressing different scriptures and I hope that this helps us and blesses as we discern the will of the Lord.

I'm going to be making the first two observations of the first two statements from Hebrews chapter 12. Let me submit to you, this is going to be the first one, that church discipline is not so much church discipline, but it's more the discipline of God unto his people. This is not only a matter of semantics, but let's just be with me, please. As I say, church discipline is better to be understood, not so much as the discipline that a group of people, that is the church, will apply to an unrepentant sinner. But rather, church discipline is better to be understood as the discipline of God that is administered to the unrepentant sinner through the congregation.

It says in verse 5 of chapter 12, it says, And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? Hebrew chapter 12 verse 5. And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord. nor be weary when reproved by him.

For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives. It is for discipline that ye have to endure. God is treating you as sons, for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? And of course, I know that this passage is not necessarily speaking about church discipline, but it's speaking of discipline of the Lord in general. The first thing that we ought to understand is that when the Lord is going to work in the life of a person, he's going to use at times not only means active means like the scriptures and the teachings that we have in the word of the Lord, but at times he's also going to use and discipline.

The discipline is going to be an instrument of the Lord to bring conformity to Jesus Christ in one of his Children. And it's better, as I said, that we will understand the discipline that the church will apply if you want to a sinner that is unrepentant of their sins as the discipline of the Lord. Why? Because the church, even of herself, has no authority to apply any discipline to its congregants apart from the authority that she has received from the scriptures. The authority of the church is only valid when we are in alignment with the will of the Lord.

So if the Lord has revealed among my congregation a person that is committing sin, and that person has been revealed, the duty of the church, it is to understand the situation in alignment with the Scriptures and with the authority of God. So that by being in alignment with the word of the Lord, then the church can exercise this discipline for the person who has committed a sin. So this is very important because this shows us that the church is meant to be submitted to what is written and the church is meant to grow in understanding of the scriptures before the church applies any church discipline. This also prevents us from committing the error of the Catholic church or the Orthodox church in which these churches will attribute onto themselves authority to make decisions upon the life of the believer or the person that belongs to their churches. The scriptures, the word of the Lord, is the only one that has authority on the life of the believer.

And the church has authority over that life only insofar as the church is in alignment with that authority. If we quickly come to Matthew chapter 18, which will be one of the most famous passages that speak about church discipline, there we have a statement in which we can see this necessity of alignment between the church and the will of the Lord. So Matthew chapter 18, can we meet in Matthew chapter 18? And perhaps I will have to go faster than this. So Matthew chapter 18, let us just read in verse 18.

This is one of the most well-known passages. Let us read it from 15. 18, 15, if your brother sins against you, go and tell his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. 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.

If he refuses to listen to them, the two or three witnesses, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you a Gentile, a pagan, a heathen, or a tax collector. Verse 18, truly I say to you, that whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, there Am I among them?

Now here, the scriptures is not teaching that whatever the church does on earth, it becomes a reality in heaven. Rather, the whole point of the passage, as I'm going to show you later on, is that there will be agreement between the heavenly and the earthly. When a person is committing a sin, then the brother that comes to that brother to say, you have seen against me is an instrument of heaven that is used to bring about to light the sin that this person has committed. And if this brother agrees with the other that is bringing the accusation, There's not only agreement between them two, but the agreement of the sinner is an agreement with heaven because heaven is the one that is sending this brother to bring the accusation. That's why when two or three witnesses come, if there's agreement between them, there's going to be agreement with heaven because we cannot discern sin in and of ourselves.

We don't have the power in our flesh to say that is seen, that is not seen. When we understand through the light of God that something is seen is because the spirit has illuminated to us that we have seen or that someone else has seen. So here we ought to understand that every time that in our Christian life individually, or as a church, we deal with the problem of sin, this is a grace of God that is given to us to see the light of that sin, to bring about the revelation of that sin and that we will agree with God through his spirit, confessing that sin and being forgiven by the power of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. So the church, even of herself, has no authority to determine what is seen and what is not seen. Why?

Because the church is comprised by fallen people that, apart from the light of God, are blind to understand what is seen. There could be sin that is obvious, that is happening in me or in you or among us. If it's not because of the light of God, we will remain blind to that sin. We will enjoy that sin. The only time in which a person comes to understanding that something is seen is when the light of God comes to him or to them, and that scene is revealed.

So we ought to understand then that church discipline is not so much the discipline that the church is applying or exercising to a sinner, but we ought to understand this as the discipline that comes from above. And this is going to give us perspective of the importance of what is actually happening. Second, let us come to Hebrew chapter 12. The first thing that we need to understand is that the discipline of church discipline is better to be understood as the discipline of the Lord unto his people for the purpose of Christlikeness. Second, and very important, we need to understand that this discipline of the Lord is not a manifestation of wrath.

upon His people, but the discipline of the law is a manifestation of God's love unto His people." The discipline of the law is a manifestation of the love of God towards His people. Let us read the passage once again in verse 5. And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by Him.

For the Lord disciplines the one whom He loves, and chastises every son whom He receives. It is for discipline that you have endured. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline in which you all have participated, then you are illegitimate.

Children are not sons." I pronounced that word terribly. I'm sorry. 9. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them.

Shall we not much more be subject to the father of the spirits and leave? And so on and so on. This discipline of God that comes to his people, that is not the result of the wisdom of the church, but rather that the church is meant to be in alignment with God's will. It is a manifestation of God's love for the person that is receiving this discipline. And this is very important because this is going to give us perspective of that discipline that comes upon a person.

If a brother or sister within the context of the church is caught in a transgression, in unrepentant sin, and this person, it is put in the evidence that this person is unrepentant sin, the light that God gives us to identify that and to confront that It is a grace from heaven that comes to this sister or to this brother so that this person will repent of their sins and will come to Jesus Christ. Now, if this person does not repent of their sins, but rather they decide to continue to follow the ways of unrighteousness, then the removal of that brother or sister from within the context of the church. is the discipline of the Lord upon his people, in this case, that person that is administered through the church as an instrument in the hands of the Lord, and that is to be considered a manifestation of God's love. Why? Because that person is the son or daughter of God.

And if we earthly fathers want the best for our children and we discipline them in order that they will grow in understanding and maturity, how much more will not God apply discipline to his people so that they grow in righteousness and conformity to Jesus Christ? So this teaches us that even though the discipline of the Lord is not going to be emotionally easy or emotionally good for us, we are not to trust in our emotions, but rather we are to trust in the principle of the Lord. It says there in verse 11 of chapter 12, For the moment, all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it, trained by discipline. We as a church and as brothers and sisters are to have perspective that when the discipline of the Lord is done according to what is written and not according to my emotions or feelings, dispositions towards a person, that this is a manifestation of God's love for that person. So I'm not going to come and outlaw God, thinking that I'm better than God.

And instead of allowing a brother or sister to go through the process of discipline, I'm just going to come to the side of this person to appease their emotions and feelings so that they don't feel as they should feel because of the sin that they have committed. When a person goes through the process of discipline, then this person has to go through that process in the hands of the Lord. And the life of that person, if they are in Christ, they are no longer in the hands of the church. The church does not have good hands to hold the life of anyone, but it's in the hands of God. If a person is a genuine son or daughter of God, even when they are going through a process of discipline, The Lord is the one that is going to bear the fruit of righteousness as we have it there.

So it is wrong of us to come and remove a person from that process just for the sake that they feel better about themselves. We are to trust in the Lord that the Lord is the one that take them to that process and he's the one that is going to fulfill his will unto them. It is true that discipline is not good. It is true that discipline is painful. It is true that Discipline is not pleasant, but it is true that God is the one who understands the whole process, and He will bring the fruit of righteousness through discipline.

Here, the author of Hebrews has used a very interesting word for the second time. He tells us there in verse 11, if you pay attention to that, it says that we are trained by it or exercised by it. It says in verse 11, For the moment, all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant. but later it, the discipline of the Lord, yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been exercised by this discipline or trained by this discipline. And it's very interesting because this is the second instance in which the author of Hebrews uses this term.

The first time that he used this term was to refer to the word of the Lord in Hebrews chapter 5. If you come to Hebrews chapter 5, in Hebrews chapter 5, there we have that the word of the Lord is that which helps us to train our senses, the spiritual senses, our discernment. It is in Hebrews chapter 5, Hebrews chapter 5, verse 11. It says, about this, Hebrews 5, 11, about these we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God.

You need milk. not solid food. For everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child, spiritual immaturity." Verse 14, "...but solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil."

The sequence there is very simple. The word of God, the more that is given to a person, the more understanding and maturity that this person has. To apply them, to exercise their spiritual senses, to discern that which is right from that which is evil. Those senses are trained by the word of the Lord, what is doing in them. And just as the word of the Lord trains a person unto maturity, also does the discipline of the Lord.

The discipline of the Lord for His sons and daughters is the means that God has in His hands to bring training, exercising, maturity, advancements to those who are in Christ Jesus. We like it? No, it is difficult. It is not the best. It is not what we choose.

But the discipline of the Lord is used by the Lord to bring about this fruit of righteousness. It says there in Hebrews chapter 12 that that which we receive is the fruit of righteousness. So we have set up to this point that the discipline of the church discipline is better to be understood, my dear brother and sister, as the discipline of God upon his people. And this is a manifestation of God's love. And God's love says in that he wants us that we will be conformed to the image of the Lord Jesus Christ.

There are certain things in us, my dear brother and sister, that only God knows how he will deal with those things so that we become more like the Lord Jesus Christ and church discipline is going to be one of those. Now, let us move on to a third statement of principle that I want to show you. And for that, I'm going to call your attention once again to 1 Corinthians chapter 5. 1 Corinthians chapter 5 now is going to state and present to us the purpose of church discipline. And once again, as I said to you, I completely understand of the difficulty of this topic is precisely perhaps not one of those topics that people want to speak about it very often, but it's something that is very important for us to consider.

Let me now explain to you, at least from the Scriptures mentioned, the purpose of this discipline of the Lord for His people through His church, through His congregation. I'm going to submit to you that the purpose of this discipline is going to be that the people of God will be kept pure and holy and through the judgment that God is going to give to a person, that that person will be restored unto righteousness. So the purpose of God's discipline unto His people through the church is that the sinner who has been caught in a transgression and remains in repentance will be restored unto the ways of righteousness. And by that judgment that comes upon the sinner, also the church will remain pure and will remain holy. Let us read there in 1 Corinthians chapter 5 verse 1.

It says, It is actually reported that there is sexually immorality among you. This is the example that we read before. And of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans. For a man has his father's wife. So sexual immorality.

A man is sleeping with his father's wife. And you are arrogant, Corinthians. Ought you not rather to mourn? Let him who has done this be removed from among you." So the Corinthians had neglected their duty to deal with the sin that was among them, and they were okay with this person that was sleeping with his father's wife.

They were okay with that sin. They were not dealing with that. It had been brought to light, and they were not doing anything about it. Verse 3, For though absent in body, I am present in spirit. And as if present, I have already pronounced judgment on the one who did such a thing.

When you are assembled in the name of the Lord Jesus, my spirit is present with the power of our Lord Jesus. You are to deliver these men to Satan for the destruction of the flesh so that his spirit might be saved in the day of the Lord. And that expression, I know that it's difficult to understand there in verse 5, but basically what he's saying that you will deliver this man to Satan is that you will remove this person from the context of the church, which is the earthly manifestation of the kingdom of Jesus Christ, be sent outside of the kingdom of Christ, which is manifested in the local church deliver unto satan for the destruction of the flesh this is not vengeance this is not revenge but rather is that this person will go through the sufferings of what it is to be outside of the people of god and perhaps the sufferings and the struggles of what it is to be outside of the people of god will bring repentance and will bring conformity to the will of the lord so that his spirit shall be saved. It seems that it's in second Corinthians that the person that was in sin was repented and then reestablished or restored in the context of the church. But here, what I want you to pay attention is verse six.

It says in verse six, Your boasting is not good. This is the boasting of the Corinthians for ignoring the clear scene that was present among them. Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lamp? Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lamb, as you really are unleavened.

For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. Here, the apostle is just simply pointing to the principle that if that sin is left within the context of the church and dealt with, then that sin is going to beget other sins and is going to affect the fullness of the body of that local church. So, hence, the church was supposed to deal with that problem of that sin. By removing that person and sending that person outside for the protection of the purity of the body.

But as we also read there in verse 5, the purpose is that through the sufferings of delivering this person unto Satan, the destruction of the flesh, perhaps there may be restoration of that person coming unto the Lord. So we have the church discipline is not so much the discipline that a group of people apply on to another person because we're all sinners, my dear brother and sister, and there's all sorts of sins inside of us. But rather church discipline is when by God's grace, A sin is revealed among us and made clear by the will of the Lord. And then we are to deal with that sin that is revealed among us in alignment with what God says that we should do according to the Scriptures. And when we submit to what the Scriptures say about that particular sin, then we are falling under the authority of God.

And now we have authority under the Scriptures of the Lord to exercise that church discipline. that could be manifested in taking a person and removing that person from the context of the church. What? For the purpose of the purity and the holiness of the body, so that a little leaven may not leaven the whole lamp, that will protect the holiness of the body. And second, that there may be the hope of the restoration of the person who has been removed from the context of the church, that through the trials and sufferings That is to be outside of the body of the Lord Jesus Christ.

That person may come to light of the sin that they have committed, repent before the Lord, and return to the congregation in repentance and forgiveness. The purpose of it is that we will deal with sin. This is church discipline, the discipline of the Lord for His people, a manifestation of His love. And thirdly, and I will finish with this, at least this part, which is very important. Church discipline or the discipline of the Lord unto his people as a manifestation of his love.

It is not for sinners, but it is for unrepented sinners. And the difference here is very important. Church discipline or the discipline of the Lord in the context of the congregation is not for sinners. It is for unrepentant sinners who, professing to be in Christ Jesus, outwardly continue to walk in darkness against the will and the commandments of the Lord. Because the church, my dear brother and sister, is comprised by sinners.

We are all sinners and there is enough sin in us for us to be ashamed of each other and for us to have this open in our hearts and for us to know how unrighteous we are. We are all sinners. Church discipline is not necessarily applied to the redeemed sinner, but rather church discipline is applied to the person who professing to be a brother, who professing to be a sister, when the light of conviction of sin has been made manifest among them or in them, they will continue to rebel against the light of the Lord, professing to be Christian and continue to advance in unrepentant sin." I think that's what the puzzle says there in verse 9, if you pay attention, addressing of sexual immorality. Because one would have thought, okay, so what do we do with sexual immorals?

We just remove them or just don't have contact with them. He says in verse 9, pay attention to what he says in verse 9. I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people. Not at all meaning the sexually immoral of this world or the greedy and swindlers or idolaters. Since then, you would need to go out of this world.

But now I am writing you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of a brother or sister if he or she is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler. not even to eat with such a one. For what I have to do with judging outsiders, is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? God judges those outside. Purge the evil person from among you."

So here the point of the apostle is that we are dealing with the person that is within the context of the church, professing to be a brother, professing to be a sinner, and openly walking in unrighteous ways. And when the light of God has come upon this person to expose and to reveal the unrighteousness in which this person is, this person continues to walk in the darkness in which they are. They are not listening to the words of the brothers and sisters of the church, but rather they decide to walk against that. And when a person is unrepentant upon the sins that have been clearly manifested and revealed, now they demonstrate that they have a spiritual condition not only of denial, but their hearts have been hardened. And that person is no longer, even though they may be brother and sister, is no longer of benefit to the body, but that person is meant to be removed from the context of the brothers and sisters.

Once again, so that by delivering that person unto Satan, the grace of the Lord may provide the opportunity for restoration, and that the church will understand the importance not only of saying that we walk in the light, but also to walk truly in the light according to the commandments. The question is, but how do we identify an unrepented sinner? Because I understand that the line here, from a practical point of view, may be very thin. And certainly, I don't want to put any burdens upon the brothers and sisters that are unnecessary. How do we acknowledge and how do we understand or how do we identify, is the word, a sinner, an unrepentant sinner in the context of the Church?

I think that there are a few passages, but if you come with me to 1 John chapter 1, in 1 John chapter 1, we have some characteristics that can help us identify a person that is walking in unrepentant sin. 1 Corinthians of 1 John chapter 1. In 1 John chapter 1, I think that we may have certain characteristics of a passage that we have discussed already in the past of things that might be characteristics of a person that is walking in unrepentant sin. Let us go into 1 John chapter 1. It says in verse 5, 1 John 1 verse 5.

This is the message that we have heard from him and proclaim to you that God is light and in him is not darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as he's in the light, we have fellowship with one another. and the blood of Jesus his son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all and righteousness. Verse 10, if we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar and his word is not in us. Here we have in verse 6, 8, and 10 the characteristics of the heart of a person that is okay to say with their mouth that they are walking in the light or that they have fellowship with God who is light while they continue to walk in darkness. There is a disconnection between the things that they say with their mouth and the profession or the practice of their life. They say with their mouth that they have fellowship with God who is light while they continue to walk in darkness.

And it's not only the hypocrisy of their ways as they open their mouth to say that they have fellowship with God and they do something opposite privately in darkness, but rather is also the level in which they are going to deny and to lie unto themselves and they deceive themselves. He says in verse six, if we say that we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. Verse eight, if we say that we have not seen, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. And verse 10, if we say that we have not seen, we make him a liar and his word is not in us. There's going to be instances and times In which, when we are in sin, God is going to use, by His grace, different means to bring awareness of the sin that we are committing.

Many times that is going to be through our conscience, by God's grace. He enables our conscience so that we will know that we are committing sin. And when we are committing sin through our conscience, and we're aware through our conscience, we repent of our sin, and He's just and faithful to forgive us. But there's also going to be instances within the context of the church. Brothers and sisters will approach me or approach each other, and they will bring light of the sin that is being committed, as in Matthew chapter 18.

And the light that the Lord brings to a brother or sister that is committing a sin is the light of God, the grace of the Lord that is provided for that person to come to agreement, not only with the person that is accusing them of that sin, but also to come into agreement with God. that is using by His grace that person to bring awareness of the sin that they have committed. An unrepentant sinner is the person that is no longer paying attention to the conscience that tells them that that is wrong. He's no longer hearing the conscience that clearly tells them that you have broken God's commandments. He's no longer paying attention to the leading of the Holy Spirit that tells them that that is wrong according to the Scriptures.

And even sometimes, as Hebrew chapter 3 verse 12 says, also that in the exhortation of the one another, that person is no longer paying attention to the to the exhortation or to the rebuking of brothers and sisters trying to bring light upon a particular scene that this person is committed. When that person goes in opposition to their conscience, when that person goes in opposition to the light of the Scriptures, when that person goes in opposition to the light that God brings through the brothers and sisters, then this person's conscience is seared or the heart of that person is hardened. This person now is walking in unrepentant sin. And the measure that we ought to take according to 1 Corinthians chapter 5 and many other passages in the Scriptures is that that person now has to be delivered unto the consequences of their sins, not as a way of revenge, not as a way of doing something bad unto that person, but rather that the providence of the Lord will work in the life of that person to bring awareness through what it is to be disconnected from the people of God. And so that person will be restored in forgiveness.

The discipline of the Lord deals with the sin that is in us and among us. And the discipline of the Lord is a manifestation of His love. And even though from an emotional point of view, this is so difficult and we don't want, and even it's a topic that perhaps we will not choose to speak about. The discipline of the Lord is an instrument that trains us in righteousness. And the outcome of it is that we will become more like Him.

And the call of the church is not to ignore the scene that God has revealed among us, not to invent in according to our own standards, the standard upon which we are to behave. But rather, the call of the church is that individually, We will understand the seriousness of sin inside of us, the seriousness of sin among us, and because of the seriousness of sin, we will submit to what is written in a humble way, trying to live our lives according to the will of the Lord, so that when the will of the Lord is done in the life of the individual, will also be done in the life of the whole congregation. So that if the Lord brings about to revelation a sin among us that we will know, be equipped and prepared to deal with that sin according to what is written. We're not going to be able to finish what I had said because we're gonna finish in two minutes and we're gonna finish it next week. But let me just simply say this to you.

Next week we will speak about practical applications of what is church discipline. And perhaps I will elaborate in a more clear way what I've said today. But let me just simply submit this to you, my dear brother and sister. A biblical understanding of sin is necessary not only for us to understand biblically the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, but a biblical understanding of sin is also important for us to understand an individual life as a Christian. There are many issues that happen within us, within us, within us, in our hearts and in our minds that are related to sinful behaviors.

Either they are our fault or things that are happening around us. And if we do not understand, spiritually speaking, what sin is and what it does in us, We will never deal with the problem of sin in a spiritual way. In the same sense happens that in the context of the church, even though we are called to love one another, we are called to forgive one another. We are called to live with one another. We are called to advance with one another.

We are also to understand. that because there is sin in me and sin in you, when we come together there is going to be manifestations of sin. And there is going to be times, God forbid, that there is going to be someone or a group of people that are going to walk in unrepentant sin. And it is our duty not to ignore the sin or not to deal with it in a fleshly way, but rather to be equipped according to the Scriptures so that we will apply the discipline of the Lord for those who are walking in unrepentant sin. For it is necessary that God's judgment will begin with the household of God."

It says in 1 Peter chapter 4, verse 17 or 18, I think. God will purify His people. And the way that He will purify His people is through the word of the Lord, and many times through trials and tribulations, and also through His discipline. That which gives us perspective of this whole thing, it is that He knows best than we do. And because He knows best of what we do, we are not to trust in how we feel emotionally towards trials, tribulations, or discipline, but rather we are to submit ourselves to what is written.

My dear Lord, give us the grace that is needed, my dear brother and sister, to understand the seriousness of sin. Because when we speak about your discipline, we're speaking about sin. And sin that happens in the church has not initiated my Sunday in the gathering of the saints, my dear brother and sister. The source or the place where sin begins is inside of my heart. In my home, while I sleep, when I see things, when I touch things, when I communicate with other people, that is where sin is begotten and initiates.

And in the context of the church, many times the Lord will grant us the grace to deal with it. But the way that we deal with sin starts here. by submitting our lives to the Lord Jesus Christ on a daily basis, and by knowing that we do not have the strength to walk in righteousness, that we are very feeble, that we are very ignorant, that if the Lord was going to remove His grace from us, then we will be easily distracted by the things of this world. We will be easily taken by the things of this world. Our affections are not firm and strong just because we have been walking with the Lord for so many years.

The only reason why we can bear a fruit of righteousness is because of the grace of the Lord. So if we want to protect the brothers and sisters from ourselves, then we need to leave our lives at the feet of Jesus Christ. Because the worst enemy that is here, it is myself. The worst enemy that is within this room, it is yourself. Why?

Because of the sin that is within our hearts. And the problem of sin is not going to be dealt only when it is revealed and then we deal with it and a person is removed. That has already taken a long time developing in the heart of a person. And the grace of the Lord is not only just revealing that now. But brothers and sisters, let me give you this advice as your brother and as your friend.

I've been walking with the Lord for 14 years. It's not very long. It's not very short. But one thing or a few things I have realized. First, how unrighteous and how sinful I am and continue to be.

and how I could be the worst enemy that you could have because of the nature that I have. So my best gift for my brothers and sisters is not to preach, is not to do, is not to push, is not to act, but is rather to depend upon Jesus Christ. Because I'm only beneficial to anyone in so far as in Christ Jesus. Disconnected from Christ, we are enemies unto each other, and there's no benefit in the coming of a group of people. I know that that is true for me, and I also know that that is true for each one of you.

So we are to depend upon Christ. You know, one of the prayers that I have in the morning, so every day it is, Lord, please keep. gracing the eyes of my brothers and sisters towards me because if they see who I am and the things that I truly are or you remove the grace from their eyes as they see me and as they interact with me then we have conflict with one another and the only way that we can remain walking together in the in the ways of the Lord is if the grace of Christ abounds individually and bringing us together so that we perhaps may not have to deal with issues, but if we have, that the grace of the Lord will abound to lead us on how we are supposed to deal with the problem of sin. May the Lord help us, protect us from ourselves, protect us from your thoughts, protect us from my thoughts, May the Lord protect us from the things that we see. May the Lord protect us from the things that we touch.

May the Lord protect us from the things that are in our past, in our present. May the Lord protect us from the things that are outside of us. Because if it's not the grace of the Lord, my dear brother and sister, all of those things will come, will come and will bring about that which is truly in me and which is truly in you. And that is not nice. The only thing that is good and is a blessing is the things of the Lord.

And my Christ, Jesus, reign in the heart of every one of you and every one of us so that we walk together, blessing the Lord and blessing one another through the grace of the Savior. Amen? Amen. Let us pray. Father, we are coming before you in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ.

Lord, we give you thanks for everything that you have done. All the mercies that you have given us, Lord, in rescuing us. We give you thanks, Lord, for having given us the light through your Holy Spirit to see you at the cross dying for our sins, Lord, and forgiving us. Lord, we confess our sins, even as we pray now before you, Lord. The sins of our eyes, the sins of our minds, the sins of our hearts.

Forgive us, Lord, for the many sins that we have committed against you, Lord. We know that you're just and faithful to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. O Lord, I pray that you will grant us a greater glimpse into the gospel of Christ, that you will grant us, Lord, a greater glimpse into the accomplishments of Jesus, that you will protect us from our distractions, Lord, that you will protect us from our ways, that you will protect us, Lord, from our impatience, that you will protect us from our pride, that you will protect us from our love to self and love to our own ways, O Lord. I pray, O Lord, that you will teach us to love one another, to be patient with one another, that you will teach us, Lord, to forbear with one another, that you will teach us, Lord, to advance with one another. Help us, Lord, to advance in unity and conformity to you, O Lord, that this Christianity that we profess to have will not be an activity of a Sunday, but rather, Lord, that Jesus Christ will be all in our hearts.

I pray, Lord, for the husbands, the wives, the single, the elderly, the young, the children, Lord, Help us, Lord, to walk in the ways of Jesus. Help us, Lord, and teach us, Lord, the need, the urgent need that we have on a daily basis to depend upon you, Lord. Forgive us for the many times that we have been distracted with the things of this world, Lord, and that we have with our practice given the testimony that the things of this world are more important than you, Lord. Please, Lord, help us not to walk as religious people, but rather to walk in freedom of Christ with an exceeding love for our Savior, for His Word. That when we decide how to treat our wives, that when we decide how to treat our husbands, our kids, that when we decide how to work, how to study, that when we decide how to speak, how to move, how to push, how to do things, Lord, that Your Word will be enlightened in us so much.

that we will be walking according to your will. O Lord, I pray that you will protect us. You know how feeble and ignorant we are of your ways, Lord. So as we advance and progress as a church, Lord, I pray that your grace will abound for us, Lord. Guide us in the decisions that we make and protect us, Lord, from the errors that we make.

O Lord, please reveal unto us, Lord, I pray, sins that are unrepentant, Lord, and grant us the grace that is needed for us to advance, O Lord. What a difficult truth and prayer it is, Lord, but I do pray that you will reveal unto us sins that are unrepentant, hearts that are hardened, Lord. That you will guide us, that you will instruct us, Lord, and that as you reveal that unto us, that you will grant us, Lord, hearts that are soft and hearts that come to you, Lord, and that repent of our sins and the faith that we have in the gospel that we can be forgiven. Protect us, Lord, from falling into ways of unrepentant and hardened hearts, O Lord, please. We pray now together, Lord, that if our hearts have been hardened in any way, that you will protect us from ourselves, O Lord, please.

That you will point us to the ways of Jesus, O Christ. That you will guide us in your ways, O Lord, to love one another, to serve one another, to walk with your word and your Holy Spirit. Help us, Lord, to love our wives. Help us, Lord, to love our husbands, our children, our brothers, our sisters, our friends, our co-workers, our people around us with your love, with your grace, O Lord. Remind us every day of our feebleness and our unrighteousness and the potential of darkness that is within us, Lord, that we might never think that we are mature enough to continue to walk ahead in our Christian life without depending on the Lord, that we will never be deceived to believe that we stand firm, that we never be deceived with our own imaginations to think that we have accomplished it, that we have already obtained it, but rather always with fear and reverence before you, Lord, that we will depend upon you, that we will advance according to your ways, O Lord.

We praise You for all Your Word, and we praise You for the Scriptures that You give us. In it, we find the forgiveness that we find in Christ, the freedom that is in Christ, and also the exhortations and the admonitions in Christ Jesus. So I do pray, Lord, for Cornerstone Reformed Baptist Church, and I pray, Lord, that you will protect us, that you will guide us, that you will direct us, and that all of these things that we have said of what it is, a biblical church, as we see them from afar and distance, Lord, that you will encourage us and strengthen us to walk towards them, to be committed to your word, to be committed to prayer, to be committed to fellowship, to be committed to discipleship, and to be committed to the discipline of the Lord that comes from you as a manifestation of love for the protection of the holiness and unity of the body and the restoration of the sinner who is unrepentant and has decided to walk in darkness while they speak with their mouths that they are in the light. We praise you, Lord, and we humble before you, Lord. And we worship you even in our weakness and in how minute and small we are before you, Lord.

But we know that you're good and that you guide us and you lead us and you protect us. And the salvation is of the Lord. Salvation is not ours. And for that, we give you thanks for. So now as we're going to come to this table and as we are going to partake of these elements, I pray, O Lord, that you will grant us the freedom by the gospel of Jesus Christ to partake together of the table, to know that we have been united to you purely by grace.

And in being united to you by grace, we have been united one to another. And in this union that we have one to another, we don't only have the union and the bond of love that covers a multitude of sin, but also we have the responsibility one to another. of imparting to each other Christ and to teach about the things of Christ and to advance in the things of Christ. So as we partake together of this table as a body, Lord, we praise you. And I ask that you will bless us, Lord, by faith, drawing closer to you and receiving more of you and less of us.

And we pray these things in Jesus' name, amen.