I have a question. Today in churches you do not here to much on this subject, but i am sure that if was still being used, many would be excommunicated. Have we allowed corruption in our churches by not disciplining people when sin is known in the churches and we allow it to continue to happen? God's name needs to be respected and honoured and people need to know the holiness of their God and how much sin offends him and angers him.
Absolutely.
I've known of several churches that have exercised church discipline. It has to be done with much wisdom and compassion... but needs to be done none-the-less. In my own experience we have removed a couple of people from our fellowship for unrepentent sin... but it was done only after much prayer and fasting and pleading with the person to get right.
You dont remove people for smoking or things like that. The one's we've removed were for sexual sins mostly. Living together, things like that. Also have removed 2 people for bringing blatently false doctrines into the church. We tried to correct them, but they persisted in their error... so they were removed.
We must always remember that the whole point of removing someone is to see them finally repent and be restored, and at the same protect the church from their influence while they are living in unrepentence.
Krispy
These are the best messages that I have heard on church discipline. Jeff Noblit is the pastor of [url=http://fbcms.org/]Grace Life Church of the Shoals
I just got a cd in the mail from him, he is very powerful.
I come from a tradition that has used this in the past and still does, but rarely...maybe the people have gotten holier? :-? Not really.
I often wonder about why our churches will not excommunicated those that are strifeful? or those that have a serious problem with anger or liars? Sure, they will in a heartbeat not even reconsider unrepentant adulterers, fornicators...
About liars, gossipers...you hear something and say "I do not believe it." So, does this mean the speaker is a liar? Some people are very careless about reporting news/rumors without checking out the facts before repeating it. You have a lot of conflict in churches who allow rumors to exist without being challenged. OK, since this is a form of lying and it is allowed to exist and then what will happen next? Strife. Then what? anger..then what? So we do not allow unrepentant adulterers, murders to abide in the brotherhood peaceably but allow those that sow discord...methinks there is something seriously wrong...
When I think of the past, it seems to me if a certain brother - many years ago - would have been forcibly dealt with, it would have saved our brotherhood a ton of grief in the years since. His children, grandchildren have all been seriously effected by the spirit of criticism they grew up with.
Serious issue - now will have to listen to hear what Washer has to say.
ginnyrose
Jesus and Paul spoke of excommunication and it needs to be necessary to keep the church of christ clean.
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