A CONSPIRACY OF THE WICKED AND ABANDONED? (PART I)

Now if your brother sins, go and show him his fault…. Matthew 18:15

Suppose a relative—also a Deacon—was caught having an extramarital affair with a married woman from within your local assembly. And further imagine that this man rebuffs all reasonable attempts at counsel and correction, and ultimately deserts his household. Let us also suppose that in response to this situation, the adulterers are subsequently excommunicated by the church. Question: “As a church member, what would YOUR reaction be to such circumstances?”

In an era when Church Discipline seems “strange” because it is infrequently enforced, the response is too often: “Outrageous!!! I and my entire family are leaving this self-righteous, unloving, abusive church!!!” Then the usual mass exodus begins—simply because today’s free-wheeling evangelicals despise authority, and the local church in this scenario faithfully observed the Lord’s plain, simple directives (Matthew18:15-17, 1Corinthians 5:1-13).

In contrast, for the Reformers (who rejected the decadent Papacy), ecclesiastical discipline was a BIG DEAL! In fact, they regarded it as one of the defining marks of a REAL church (along with the accurate preaching of the Gospel and the faithful observance of the Ordinances).

Regarding the above-referenced passages, the Reformer John Calvin laid-out in his monumental work, The Institutes(Book IV, sec. 12), various Biblical reasons why such discipline MUST be enforced. First, if we fail to do so, then the church risks earning the reputation of being a “conspiracy of wicked and abandoned men” (IV.12.5). More significantly, Jesus, who is publicly identified with His people (Acts 9:4), finds His own reputation held suspect in the eyes of men! Further, an unregulated assembly is in grave danger of upsetting the propriety of Holy Communion (1Corinthians 11:27). Some additional thoughts in tomorrow’s devotional!

Terry L. Reese