I have seen discipline in the family change greatly during my lifetime (wow, that makes me sound old!). Spanking used to be part of the parenting “repertoire” but civil liberties or child abuse laws (?) have changed all that.
Is discipline in the church being changed from what God intended as well? Let’s see what Paul has to say in his first letter to the church at
12It isn’t my responsibility to judge outsiders, but it certainly is your responsibility to judge those inside the church who are sinning. 13God will judge those on the outside; but as the Scriptures say, “You must remove the evil person from among you.” 1 Corinthians 5:12 - 13 (NLT)
The Old Testament reference (“Scriptures”) here is Deuteronomy 17:7. God is talking about someone who violates the covenant He has made with them and in verse 3 of chapter 17 and says, “For instance, they might serve other gods or worship the sun, the moon, or any of the stars—the forces of heaven—which I have strictly forbidden.” He goes on to say, that they should be put to death by stoning! Now that ought to make us extremely grateful for God’s grace!
The last part of verse 7 (Deuteronomy 17) is what Paul has referred to in our main passage for today. It says, “In this way, you will purge the evil from among you.”
Obviously God took evil (sin) among His people seriously and that is the message Paul is trying to convey to the church at
11 My child, don’t reject the LORD’s discipline,
and don’t be upset when he corrects you.
12 For the LORD corrects those he loves,
just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights.
Proverbs 3:11 - 12 (NLT)
“Wait,” you say, “that is speaking of the LORD’s discipline, not our church.” WHOSE CHURCH? The Church is the body of Christ and Jesus is the head of that body.
We have a responsibility to God to make sure that His body, what we call church, is “clean and pure.”
