READING: Isaiah 30-32; 1 Corinthians 5
To be honest, I had seen church discipline take place only once before I started pastoring, and that example was not the best one. In the last several years, though, I’ve seen renewed willingness to do church discipline when necessary. This stronger commitment to what is a clear teaching in the scripture is a positive development, in my judgment. God simply demands that His church be holy—distinct from the ways of the world.
On the other hand, I’ve also seen what seems to be almost a self-righteous zeal among some leaders carrying out discipline. They so want others to know their congregation is taking these difficult steps that they come across more as arrogant than as broken over the sin of brothers and sisters in Christ. What’s missing is the grief that Paul expected believers to have, even as they carried out discipline; indeed, the words Paul used suggesting mourning over a deep loss (even like the death of a loved one). The believers’ grief should have been profound when a brother had strayed.
That’s the same for us. Yes, we must at times carry out discipline for the sake of calling an errant brother or sister back to Christ. But, we best do discipline when our heart grieves the sin of a brother who, frankly, does not carry the same grief over his own sin. At least not yet.
PRAYER: “God, give me the right heart over my sin and the sin of others.”
TOMORROW’S READING: Isaiah 33-35; 1 Corinthians 6
