4. We think it’s unloving to discipline, but Paul thinks it’s unloving not to discipline.
“Doesn’t discipline violate the golden rule?” Only if you want people to love you by patting you on your back while you sin yourself to Hell. Too strong? Not at all. It’s exactly what Paul implies in 1 Corinthians 5:5: “You are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.”
In other words, send the man into the world he seems to love so that he would become sick of his sin, repent and be saved from hell when Jesus returns (cf. Matt 5:29–30; Js 5:19–20). Repentance is a necessary response prior to redemption.
5. We think it’s unholy to discipline, but Paul thinks it’s unholy not to discipline.
We might think of church discipline as engaging in dirty church politics, or acting on a personal vendetta. How dare we—and in the church no less!
But listen again to Paul in 1 Corinthians 5:6–7, “Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened.” Sin spreads. Letting it metastasize is both dirty and deadly.
6. We think it’s hypocritical to discipline, but Paul thinks it’s hypocritical not to discipline.
“Oh, that church is a bunch of phonies. They exclude people who aren’t like them.” To be fair, there are hypocritical churches. But that’s no reason to disagree with the Bible’s clear teaching on discipline here in 1 Corinthians 5:8: “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.”
The lack of discipline creates an environment that excuses and nurtures hypocrisy. Sincere congregations discipline. Find that congregation, and chances are, you’ve found a genuine church.
7. We think it’s confusing to discipline, but Paul thinks it’s confusing not to discipline.
“Aren’t we confusing the world about God’s goodness by treating our own with such severity?” Not to Paul’s way of thinking. Indeed, it’s just the opposite: “I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard or swindler—not even to eat with such a one.”
It confuses the world to let someone identify as a Christian while he still identifies with his own sin. Was Christ immoral or greedy? Was Christ a reviler, a drunkard or a swindler? The church should not complacently allow ungodly people to place Christ’s name on themselves. That’s confusing to the world.
8. We think it’s unjust to discipline, but Paul thinks it’s unjust not to discipline.
Isn’t public, corrective discipline just the congregation ganging up on one helpless sinner? How is that fair? But the Bible says otherwise. Paul asks the question: “Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? God judges those outside. Purge the evil person from among you” (1Corinthians 5:12–13). Justice doesn’t relinquish judgment. Justice requires judgment (John 7:24).
The world might say bad things about the church if we discipline unrepentant members. But you know what? The world will also say bad things about the church who doesn’t discipline. And in some ways, they’ll be echoing the displeasure of God.
