From time to time someone will ask me, “does Vintage Faith practice church discipline?”
The New Testament is very clear on this question. Those who claim to have fellowship in the light must walk in the light.
As members of a local church body, we are fellowshipers in the light. That means we are all on a life long journey of turning from darkness and walking in greater and greater holiness.
Because Jesus is the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, he is committed to graciously removing sin from our lives and from our church. This is a tremendous blessing!
Most often this happens as the Spirit of Christ convicts you and I of our sin and we confess, apologize and grow in our holiness.
Sometimes it happens when we correct one another and help each other see blind spots in our lives.
Every now and then sin gets a hold of our hearts and, in our pride, we need a stronger rebuke and warning.
On a very rare occasion someone in our fellowship may willfully, stubbornly hold on to sin. They may resist correction and disregard warnings.
When a member of a local church refuses to remove sin from their lives, the NT tells us that person must be removed from the church.
The primary Scriptures that guide this process are 1 Corinthians 5 and Matthew 18:15-20 (see also 2 Thess. 3:6, Titus 3:10, 1 Tim 5:20, Gal. 6:1, 2 Cor. 2:6-7).
- It begins with private conversations between involved parties.
- When that isn’t fruitful another person is brought into the conversation.
- When sin persists, the elders of the church will get involved.
- If the warning of the elders is resisted, the rebellious person will be removed from the church.
When this happens, the motivation is not self-righteousness but the righteousness of Christ honored in the church. The spirit is not condemnation, but gentleness. The goal is not retribution, but restoration.
The elders at Vintage are committed to this process. God-willing it will not be necessary!
Tom Brown is the planting pastor of Vintage Faith Church in Wichita. Tom and his wife, Mandy, have worked together in ministry for over 20 years and have four children. More about Pastor Tom Brown