Church Discipline
Text: 2 Thessalonians 3:6
Series: Restoration Sermons
Date:
Speaker: Ed Rangel
Location: Waupaca Church of Christ
Bible Version: NASB 1995
Sermon Type: Expository
Learning Objectives
By the close of this lesson the hearer should be able to:
- Define disorderly conduct and the church's responsibility toward it.
- Follow the scriptural steps for dealing with a disorderly member, aimed at restoration.
- Understand the purpose of withdrawal and the harm done by neglecting discipline.
Thesis
Because the church is a body of members held to a standard of Christian conduct, it has both the right and the duty to discipline disorderly members — teaching and admonishing them toward repentance, withdrawing from the impenitent, and restoring the penitent — and the neglect of this duty weakens the whole body.
Burden
Discipline is the duty no church wants and few practice, and its neglect is one reason congregations grow weak and worldly. Yet Paul commands it plainly: "keep away from every brother who leads an unruly life" (2 Thess. 3:6). Discipline is not cruelty; rightly done it is love — the body's way of reclaiming a straying member and keeping itself pure. the raises a series of honest, practical questions a congregation must face, and the burden of this lesson is to recover a discipline that is neither harsh nor absent: patient in its pursuit of the wanderer, firm in withdrawing from the impenitent, and quick to restore the one who repents.
Introduction
The church is composed of members, held to a standard of Christian conduct; when members violate that standard, the body must respond, for Christians are "members one of another" (Rom. 12:5). The outline treats the subject in four parts: who the disorderly are, how to deal with them, withdrawals, and the harm of neglecting discipline. Several of his points are honest questions a congregation must work through, and they are kept as questions here.
I. Disorderly Members (2 Thessalonians 3:6)
Scripture commands the church to "admonish the unruly" (1 Thess. 5:14) and to "keep away from every brother who leads an unruly life" (2 Thess. 3:6), marking "those who cause dissensions" (Rom. 16:17). But honest questions follow:
- Who are the disorderly members? (Rom. 16:17) — those who walk contrary to apostolic teaching.
- Who judges what is disorderly? — the church together, by the standard of the Word, not private opinion.
- Is irregular attendance disorderly? Is failure to contribute disorderly? the raises these as real cases for a congregation to weigh against Scripture.
- And what of disorderly preachers? — the standard binds the teacher as much as the taught.
The starting point is honest: disorderly conduct is real, it is defined by the Word, and the church cannot pretend not to see it.
II. How to Deal With Disorderly Members (Matthew 18:15-20)
The aim throughout is restoration, not destruction. The steps ascend:
- Teach and admonish them — begin gently.
- Show them their wrongs plainly.
- Persuade them to correct them — "restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness" (Gal. 6:1).
- Get others to help — "take one or two more with you" (Matt. 18:15-20).
- Tell it to the church — only when private steps have failed.
Every step is meant to win the brother, not merely to remove him; discipline that does not aim first at restoration is not the discipline Christ taught.
III. Withdrawals (2 Corinthians 2:6-8)
When admonition fails and the member remains impenitent, the church withdraws. Here the raises the practical questions a congregation must settle from Scripture:
- Who should be withdrawn from? — the impenitent and openly sinful (1 Cor. 5:5, "deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved").
- How is it to be done, and how should such a one then be treated?
- How is he received back? — Scripture is clear here: when he repents, "forgive and comfort him... reaffirm your love for him" (2 Cor. 2:6-8). Restoration, not permanent exile, is the goal.
- What should other churches do? Can the elders withdraw alone? What of the fellowship of disorderly members, and of "roving" preachers and members who escape discipline by moving on? These it leaves as questions for a congregation to work through carefully — and so do we, rather than asserting beyond the text.
The purpose of withdrawal is twofold: to keep the body pure, and to bring the sinner to his senses so he may be saved and restored.
IV. The Lack of Discipline (1 Corinthians 5:6-7)
- Why is discipline so little practiced? — fear, sentiment, neglect.
- What false ideas surround it? — that it is unloving, or optional.
- What would result if it were practiced more today? — purer, stronger churches.
- How can churches correct their mistakes? — by returning to the scriptural pattern.
Paul warns that tolerated sin spreads: "a little leaven leavens the whole lump" (1 Cor. 5:6-7). A church that will not discipline is not kinder; it is slowly poisoning itself.
Application
Discipline is love wearing a stern face, and a church that refuses it is not gentle but negligent. Three things follow for us. First, take sin in the body seriously — tolerated, it leavens the whole lump. Second, follow Christ's order with patience: admonish, show, persuade, bring witnesses, and only then bring it to the church — always aiming to win the brother, never merely to be rid of him. Third, when one repents, receive him back warmly and fully, reaffirming your love, for restoration was the goal all along. And examine yourself first: am I walking orderly, or am I the member who needs admonishing? The honest questions the raised are still ours to answer — but answer them we must, from the Word, rather than letting discipline quietly disappear.
Conclusion
The church has both the right and the duty to discipline its members — patiently pursuing the wanderer, withdrawing from the impenitent, and gladly restoring the penitent. It is not cruelty but love, and its neglect leaves a church weak and leavened. Recover it as Scripture gives it: firm, gentle, and always aimed at saving the soul.
Invitation
The discipline of the church exists to save souls, and the gospel that saves is open to you now. If you have wandered, the way back is repentance and the church's glad welcome; if you have never come, the way in is the gospel: believe on the Lord Jesus, repent of your sins, confess Him, and be baptized for the remission of your sins (Acts 2:38). Do not be the member who must be admonished from afar; come near today. Come while we sing.
Word Study
| English Term | Greek Term | Basic Meaning | Usage in This Sermon | Sermon Significance | Key Texts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Keep away / withdraw | stellō / systellō | to draw back from, to keep one's distance | a deliberate withholding of normal fellowship, intended to bring the unruly to repentance, not to condemn forever | a deliberate withholding of normal fellowship, intended to bring the unruly to repentance, not to condemn forever | 2 Thess. 3:6 |
| Restore | katartizō | a medical word for setting a broken bone | the goal of all discipline is to mend the member, not to amputate him | the goal of all discipline is to mend the member, not to amputate him | Gal. 6:1 |
Scripture Interlock Table
| Theme | Boles' Outline | Supporting Scripture |
|---|---|---|
| Members one of another | Intro | Rom. 12:5 |
| Admonish and withdraw from the disorderly | I | 1 Thess. 5:14; 2 Thess. 3:6; Rom. 16:17 |
| Restore gently; take witnesses; tell the church | II | Gal. 6:1; Matt. 18:15-20 |
| Withdraw from the impenitent | III | 1 Cor. 5:5 |
| Forgive and restore the penitent | III | 2 Cor. 2:6-8 |
| A little leaven leavens the lump | IV | 1 Cor. 5:6-7 |
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Converted from H. Leo Boles, Outline 48. Doctrinal audit: core-framework (the church's right and duty of discipline; the graduated Matt. 18 process aimed at restoration; withdrawal from the impenitent; glad restoration of the penitent; neglect of discipline as a cause of weakness); no correction. Boles' many open QUESTIONS (who judges disorder; can elders withdraw alone; how to treat the withdrawn; roving members, etc.) are preserved AS questions for the congregation rather than answered beyond the text — honoring his restraint and Ed's no-guessing rule, while the clearly answerable ones (restore the penitent) are answered from Scripture. Style audit: OCR cleanup. Source note: no primary-text line; 2 Thess. 3:6 (the central discipline verse, cited at I) supplied as text and flagged. Supplied supporting references (Rom. 12:5; 2 Cor. 2:6-8; 1 Cor. 5:6-7) flagged; Boles' own citations retained.
