Church Discipline: The Missing Mark1 R. Albert Mohler, Jr.

R. Albert Mohler, Jr. is President What is pure is corrupted much more quickly Evangelicals have long recognized disci- and Professor of at than what is corrupt is purified. pline as the “third mark” of the authentic The Southern Baptist Theological Semi- —John Cassian (A.D. 360-435) church.2 Authentic biblical discipline is nary. He is the author of numerous not an elective, but a necessary and inte- scholarly articles and has edited and gral mark of authentic Christianity. The decline of church discipline is perhaps contributed to important volumes on How did this happen? How could the the most visible failure of the contempo- theology and culture. Dr. Mohler’s writ- church so quickly and pervasively aban- rary church. No longer concerned with ing is regularly featured in World maga- don one of its most essential functions and maintaining purity of confession or life- zine and Religion News Service. responsibilities? The answer is found in style, the contemporary church sees itself developments both internal and external as a voluntary association of autonomous to the church. members, with minimal moral account- Put simply, the abandonment of church ability to God, much less to each other. discipline is linked to American Chris- The absence of church discipline is no tianity’s creeping accommodation to longer remarkable—it is generally not American culture. As the twentieth cen- even noticed. Regulative and restorative tury began, this accommodation became church discipline is, to many church mem- increasingly evident as the church acqui- bers, no longer a meaningful category, or esced to a culture of moral individualism. even a memory. The present generation Though the nineteenth century was not of both ministers and church members is a golden era for American evangelicals, virtually without experience of biblical the century did see the consolidation of church discipline. evangelical theology and church patterns. As a matter of fact, most Christians Manuals of church discipline and congre- introduced to the biblical teaching con- gational records indicate that discipline cerning church discipline confront the was regularly applied. Protestant congre- issue of church discipline as an idea they gations exercised discipline as a necessary have never before encountered. At first and natural ministry to the members of hearing, the issue seems as antiquarian the church, and as a means of protecting and foreign as the Spanish Inquisition and the doctrinal and moral integrity of the the Salem witch trials. Their only acquain- congregation. tance with the disciplinary ministry of the As ardent congregationalists, the Bap- church is often a literary invention such tists left a particularly instructive record as The Scarlet Letter. of nineteenth-century discipline. Histo- And yet, without a recovery of func- rian Gregory A. Wills aptly commented, tional church discipline—firmly estab- “To an antebellum Baptist, a church with- lished upon the principles revealed in the out discipline would hardly have counted Bible—the church will continue its slide as a church.”3 Churches held regular “Days into moral dissolution and relativism. of Discipline” when the congregation 16 would gather to heal breaches of fellow- of the early twentieth century—an era of ship, admonish wayward members, “progressive” thought and moral liberal- rebuke the obstinate, and, if necessary, ization. By the 1960s, only a minority of excommunicate those who resisted disci- churches even pretended to practice regu- pline. In so doing, congregations under- lative church discipline. Significantly, stood themselves to be following a biblical confessional accountability and moral pattern laid down by Christ and the discipline were generally abandoned apostles for the protection and correction together. of disciples. The theological category of sin has been No sphere of life was considered out- replaced, in many circles, with the psy- side the congregation’s accountability. chological concept of therapy. As Philip Members were to conduct their lives Reiff has argued, the “Triumph of the and witness in harmony with the Bible Therapeutic” is now a fixture of modern and with established moral principles. American culture.4 Church members may Depending on the denominational polity, make poor choices, fail to live up to the discipline was codified in church cov- expectations of an oppressive culture, or enants, books of discipline, congregational be inadequately self-actualized—but they manuals, and confessions of faith. Disci- no longer sin. pline covered both doctrine and conduct. Individuals now claim an enormous Members were disciplined for behavior zone of personal privacy and moral that violated biblical principles or congre- autonomy. The congregation—redefined gational covenants, but also for violations as a mere voluntary association—has no of doctrine and belief. Members were right to intrude into this space. Many con- considered to be under the authority of gregations have forfeited any responsibil- the congregation and accountable to ity to confront even the most public sins each other. of their members. Consumed with prag- By the turn of the century, however, matic methods of church growth and con- church discipline was already on the gregational engineering, most churches decline. In the wake of the Enlightenment, leave moral matters to the domain of the criticism of the Bible and of the doctrines individual conscience. of evangelical orthodoxy was widespread. As Thomas Oden notes, the confession Even the most conservative denomina- of sin is now passé and hopelessly out- tions began to show evidence of decreased dated to many minds. attention to theological orthodoxy. At the same time, the larger culture moved Naturalistic reductionism has invited us to reduce alleged indi- toward the adoption of autonomous vidual sins to social influences for moral individualism. The result of these which individuals are not respon- internal and external developments was sible. Narcissistic hedonism has demeaned any talk of sin or confes- the abandonment of church discipline sion as ungratifying and dysfunc- as ever larger portions of the church tional. Autonomous individualism member’s life were considered off-limits has divorced sin from a caring community. Absolute relativism has to the congregation. regarded moral values as so ambigu- This great shift in church life followed ous that there is no measuring rod against which to assess anything as the tremendous cultural transformations sin. Thus modernity, which is char- 17 acterized by the confluence of these tion.” Liberal has lost any four ideological streams, has pre- sumed to do away with confession, moral credibility in the sexual sphere. and has in fact made confession an Homosexuality is not condemned, even embarrassment to the accommodat- though it is clearly condemned in the ing church of modernity.5 Bible. To the contrary, homosexuals get a special caucus at the denominational The very notion of shame has been dis- assembly and their own publications and carded by a generation for which shame special rights. is an unnecessary and repressive hin- Evangelicals, though still claiming drance to personal fulfillment. Even secu- adherence to biblical standards of moral- lar observers have noted the shame- ity, have overwhelmingly capitulated to lessness of modern culture. As James the divorce culture. Where are the evan- Twitchell comments: gelical congregations that hold married We have in the last generation tried couples accountable for maintaining their to push shame aside. The human- marriage vows? To a great extent, evan- potential and recovered-memory gelicals are just slightly behind liberal movements in psychology; the moral relativism of audience-driven Protestantism in accommodating to the Christianity; the penalty-free, all- divorce culture and accepting what ideas-are-equally-good transforma- amounts to “serial monogamy”—faithful- tion in higher education; the rise of no-fault behavior before the law; the ness to one marital partner at a time. This, often outrageous distortions in the too, has been noted by secular observers. telling of history so that certain groups can feel better about them- David Blankenhorn of the Institute for selves; and the “I’m shame-free, but American Values remarked that “over the you should be ashamed of yourself” past three decades, many religious lead- tone of political discourse are just some of the instances wherein this ers . . . have largely abandoned marriage can be seen.6 as a vital area of religious attention, essentially handing the entire matter over Twitchell sees the Christian church aid- to opinion leaders and divorce lawyers in ing and abetting this moral transforma- the secular society. Some members of the tion and abandonment of shame—which clergy seem to have lost interest in defend- is, after all, a natural product of sinful be- ing and strengthening marriage. Others havior. “Looking at the Christian Church report that they worry about offending today, you can only see a dim pentimento members of their congregations who are of what was once painted in the boldest divorced or unmarried.”8 of colors. Christianity has simply lost it. Tied to this worry about offending It no longer articulates the ideal. Sex is on church members is the rise of the “rights the loose. Shame days are over. The Devil culture,” which understands society only has absconded with sin.”7 As Twitchell in terms of individual rights rather than laments, “Go and sin no more” has been moral responsibility. Mary Ann Glendon replaced with “Judge not lest you be of the Harvard Law School documents the judged.” substitution of “rights talk” for moral dis- Demonstration of this moral abandon- course.9 Unable or unwilling to deal with ment is seen in mainline Protestantism’s moral categories, modern men and surrender to an ethic of sexual “libera- women resort to the only moral language 18 they know and understand—the unem- through Moses: “Be sure to keep the com- barrassed claim to “rights” that society mands of the LORD your God and the has no authority to limit or deny. This stipulations and decrees he has given you. “rights talk” is not limited to secular soci- Do what is right and good in the LORD’s ety, however. Church members are so sight, so that it may go well with you and committed to their own version of “rights you may go in and take over the good land talk” that some congregations accept that the LORD promised on oath to your almost any behavior, belief, or “lifestyle” forefathers” (Deut 6:17-18). as acceptable, or at least off-limits to con- The nation is reminded that it is now gregational sanction. known by God’s name and is to reflect His The result of this is the loss of the holiness. “For you are a people holy to the biblical pattern for the church—and the LORD your God. The LORD your God has impending collapse of authentic Chris- chosen you out of all the peoples on the tianity in this generation. As Carl Laney face of the earth” (Deut 7:6). God prom- laments, “The church today is suffering ised His covenant faithfulness to His from an infection which has been allowed people but expected them to obey His to fester....As an infection weakens the Word and follow His law. Israel’s judicial body by destroying its defense mecha- system was largely designed to protect the nisms, so the church has been weakened purity of the nation. by this ugly sore. The church has lost its In the , the church is power and effectiveness in serving as a likewise described as the people of God vehicle for social, moral, and spiritual who are visible to the world by their change. This illness is due, at least in part, purity of life and integrity of testimony. As to a neglect of church discipline.”10 Peter instructed the church: “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy Holiness and the People of God nation, a people belonging to God, that you Throughout the Bible, the people of may declare the praises of him who called God are characterized by a distinctive you out of darkness into his wonderful purity. This moral purity is not their own light. Once you were not a people, but now achievement, but the work of God within you are the people of God; once you had their midst. As the Lord said to the chil- not received mercy, but now you have dren of Israel, “I am the Lord your God. received mercy” (1 Pet 2:9-10). Consecrate yourselves and be holy, Peter continued, “Dear friends, I urge because I am holy” (Lev 11:44a).11 Given you, as aliens and strangers in the world, that they have been chosen by a holy God to abstain from sinful desires, which war as a people carrying His own name, God’s against your soul. Live such good lives chosen people are to reflect His holiness among the pagans that, though they by their way of living, worship, and beliefs. accuse you of doing wrong, they may see The holiness code is central to the your good deeds and glorify God on the understanding of the Old Testament. As day he visits us” (1 Pet 2:11-12). God’s chosen nation, Israel must live by As the new people of God, the church God’s Word and law, which will set the is to see itself as an alien community in children of Israel visibly apart from their the midst of spiritual darkness—strang- pagan neighbors. As the Lord said ers to the world who must abstain from 19 the lusts and enticements of the world. because the Lord disciplines those he The church is to be conspicuous in its loves, and he punishes everyone he purity and holiness and steadfast in its accepts as a son.’ Endure hardship as confession of the faith once for all deliv- discipline; God is treating you as sons. For ered to the saints. Rather than capitu- what son is not disciplined by his father?” lating to the moral (or immoral) (Heb 12:5-7). As the passage continues, the environment, Christians are to be con- author warns that those who are without spicuous by their good behavior. As discipline “are illegitimate children and Peter summarized, “Just as he who called not true sons” (v. 8). The purpose of disci- you is holy, so be holy in all you do” pline, however, is righteousness. “No dis- (1 Pet 1:15). cipline seems pleasant at the time, but The apostle Paul clearly linked the painful. Later on, however, it produces a holiness expected of believers to the harvest of righteousness and peace for completed work of Christ in redemption: those who have been trained by it” (v. 11). “Once you were alienated from God and This discipline is often evident in suf- were enemies in your minds because of fering—both individual and congrega- your evil behavior. But now he has recon- tional. Persecution by the world has a ciled you by Christ’s physical body purifying effect on the church. This per- through death to present you holy in his secution is not to be sought, but if the sight, without blemish and free from church is “tested by fire,” it must prove accusation” (Col 1:21-22). Clearly, this itself pure and genuine and receive this holiness made complete in the believer is suffering as the Lord’s discipline, even as the work of God; holiness is the evidence children receive the discipline of a father. of His redemptive work. To the Corinthian The fact that this analogy is so foreign to congregation Paul urged, “Let us purify many modern Christians points out the fact ourselves from everything that contami- that discipline has disappeared in many nates body and spirit, perfecting holiness families, as well as in the church. Children out of reverence for God” (2 Cor 7:1). are treated as moral sovereigns in many The identity of the church as the people households, and the social breakdown of of God is to be evident in its pure confes- the family has diminished its moral cred- sion of Christ, its bold testimony to the ibility. The loving discipline portrayed in Gospel, and its moral holiness before the this passage is as foreign to many families watching world. Nothing less will mark the as it is to most congregations. church as the true vessel of the Gospel. God’s loving discipline of His people is His sovereign right and is completely Discipline in the Body in keeping with His moral character—His The first dimension of discipline in the own holiness. His fatherly discipline also church is that discipline exercised directly establishes the authority and pattern for by God as He deals with believers. As the discipline in the church. Correction is for book of Hebrews warns, “You have for- the greater purpose of restoration and the gotten that word of encouragement that even higher purpose of reflecting the addresses you as sons: ‘My son, do not holiness of God. make light of the Lord’s discipline, and The second dimension of discipline in do not lose heart when he rebukes you, the church is that disciplinary responsi- 20 bility addressed to the church itself. Like would have to leave this world. But now I am writing you that you must God’s fatherly discipline of those He not associate with anyone who calls loves, the church is to exercise discipline himself a brother but is sexually as an integral part of its moral and theo- immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler. logical responsibility. That the church can With such a man do not even eat. fall into moral disrepute is evident in the What business is it of mine to judge New Testament itself. those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God The apostle Paul confronted a case of will judge those outside. “Expel gross moral failure in the Corinthian con- the wicked man from among you” (vv. 9-13). gregation that included “immorality of . . . a kind that does not occur even among The moral outrage of a wounded pagans” (1 Cor 5:1). In this case, apparent apostle is evident in these pointed verses, incest was known to the congregation, and which call the Corinthian church to action yet it had taken no action. and the exercise of discipline. They have “And you are proud! Shouldn’t you now fallen into corporate sin by tolerat- rather have been filled with grief and ing the presence of such a bold and arro- have put out of your fellowship the man gant sinner in their midst. Their moral who did this?” Paul accused the Corin- testimony is clouded, and their fellowship thian congregation (v. 2). He instructed is impure. Their arrogance has blinded them to act quickly and boldly to remove them to the offense they have committed this stain from their fellowship. He also before the Lord. The open sin in their warned them, “Your boasting is not good. midst is like a cancer that, left unchecked, Don’t you know that a little yeast works will spread throughout the entire body. through the whole batch of dough? Get In the second letter to the Thessa- rid of the old yeast that you may be a new lonians, Paul offers similar instruction, batch without yeast—as you really are” combining concern for moral purity and (vv. 6-7a). doctrinal orthodoxy: “In the name of the Paul was outraged that the Corinthian Lord Jesus Christ, we command you, Christians would tolerate this horrible sin. brothers, to keep away from every brother Incest, though not literally unknown in who is idle and does not live according to the pagan world, was universally con- the teaching you received from us” (2 demned and not tolerated. In this respect Thess 3:6). Paul instructs the Thessa- the Corinthian church had fallen beneath lonians to follow his own example the moral standards of the pagan world because “We were not idle when we were to whom they were to witness. Paul was with you” (2 Thess 3:7). also exasperated with a congregation he had already warned. Mentioning an ear- The Pattern of Proper Discipline lier letter unavailable to us, Paul scolds How should the Corinthians have re- the Corinthians: sponded to this public sin? Paul speaks I have written you in my letter not in 1 Corinthians of delivering this sinner to associate with sexually immoral unto Satan and removing him from fel- people—not at all meaning the lowship. How is this to be done? To the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swin- Galatians Paul wrote that “if someone is dlers, or idolaters. In that case you caught in a sin, you who are spiritual 21 should restore him gently. But watch your- a sinning brother. The brother cannot self, or you also may be tempted” (Gal claim that he was not confronted with his 6:1). This teaching is clear, indicating that sin in a brotherly context. spiritual leaders of the church are to con- If the brother does not listen even in front a sinning member with a spirit of the presence of one or two witnesses, this humility and gentleness, and with the goal becomes a matter for the congregation. of restoration. But what are the precise “Tell it to the church,” instructed Jesus, steps to be taken? and the church is to judge the matter The Lord Himself provided these before the Lord and render a judgment instructions as He taught His disciples: “If that is binding upon the sinner. This step your brother sins against you, go and is extremely serious, and the congregation show him his fault, just between the two now bears a corporate responsibility. The of you. If he listens to you, you have won church must render its judgment based your brother over. But if he will not lis- upon the principles of God’s Word and ten, take one or two others along, so that the facts of the case. Again, the goal is the ‘every matter may be established by the restoration of a sinning brother or sister— testimony of two or three witnesses.’ If he not a public spectacle. refuses to listen to them, tell it to the Sadly, this congregational confronta- church; and if he refuses to listen even to tion may not avail. If it does not, the only the church, treat him as you would a recourse is separation from the sinning pagan or a tax collector” (Matt 18:15-17). brother. “Treat him as you would a pagan The Lord instructed His disciples that or a tax collector,” instructed the Lord, they should first confront a sinning indicating that the separation is to be real brother in private. “Show him his fault,” and public. The congregation is not to instructed the Lord. If the brother consider the former brother as a part of acknowledges the sin and repents, the the church. This drastic and extreme act brother has been won. The fact that the is to follow when a brother or sister will first step is a private confrontation is very not submit to the discipline of the church. important. This limits the injury caused We should note that the church should by the sin and avoids a public spectacle, still bear witness to this man, but not as which would tarnish the witness of the brother to brother, until and unless repen- church to the Gospel. tance and restoration are evident. In the event the private confrontation does not lead to repentance, restoration, The Power of the Keys and reconciliation, the next step is to take What is the church’s authority in witnesses. Jesus cited the Deuteronomic church discipline? Jesus addressed this law which required multiple witnesses of issue directly, even as He declared the a crime for conviction. Yet His purpose establishment of the church after Peter’s here seems larger than the mere establish- great confession: “I will give you the keys ment of the facts of the case. Jesus seems of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you to intend for the witnesses to be an im- bind on earth will be bound in heaven, portant presence in the event of the con- and whatever you loose on earth will be frontation, thus adding corroborating loosed in heaven” (Matt 16:19). This testimony concerning the confrontation of “power of the keys” is one of the critical 22 controversies between evangelicals and church. “Both of these keys are extremely the Church of Rome. Roman Catholics necessary in Christendom, so that we can believe that the pope, as Peter’s succes- never thank God enough for them.”14 As sor, holds the keys, and thus the power of a pastor and theologian, Luther saw the binding and loosing. Protestants, how- great need for the church to bear the keys, ever, believe that the Lord granted the and he understood this ministry to be keys to the church. This interpretation is gracious in the recovery of sinning saints. supported by the Lord’s repetition of the As Luther reflected: matter in Matthew 18:18, “I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be For the dear Man, the faithful Bishop of our souls, Jesus Christ, is well bound in heaven, and whatever you loose aware that His beloved Christians on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Here are frail, that the devil, the flesh, the context reveals that the power of bind- and the world would tempt them unceasingly and in many ways, and 12 ing and loosing is held by the church. that at times they would fall into sin. The terms binding and loosing were Therefore, He has given us this rem- familiar terms used by rabbis in the first edy, the key which binds, so that we might not remain too confident in century to refer to the power of judging our sins, arrogant, barbarous, and matters on the basis of the Bible. The Jew- without God, and the key which looses, that we should not despair ish authorities would determine how (or in our sins.15 whether) the Scriptures applied in a spe- cific situation and would render judgment What about a church leader who sins? by either binding, which meant to restrict, Paul instructed Timothy that a church or loosing, which meant to liberate. The leader—an elder—is to be considered church still bears this responsibility and “worthy of double honor” when he rules wields this power. John Calvin, the great well (1 Tim 5:17). When an elder sins, how- Genevan Reformer, believed that the ever, that is a matter of great consequence. power of binding should be understood First, no accusation is to be received on as , and loosing as the basis of only one uncorroborated wit- reception into membership: “But the ness. If a charge is substantiated by two church binds him whom it excommuni- or three witnesses, however, he is “to be cates—not that it casts him into everlast- rebuked publicly, so that the others may ing ruin and despair, but because it take warning” (1 Tim 5:20). Clearly, lead- condemns his life and morals, and already ership carries a higher burden, and the warns him of his condemnation unless sins of an elder cause an even greater he should repent. It looses him when it injury to the church. The public rebuke is receives into communion, for it makes necessary, for the elder sins against the him a sharer of the unity which is in entire congregation. As James warned, 13 Christ Jesus.” “Not many of you should presume to be Calvin’s interpretation is fully in agree- teachers, my brothers, because you know ment at this point with Martin Luther, that we who teach will be judged more whose essay on “The Keys” (1530) is a strictly” (Jas 3:1). massive refutation of papal claims and The scandals of moral failure on the Roman Catholic tradition. Luther saw the part of church leaders have caused tre- keys as one of Christ’s great gifts to the mendous injury to the cause of Christ. The 23 stricter judgment should be a vivid in among you. They are godless men, who warning to those who would violate the change the grace of our God into a license Word of God and lead others into sin by for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our example. The failure of the contemporary only Sovereign and Lord” (v. 4). Similarly, church to apply consistent biblical church Peter warns, “There will be false teachers discipline has left most of these scandals among you. They will secretly introduce unresolved on biblical grounds—and thus destructive heresies, even denying the a continuing stain on the church. sovereign Lord who bought them—bring- The Bible reveals three main areas of ing swift destruction on themselves” (2 danger requiring discipline. These are Pet 2:1). fidelity of doctrine, purity of life, and unity of The church must separate itself from fellowship. Each is of critical and vital these heresies—and from the heretics! The importance to the health and integrity of permissive posture of the church in this the church. century has allowed the most heinous heresies to grow unchecked—and heretics Fidelity of Doctrine to be celebrated. Francis Schaeffer was The theological confusion and compro- among the most eloquent modern proph- mise that mark the modern church are ets who decried this doctrinal cowardice. directly traceable to the church’s failure Schaeffer emphatically denied that a to separate itself from doctrinal error and church could be a true Christian fellow- heretics who teach it. On this matter the ship and allow false doctrine. As he stated, Bible is clear: “Anyone who runs ahead “One cannot explain the explosive dyna- and does not continue in the teaching of mite, the dunamis, of the early church apart Christ does not have God; whoever con- from the fact that they practiced two tinues in the teaching has both the Father things simultaneously: orthodoxy of doc- and the Son. If anyone comes to you and trine and orthodoxy of community in the does not bring this teaching, do not take midst of the visible church, a community him into your house or welcome him. which the world can see. By the grace of Anyone who welcomes him shares in his God, therefore, the church must be known wicked work” (2 John 9-11). The apostle simultaneously for its purity of doctrine Paul instructed the Galatians that “if we and the reality of its community.”16 or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to Purity of Life you, let him be eternally condemned! As The visible community of the true we have already said, so now I say again: church is also to be evident in its moral If anybody is preaching to you a gospel purity. Christians are to live in obedience other than what you accepted, let him be to the Word of God and to be exemplary eternally condemned!” (Gal 1:8-9). in their conduct and untarnished in their The letters of 2 Peter and Jude explic- testimony. A lack of attention to moral itly warn of the dangers presented to the purity is a sure sign of congregational church in the form of false prophets and rebellion before the Lord. heretics. Jude alerts the church that “cer- Writing to the Corinthians, Paul chas- tain men whose condemnation was writ- tised them severely: ten about long ago have secretly slipped 24 Do you not know that the wicked After that, have nothing to do with him. will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the You may be sure that such a man is sexually immoral nor idolaters nor warped and sinful; he is self-condemned” adulterers nor male prostitutes nor (Titus 3:10-11). homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor A breach in the unity of the church is a slanderers nor swindlers will inherit scandal in the body of Christ. The church the kingdom of God. And that is is consistently exhorted to practice and what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, preserve a true unity in true doctrine and you were justified in the name of the biblical piety. This unity is not the false Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit unity of a lowest-common-denominator of our God (1 Cor 6:9-11). Christianity, the “Gospel Lite” preached When Christians sin, their sin is to be and taught in so many modern churches. confronted by the church in accordance Rather, it is found in the healthy and with the pattern revealed in Scripture. The growing maturity of the congregation as goal is the restoration of a sister or a it increases in grace and in its knowledge brother, not the creation of a public spec- of the Word of God. tacle. The greatest moral danger to the The ongoing function of church church is the toleration of sin, public or discipline is to be a part of individual private. Conversely, one of the greatest self-examination and congregational blessings to the church is the gift of reflection. The importance of maintaining biblical church discipline—the ministry of integrity in personal relationships was the keys. made clear by our Lord in the Sermon on the Mount as He instructed the disciples Unity of Fellowship that anger against a brother is a deadly The integrity of the church is also sin. Reconciliation is a mandate, not a dependent upon the true unity of its fel- hypothetical goal. “Therefore, if you are lowship. Indeed, one of the most repeated offering your gift at the altar and there warnings found in the New Testament is remember that your brother has some- the admonition against toleration of schis- thing against you, leave your gift there in matics. The unity of the church is one of front of the altar. First go and be recon- its most visible distinctives—and most ciled to your brother; then come and offer precious gifts. your gift” (Matt 5:23-24). The warnings about this are severe: “I Similarly, Paul warned against partici- urge you, brothers, to watch out for those pating in the Lord’s Supper amidst divi- who cause divisions and put obstacles in sions. The Supper itself is a memorial of your way that are contrary to the teach- the broken body and shed blood of the ing you have learned. Keep away from Savior and must not be desecrated by the them. For such people are not serving our presence of divisions or controversies Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By within the congregation, or by uncon- smooth talk and flattery they deceive the fessed sin on the part of individual believ- minds of naive people” (Rom 16:17-18). ers. Writing to Titus, Paul instructed that the church should “Warn a divisive person For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the once, and then warn him a second time. Lord’s death until he comes. There- 25 fore, whoever eats the bread or At the end of the twentieth century, the drinks the cup of the Lord in an un- worthy manner will be guilty of sin- great task of the church is to prove itself ning against the body and blood of to be the genuine church revealed in the the Lord. A man ought to examine New Testament—proving its authenticity himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. For anyone by a demonstration of pure faith and who eats and drinks without recog- authentic community. We must regain the nizing the body of the Lord eats and New Testament concern for fidelity of doc- drinks judgment on himself (1 Cor 11:26-29). trine, purity of life, and unity of fellow- ship. We must recover the missing mark. The “discipline of the Table” is thus one of the most important disciplinary func- ENDNOTES tions of the congregation. The Lord’s Sup- 1 “Church Discipline: The Missing Mark” per is not to be served indiscriminately, by R. Albert Mohler, Jr., is from The Com- but only to those baptized believers who promised Church, edited by John H. are under the discipline of the church and Armstrong, copyright 1998, pp. 171-187. in good standing with their congregation. Used by permission of Crossway Books, a division of Good News Publishers, The Recovery of the Third Mark Wheaton, Illinois 60187. Note that some The mandate of the church is to main- minor editorial changes were made, tain true gospel doctrine and order. A especially changes to conform the piece church lacking these essential qualities is, to this journal’s format. biblically defined, not a true church. That 2 The identification of proper discipline as is a hard thing to say, for it clearly indicts the third mark of the true church goes thousands of American congregations back at least to the Belgic Confession who long ago abandoned this essential [1561]: “The marks by which the true mark and have accommodated them- Church is known are these: If the pure selves to the spirit of the age. Fearing law- doctrine of the gospel is preached suits and lacking courage, these churches therein; if she maintains the pure admin- allow sin to go unconfronted, and heresy istration of the as instituted to grow unchecked. Inevitably, the false by Christ; if church discipline is exer- unity they seek to preserve gives way to cised in punishing of sin; in short, if all the factions that inevitably follow the things are managed according to the gradual abandonment of biblical Chris- pure Word of God, all things contrary tianity. They do not taste the true unity of thereto rejected, and Jesus Christ a church grounded on the truth and exer- acknowledged as the only Head of the cising the ministry of the keys. Church. Hereby the true Church may John Leadley Dagg, the author of certainly be known, from which no man a well-known and influential church has a right to separate himself.” “The manual of the nineteenth century, noted: Belgic Confession,” in The Creeds of “It has been remarked, that when disci- Christendom, ed. Philip Schaff, rev. David pline leaves a church, Christ goes with S. Schaff, Vol. 3 (New York: Harper it.”17 If so, and I fear it is so, Christ has and Row, 1931) 419-420. Similarly, the abandoned many churches who are bliss- Abstract of Principles of The Southern fully unaware of His departure. Baptist Theological Seminary (1858) 26 identifies the three essential marks tense indicates that as the church as true order, discipline, and wor- functions on the authority of Scrip- ship. ture, what it determines shall have 3 Gregory A. Wills, Democratic Reli- been already determined in heaven. gion: Freedom, Authority, and Church For a complete consideration of this Discipline in the Baptist South 1785- issue, see Julius Robert Mantey, 1900 (New York: Oxford University “Distorted Translations in John Press, 1997) 12. 20:23; Matthew 16:18-19 and 18:18,” 4 Philip Reiff, The Triumph of the Thera- Review and Expositor 78 (1981) 409- peutic: Uses of Faith After Freud (Chi- 416. cago: University of Chicago Press, 13John Calvin, Institutes of the Chris- 1966). tian Religion, 2 vols., ed. John T. 5 Thomas C. Oden, Corrective Love: McNeill, trans. Ford Lewis Battles, The Power of Communion Discipline Library of Christian Classics, Vol. 20 (St. Louis: Concordia, 1995) 56. (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1960) 6 James B. Twitchell, For Shame: The 1214. Loss of Common Decency in American 14Martin Luther, “The Keys,” in Culture (New York: St. Martin’s Luther’s Works (American Edition), Press, 1997) 35. ed. Conrad Bergendoff, gen. ed. 7 Ibid., 149. Helmut T. Lehmann, Vol. 40 (Phila- 8 David Blankenhorn, Fatherless delphia: Fortress, 1958) 373. America: Confronting Our Most 15Ibid. Urgent Social Problem (New York: 16Francis A. Schaeffer, “The Church Basic Books, 1995) 231. Before the Watching World,” in The 9 Mary Ann Glendon, Rights Talk: The Church at the End of the Twentieth Impoverishment of Political Discourse Century (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, (New York: Free Press, 1991). 1970) 144. 10J. Carl Laney, A Guide to Church 17J. L. Dagg, A Treatise on Church Discipline (Minneapolis: Bethany Order (Charleston, SC: The South- House, 1985) 12. ern Baptist Publication Society, 11This verse is quoted in 1 Peter 1:16 1858) 274. and is addressed to the church. All Scripture quotations are from the NIV. 12The New American Standard Bible, revised edition, is correct in trans- lating the Greek verb in the perfect tense. Any other translation of the verb tense confuses the meaning and can lead to a distorted under- standing of Jesus’ teaching. He is not stating that the church has the power to determine what shall later be decided in heaven. The verb 27