| Whatsoever
Things Are True
by Dan Coburn Pastor, Emmanuel Baptist Church pastordan@mtida.net We all know God disciplines those who He loves (Hebrews 12:4-7), but the application in today's world is where it gets dicey. People often want Church leadership to "confront" someone else when they don't think someone is measuring up, but resist any suggestion that they themselves are grieving the Spirit. A dear pastor friend of mine once told me: "You can only pastor someone to the degree they will allow it", and he was right. Folks don't subject themselves to God ordained authority any more. Preachers don't preach on it cause it might appear "self aggrandizing", the result is what I have come to call - "Condemning Tolerance". The first order of business for a/the New Testament Church was/is to "preserve Doctrine". How do we do that? What is Doctrine? How do we know if it's sound? It is the Church that places itself under God's authority by submitting to God's Word, that will experience joy. Remember, Obedience is the pipeline through which God's blessings flow. Nugget: The Proclamation of God's Word is a Positive Discipline which develops correct beliefs both individually and corporately. But to what end? And what is a Negative Discipline? Well, it isn't the day to day exhortation in love, discouraging behavior which brings no glory to God. This should be our norm. It is to care enough about your brother as well as God's reputation, to rebuke (Eph. 5:11). Nugget: If we did this on a sustained basis, Church Discipline would almost never be needed. Listen now, I need brothers and sisters who love me enough to call me out when I'm wrong. I don't get that from the world; in fact, the world works overtime to draw me away from the narrow path. What it is: = Serious unrepentant sin within the Church which effects the whole fellowship and therefore must be dealt with in a biblically prescribed manner. We'll sort this out in the days to come as we lay out - The Purpose; The Provocation; The Process and The Product (result) of Church Discipline. Like it or hate it, most or all of your questions will be answered. God Bless. |
|