Join for our live streamed Sunday School (9:30am) and Worship Service (10:30am). You can view them HERE.

Verse By Verse Devotional On 2 Corinthians By Pastor Jack #48

June 8, 2016 | by: Jack Lash | 0 comments

Posted in: 2 Corinthians

Church Discipline: A Test of Obedience

2:9 "For to this end also I wrote, so that I might put you to the test, whether you are obedient in all things."

In 2:3-4 Paul had been explaining why he had written "the severe letter." Now in 2:9 he returns to that subject. Now we see that there was another aspect of Paul’s purpose for writing the letter instructing the Corinthians to punish this rebellious church member who had opposed him. It was to test their obedience.

Remember that their allegiance to Paul was the big issue at stake here. Not only did one man publicly oppose Paul, but the whole congregation had been cast into doubt as to whether they were going to continue looking to him as their apostle. (Even now that they have proven themselves and passed Paul’s test by disciplining this man and resubmitting to the apostle, and even though this man has himself repented, there is clearly a minority remaining who are not ready to do so.)

Paul’s command to inflict church punishment against this man served as a way of testing whether the Corinthian believers were going to reject Paul or embrace him. Would they stand with Paul or with those who opposed him? The way their vote would be cast was by either disciplining this man or not. Much to Paul’s relief, they obeyed Paul and renewed their allegiance to him.

Church discipline was not only Paul’s test of obedience for the Corinthians, it is God’s test of obedience for us. It is very tempting, especially in our day and age, to ignore the Lord’s instructions as to how to deal with unrepentant sin in the church. Many are aghast at the very thought of excluding or casting out or refusing to associate. "Who do you think you are?" is the cry of outrage in this culture that esteems toleration above God and truth.

The question is: Are we going to obey our Lord or not? Are we going to do what He told us to do, or are we going to do what seems to us like it will work best? Are we going to trust Him to bless our obedience or are we going to take matters into our own hands and do our own thing?

The issue is much bigger than one might think. It does not just apply to church leaders. It applies to every church member. Christ’s instructions in Matt.18:15-17 about what to do if you see your brother in sin are not given to church leaders, but to all of us. The church leaders don’t NEED to get involved until the last step of the process. Each of us needs to begin to act in accordance with God’s word: If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private. If he listens to you, you have won your brother. But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. This is not judgmentalism, just as it was not judgmentalism for the Corinthians to punish their problem member. It is obedience for us just as it was obedience for them. (Of course it must be done out of love and in love and with true humility, but it must be done.)

O Lord, give us the faith to obey. Give us the courage to live our lives Your way, trusting You to bless our obedience. Just as You put Abraham to the test, You often put us to the test. And You sometimes put us to the test in this matter of church discipline. Help us be faithful, Lord. Help us to believe that “You have ordained Your precepts that we should keep them diligently. How blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord . How blessed are those who observe His testimonies, who seek Him with all their heart.”

COMMENTS FOR THIS POST HAVE BEEN DISABLED.

FILTER MESSAGES BY: