Many Christians will no doubt be surprised, and perhaps disturbed, by this assertion. Yet it is something taught quite clearly in the Epistles. But from the outset of our brief look at the subject, we must be clear that “church discipline” (as it has come to be called) had restoration of a sinning believer in view, not jaded shunning.
The most obvious instance of this apostolic teaching is found in 1 Corinthians 5:1–5:
It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans, for a man has his father’s wife. . . . I have already pronounced judgment on the one who did such a thing. When you are assembled in the name of the Lord . . . you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.
The idea of “delivering to Satan” reflects the ancient worldview that God’s people occupied sacred space, and everywhere else was the under the control of evil. Sin belonged outside the believing community, not in it. Though sin leads to self-destruction, the goal was still that the person’s soul would be saved and that genuine repentance would come. In this case, there was a good resolution (2 Cor. 7:7–10).
Though this warning by Paul occurs in 1 Corinthians, it is actually his second admonition about this problem. In 1 Cor. 5:9 Paul says, “I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people.” Paul had written an earlier letter to the Corinthians that has been lost.
This “double warning” is actually part of a significant pattern in the New Testament. We see it elsewhere in passages relating to sin problems in churches. In his letter to Titus, Paul said, “As for a person who stirs up division, after warning him once and then twice, have nothing more to do with him” (Titus 3:10). In his first letter to the Thessalonians, Paul admonished believers who were “idle” (1 Thess. 5:14). By the time of his second epistle to the Thessalonians, the problem had not been resolved. Believers who could work to meet their own needs were still mooching off others in the church. Paul gave a second warning and an ultimatum (2 Thess. 3:6–10):
Now we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from any brother who is walking in idleness. . . . For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat.
Church discipline was not conducted flippantly. It was for the good of all concerned. Believers in sin won’t repent if no one tells the truth about their conduct.