A biblical understanding of church discipline also helps us to grow. One of the unintended consequences of a church’s neglect of proper discipline is that it gets much harder to produce disciples. In an undisciplined church, examples are unclear and models are confused.
“Oh, Mr. So and So has been a member of the church for forty years, but look what he does.”
“Well, yes, but he’s on all the committees.”
Weeds are undesirable. No gardener sets out to grow weeds. They can have bad effects on the plants around them. God’s plan for the local church does not encourage us to leave weeds unchecked. (p. 196)
In most cases, church discipline involves speaking the truth in love, integrity, and courage. When the church practices church discipline, church members will then find out what is appropriate and what is not in ministry. When Paul discussed unity in the Body of Christ to the Ephesians, he said “Instead, we will hold to the truth in love, becoming more and more in every way like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church…So put away all falsehood and ‘tell your neighbor the truth’ because we belong to each other. ” (4:15, 25, emphasis mine)
The truth is where we stand on. It’s our measuring rod. It’s our written rules. It’s the norm in and through which we know what is right and wrong in community. Diversity occurs when there are no clear guidelines to follow. Unity fades away when the church leaves weeds unchecked.
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