The following is a four-part series based primarily on the work of Jonathan Leeman and his book Discipline in the Church: How does the church protect the name of Jesus?(New Life). [Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4]
We live in an anti-authoritarian culture that rebels against the thought of authority and discipline, we don’t even like those words. They have very negative meanings for us. In fact, they are so intertwined with the notion of abuse that it is difficult to separate them. However, the problem is that we found these words throughout the Bible, so it would be better to find them. discover what they teach on this subject, if we want to understand it in its truer sense.
- Such a problem will raise many questions.
- Not everyone will be answered in this post.
- It’s the first of four.
- And I guess the answers you want will come later.
- So if you can.
- Wait.
- I’ll do everything I can to respond.
- Ecclesiastical discipline is such a complicated subject and it needs so much wisdom that I just want to build things slowly and safely.
- So that we are all in the same spirit.
authority
We live in a world where many different people exercise a lot of authority. The state exercises authority over its citizens through laws, etc. At home, we have parents who exercise (or not) authority over their children. The police exercise their authority. The Bible exercises authority over the Christian life. And the church? What authority, if any, should the church have in our lives?
The Church
Is the local church just a voluntary organization? Can we come and go as we please and do what we want? What do we look for in a church? Good preaching? Things for children? Does it make us feel good? When we choose a local church, how many of us do we choose based on the fact that it is a place that exercises divine discipline among its members? I’m willing to bet that thought has never crossed the minds of the overwhelming majority of worshipers in the UK today. This is because we like to think of our local church as a club or voluntary society. The idea of the Church exercising all authority over our lives makes many of us anxious. It looks like heavy grazing or some kind of behavior controlled worship. What gives the church or its leaders the right to tell someone what to do? Good question. The answer to them lies in church membership. So before we get to the nuts and bolts of discipline, in the next four articles we should spend some time learning how to handle the basics of church membership.
But before that, we must deal with the general biblical image with regard to the notion of authority.
The overall framework
Genesis 1. 27 teaches us that God created the human race to carry the image of God. It was there, in this perfect garden, that heaven and earth met like a man and God in a perfect relationship. The problem was that Adam and Eve didn’t. they behaved as they should and were therefore excluded from the garden and reaped the benefits of the kingdom of heaven. Heaven and earth lived together in Eden, then were separated after the fall. Now, instead of ruling the land, as they were created for whom has this special authority been addressed?
Matthew 4. 8-9 gives us an indication: “Then the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and its splendor. And I said, “All this I will give you, if you prostrate yourself and warn me. “
After the Fall, God instructed a special people to show their glory to the earth (Leviticus 19:2). They should have been holy and obedient. They were given the power to determine who was or was unfit for the kingdom of God (Numbers 15:30-31). By showing and protecting the holy name of God, Israel has corrected and excluded people through the use of the law. Even Israel has been separated from God because of its abuses.
Then Jesus enters the gospel of Matthew speaking of uniting heaven and earth; Jesus became the perfect, sinless bearer of God’s image; the son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being; However, as Jesus appears, the change of government is approaching. Why is Israel expelled? Matthew 23:13: O yourselves, hypocritical scribes and Pharisees, for ye close the kingdom of heaven to men; because you don’t come in, or let in those who come in!?. They close the kingdom of heaven on the faces of people. So who on earth is going to represent heaven now?Israel once represented God and his interests, who represents God on planet Earth?right now, who can people talk to in God’s name?Who can people turn to as they approach the supreme authority of the universe?
1. Matthew 3:17 😕 And behold a voice of heaven which saith, This is my beloved Son, in whom I please. Heaven confirms Jesus by assuming God’s authority on earth. Matthew 11:27: “Everything was given to me by my Father, no one knows the Son but the Father, and no one knows the Father but the Son and the One to whom the Son wants to reveal it.
2. The apostles. In Matthew 16. 6, Jesus warns the disciples not to trust the leaders of Israel. Look 13-16. When Jesus went to the area of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who said the people are the Son of Man?” And they answered: Some say: John the Baptist; others: Elias; and others: Jeremiah or one of the prophets. But you, he continued, who do you say I am? What is Peter’s response to verse 16? You are the Christ. Jesus says this in v. 17. Then we have the verse of Peter and the church. Jesus then says strange things in verse 19: “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; everything you connect on earth will have been connected in heaven; And what you disconnect on earth will have been disconnected in heaven? What does this all mean? I’ll give you the keys! Jesus transmits his authority to Peter. What authority? Make declarations for heaven that Jesus is the Christ, the Savior of the world. What does a judge? He doesn’t believe the law. Evaluate people in light of the law already revealed. That’s what the apostles must do, but the apostles are dead now. So does that authority pass to someone else?
3. La church. Matthew 1815-17:? If your brother sins [against you], he’ll discuss it between you and himself. If he listens to you, you’ve beaten your brother. However, if I do not listen to you, always take with you one or two people, so that, by the testimony of two or three witnesses, every word may be extracted; And if he does not answer them, tell him in church; and if you also refuse to listen to the church, do you consider him a Gentile and a tax collector?
We are told that when there is sin among God’s people, it must be said in the church so that this person can be removed from the covenant community. Notice the language used in v. 18: “Truly, I tell you that everything you connect on earth will have been connected to heaven, and everything you disconnect on earth will have been disconnected from heaven. What you turn on and what you turn off. The two or three gathered on your behalf act on your behalf in these matters. that the local church has authority over the keys of the kingdom. We face confessors who judge whether their confessions are real or not. Who do you say Jesus is? Therefore, we judge them as Jesus judged Peter.
Recapitulation
Adam and Eve should have reflected God, but they failed when they sinned. Israel should have reflected God, but it failed when it sinned. Jesus came as the perfect image of God and did not fail, for he never sinned. He perfectly represented the kingdom of heaven. He passed this authority on to the apostles, who passed it on to the church. So what is the task of the local church?How can we exercise our authority given by Jesus here on earth?
The local church has the power to declare to nations who belongs to Jesus and who is a citizen of heaven and who is not. We can’t make Christians, but we can declare who Christians are. When we change our passports, the person who stamps the seal?Does our seal make us citizens of this new country?No, because we already are. They simply confirm who we already are, but if the person stamping the passport is not convinced of our situation, he can refuse to seal it, this means that we can continue to live in the country, but we will have none. citizenship benefits, in terms of flights to other countries. This is similar to the authority passed on to the local church, when it comes to who is in the kingdom of God. People come to us and declare their heavenly citizenship. the church may or may not seal your spiritual passport.
Once a correct confession has been made, we baptize people and invite them to the Lord’s table; in other words, we’re not just a building or a volunteer organization, we’re much more than that. We are God’s people on earth.
This means that it is not we who say whether our conversion is authentic or not, the local church says so. To be a member of a church is to say that you are a faithful disciple of Jesus, so the Christian submits to this local organism. But what does that mean? It means more than just doing what the elders say; it means subduing each other, taking care of each other, taking care of each other, sharing life together. In Acts 2 44-45, all believers were together and had everything in common; they sold goods and goods to give to those in need; they submitted to the church and lived together. that’s how the church should work
Most Christians see the church as a place to meet their spiritual needs, but it is much more than that. We are a people who have authority and are responsible for them. That’s where discipline comes in. In this way, we shape the Christian authority over I do this for guests who visit my home while looking at me with my wife and children. What if I yell at my wife and daughters?What does the church say if it doesn’t intervene?I say that a Christian can be abusive, unless the church intervenes and says that he cannot behave in this way, in this case the witness of the church is clear about what he is and is not a Christian. If the church ignores this, then people think it’s acceptable Christian behavior. If we are ambassadors of Christ, who will withdraw our credentials when we shame the kingdom?The local organization.
That’s why membership in a church is a serious commitment and has several applications.
Therefore, we have the power to judge one another as witnesses of the gospel; we can say who is inside and who is out of the kingdom; we can make that decision because we have been given the power to do so; it’s not just the work of the elderly, it’s every member’s job. It’s a serious job, with eternal consequences. But we have God’s full authority behind us. Let’s keep that in mind when we go into the details, next time, of why discipline is really necessary in the first place.
By: Mez Mcconnell. © 2015 20Seemas. Original: Isn’t Church discipline just an excuse to control and abuse people?(1)
Translation: Eulina and Juan Siqueira. Critica: Yago Martins. © 2016 Faithful Ministério. All rights reserved. Website: MinistryFiel. com. br. Original: Authority and discipline in the local church.
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