This is the fourth and final part of a series of articles on the difficult subject of ecclesiastical discipline. Is it 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]
What is catering? It is simply the church declaring forgiveness and reaffirming citizenship in the kingdom of God, as Paul describes it in 2 Corinthians 2. 6-8. It seems that most of the church voted to punish this person and now Paul asks them to reaffirm their love for him.
- Forgiveness is at the heart of the restoration process.
- As John 20:23 says.
- Once the restoration has been accepted.
- We must go ahead and celebrate the return of our prodigal son.
On some level, we have to see fruits. There was a man in Niddria who was excluded from our church. We removed him from membership and fraternity over dinner and publicly told our community that, as a local church, we no longer validate his claim to be a Christian. living with me (preferably to be homeless) and attend Sunday services. What was going on there? Well, he was still under ecclesiastical discipline, he could not be a member, and he was not invited to dinner, he had expressed remorse and sorrow, so we took him home, as an experiment, until we saw evidence of fruits in his life that he agreed with the total repentance of the Holy Ghost; it was in the process of being restored to communion, but this had not yet happened; we were not yet ready to publicly declare that his confession of Christ was real and authentic (unfortunately, he loved drugs more than Jesus and is no longer with us).
Sometimes, however, restoration is simple. A man leaves his wife for another woman and returns. Sometimes it’s complicated, as in the case of addictions or people with mental health problems.
Should we receive people who have been expelled from other churches?They can come and worship in our church, as long as they do not bring division, but they cannot become members as long as there are problems with other congregations. Here are some scenarios:
Joseph is a deacon in the church and has shared with some men his doubts about faith. Turns out his wife shared with one of the women Joseph was committing adultery, he has done it more than once. The elders met with him to tell him to stop, but he’s not interested, he’s considering leaving his wife.
Marcellus is a long-time member of the church who confessed to having spent an inappropriate night with a worker, they drank at a company party and one thing led to another, he feels bad about it.
Should Joseph and Marcellus be excluded? If so, how quickly should it happen?If not, why not?
Assessing the level of repentance is the key to these situations. How do you react to the confrontation of sin?Have you shown what Paul in 2 Corinthians 7:11 calls God’s sadness?A determination not to sin anymore. ? Or are they just excuses and?
Jessica was addicted to online bingo and spent more and more time online and on the local show. She had apps on her phone and was involved in many online game forums and discussions. When she became a Christian, she stopped doing it, but lately she’s come back. Some people in the church knew she had done this, but they didn’t seem so upset. No one confronted her seriously, so she didn’t feel so bad about it. Then, one day, having a coffee, an older lady from the church confronted her for her behavior and she was very angry. Who did he think he was? Anyway, it wasn’t so bad, I had an old friend who was worse than her. Now she was addicted, but inside she knew that the old lady was right and accepted some responsibility, at first she worked and worked very hard to behave, but she was indebted, she was trapped in a game cycle, feeling bad, stopping and then starting over.
Should the Church impose ecclesiastical discipline on Jessica?If so, why and how?
What sin are you committing? Certainly mismanagement; and their sin affects others, if he continually borrows them to pay their debts. It seems that this has become an idol in his life and certainly prevents him from offering generously for the work of the gospel in his church. person under the control of his desire to play. Is all this enough to exclude him?
This seems to be a slow boil, given the story before I knew Christ. She certainly behaves the way described in Proverbs 26. 11, like a dog returning to his vomit. At some point in the process, it would be good to make sin public. simply to prevent people from lending you money, praying for it and confronting its behavior.
Luciana begins to go to church and looks good at first, loves communion and decides to make her her home, however, she soon begins to meet other immature members of the church and begins to chat with them and advises them to read and listen. the useless Christian literature of well-known false teachers. When confronted, she becomes aggressive and accuses the church of a hard flock. He began spreading gossip and lies about church leaders and began to have a bad influence on new converts. he applied to become a member of the church, but the elders again expressed concern about his behavior. She starts telling anyone who wants to hear that the church is chasing her. He won’t listen to reason.
How should the church react to such a person?
We must be on guard against the wolves in the church. I warn every new convert who comes to the NCC that all who claim to be disciples of Christ are not, so they should be careful who they listen to. -31 takes effect here. Even if that person is not a member, we would also like members to know that they are a wolf among us. We ask you to treat her like an ungodly and not be fooled by what she says. We cannot exercise ecclesiastical discipline over a person. non-member, so that is the scope of our authority.
Leonardo has been a Christian for two years and his wife has been in church for a while. Unfortunately, she was excluded for playing and chatting in church. Leonardo agreed with the church’s decision, but now he has found 1 Corinthians 5. 11 that says: He should not even eat with such a person and does not know what to do. She’s still your wife after all.
How should Leonardo treat his wife in this case?
Leonardo must love his wife according to 1 Corinthians 7 and Ephesians 5, regardless of whether she was disciplined or not, he must love and honor his wife, but you must treat her as a disbeliever and try to bring her back to Christ for her love. and bear witness to it.
None of these questions are easy and there are no quick answers, we must pray for wisdom and always treat people in a spirit of reconciliation, however sometimes this is not possible and in such cases we must act with determination, we must pray for wisdom. in all these matters.
As for the rest, my brothers, bye! Perfect yourself, comfort yourself, thirst for the same opinion, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you (2 Corinthians 13. 11)
By: Mez McConnell. © 2015 20Seemas. Original: What do we do if an excommunicated member of another church shows up for our services (and other questions)?
Translation: Eulina and Juan Siqueira. Review :: Yago Martins. © 2016 Faithful Ministérium. All rights reserved. Website: MinistryFiel. com. br. Original: Members excluded from other churches: how to treat them?
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