One hundred and fifty years ago, John Dagg suggested that “when discipline leaves the church, Christ leaves with her. “At that time, Baptists and most of the other evangelicals practiced meticulous ecclesiastical discipline. Over the next fifty years, most evangelicals abandoned the practice. For at least three generations, evangelical churches in the West have neglected this practice. Even during this period, the Lord blessed many of these churches spiritually and materially. So Dagg was right?
We think Dagg should be right, but?
- We don’t hesitate to think Dagg should be right.
- Neglecting ecclesiastical discipline is disobeying Jesus Christ.
- The Lord commands churches to exercise discipline in Matthew 18:15-17.
- As well as in many other passages of the New Testament.
- It is clear that Christ has not yet abandoned our evangelical churches.
- Although our churches have abandoned discipline.
- A fact that reminds us that there is no simple correlation between the Church’s disobedience on one side and the other.
- Spiritual rust.
- And the abandonment of Christ.
- Judges our disobedience in time and to the extent of his wisdom.
One factor that may have delayed God’s judgment is that our churches are faithful in important areas of evangelical service; Indeed, our ambition to spread the gospel has been an obstacle to obedience to Christ in matters of discipline. Many pastors and church members fear that discipeding disobedient members will result in more harm than benefits in advancing the gospel. Will he expel shameful and angry families, and this will give us a cause for mockery and displeasure among the disbelievers, who see discipline as barbaric and contrary to the ordinary?Sense of compassion Our churches neglect discipline for fear that practice will harm Christ’s cause.
But even with our virtuous motives, disobedience remains disobedience, and we will be called to account. The Lord’s mercy and patience with disobedient churches is no excuse for their disobedience. We assume based on the Lord’s mercy and are not afraid of His judgment.
The neglect of ecclesiastical discipline, however, exposes the Church to danger by other fundamental means. The loss of ecclesiastical discipline undermines the foundations of the Church itself.
Weakening the foundations of the Church
Churches that do not practice discipline weaken their regenerative character; by omitting it, they tolerate sinful behavior in their belonging and become comfortable places for the un regenerated.
Churches that do not apply discipline also weaken the sanctity of the church, as it weakens believers in their struggle against sin. Jesus gave discipline as one of the remedies of the gospel, without which our sanctification will be released. Our sinful diseases will strengthen Christians in their struggle during their lives with Satan, the world, and the flesh.
Churches that do not practice discipline subsequently weaken their spirituality, zeal, and devotion to the Savior. Discipline teaches the church to obey the Lord in an area that is unpleasant, unpleasant, and contrary to the general sensitivities of culture. the spiritual form of Christ, even when reason, compassion, and courtesy stop pretending that we should not obey; Christians, in this way, learn to trust in the wisdom of Christ rather than the wisdom of the world; they learn to obey Christ despite the uncomfortable consequences.
By neglecting discipline, we train ourselves not to take the cross, not to fear the Lord, not to suffer desperately because of Christ, and not to oppose the world. And once they are properly qualified to neglect ecclesiastical discipline, churches will lose their commitment to the gospel itself.
When the Church abandons discipline, she abandons Christ
That’s why Dagg said that when discipline leaves a church, Christ leaves with her; However, it may be more accurate to say that when a church abandons discipline, abandons Christ, churches do not intend to abandon Christ, and cannot do so altogether but by neglecting discipline, they begin to put a barrier between them and Jesus.
Moreover, the principle by which they have left discipline acts as a mother mass, working more broadly to weaken the Church’s commitment to Christ and her ability to take and follow her cross. They are increasingly conforming to the world. It’s only a matter of time before Christ leaves them.
In the New Testament, the Lord judges churches that tolerate offenses against God’s law. The sinner of the church of Corinth watched the Lord’s Supper because he tolerated immorality, division, prejudice, and contempt among members; Therefore, God visited some of them with illnesses and others with death (1Corinations 11. 30). The Greek text and context suggest that his failure was not so much a failure to recognize Christ’s presence, to “distinguish the body”, but a failure in discipline, “to judge the body?(1 Corinthians 11. 29) In all cases, there is a direct link between the Corinthian church’s tolerance of sinful behavior and God’s judgment of them.
Jesus rebuked the churches that disobeyed His commandment to faithfully practice ecclesiastical discipline. He warned the churches of Pergamon and Tiatira because they neglected ecclesiastical discipline (Revelation 2. 14-15, 20). The church of Pergamon tolerated those who kept?Teach Balaam and others who have maintained “the teaching of the Nicolaites”. The church of Tiatira tolerated false prophets, commanded them to repent, which could only be achieved through ecclesiastical discipline; we do not know what repentance for these sins of lack of discipline has spread; However, we know that Jesus finally judged these churches. abandoning them.
If we refuse to repent
If our churches refuse to repent for tolerating sin without repentance among our members, we can expect judgment; therefore, we no longer assume based on the Lord’s mercy. Can we consider the Lord’s oprobrium for the Church of the Sardinians in Revelation 3. 1-3 by our churches:
Write to the angel of the Church of the Sardinians: These things, the one who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars, say, I know your works, you have the name by which you live, and you are dead. Consolidate the rest that was about to die, because I did not find your complete works in the presence of my God, remember what you have received and heard, keep it and repent, for if you do not look I will come a thief, and you will not know at all what time I will go against you.
At the time, we’ll find out Dagg was right.