Church Discipline.   

Matthew 18:17: And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.

These verses are dealing with church discipline. As Paul said in 1 Corinthians 5:12-13, God judges the lost, but He committed the judgment of the members of His church to the church. This discipline can be divided into three major areas.

1. In 2 Thessalonians 3:6-15, Paul dealt with what he called disorderly conduct. In that passage, he was addressing the specific problem of brothers in the Lord who refused to work and had become busybodies.

2. Paul stated that certain doctrinal issues should not be tolerated but rather disciplined (1 Timothy 1:19-20 with 2 Timothy 2:17-18). The angel (or pastor?) of the church at Thyatira was rebuked for allowing Jezebel to teach false doctrine, implying that the Lord expected him to discipline her (Revelation 2:18-29). Those who are heretics would fall into this group (Titus 3:10).

3. Sins of immorality should be dealt with by the church, as illustrated in 1 Corinthians 5.

Discipline (as the word implies) must always be for the purpose of correction and not damnation. The man whom the church at Corinth turned over to Satan for the destruction of his flesh (1 Corinthians 5) repented, and Paul instructed the believers to receive him back into fellowship (2 Corinthians 2:7-8). The scriptural commands concerning church discipline are designed to help restore the brother or sister who is in sin just as much as they are designed to protect other members of the body from that sin. If the person being disciplined repents, the objective has been achieved and no further action should be taken.
This instance spoken of in this verse would fit into the first category of discipline. It could involve any dispute among brothers or sisters (1 Corinthians 6:1-8) or disorderly conduct by one of the body. The first step is to try to work things out between the parties involved. As Jesus taught in Matthew 5:23-24, we are supposed to take the initiative in this reconciliation even if we are not to blame.

If the other person will not reconcile, then we are to take one or two other believers with us as we again try to solve the problem. This accomplishes two main things. First, it verifies all of the charges in the mouths of two or three witnesses, as God commanded, in case the matter has to be brought before the whole church. This keeps us from using church discipline to “railroad” a person we dislike. Second, it brings in the perspective of a third party. In many cases, this could solve the whole conflict because most of us have a big weakness of not being able to perceive the beams in our own eyes (see note 47 at Matthew 7:5). Having a third person present who has no vested interest is much like bringing in arbitration.

If this doesn’t solve the conflict or cause the person to repent of the disorderly conduct, then the problem should be brought before the entire church. If the entire church is united in its judgment of the situation, this should cause the offending person to repent. Most people are not so much into pride and deception to think that they are the only ones who are correct. This group pressure is very effective, especially if the person being disciplined really loves and respects the others in the church.

If there is still no repentance, then the last step is for the entire church to treat the person in rebellion as we would a lost person. That does not mean that we quit walking in love toward him or her. We are supposed to love the lost too. It does mean that we 1st, withdraw our fellowship (1 Corinthians 5:9-11 and 2 Thessalonians 3:14-15).This is so that the person will be ashamed and repent. 2nd, There is also a retaining of the person’s sins unto him or her, as Jesus spoke of in John 20:23, and that is what turning a person over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh is about.

In reference to fornication; 1 Corinthians 5:9-11 says,
-I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators:
-Yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world.
-But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolator, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat.

In reference to intersession or prayer; 2 Thessalonians 3:14-15 says:
-And if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed.
-Yet count him not as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.

My note: Have no fellowship with him. If he shows up at your church have him sit in the back and do'nt talk with, or fellowship whit him. Some people would say kick him out of the church.

Then John 20:23 says:
-Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto him; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.

Stop praying for him, least you enable him.

All of this church discipline is dependent on the church being a praying, loving, healthy church. If a church is not abounding with love among its members, withdrawing fellowship is meaningless. A person won’t miss what was never there. Also, a withdrawing of our intercession for a brother or sister, as when we turn him or her over to Satan, is meaningless if we never prayed for that person in the first place.

Church discipline today is also weakened by the division in the body of Christ. All a person who has been disciplined has to do is walk down the road and start attending another church group who will begin to fill that void of fellowship. In the first-century church, this was not the case; broken fellowship with the believers was a devastating discipline. Love and unity in the body of Christ today would restore the effectiveness of church discipline.
However limited the results of this discipline might seem to us, we are still commanded to do it. The more a church has this unity among members and an effective intercessory prayer life, the more effective the discipline will be. As related in Matthew 18:18-20, the spiritual significance of this discipline is awesome.

Matthew 18:18.
Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

This verse and Matthew 18:19 have many applications, but taken in context, they are specifically referring to the church discipline discussed in Matthew 18:15-17. Some might think that church discipline is only symbolic and carries no real weight; however, Jesus was making it clear that in the spiritual realm, discipline that is directed by the Holy Spirit has much power.

The church discipline mentioned in Matthew 18:17 is twofold. It consists first of withdrawing fellowship and second of withdrawing our intercession on others’ behalf. This second part of discipline actually goes beyond us no longer binding the demonic forces opposing those people. It actually includes us loosing them from our intercession and delivering them unto Satan for the destruction of their flesh. This is the binding and loosing being referred to in this verse.

From the contents of Paul's letter in 1 Corinthians 15, we can see some of the doctrinal issues on which Paul expected the believers to come into agreement. Church discipline, legal disputes, divorce and remarriage, not offending a weaker brother, communion, spiritual gifts, and the resurrection from the dead are issues that Paul considered non-negotiable.

We have the authority to bind demonic powers operating against our brothers, or sisters (or “remit” their sins as in John 20:23), and we also have authority to loose those same powers in their lives (“retain” - John 20:23). This is for the purpose of causing repentance and restoration.

If those in rebellion will not respond to the steps Jesus laid out in Matthew 18:15-17, we the church discipline them by not fellowshipping with them and by no longer binding the results of their sins that would normally come through the law of sowing and reaping (Galatians 6:7-8). We are actually to retain their sins unto them (John 20:23); this is the same as delivering them over to Satan (1 Corinthians 5:5 and 1 Timothy 1:19-20). That simply means we loose Satan to give them as their sins deserve in hopes that they will realize how deadly their sins are and will repent before Satan destroys them.

Proper intercession can actually keep Satan “at bay” though people are living in great sin. This is good if they use this freedom to repent and come back to God. But if they take this freedom to commit more sin, then comes a time when this form of intercession ceases to be beneficial. In that case, intercession against Satan’s attacks should be withdrawn, and we should actually retain those people’s sins unto them so that they can no longer get by without experiencing the death that sin brings (Romans 6:23). As they start reaping what they have sown, it will hopefully cause them to turn back to the goodness of God that they once enjoyed.

This is a very severe thing to do and should not be done lightly. That was why Jesus instructed us to employ these other three steps first (Matthew 18:15-17). This also should be done as a church body, thus preventing one person from trying to use binding and loosing as a form of vengeance on another member of the body. However, as Matthew 18:19 states, any two believers employing the principle of binding and loosing can do it; for according to Matthew 18:20, two believers gathered in Jesus’ name constitute a gathering of the church, and a special anointing of the Lord is present.

There are also other ways of applying these verses. One of the tragic applications is that anytime two or three believers are gathered together and fall into gossip or criticism, the same spiritual laws begin to work, many times in reverse order from what God intended. We can actually bind up the positive results of sowing and reaping in godly people and loose the attacks of Satan against them by the words we speak (Proverbs 18:21; James 3:5-6, and 9-10). Also, if we fail to lift up our brothers and sisters in intercession, we are, in effect, turning them over to Satan through our neglect. These verses reveal that heaven and earth are affected by our binding and loosing.