By Mark Grace, CCCNZ Ambassador
Hei tuatoru tenei mo oku haerenga atu ki a koutou. Ma te mangai o nga kaiwhakaatu tokorua, tokotoru ranei, ka u ai nga kupu katoa.
O lona fa‘atolu lenei ‘ona ‘ou alu atu ‘iā te ‘outou. E pei ‘ona fai mai le Tusi, “O le molimau a tagata e to‘alua po o le to‘atolu e fa‘aleleia ai mea uma.”
This will be my third visit to you. “Every matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.”
2 Corinthians 13:1
Our church family has been working through 2 Corinthians chapter by chapter. Last Sunday, I preached on 2 Corinthians 13, on church discipline: the good, the bad, and the ugly.
Church discipline is when
1) church leaders use their God given authority, 2) to apply the gospel in grace and truth to sin, 3) through a just proportionate process, 4) for the restoration of individuals and the full restoration of the church.
In this chapter, Paul uses his God-given authority. Paul knows he has authority as an apostle, as one of the founders of the Christian Church. But he describes it as “the authority the Lord gave me for building you up, not for tearing you down (13:10)”. His authority was a gift from the Lord, used to encourage rather than to destroy. These boundaries mean that he must exercise authority without becoming authoritarian.
In this chapter, Paul applies the gospel with grace and truth to sin. His approach to correction in these verses flows from the gospel. He gives them many opportunities to repent, but he doesn’t just ignore their sin. He speaks truth in love.
The process is just. Contentious matters are not settled by unfounded accusations, bullying or hearsay. Credible evidence from credible sources is necessary. And the process is proportionate. The more repentant someone is, the less the process escalates (Matt 18:15–17).
The process is restorative. In verses 9 and 11, the purpose of church discipline is not punishment but restoration. The word for “restoration” in verses 9 and 11 is the same word used to describe nets being mended (Matt 4:21). The purpose of church discipline is to mend brokenness, to make people whole again. Mending the tears caused by sin in people and in church families takes time, but in the end, it is a good process.
At the end of the day, even the name “church discipline” points me straight to the cross. It reminds me that while I deserve the Lord’s ultimate discipline, God disciplined Jesus on the cross in my place instead of me.
Jesus took all of my ugly and bad and all of its consequences on himself, and he gave me his goodness instead.
The final restoration, the goal of church discipline, is a picture of the restoration we have already experienced at the cross of Jesus Christ.
