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Spiritual Maturity Training Weekend 2 – Session 2

Spiritual Maturity Training Weekend 2 – Session 2. Core Doctrines and Church Life. Church discipline in the early church. 1. Public Rebuke. 1 Timothy 5:20. Action – The person was brought before the entire church or house church and their sin was shared with the congregation.

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Spiritual Maturity Training Weekend 2 – Session 2

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  1. Spiritual Maturity TrainingWeekend 2 – Session 2 Core Doctrines and Church Life

  2. Church discipline in the early church

  3. 1. Public Rebuke • 1 Timothy 5:20 • Action – The person was brought before the entire church or house church and their sin was shared with the congregation. • Occasion – First, a person would be talked with privately concerning their sin. If they did not respond and repent, then they were publicly rebuked before the church. This was not an uncommon occurrence; the church engaged in this regularly. • Purpose – The purpose was to engage the entire church in prayer, watchfulness, love, grace, and help for the person. They believed that they were truly family and all members of God’s kingdom so their lives were “open books” to one another. • Follow-up – After a public rebuke, the entire church, as each did their part, engaged in praying for and helping the person overcome their sin.

  4. 2. Treat as a Gentile or Tax Collector • Matthew 18:17 • Action – The person was still allowed to come around the body but not participate as a member-in-good-standing. The big thing to understand here is what Jesus meant by treating people as Gentiles and tax collectors. Jesus loved them and called them to repentance—he didn’t refuse fellowship with them. • Occasion – This step followed a public rebuke that was not heeded. It was a “probationary” time, so to speak. There was never a specific sin list as to what sins qualified for this or the next step and was left to the discretion of the church leaders. • Purpose – This was a time when the community attempted to specifically disciple a person back to full discipleship of Jesus. • Follow-up – The person in this situation was not allowed to participate in the sacred functions of the community but was still accepted at worship functions and not separated physically from the community. Things in our day that would fall into that category would be things such as studying the Bible with someone; public prayer; preaching & teaching, etc. The early church also might ban someone at this level from participating in the taking of the Lords’ Supper. This time for the early church could last from a matter of weeks to ten years.

  5. 3. Withdrawn • 1 Corinthians 5:11; 2 Thessalonians 3:14 • Action – The person was withdrawn from coming to any formal gatherings of the body or participating in any aspects of the family life of the church. • Occasion – If a member continued in their sin, would not repent of it, and it became clear that they either did not take the sin, the church, or God seriously or it was deemed that they had grown so hardened to their sin that the church could no longer help them towards repentance then this step was undertaken. • Purpose – This period of withdrawing was not a punishment in the strictest sense of the word. It was a drastic step to cause the person to feel the sting of losing their family and to shock them into the realization of how serious their sin was. The goal was always to lead the person to repentance and salvation. This was never done in a harsh manner but was a loving action of last resort. This step was not taken lightly. • Follow-up – The person was barred from meetings of the body but the church could still maintain some contact. People didn’t typically seek the person out and they were not to engage in social engagements or functions of the church such as prayer and Bible study but the church was not barred from speaking to the person, loving them, praying for them, or occasionally letting them know that they loved them and wished to have them restored soon. The act of officially restoring the person to the body was undertaken by the leadership and that was strictly respected by the church.

  6. 4. Marking • 2 John 1:11 • Action – The body was not to have a person in their home, talk with them, or have any contact of any kind. • Occasion – This drastic step was taken only in cases of false teachers who were determined to spread false doctrine/false religion among the body of believers. • Purpose – This action was taken to protect the body from false doctrines and false religions and so they were to have no contact with such a person. • Follow-up – There was no follow or contact with anyone in the church unless the person went to the leadership and specifically repented from their false doctrine (a very rare occurrence). If they did, they might eventually be trusted and treated under the parameters of level 3 while being restored.

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