The Discipline of the LORD

Of all the accusations that are leveled against those who hold to the Biblical teaching of the doctrine of universal reconciliation, perhaps the most prevalent, is that we do not believe in punishment. This is patently untrue. Divine judgment is repleat in the scriptures; we just do not believe that judgement will be eternal. "Will not the Judge of the whole earth do right?" This was the question that Abraham posed to the angel who was about to destroy Sodom and Gommorah. The answer was a resounding, YES! The punishment fit the crime. Yet we discover through the pen of the prophet Ezekiel 16:55 that Sodom and her sisters (cities) will be restored at the same time that Israel is restored. Read it for yourself. Judgment is terrible - but it is not eternal.

The Discipline of the LORD

In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons: "My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son."
Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. Hebrews 12:4-11

In this study we want to learn about the loving discipline God our Father shows to his children. In 1 John 3:1 we read, "How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!" If we are children of God, then God is our Father. This means he loves us as his true children and it also means that he disciplines us as a father disciplines the children he loves.

The Greek word for discipline is paideuô, from which we have paideia, discipline, and paideutês, one who disciplines. Paideuô comes from the root word pais, which means a child, and deuô, which means to be together with a child. Thus, discipline involves not only correcting through punishment but also teaching and training by parents as they spend time with their children. Children are taught not only by the words of their parents but also by the examples of their lives, which they are then to imitate. As children of God, we are to imitate our heavenly Father, as the apostle Paul says in Ephesians 5:1, "Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love."

What is the goal of the discipline God administers to his children? It is the formation of holy character through the knowledge of God received from the Holy Scriptures, which alone are able to make us wise unto salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.


The Author of Discipline

1.The first point I want to make is that Hebrews 12:5-11 is the classic passage about discipline in the New Testament. The Greek word paideuô appears many times in its various forms in that passage. As we begin this study, let us then summarize what we learn about discipline from this passage.

2. The author of discipline is the Lord. All authority comes from God; thus, whenever parents or the church or the state discipline, they are disciplining in behalf of the Lord.

3. Discipline involves both teaching and punishment for the sake of correcting.

4. The punishment of discipline is a visible demonstration of our Father’s love for us.

5. The designated recipient of the full-orbed discipline of God--the teaching, training and punishment described in this passage--is every child of God.

6. Every son of God ought to endure, not avoid, the discipline of God. When God disciplines us, we must accept it, feel it, and learn from it.

7. No discipline in the short term is pleasant to the one who receives it. In fact, discipline in the short term is often painful.

8. All discipline from the Lord, in the long term, is very profitable. Hebrews 12:11 says the Lord’s discipline, in the long term, produces a harvest of righteousness and peace.

9. Because all discipline from the Lord is profitable to us, the heavenly Father pays no attention to the short-term unpleasantness of the pain we experience. What happens when our chlidren resist discipline by crying, weeping, moaning, and jumping up and down? Often we human parents melt and discontinue administering the discipline. But God the Father is not like us. He will never be influenced by a temper tantrum, and he will discipline us as he sees fit.

10. The Father administers discipline to every son of his. It is the job of our heavenly Father to discipline his children, and he is faithful to perform his job.

11. The ultimate good of the discipline administered by our heavenly Father is that we may share in his holiness and be made like him--holy and blameless--and that we may produce a harvest of righteousness. I interpret the phrase "a harvest of righteousness" to mean good works or acts of obedience to God. Ephesians 2:10 tells us we are created unto good works which God has foreordained that we should walk in them.

The highest blessing a creature can experience is to be at peace with God and have fellowship with him. Only through the loving discipline of our heavenly Father are we made fit to be in his presence. This is why we must study this subject of God’s discipline.


God’s Manual of Discipline

The second point we must understand is that we have a manual of discipline given to us by God. Just as the Qumran community had a manual of discipline by which the whole community was governed, we also have a book, the Holy Scriptures, in which divine teaching about discipline is embodied.

We find reference to God’s book of discipline in the account of the temptation of Jesus. Jesus Christ lived under God’s discipline, and when he was tempted by the devil in the wilderness, he referred to the Scriptures to counter the devil’s temptations. For example, when the devil told him to make bread out of stone, Jesus responded by quoting Deuteronomy 8:3, "Man does not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of God."

The Bible is the manual of discipline for us as it was for the Lord Jesus Christ. In 2 Timothy 3:16 Paul says, "All Scripture, is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness. . . ." Here we find the same word, paideian or "training," that we found in the book of Hebrews. In the Greek we read the phrase, pros paideian tên en dikaiosunê, meaning "for discipline, or training, in the area of righteousness." In Titus 2:11-12 Paul writes, "For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us. . . ." The word form here is paideuousa, again taken from the word paideuô. This passage teaches that the grace of God is continually training, disciplining, and teaching us. What is it teaching us? ". . . to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ."

Thus, God has given us a book in which we discover his discipline, and it is very important that we look into it and do what it says.

God’s Discipline Includes Punishment

The third point I want to emphasize is that God’s discipline includes punishment. In Luke 23:16, 22 we find this word paideuô used to mean "to punish" or "to whip." When Pilate said he would discipline Jesus and let him go, what he was really saying was, "I will have my soldiers whip him."

In Hebrews 12:6 we read, "because the Lord disciplines [paideuei] those he loves, and he punishes [mastigoi] everyone he accepts as a son." Here we find the Greek word mastigoiô, which means "to whip," or "to scourge" being used as a parallel for discipline. In 1 Corinthians 11:32 Paul says, "When we are judged, we are being disciplined by the Lord. . . ." Here we find the word paideuometha, taken from the verb paideuô, meaning "we are being punished or disciplined."

I hope that we will understand something about the way our Father loves us. When his people disobey him and reject his teachings, the Lord of the covenant deals with them. We read something about this loving discipline of our God in Leviticus 26, beginning with verse 14: "But if you will not listen to me and carry out all these commands, and if you reject my decrees and abhor my laws, and fail to carry out all my commands and so violate my covenant, then I will do this to you: I will bring upon you sudden terror, wasting diseases and fever that will destroy your sight and drain away your life." God will deal with us in our bodies, in other words, if necessary, to discipline us.

Not only does God deal with us in our bodies, but he will also touch our economics and security. "You will plant seed in vain, because your enemies will eat it. I will set my face against you so that you will be defeated by your enemies; those who hate you will rule over you, and you will flee even when no one is pursuing you."

What happens if God’s people do not respond to his discipline after he touches their bodies and economics? In verse 18 God continues, "If after all this you will not listen to me, I will punish you for your sins seven times over. I will break down your stubborn pride and make the sky above you like iron and the ground like bronze. Your strength will be spent in vain, because your soil will not yield its crops, nor will the trees of the land yield their fruit."

What if there is still no response? In verse 21 God says, "If you remain hostile toward me and refuse to listen to me, I will multiply your afflictions seven times over, as your sins deserve." In verse 24 he says, "I myself will be hostile toward you and will afflict you for your sin seven times over."

God knows how much pressure he must put on us when we need to change. He will start with a little but he will increase the pressure if we do not respond to his discipline. In verse 27 God says again, "In spite of this, if you still do not listen to me but continue to be hostile toward me, then in my anger I will be hostile toward you, and I myself will punish you for your sins seven times over."

David also spoke of the pressure of God’s discipline. In Psalm 32:3 David said, "When I kept silent," meaning after he had sinned, he told God, "I will not repent! I will not confess! I will not own my sin!" How did God respond to David’s arrogance and hardheartedness? He applied more pressure. David continues in verse 4, "My bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer." The physical disease and psychological trauma David was experiencing was punishment from God himself. It was evidence of God’s love toward his son David, telling him that he would not tolerate such foolishness and hostility toward him.

God Is Not Nice

When we read passages such as Leviticus 26 and Psalm 32, I think we may begin to see God a little differently than we have before. My fourth point, then, is that the author of this discipline, God himself, is not nice.

I am sure most of us think that God is always nice, but he is not nice, as we understand niceness. He is a mighty Savior whose arms are strong, both to judge his enemies and save his people. That is why we read in 1 Corinthians 11:32, "If we are judged, we are being disciplined [punished] by the Lord," meaning the Lord of the church, Jesus Christ.

When we became Christians, we confessed Jesus is Lord and surrendered ourselves to him, saying, "You are Lord of my entire life." Whether we did or not, Jesus took our confession very seriously, and so when he deals with us, he does so as our Lord. As we said before, Hebrews 12:6 very clearly tells us that the Lord disciplines and punishes--whips--those he loves. Our God is all-holy as well as all-gracious. As we realize this, may we tremble in our spirits and demonstrate some respect for this holy God--the only true God--whom we serve!

Satan: God’s Agent for Discipline

The fifth point is that sometimes God uses Satan to punish his church. In 1 Corinthians 5 we read about a man who was a believer, but who was living incestuously with his father’s wife. Perhaps this man was very rich and powerful and thought he could do whatever he wanted. If the church had warned him, he probably was not listening to its warnings, and it is questionable whether the church was even doing anything about this situation.

When the matter was reported to Paul, he became extremely angry and counseled the church to exercise its God-given authority in the name and power of the Lord and deal with this man. In 1 Corinthians 5:4-5 Paul writes, "When you are assembled in the name of our Lord Jesus and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present, hand this man over to Satan."
You see, Satan is against God, but he is only a creature who must do God’s bidding. Jesus Christ is Lord, and he uses Satan to deal with the church. John Calvin once said, "Christ rules in the church. Outside, in God’s will, the god of this age, Satan, rules." When the church expels a person, he is handed over to the authority of Satan, whose job it is to steal, kill, and destroy. Satan cannot save anyone, but he is able to destroy, and he does so as an agent of God’s discipline.

God uses Satan to discipline his people, not only when the church expels them but also when the church fails to expel them. God will discipline his people, whether the church does it or not.
In any church there are people that are put out and others who just go away. It doesn’t matter. God hands such people over to Satan because Satan is the agent that God uses to discipline and punish his wayward sons and daughters.

What is the purpose of handing someone over to Satan? Paul continues, "so that the sinful nature may be destroyed." I interpret this idea of the destruction of the flesh to mean that when Satan deals with you, you first begin to feel weak, then you get sick, and then you experience what I call third-degree punishment, which is temporal death. In other words, physical death may be effected by God in a Christian through God’s agent of discipline, Satan.

The results of this "handing over" yielded the desired results. We read the outcome of this in 2 Corinthians 2:5-12. The sinner was restored to fellowship.

In 1 Timothy 1:19-20 Paul speaks about two heretics, Hymenaeus and Alexander. In verse 20 Paul says he handed them over to Satan that they would be taught not to blaspheme. Satan is a teacher under God’s sovereign ordination, and when he works on someone, that person will learn a few things.

The first chapters of the book of Job speak of God’s use of Satan as an agent in his people’s lives. In Job 2:5 Satan said to God, "But stretch out your hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse you to your face." This was not a situation in which Job did something wrong; rather, it was a test of Job’s integrity. But here we see Satan asking God if he could act against Job. God is sovereign; no one can do anything without his permission.

In verse 6 we read, "The Lord said to Satan, ‘Very well, then, he is in your hands." God was handing Job over to Satan’s authority and domain. Then God adds, "But you must spare his life." In other words, Satan always works within the limited authority granted to him by God.
God even used Satan to take care of the apostle Paul. In 2 Corinthians 12 Paul says that a messenger of Satan was sent to deal with him so that he would not become conceited.

The Extent of God’s Discipline

The sixth point we want to discuss is the extent to which our God will go to exercise his loving discipline in our lives. God loves us with such eternal, everlasting, and unfathomable love that he will do whatever is necessary to discipline us, even if it means killing our physical bodies.
We read about this aspect of God’s discipline in 1 Corinthians 11:30. The Corinthian church had all kinds of problems, including quarrels and divisions. These were reported to the apostle Paul by members of Chloe’s household, as we read in 1 Corinthians 1:11. Then Paul received a report that many people in this church were weak and sick, and that many had died. When Paul heard about these problems of the Corinthian church, he received the revelation that there was sin in the church. In 1 Corinthians 11:30 Paul writes, "That is why many of you are weak"--the Greek word is astheneis, meaning without strength--"and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep," meaning they died.

Paul was alluding to various degrees of God’s discipline being exercised in the church of Corinth. What is the first degree? Weakness, having no strength. If you are experiencing this degree of discipline, you may say, "I don’t know what it is, but I have this syndrome. I just don’t feel good or have any energy." What is the second degree? Physical sickness. When we are sick, especially for a prolonged time, we must examine ourselves and see if God is disciplining us in this way. What is the third degree? Death. That is the final extent to which our great God who loves us will go to deal with our sin.

Thus, when God disciplines us, we may experience temporary discipline, which includes weakness and sickness, or terminal discipline, which is death. Paul speaks of this not only in 1 Corinthians 11:30 but also 1 Corinthians 5:5, where he instructs the church to "hand this man over to Satan" for two purposes: first, for destruction of his flesh; and, second, for God’s gracious purpose of saving his spirit.

When a person dies because of terminal discipline, do we find that reason mentioned in the coroner’s report? No. The report will merely state that the person died of a heart attack or some other physical cause. But as believers we can be assured that God’s Fatherly chastisement factored into his death. Remember, "the wages of sin is death."

The Example of Ananias and Sapphira

We find several examples of this type of loving, terminal discipline of God in the Bible. In Acts 5 we read about Ananias and Sapphira, who were members of the early church. I believe they were children of God, and, in fact, the name Ananias means, "God is gracious." But Ananias lied to the apostle Peter about the price of some land he had sold, and in so doing he lied to the Holy Spirit, as we are told in Acts 5:3. God will not permit a child of his to get away with such sin, so in Acts 5:5 we read that Ananias fell down and died in the presence of the church. This was terminal discipline, the destruction of his flesh.

Three hours after Ananias died, Sapphira came to the church and Peter asked her, "Tell me, is this the price you and Ananias got for the land?" She had agreed with Ananias ahead of time to lie, so she answered, "Yes, that is the price." What happened? Like her husband, Sapphira fell down and died. She also experienced terminal discipline.

The Example of Nadab and Abihu

In Leviticus 10 we read about two sons of Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, who, together with Moses and Aaron and the elders of Israel, had ascended Mount Sinai and seen God--that is, the goodness and glory of God, in some measure--and worshiped him. Yet in Leviticus 10:1 we read that they offered unauthorized fire before the Lord and they died. The Bible does not tell us what offering unauthorized fire means, but maybe these priests were drunk when they came into God’s presence, or maybe they offered the wrong type of fire, or maybe they did what only the high priest was authorized to do. Whatever they did, in verse 2 we read that fire came from the presence of God and consumed Nadab and Abihu along with their sacrifices. Nadab and Abihu experienced terminal discipline.

The Example of the People of Israel

In the book of Numbers we read about God disciplining an entire nation with third-degree, terminal discipline. In Numbers 1 we read that a census was taken of all the males of Israel, twenty years old or more, and the total was 603,550. But in Numbers 14 God made the shocking declaration that he was going to kill all of these men except two because the entire nation had grumbled against God.

Let me remind you: God is sovereign and not nice as we understand niceness. God is not like us—thank him for that! God will do everything he promises to do, including saving us, and he will save us by whatever means necessary.

In Numbers 14:29-30 we read, "In this desert your bodies will fall—every one of you, twenty years old or more who was counted in the census and who has grumbled against me. Not one of you will enter the land I swore with uplifted hand to make your home, except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun." That is a lot of killing--603,548 men dying in the desert! Remember, these were God’s own people whom he had redeemed from Egypt.

May God give us a holy fear of him! You may be sinning right now. God has been dealing with you all the time, but you are saying, "No, it’s all right. God is nice He won’t punish me." That is wrong thinking. Over half a million people—God’s people—were destroyed because of their sin of grumbling.

Not only did God kill almost all of the people of Israel in that generation, but he also killed their leaders--Miriam, Aaron, and Moses. Why? Because of their sin. Don’t tell me that God was unable to bring all these people into the Promised Land. He could have brought them in, but he said, "No." The discipline of the Lord is serious business.

The Example of Achan

In Joshua 7 we read about a man named Achan, who had come out of the wilderness, crossed the river Jordan, and helped conquer the city of Jericho with the armies of Israel. But Achan had a problem. He was told before he went into Jericho that everything in Jericho was devoted to the Lord and that no one should take any of it for plunder. But when Achan saw two hundred shekels of silver, a fifty-shekel wedge of gold, and a beautiful Babylonian garment, he coveted these items, he took them, and hid them. Achan did not confess his sin until he was identified as the one who had taken the things devoted to the Lord. By then it was too late, and Achan was disciplined by the Lord.

What was the discipline God administered to Achan? He was killed. Not only that, his wife, children, cattle, and everyone associated with him was also destroyed because they were all engaged in this sin with Achan. In Joshua 7:24-26 we read: "Then Joshua, together with all Israel, took Achan son of Zerah, the silver, the robe, the gold wedge, his sons and daughters, his cattle, donkeys and sheep, his tent and all that he had, to the Valley of Achor. Joshua said, ‘Why have you brought this trouble on us? The Lord will bring trouble on you today.’ Then all Israel stoned him, and after they had stoned the rest, they burned them."

Let me make one point: The severity of this punishment doesn’t mean Achan and his family went to hell. God metes out such severe discipline so that the spirits of his children may be saved on the day of the Lord Jesus. He may kill us so that we can be saved. May the discipline meted out to Achan inspire us to have a healthy, reverential attitude toward our all-holy God!

The Example of Uzzah

In 2 Samuel 6 we find David bringing the ark back to Jerusalem. The Bible speaks of a certain way in which the ark should be transported. The Kohathites were to carry it and no one was supposed to look into it. But neither David nor anyone else had studied the Bible to find this out, so instead of having the Kohathites carry the ark, David and the priests put it on a cart. All of a sudden the oxen stumbled and Uzzah, who was walking behind the ark, grabbed the ark to steady it.

What happened to Uzzah? He was killed instantly. In 2 Samuel 6:7 we read, "The Lord’s anger burned against Uzzah because of his irreverent, un-informed act; therefore, God struck him down and he died there beside the ark of God." This was the severe discipline of Uzzah by God.

Some may think Uzzah’s punishment was too much since he acted out of ignorance. Yet our scriptures inform us, "My people perish for lack of knowledge." Ignorance is not a viable excuse when information is available to give us a full-understanding. And may I remind you, gentle reader, that the scriptures were available which told how to handle the ark. Regrettably, no one read them! When knowledge is not available - such as in the case of our Master's declaration, "Father forgive them for they know not what they do" - provision is made. I trust that our Father answered that prayer. Our God is 'The Great God' and his love is so great that he will save us, even if he has to kill us. He did not spare his only-begotten son, do we believe that he will do any less for us?

The Man of God from Judah

In 1 Kings 13 we read about a man of God from Judah who was sent by the word of the Lord to Samaria to pronounce judgment upon Jeroboam and his altar. God told this man to let Jeroboam know that three hundred years in the future a king named Josiah would come and destroy the altar. God also told this man of God, "When you go there, just do the job. Don’t eat bread, don’t drink water, and don’t come the same way you went."

The man of God went to Bethel, spoke to Jeroboam, and was returning home as directed by God when a false prophet approached him and told him an angel had given him a different word about eating and drinking. The man of God believed the false prophet, went to his house and ate with him. But after the man of God left the false prophet’s house, God sent a lion to kill him for his disobedience. First Kings 13:24 tells us, "As he went on his way, a lion met him on the road and killed him, and his body was thrown down on the road, with both the donkey and the lion standing beside it." The idea is that the lion did not attack the prophet in the natural way. God was behind the death of this prophet.

This man of God was punished with terminal punishment in this temporal world.
I hope we will tremble when we begin to understand the nature of our holy God. We must realize that sin is a serious issue. It is the reason God did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all, delivering him over to the death of the cross. In the same way, if we are sinning, God will deal with us in his merciful judgment to save us from our sins.

Purposes of God’s Discipline

The seventh point is that God’s discipline, severe as it can be, is purposeful. What are the purposes for God’s discipline?

1. Our redemption in the age to come. First Corinthians 11:32 tells us, "When we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world." Our redemption is the first purpose of God’s severe discipline. In 1 Corinthians 5:5 Paul instructs, "Hand this man over to Satan, so that the sinful nature may be destroyed and his spirit saved"--the Greek word is sozô--"on the day of the Lord," that is, when Jesus Christ comes again.

2. Our reformation in this age. In 1 Timothy 1:20 Paul says he handed Hymenaeus and Alexander over to the devil that they could be taught not to blaspheme, meaning that they would get rid of their heresy and come to believe in the gospel truly.

3. The protection of the church. God disciplines the members of his church so that others in the church will not be polluted and corrupted by the evil of that person. This is a serious issue. God wants his church to be holy and pure, and if there is someone in the church who is evil, then God deals with that person severely so that the rest of the church will be kept safe and pure.

4. A safeguard against pride. In 2 Corinthians 12 Paul says he was given a messenger of Satan, a thorn in his side, to prevent him from becoming conceited because of the great revelation that God had given him.

5. A warning for others. The final purpose of God’s discipline is to warn others in such a severe way that their ears will tingle. When we hear of the extent to which God will go to discipline his people, including to kill them, we may be shocked and unwilling to believe that God would do things like that. But it serves as a warning to us to obey God.

As we read in Acts 5, both Ananias and his wife Sapphira were killed in the midst of the church, and twice we are told great fear came on the church. The church becomes serious in her attitude toward God when he exercises his severe discipline.

We know that God is loving, gracious, and kind, but there is another side to him. He is truly a heavenly Father who will discipline his children. Peter understood that the family of God was not exempt from divine dealings, and in 1 Peter 4:17 he writes, "For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God?"

Conclusion

In conclusion, let me remind you that our God, the God of the Bible, is not "nice" as people today think of niceness. Today we are living at a time of pluralism in which every ideology is considered equally valid and nothing is condemned. But God alone is true, and he has rules and regulations to which we must submit. As our King, he will deal severely with all our sins, transgressions, and iniquities.

But not only is our God not "nice," he is also a mighty Savior who is committed to saving his people from their sins. He will discipline his children as severely as necessary so that they may share in his holiness and experience a harvest of righteousness and peace. God has a long-term view, and he will do everything necessary to bring us to himself. In Jude 24-25 we read, "To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy—to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen."

If God determines we need discipline, he may use Satan to touch our livelihood and touch our bodies. We may become weak, we may become sick, and we may even physically die, as we read in 1 Corinthians 11:30. But even in that verse we can find great comfort, as the word Paul uses for "fall asleep," or die, is a word used only with reference to the death of a believer. That is why we can say God may kill you to save you. And as we said before, God exercises this discipline "so that we will not be condemned with the world." The word for "condemned" is katakrinô, which is also used in Romans 8:1, where Paul writes, "Therefore now there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus."

Finally, we must remember that God’s discipline demonstrates his great love for us. He purposed to save us, he has saved us, and he will save us. We are secure in the hand of our Savior. Nothing in all creation can separate us from the love of God.

What About You?

Maybe you are playing games with God, hoping that you can get away with your sin. Galatians 6:7 tells us, "Do not be deceived; God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows." I hope you will put away all foolishness and silliness, and approach God with fear and trembling, as well as with great thanksgiving and praise. I pray that you will ask God to do a work in your heart, that you will forsake evil and follow Jesus Christ with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength.

But if you refuse, I give you this fair warning: You are one of God’s children, you will not move out of his grip. He will use all means that he has at his disposal to bring you to himself.

May God have mercy upon us, forgive us all our sins, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. May the Spirit of the living God work in us such a mighty work that we may be holy and blameless, that we may dwell in God’s presence forever. Amen.

Banned From Church

Banned From Church

Reviving an ancient practice, churches are exposing sinners and shunning those who won't repent.

By ALEXANDRA ALTER
January 18, 2008; Page W1 Wall Street Journal

On a quiet Sunday morning in June, as worshippers settled into the pews at Allen Baptist Church in southwestern Michigan, Pastor Jason Burrick grabbed his cellphone and dialed 911. When a dispatcher answered, the preacher said a former congregant was in the sanctuary. "And we need to, um, have her out A.S.A.P."

Half an hour later, 71-year-old Karolyn Caskey, a church member for nearly 50 years who had taught Sunday school and regularly donated 10% of her pension, was led out by a state trooper and a county sheriff's officer. One held her purse and Bible. The other put her in handcuffs.

The charge was trespassing, but Mrs. Caskey's real offense, in her pastor's view, was spiritual. Several months earlier, when she had questioned his authority, he'd charged her with spreading "a spirit of cancer and discord" and expelled her from the congregation. "I've been shunned," she says.

Her story reflects a growing movement among some conservative Protestant pastors to bring back church discipline, an ancient practice in which suspected sinners are privately confronted and then publicly castigated and excommunicated if they refuse to repent. While many Christians find such practices outdated, pastors in large and small churches across the country are expelling members for offenses ranging from adultery and theft to gossiping, skipping service and criticizing church leaders. [...]

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"After these things the Lord appointed seventy others also, and sent them two by two before His face into every city and place where He Himself was about to go. Then He said to them, 'The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. Go your way; behold, I send you out as lambs among wolves'" (Luke 10:1-3)

"Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them". (John 10:7-8)

Isn't it strange that when Jesus came to the House of Israel, that when He chose those who would be apostles and other leaders such as the 70 mentioned above, He didn't make His primary choices from the religious leadership of His day? Can you imagine Jesus Christ coming to the earth today bypassing the Pope, Billy Graham, the head of the World Council of Churches, Pat Robertson, Charles Swindoll, all the superintendents of the various denominations, Oral Roberts, John MacArthur, etc.? Can you picture Jesus gathering 70 unto Himself to clean up New York city and not a single pastor or T.V. evangelist among them?

God worked with Israel for 1500 years. When Jesus came to the scene, Herod was rebuilding the Temple. It was one of the seven wonders of the world. Jerusalem was being rebuilt. The Jews were greatly favored by the Romans in terms of religious freedom. The Priesthood was allowed to collect the temple tax and allowed to worship they way they wanted without having to worship the Roman gods. Israel was very prosperous at this time. Synagogues were throughout the Roman Empire. They even had Synagogues for Greek-speaking Jews and others for Hebrew-speaking Jews. Jerusalem was full of thousands of priests. With such a large selection of religious leadership, isn't it rather strange that he chose fishermen and tax collectors, unlearned men?

Referring to the religious leadership of His day, Jesus said in Matthew 23:13:

"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in."

Now if the kingdom of heaven is what Christianity today calls "eternal life," then Jesus is saying the religious leadership of His day was responsible for people going to "hell!"

So Jesus selected a different group, not versed in the Scriptures like the scribes, priests, and Pharisees were, and sent them out to preach the "good news."

Within that very same generation, Paul, near the end of his life, gathered up the leaders who entered the "ecclesia" at Ephesus and said the following:

"For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God. Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves. Therefore watch, and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears." Acts 20:27-31

From the above mentioned scriptures we learn that Jesus could not select from the very Priesthood which was ordained by the Mosaic Law because they were not entering into the true kingdom and were preventing others from entering. He raised up a new leadership, and within the same generation, Paul warned the church wolves would enter it and even from among the hand picked-elders, some would draw disciples unto themselves.

The Bible tells us that what happened to Israel serves as an example for us. We should learn from their mistakes. 1500 years of building Israel into a favored nation under Rome and the end result was that Jesus had to go to fishermen to develop leadership. He couldn't go to the local seminaries or denominational headquarters to find qualified personnel.

If the wolves were entering into the church during the time of the apostles; if Paul warned that leaders would draw disciples after themselves 1950 years ago, what would make one think that the condition of the present day church leadership is any different than it was in Jesus' day? Considering wolves were entering almost 2000 years ago, what condition should we expect the church to be in today?

Israel had great synagogues all over the Roman Empire. The Temple rivaled the great cathedrals and ornate church buildings of today and before the end of that generation it all came down. Why? Why didn't God leave it all in place? I mean, these were expensive buildings. What a waste!

Christian, if you are looking for a pastor, look for one who will lay down his life for the sheep. Look for one who practices serving others. Look for one who spends many hours finding all the ways he can to bring you to Jesus, the true water and nourishment. Look for one who, perhaps, was not afraid to spend some years in the wilderness, away from the "organized" thing. Someone who like Moses spent 40 years being broken alone. Like David who spent many years living in caves. Like Paul, who left the organized church in Jerusalem and spent several years alone to be taught by God Himself.

Men and women like these often hear, "Why aren't you in fellowship?" "Who is your covering?" "You have a rebellious non-submissive spirit." Look for one who, like Paul, can preach the "whole counsel of God" and never preach "hell." (If you don't believe me, go to Strong's concordance, find the word "hell;" then go to Paul's writings and try to find the word "hell." It isn't there.) Spend a few weeks combing the New Testament to see what believers did when they came together. Study how they met, where they met. Look at the leadership that Paul describes, not the group at Jerusalem, which never could separate themselves from Moses. Paul's gospel must be read very carefully. Paul not only knew how to walk after the Spirit, Paul also studied.

If God calls you into separation unto Himself in the wilderness, don't be afraid to go. Yes, church leadership will probably come against you for that, but sometimes this separation is necessary. Just remember, if He called you out, he will also call you back to some kind of fellowship. He is a many membered body. The separation is for preparation, it is not permanent. We need each other. We are not complete without each other.

We also need leadership. Don't look at all the denominations and compare them to see which one suits your fancy. Look to Paul's writings. Study them thoroughly and don't compromise. Ask God to put true leadership in your life. I truly believe He would bring someone from 10,000 miles away to teach us if our hearts really wants to be taught the truth. Don't compromise on this point. Don't "go to church" like all the good Christians do just because our tradition says to. Come together in Spirit and Truth with like-spirited believers with leadership that lines up with the qualifications in the New Testament. Don't be surprised if you don't end up doing the 2 hour thing in Sunday in a building that is vacant most of the week except for those two hours. Don't be surprised if your whole concept of "fellowship" and "assembling" might be as different as when Jesus told His disciples that the brand new Temple which cost big bucks was coming down. He was building His temple with a different kind of building material.

Young Christian (and old), the synagogues (churches) of today are in the same condition they were two millenia ago when Jesus had to by-pass most of them to find leadership He could trust. I realize as I say this, that I make many enemies when making statements like this. Few Christian leaders would categorize themselves with the scribes and pharisees of Jesus' day, but many of them (I did not say all) are just that. We have steered so far from the simplicity of Christ's Gospel that we cannot see how blind we have become.

Most church leadership is not purposely corrupt. They have just been brought into a system that has been corrupt for hundreds of years; this is the way it has always been and they cannot see how far off it is. Many were never called into leadership by Jesus. Most of us like to be in the majority. The leadership of today again sits in Moses' seat, hindering God's people from entering into the kingdom. Will God clean it up from within? If He returned in like manner, would He go to the present church institutions to gather around Himself leadership or would he again call unlearned fisherman, IRS agents, and prostitutes?

In summary then, wolves of the past and wolves of the present use the sheep to build little kingdoms for themselves. Shepherds serve to the sheep true drink and true meat. They bring the sheep into the kingdom made up of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. They encourage the sheep to mature, that they, the sheep, may become what they were meant to be in the earth- its salt, and its light; its precious stones made bright in the refining fire of purifying love.