Bulletin Articles
“Can we not see both?”
Categories: church discipline, leaven, Study the WordIn a recent Bible class, we studied the subject of church discipline. In I Corinthians 5, Paul rebuked the church at Corinth for not dealing with a brother who was caught up in sin. They were told to deliver such a one to Satan in order to hopefully save him if he repented (verse 5). The faithful brethren were told not to even eat (socialize) with him (verse 11).
To help illustrate this, let me present a scenario. A husband and wife have a young son who is eight years old. One day, the son and his mother get into an argument and the boy slaps his mom in the face. Later that day the husband (dad) comes home from work and hears what the son does. Aside from being punished, the father says to his son, “I want you to go to your mother and apologize to her.”
What if the boy does not apologize but wants to go fishing with his dad as planned – should the dad take him fishing? I know we would all say no! What if the son still refused to apologize to his mom the next day but wanted to go play ball with his dad as planned – should the dad take him and play ball? Again, I know we would all say no!
Why are we consistently saying no? Why should the father not take the son and do those fun things? The answer is obvious. If the father did that, he would be minimizing the severity of what the son did to his mother. It might even communicate approval. This is the lesson we need to learn concerning Christ and His church.
When someone sins, it can affect the rest of the members of the local church. As Paul said, “A little leaven leavens the whole lump,” (verse 8). Let us not forget that it is also a sin against the Lord and brings reproach upon His church (Eph. 5:27). When a Christian sins and does not repent, they are to be loved and admonished as a brother, not as an enemy (II Thess. 3:14-15). Although the father wants his son to apologize to his wife, it does not mean that the father hates his son until the apology is given. The father should not hate the son, but there must still be consequences for both the error and refusing to apologize. As Christians, we must all recognize this valuable lesson.
Chuck
