Church Discipline

When churches face evil or unrepentant behavior we have to make a tough call. What does church discipline look like? It turns out that it involves several steps from talking to the person one-on-one to expelling them from the congregation. There isn't a one-size-fits-all approach. Jonathan Leeman from www.9marks.org joins us to talk about his book on church discipline.

Our main text is from Matthew 18 where Jesus lays out a clear plan for disciplining a brother or sister in Christ. Though the process seems easy, it is not without disagreement. Some people argue that discipline is tied to church membership. If someone sins, take away their membership to the congregation. The only problem is that membership is not in the Bible. It is an invention of man. But so are many other cherished parts of the church-going experience: youth group, Sunday school, crosses as decoration, even holidays like Christmas and Easter are not specifically outlined in the Bible.

Truce is a listener-supported podcast. Leave us a comment on iTunes and be sure to visit us at www.trucepodcast.com. You can follow us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/trucepodcast) and Twitter (@trucepodcast). Our host is Chris Staron, author of Cradle Robber and writer/ director of the films Bringing up Bobby and Between the Walls.

Artwork by @andrewjohnhuff.

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