Spot or Wrinkle
The Evangelical Herald
A CHURCH WITHOUT SPOT OR WRINKLE
Christ's desire to present His Church "spotless, without wrinkle" to the Father seems to get more difficult for church leaders to achieve in this modern world of the "new morality" (Eph 5:27). Though it is true that there has always been a fine line between practicing the Christian virtues of "love and mercy" and applying discipline for wrong behavior within the church; the line and discipline have virtually disappeared in the local church.
Leaders in the church who feel the burden to glorify Christ through the right behavior and testimony of the church body, yet recognizing their own need of mercy for the forgiveness of their own sins, hesitate to throw the first stone. Indeed, love and forgiveness should be the motivating force in the church; yet, there remains the great dichotomy of the Christian Church: on the one hand Christ calls His Church to Sanctification and purity and on the other hand He calls sinners into His church unto salvation.
Apparent Reasons for Lack of Discipline
What has caused, as Christianity Today, describes as the demise of discipline in the church? As followers of Christ , we can not keep silent regarding this issue. With the Word, the Spirit of God and the spiritual discernment He has given us, we will attempt to identify present factors that keep the church from dealing with this God given responsibility.
The mega-church (or the convenience church, see "The Mega-church in Christ's Kingdom") has greatly contributed to the demise of discipline in the church. In a church environment where a member is a stranger to the pastor, leaders and to most of his fellow believers, accountability of one's actions is virtually impossible. Where there is no accountability, open sin can flourish. A single Christian friend recently confided in me that someone in his single's group in a mega church told him that if he wanted sex he could readily find it in the singles group in his church (indeed he did find it).
Pastors have the added burden of numbers. Faced with the world model of a successful pastor based, not on standing for truth and righteousness, but on building mega churches, how can they chance losing a member due to discipline? (see "Body/head Relationship -- a Business Model?") In the United States, pastors are also faced with the additional burden of plurality of churches in which a believer can choose from. To be a successful pastor, he must bow to the likes and dislikes of the modern believer. How does this affect the church's testimony? Modes of conduct and lifestyles that the world has accepted in recent years such as entertainment, economical pursuits, dress and morals are increasingly part of the church environment that only a few years ago would have never been allowed in the church.
The church does not influence world standards of acceptable conduct in today's world. Secular philosophies that are human centered have replaced the Christian teaching that the Creator has given us as standards that benefit all mankind. Many of these teachings have crept into the church because the church did not want to deal with them. Much of the time the reason for not taking action was that they involved the success of numbers. Music that was designed to release the natural inhibitions that God placed on His creatures was accepted as "a tool to attract the new generation". Provocative fashions were accepted as "relating to the sinners". Questionable entertainment was accepted as "evidence of living under grace". Intoxicating beverages were accepted as "culture involvement". Sexual intercourse among unmarried partners was accepted as "God supplying our every need". Wow! Shall we go on? Why did the church of God choose not to remain faithful to her Master who wants to present a pure church at the marriage feast of the Lamb? (Rev 19:7,8 )
A Call to Action
What to do or maybe what not to do? Should the church of Jesus Christ be concerned about unrighteous behavior in the church? Does the church have a right to define unrighteous behavior? Should the church continue to look away when God's holy Name is dishonored? We emphatically believe that the church of God has been called as its prime purpose to call out the ones that the Lord has redeemed from the world system that they may be edified under the kingdom's principles of righteousness to the glory of the Father. As such, it is every church's duty and mandate to maintain the high standards of it's Lord. This is true worship!
The consequences of not doing anything or even not caring when sin is openly practiced can devastate the church and bring real dishonor to its head and master, Jesus Christ. If the church is Christ's body, which it is, how can it be healthy when inside it there is a cancer that opposes all that the Head is? Left alone, this cancer will render the whole body ineffective in its testimony, its mission and its worship. Satan and the world laugh at the statistics that show the immoral behavior of Christians runs pretty much along the same numbers as the secular world. They laugh because to them the church is powerless against the forces that rule this present age of the new morality. In reality, they are laughing at the almighty Creator. If the church loves God "with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength", this laughter hurts us to the very core of our being (Mark 12:30, NIV).
As to the question, "Does the church have the right to define sin?" we stand on the truth that the church is "the pillar and ground of the truth" (1Tim 3:15). Living under the kingdom principles that Jesus taught is right; living in opposition of those principles is sin. Dishonoring the sacred institutions that God has established is sin. Taking the name of Christ and living under the devil's principles of selfishness, hate, greed, pleasure, and lust is hypocrisy and sin.
The church of Jesus Christ is made of sinners -- sinners that have been forgiven, are being forgiven, and will be forgiven because of their faith and love of a merciful and loving God who paid the price of our sin. Our new nature in Christ hates sin -- it is not our nature to sin, but if we do sin, it is very grievous to us because of our love for our Father. The Christian that sins openly should be grieved that the body of his/her Lord has been hurt and dishonored. When a Christian commits a sin that affects the body, the spiritual body of Christ, like the natural body of a human, takes action to restore the body to health. The goal of the church in discipline is to lovingly heal and restore the sinner and the body of Christ.
The Healing Process
How should this restoration take place? There can not be any restoration if the person who sinned does not recognize the harm he/she has done to the Head and body of Christ. There can not be any restoration if the person who sinned does not want to belong to a pure church. There can not be any restoration without repentance of the person who committed the sin. Uppermost, is repentance to the Father ("to thee, to thee only have I sinned" Psalm 51:1-4). Next, he/she must ask forgiveness of the person or persons directly hurt by the sin ("if thy brother shall trespass against thee" Mt 18:15). Finally, he/she must go to the church and ask for forgiveness ("if he neglect to hear the church" Mt 18:17). Clearly, the restoration process lies on the offending person -- it is he or she who must feel the need to initiate the healing process. The role of the church is to lead the offending person toward repentance, support him/her in his/her desire to be restored, oversee the fruits of repentance and accept him/her into full fellowship.
What happens when the person who sinned does not initiate the process of restoration? For the church to know about the misconduct of an individual and not do anything is simply condoning the sin. Condoning the sin is testifying to all the church and the world that God can live with sin. Condoning sin is telling all that are fighting the battle of faith to give up the fight since the body accepted and can live with sin; they also can sin and be accepted. If the church has been called to reflect the beauty of righteousness, which it has, the church will act to protect the body from the unrepentant sinner. The door will always remain open for the sinner to initiate the restoration process; but in the meantime he/she can not be considered part of the body ("let him be unto thee as an heathen man" Mt 18:17).
Another Biblical issue cited involved in handling sin within the Christian church is the concept of letting the tares grow together with the wheat (Mt 13:24-30) until they are both harvested by God in the final judgement. Proponents of using this principle in dealing with sin inside the church suggest that the church leave the discipline to God in the final judgement. A more careful reading of this scripture; however, shows us that the tares in this case are not inside the church -- they are people who do not accept the gospel message -- hence, they are allowed to grow evermore sinful. It simply illustrates the teaching of Christ that we are living in a sinful world in which "we are in the world, but not part of it".
Christ Centered? Christ Honored
God hates sin, but loves the sinner is a common saying, but true -- as evidence by Christ's sacrifice on the cross. To those who accept this gift in earnest, willful sin is against their very natures. To practice it is putting Christ to an open shame (Heb 6:6). May the church never do that to Him. Hard as it is, the church must address the open sin within the congregation of believers. Pastors and leaders of the church, by virtue of their sanctified lives and maturity of faith, have been called to protect the church from the attacks of the Enemy in all his various forms.
The real issue involved here could be, Is the church Christ centered? Or are the church people centered? The Christ centered church glorifies her Lord not so much through her lips, but more through a lifestyle of obedience, service and holiness. A people centered church focuses on the temporal needs of its members and uses Christ to supply their every perceived need. This is the "Meism" mentality -- Christ loves me so much that He exists to bless me. The last statement is partially true, He does love us "so much", but He does not exist only to bless us -- we were created to bless and glorify Him! A true concept of discipline in the church involves the honor of Christ (head and body) as the motivating force that leads the church to lovingly apply the God given principles in dealing with those for whom He died. May He give of His Spirit to the true church that they may indeed worship Him in spirit and in truth. May the church hear the words "well done, good and faithful servant, … enter into the joy of the Lord" as she is presented to Christ as a church "without spot or wrinkle" (Mt 25:23; Eph 5:27).