Church Discipline A Neglected Necessity

A brief synopsis of church discipline and its practical application in today's contemporary world, with biblical illustrations outlining the disciplinary approach to secret sin, open sin, and false prophets in the church.

Are you your brother's keeper? In this work, originally titled “Church-Reformation Promoted,” Cawdrey deals with Matthew 18:15-17, “If your brother trespasses against thee, etc.” demonstrating the need and necessity of church discipline, and the importance of it. He shows that church discipline is both corrective and preventive. He also demonstrates that discipline furthers true, biblical Reformation in the Christian’s personal life, in his family life, and in the life of the church. This is a scholarly and biblically faithful work that is a must read for today’s contemporary church, and for every elder that oversees God's flock. This is not a facsimile or scanned document. It is newly typeset with an active table of contents for electronic versions.

Fears of disunity, conflict and even legal problems have caused many church leaders to avoid confronting Christians who are living in sin. Challenging the church's reluctance, Dr. Laney provides a biblical, practical and loving handbook for pastors and lay leaders alike on church discipline.

Mention church discipline and people often react in discomfort. But did you know that Jesus made discipline a test of whether a church meets His approval (Revelation 2–3)? In The Scandal of Undisciplined Disciples, James Durham helps us to understand the matter by defining the nature of discipline and explaining when it is necessary. He identifies practical issues related to administering church discipline and shows how we can know when a case has been satisfactorily resolved. He also explains why simply leaving a church fails to address the issue and even provides practical advice for unfortunate instances when discipline is defective. Now presented in modern English, Durham’s classic treatment on the importance of church discipline can be used to edify a new generation. Table of Contents: 1. Why Does Church Discipline Matter? 2. When Is Church Discipline Necessary? 3. How Should Church Courts Handle Disciplinary Cases? 4. When Has a Discipline Case Been Satisfactorily Resolved? 5. What Practical Issues Arise in Administering Church Discipline? 6. Why Does Separation from a Church Fail to Address the Issue? 7. What Should Church Members Do when Discipline Is Defective?

Is church discipline really necessary? One sixteenth-century Anabaptist reformer certainly thought so. A contemporary of Luther and Zwingli, Balthasar Hubmaier believed that church discipline was so important that he included the doctrine in every major area of his theology. Not only did church discipline appear in his doctrine of humanity, salvation, and the church, as a theoretical construct, but he also included practical instructions regarding its implementation in the life of the church. In this book Goncharenko examines Hubmaier's teaching on discipline and considers its relevance to the church today.