Disciplining the Disciples
Disciplining the Disciples
The Reformers, having been ousted from the "Mother Church", argued that there are three distinguishing marks that define the New Testament church: 1. The preaching of the true gospel 2. The right administration of the sacraments and 3. The proper application of discipline. They understood that these do not include all that the church is called to do, such as disciple the congregation, care for the sick and invalid members, fulfill all the body-life directives (pray, encourage, bare one another's burdens&hellips;etc.) But they still are the litmus test for who is the bride of Jesus Christ and who is not. Feed all the poor you want, but without these three, it is wood, hay and stubble. The other things are important but even the liberal churches that are not churches do the same.
That is why these three distinctives are so important. But is it possible to subscribe to these distinctives and yet, by emphasis, treat them as unimportant? And in doing so are we not becoming less distinctive and heading in a direction that we do not want to go? Let's examine this together.
The message of the gospel has suffered of late, not just in the actual delivery of the sermon but also in the relegating of the Lord's table to a quarterly event, the softening of the songs and music used in worship and the social agenda of the congregation which, if not careful, defines the particular local church more than its preaching.
The evidence of this is found within church-speak where plenty of love and clinging to Jesus is voiced but very little of the language of repentance is heard. The good news of the Gospel is only good news if you first are aware of the bad news. Perhaps we would do well to emphasize the bad news for at least half the sermon (check out the writings of the apostle Paul) and then have the courage to tell people that the good news might not apply to them at all. Talk about introspection and conviction! Spurgeon did this with great success and he had a big church. (Thought all you church growth people out there would like to know.)
What we should consider is the difference between cohesion and conversion and be suspicious of what kind of future harvest we will likely reap. Cohesion is when a person decides to join the church because they feel it will help them raise their children or they enjoy the camaraderie of the men's softball team, or the women's group sponsors a mothers' day out or they just want to supplement their own personal beliefs by gathering with other spiritual people. They usually have no problem answering the questions of church membership (if there are any) and are soon active congregants. This is the unregenerate church member that will one day wonder why Jesus is saying that He doesn't know him. The difference that conversion brings is that the person realizes that what they believed before was wrong that they were a sinner without hope and now what they believe is the truth which they love. Their motivation for membership is out of obedience to their new master who has delivered them from darkness and brought them light.
The sacraments in most Reformed churches are performed in the tradition spelled out in Scripture. However, if by appearances the Catholics have added an eighth sacrament to their 7, which would be Bingo, the Protestant church has added a third to their 2, which is time. That is why the sacrament of baptism is rushed in most churches instead of given the unhurried, emotional drama and significance it deserves. And the preciousness of time is also the principle reason for the occasional cracker and juice mass snack that passes for communion with our Lord. I know that the right instructions and warnings are given to the congregation but are we not signifying to ourselves and our children the insignificance of the event by the absence of pomp and circumstance. What about those who visit that are unconverted? Should they not see something that they do not belong to and cannot join in without conversion?
Then there is discipline. Recently we got an email from a missionary wondering what the significance and importance of church membership is. Well ... as Augustine was apt to say, "If the church is not your mother, then God is not your Father." And one reason that the church is vital in the Christian's life is in the area of discipline. Christ gave the keys of the kingdom to the church. That means that the church decides who is in and who is not. The way this is done is that after a person professes faith and joins the church they are subject to the authority of the church. If they sin and do not repent of their transgression they are eventually excommunicated. But if they are one of these universal Christians who belong nowhere, then there is no accountability. Amazingly, there are congregations that allow a large percentage of people to attend and remain outside of the church's jurisdiction. As long as the check goes in the plate, everything's okay. The elders of these churches should monitor the attendance of these floaters and press them into membership after an allotted period of visits or ask them not to come back. That is how important this matter is, along with the swift and decisive discipline of the members of the congregation as needed so that all will fear and realize the importance of the body.
These three distinctives need to be held precious to us. The church suffers when we become passive with respect to God's guidelines. Who are we to think we don't have the time or are afraid of rocking the boat or may not be popular because we seek to make sure the church is like no other gathering of people?
Come on pastors and elders! Bring back the bad news with the good news, celebrate the presence of the Lord and the beauty of His table more often. And never forget your responsibility as wielders of the keys of the kingdom.