The Law of God in the Life of the Church (11)

The Law of God in the Life of the Church (10)

The Law of God in the Life of the Church (9)

The Law of God in the Life of the Church (8)

Who are we to tell them what they’re doing is wrong?

This is what we're called to, this new life in Jesus.

Today’s churches are stuck in the ever-changing present.

My squash understand being in the sun.

Temptation is a constant feature of life this side of glory.

Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? God judges those outside. “Purge the evil person from among you.” 1 Corinthians 5.12, 13

It’s not that believers – and the Church as a Body – are not to exercise judgment against sinners. They are, as our Lord Jesus explained, and strictly according to the standards of righteousness in the Law of God (Jn. 7.24; cf. Deut. 16.18-20). But since the Church is not the state, she may not wield the weapons of the state in seeking to achieve justice. The state may wield these, and should, but this is not our concern here. Rather, the church applies the methods of church discipline in order to cleanse the Body of sin and to restore relationships and justice among the members.

Jesus outlined the steps of church discipline in Matthew 18.15-20. If a brother sins against another, violating one of God’s Laws, the one offended must go and confront his brother, calling him to repentance and standing ready to forgive and restore the relationship when repentance is in evidence. If that private confrontation does not produce justice, the one against whom the transgression has been committed must take another church member with him – one who knows the situation – to confront the sinner. Hopefully, the testimony of two witnesses will be compelling, and repentance will be achieved.

Suppose that fails, however. In that case, the one offended against must take the sinner to the church – typically, to its rulers, the elders and pastors of the church. There a formal charge can be laid; the leaders of the church can weigh the evidence and claims, and, through prayer and searching the Scriptures, reach a just judgment and a course of action for its implementation.

The Law of God continues to guide our moral conduct, but the discipline of the church is the only sanction church leaders may apply in seeking to restore justice. Where church discipline is ignored, justice and transgression will likely be present, and this short-circuits the blessing of God to His people.

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I say this to your shame. Can it be that there is no one among you wise enough to settle a dispute between the brothers, but brother goes to law against brother, and that before unbelievers? 1 Corinthians 6.5, 6

The state, as Paul and Peter remind us, has been established by God to accomplish His good purposes (Rom. 13.1-4; 1 Pet. 2.13, 14). Thus, believers must work within the civil structures of society to ensure that governments act in accord with the teaching of God’s Law. The Church must not presume to enact civil judgments against its members or others. Rather, because the state also is subject to the righteousness and justice of God’s Law (Ps. 9.7, 8: Dan. 4.27; Matt. 14.1-4), believers must labor to persuade civil magistrates of the essential wisdom, goodness, and justice of the Law of God.

This they do through the political process, electing leaders who fear the Lord and auguring for laws that reflect the character and purposes of the Law of God. But even in this arena believers must remember that, in the age of grace, not even the vilest offender is completely cut off from the reach of God’s Spirit and Truth. Penalties for violating the Law of God must, therefore, leave room for grace to work; they must not be so harsh as to harden the hearts, but they must be sufficiently harsh as to achieve justice and encourage behavioral change.

There is a role for civil government to fulfill in overseeing a just society, where neighbor-love obtains through submission – even grudging submission (Ps. 81.15; Ps. 66.3 – both, NASB) – to the standards and sanctions of the Law of God. But in the Church, no actions must be taken against offenders of God’s Law to which they do not willingly submit. The single exception would be in the Church’s authority to excommunicate unrepentant offenders, leaving them to the wiles of the devil and the pleasure of the state until they repent of their wickedness, make all due restoration, and return to their proper place in the Body of Christ.

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I say this to your shame. Can it be that there is no one among you wise enough to settle a dispute between the brothers, but brother goes to law against brother, and that before unbelievers? 1 Corinthians 6.5, 6

We’re examining some of the criteria which must guide contemporary believers in applying the Law of God to life in the Church today. We have said that the Church is not ancient Israel. Rather, as the new Israel, living in the age of grace and the Spirit, church leaders will need to reflect carefully on how the statutes and precepts of ancient Israel are to be obeyed in our own day. We do not keep the Law in order to earn our salvation, but to realize our salvation, prove our discipleship, and thus make progress in spreading the love of Jesus Christ to all men.

Just as the Church is not ancient Israel, so it is not the civil magistrate, either. The statutes and precepts of the civil law of Israel are still binding today – as Paul, James, and Jesus indicate. But they must be interpreted into the life of the new Israel, which, while it is built on the foundation of ancient Israel, faces altogether different historical and cultural contingencies.

The Law of God includes many penal guidelines for achieving justice and restoring order to a community. But the ultimate responsibility for ensuring justice in the civil arena lies with civil governments – local, state, and federal. The Church must not presume on the prerogatives of the state in seeking justice between its members.

Thus, where an infraction has been committed against the Law of God by a member of the Christian Church, believers must apply the principles of church discipline in seeking to restore justice. We shall have more to say about this in due course.

However, where church discipline fails to bring about a proper resolution of disputes, members should expect that the civil government may be invoked or appealed to for a just outcome. The civil courts, however, should be the final bar of appeal for believers in civil matters, not the first.

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