The unity of the Spirit Another reason that necessitates the application of discipline is the unity of the Spirit. Paul is clear in Ephesians that we are joined by the Spirit, who makes us one: ‘Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope when you were called—one Lord, one faith, one baptism’ (Eph. 4:3–5). In any family, however, there can be issues that bring stress to relationships. In my experience, few things cause more disunity than when one member of the church is living a lifestyle that is obviously wrong. The divisiveness comes from various angles. To begin with, the individual concerned will be spiritually hampered by the sin and will therefore not be enjoying a close walk with Jesus Christ. This makes that person less able to engage meaningfully and lovingly with fellow Christians. Secondly, that person’s lifestyle will inevitably lead to gossip within the church which is, by its very nature, destructive. Thirdly, once the devil gets a foothold in the door of the church, he will exploit this gap to the maximum by doing as much damage to the individual and the church as possible. He will drive a wedge between the fallen church member and the rest of the body, thus causing feelings of isolation and rejection. Clearly, any sense of unity which the church members feel will be under threat if the situation continues. The spiritual life of the individual While thinking of the damage that can be caused to a church if discipline is not applied, we also need to think about the damage that is done to the individual. At the heart of any sinful situation is an individual who is struggling in his or her walk with Christ. Those of us who are parents can understand the situation well. When our children do wrong, we recognize the need to discipline them. We do not punish them to cause harm; rather, it is because we love them and we want the best for them. We want them to live fruitful and successful lives. Likewise, we need to apply discipline in the life of the church because the sin of any individual affects that individual first of all. The application of discipline is to enable him or her to come back to a close relationship with Christ and to continue in the Christian life. It is, therefore, a real act of love.
Posted on: Fri, 13 Sep 2013 17:46:23 +0000
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