Church Discipline

We are going to read some of the most sobering words in the whole of Paul’s letter to Timothy. As leaders we must read it carefully. It reveals the weight of leadership responsibility; the necessity of difficult decisions; and the ultimate goal of restoration.

 ^“Among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan to be taught not to blaspheme.” (1 Timothy 1 v 20)

Among who? The previous verses tells us, “have suffered shipwreck with regard to the faith.”

This doesn’t give us the right to be harsh or quick to discipline. This isn’t about excommunicating people who don’t agree with the leadership. This verse in the hands of the abusive leader can be very dangerous.

We don’t know who these 2 people are. Paul says in v19 that some have not held on to the faith nor a good conscience and describes it like a shipwreck. Their end was the opposite of how they thought it would be when they started out in the faith. These were people from within the Church. They were well-known. Maybe they were leaders themselves. They were guilty of blaspheming, of bringing shame to Christ’s name and Paul handed them over to Satan. Paul used this phrase in 1 Corinthians 5:5 in the context of sexual immorality. So for Paul this handing over to Satan was not to do so physically but to separate the individual from the Church community for a time in order to restore them.

Sometimes love requires difficult decisions. The goal is always restoration. It is always redemption. Leadership isn’t to avoid difficult situations but rather to navigate them with wisdom and courage.

Leaders carry a weight of responsibility for people they love and serve. Sometimes the very people they have invested in and worked alongside make choices that harm the mission, the organization, the community.

Leaders have to make difficult decisions. Here is the most severest decision to make regarding discipline. This wasn’t done in anger or revenge but it is the last resort, the last hope that the person can be restored. The removal of the individual that they might come back restored. These decisions are emotional and draining. Where the many may want to avoid confrontation the leader has to step in with courage and wade through the hurt and pain from all sides.

Leaders are restorers. Motivation is everything. Paul wasn’t trying to destroy these 2 men. He was creating conditions where they might come to their senses and return to the truth.

Ask any leader about Church discipline and they will say it is needed but it is difficult. The removal to restore is perhaps one of the most painful of moments for the one who has brought shame to Christ but also to the leader who loves that individual. But without Church discipline what would we have?