Excommunication: Nature and Administrators

Introduction: The Necessity and Gravity of Excommunication

0:02 I shall be preaching at greater length than I normally do simply because as the teaching elder I am convinced of the responsibility that is laid upon me to give adequate foundation for the action which we as a congregation must take tonight and that cannot be done without at least a consideration of the bare essential elements that I hope to be touching on this morning and this evening and secondly I shall be sticking very closely to my notes because it's an area in which the handling of the truth of God needs to be done with unusual care and delicacy and I do not trust even to the balance of phraseology to come extemporaneously and I've written far more copious notes than normal and my face will be much on my paper not because I'm afraid of your faces but because I'm afraid of your faces but because I love you and want you to be benefited by an accurate exposition of the word of God the three portions of the word of God which I would read in your hearing are Matthew 18 beginning with verse 15 it is well known by students of the word of God that in the gospels

1:26 there are but two distinct references to the church in its New Testament manifestation and form both of them are true they are found in the gospel of Matthew the first is that classic statement in Matthew 16 concerning the foundation upon which the church is built namely Christ himself confessed as son of God and in that context Jesus gives a word concerning the absolute indestructibility of his church I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it but it's interesting is it not that the second and only other reference to the church is the one found in Matthew 18 beginning with verse 15 in which our Lord underscores the imperfection of that indestructible church an imperfection which will demand at times the most serious form of church censure namely excommunication if we have any view of the church that does not hold both of those perspectives in their proper biblical tension we have no view of the church we have no view of the church we have no view of the church we have no view of the church we have no view of the church we have no view of the church we have an unbiblical view of the church I read now Matthew 18, 15 to 20 and if thy brother sin against thee or as some of the better manuscripts warrant if thy brother sin thee against thee being omitted

2:54 go show him his fault between thee and him alone if he hear thee thou hast gained thy brother but if he hear thee not take with thee one or two more that at the mouth of two witnesses or three witnesses or three every word may be established and if he refuse to hear them tell it unto the church and if he refuse to hear the church let him be unto thee as the Gentile and the publican verily I say unto you what things soever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven and what things soever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven again I say unto you that if two of you shall agree on earth is touching anything that they shall ask it shall be done for them of my Father who is in heaven for where two or three are gathered together in my name there am I in the midst of them and now 2 Thessalonians chapter 3 2 Thessalonians chapter 3 verse 6 now we command you brethren in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ that ye withdraw yourselves from every sin from every brother that walketh disorderly and not after the tradition which they received of us

4:21 for ye yourselves know how ye ought to imitate us for we behave not ourselves disorderly among you neither did we eat bread for naught at any man's hand but in labor and travail working night and day that we might not burden any of you not because we have not the right but to make ourselves an ensample unto you that ye should imitate us for even when we were with you this we commanded you if any man will not work neither let him eat for we hear of some that walk among you disorderly that work not at all but are busybodies now them that are such we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ that with quietness they work and eat their own bread that ye brethren be not weary in well doing and if any man obeyeth not our word by this epistle note that man that ye have no company with him to the end that he may be ashamed yet count him not as an enemy but admonish him as a brother and now 1 Corinthians chapter 5 and this chapter will be the primary focal point of our study both this morning and this evening God willing 1 Corinthians chapter 5

5:45 it is actually reported that there is a man who is a man of faith in Christ that there is a man who is a man of faith in Christ that there is fornication among you and such fornication as is not even named among the Gentiles that one of you hath his father's wife and ye are puffed up and did not rather mourn that he that had done this deed might be taken away from among you for I verily being present in body absent in body but present in spirit have already as though I were present and judged him that hath so wrought this thing in the name of in the name of our Lord Jesus ye being gathered together and my spirit with the power of the Lord Jesus to deliver such and one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus your glorying is not good know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump purge out the old leaven that ye may be a new lump even as ye are unleavened for our Passover also hath been sacrificed even Christ wherefore let us keep the feast not with old leaven neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth I wrote unto you in my epistle to have no company with fornicators

7:11 not at all meaning with the fornicators of this world or with the covetous and extortioners or with idolaters for then must ye needs go out of the world but as it is I wrote unto you not to keep company if any man that is named a brother be a fornicator or covetous or an idolater or a reviler or a drunkard or an extortioner with such and one not to eat for what have I to do with judging them that are without do not ye judge them that are within but them that are without God judges put away the wicked man from among yourselves the protestant reformation of the 15th and 16th centuries left a great legacy of truth to the people of God for all succeeding ages to the reformers we owe the clear enunciation of the three great principles of true saving religion sola scriptura the scriptures alone sola gratia grace alone sola fide faith alone and it was this same spiritual movement in the reformation which sought to wrestle with the doctrine of the Christian church

8:35 and although there are some glaring areas of blind spots in the reformers thinking with reference to the church one thing they did that is again a great legacy to the people of God in all subsequent generations is to enunciate the three cardinal marks the indispensable marks of a true church sound preaching of the word the proper administration of the sacraments and the faithful administration of church discipline and Calvin and the other reformers when writing on the doctrine of the church made it very clear that where any one of these was absent you no longer had a true church it was not enough that there be the sound preaching of the word and the proper administration of the sacraments there must also be the faithful administration of church discipline. It is in this third area that there is an almost total indifference to the teaching of the Word of God in our own day and generation. Our studies in Joshua 7 have brought the issue before our minds, and now certain circumstances in the life of our own congregation have made it necessary to move from a general treatment such as was natural and such as was introduced by the exposition of Joshua 7

10:00 to a more detailed and specific treatment such as is given in these key passages of the New Testament, which I have read particularly, 1 Corinthians chapter 5. In the preparation of these two expositions, I have been greatly helped by the outline and the method used by Jonathan Edwards in his essay, The Nature and the End of Excommunication, found in the works of Joshua 7. Jonathan Edwards, and I shall be leaning heavily upon his approach to handling the subject only as a guide in organizing the massive amount of biblical material, though the things I bring to you I bring because I believe they are the clear teaching of the Word of God. Now the obvious teaching of 1 Corinthians chapter 5, of Matthew chapter 18, of 2 Thessalonians chapter 3 is this, that members of the visible body, the body of Christ, who are guilty of sins inconsistent with saving religion, should not be tolerated within the visible body, but should be put away from that body by a formal act of severance. This, I say, is the obvious teaching of these passages, that members of the visible body of Christ, who are guilty of sins inconsistent with saving religion, should not be tolerated within the visible body,

11:27 but should be put away from it by a formal act of severance. Now, dear people, I am fully aware that the very term excommunication carries all forms of distorted notions and horrible associations. Nevertheless, since it is the historical term used to describe this biblical concept of putting away, purging out the leaven, having no company with a professed brother, I shall hereafter use the term excommunication, not carrying into its usage all of the distortions and all of the misconceptions, but seeking to adorn that term with a biblical perspective as a result of our study this morning.

Outline of the Sermon and Pastoral Mandate

12:23 The line of thought that we shall pursue in seeking to cover this great biblical theme is as follows. This morning, I wish to treat the nature of excommunication, or what is it. Secondly, the administrators of excommunication, or who should enforce it. And then, the Lord willing, tonight, the third line of thought, the objects or recipients of excommunication, who should receive it.

12:51 And fourthly, the goals of excommunication, or what are its God-ordained purposes. Now, as we come to a consideration, may I remind you of the mandate which is upon my own conscience as a servant of Christ. It is the mandate of my Lord who has commissioned me and every true minister to teach every disciple all things that Christ has commanded. And it is Christ who has commanded this frightening, sobering, ecclesiastical exercise of excommunication.

13:29 And therefore, I am under the control, under the strength of my Lord who has commissioned me, to whom I am answerable. And I am driven to the study of this day as elders. We have been driven to the course of action that we shall propose in our congregational meeting tonight from one basic motive alone, obedience and fidelity to our Sovereign Lord. First of all, then, the nature of excommunication, or what is it.

The Nature of Excommunication: Formal Definition and Ground

14:00 I shall first of all, give a formal definition. We shall analyze then several elements of that definition. We shall then consider several questions which arise out of it. First of all, by way of formal definition, what does the scripture mean by this act that has been called in traditional terminology excommunication?

14:26 The term itself is not biblical, the concept is.

14:31 Excommunication is a gracious, punishment executed in the name and according to the will of Christ whereby a person who has hitherto enjoyed the privileges of membership in the visible church of Christ is cast out of the church and delivered unto Satan.

14:56 It is a gracious punishment executed in the name and according to the will of Christ whereby a person who has hitherto enjoyed the privileges of membership in the visible church of Christ a person who has hitherto enjoyed the privileges of membership in the visible church of Christ is cast out of the church and delivered unto Satan. Now you'll notice three or four essential elements in this definition. First of all, the ground of excommunication is laid before us. The ground is the authority of Christ.

15:30 The definition says it is a gracious punishment executed in the name and according to the will of Christ. And this is simply an attempt to incorporate the phraseology of the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians chapter 5. He says in verses 4 and 5, In the name of our Lord Jesus, ye being gathered together and my spirit with the power of the Lord Jesus to deliver such a...

16:00 Here we have the two phrases. In the name of the Lord Jesus and with the power of the Lord Jesus. In other words, excommunication is not to be viewed primarily as grounded in the activity of any group of fallible human beings. It's to be grounded in a concept that sees the various...

16:30 It's to be grounded in the activity of Jesus Christ. It is the head of the church as we saw in Matthew 18 who has instituted this means, this means of grace for the purification of the people of God and for the restoration of a confessed disciple of himself. And we must never view this act in any other perspective than being grounded in the authority of Jesus Christ. Therefore, to be true excommunication, his will and his word must be supreme.

17:09 Not human anger, human sentiment, papal attitude, such as we find described in 2 John, 3 John verses 9 and 10 concerning this wicked man who rose to prominence in the church of whom it is said, and I read from 3 John, I wrote unto the church, but diatribe, who loveth to have the preeminence among them receiveth us not. Therefore, if I come, I will bring to remembrance his works, which he doeth, prating against us with wicked words, and not content therewith, neither doth he himself receive the brethren and them that would he forbiddeth and casteth them out of the church. Here you see is a man not acting, grounding his action in the authority of Christ, but in the wicked... eternal usurping of authority.

18:03 And oh, my dear people, as there is the frightening abuse of this when the authority of Christ is not regarded, so there is the wicked refusal to use this means because the authority of Christ is flunted. And if we claim any attachment to Jesus Christ in faith and in love, wherever the circumstances, where the circumstances demand this frightening means of severing one from our midst, it is only an affront to Christ himself that will either on the one hand lead us into an unchristian manner in the administration of excommunication, or will cause us on the other hand to refuse to obey him in this means. You will notice the second thing that is found in this, this formal definition, is not only the ground of excommunication, the authority of Christ, but the essence of excommunication. And I have used the terms a gracious punishment. Let me look at those two words briefly.

The Essence of Excommunication: Gracious Punishment

19:18 That excommunication is a punishment is clearly seen by Paul's very use of that term in 2 Corinthians chapter 2, referring to the activity of the congregation at Corinth in obedience to the directive of 1 Corinthians chapter 2. in obedience to the directive of 1 Corinthians chapter 2. in obedience to the directive of 1 Corinthians chapter 2. 1 Corinthians 5, Paul says in 2 Corinthians 2, 6, Sufficient to such a one, referring to the one who is disciplined, is this punishment which was inflicted by the many.

19:49 Now, I'm not wrenching that verse out of context. A careful reading of the context will indicate that he's dealing precisely with the matters before us. Now, this is the only usage of this word in the New Testament. In its verb form, it is always translated rebuke.

20:05 Jesus rebuked the winds and the waves. But here in its noun form is its only usage in the New Testament. And therefore, we must seek to get our clue of its meaning from secular sources and those who give themselves to understanding the meaning of Greek words inform us with unanimity that in the noun form it is stronger than verbal rebuke. It means how it is translated.

20:31 Translated precisely what is said in the translation. It is a form of punishment inflicted. But I've defined it as gracious punishment because it is patented, evident to the most careful, indifferent, and careless reading of 1 Corinthians 5 that it has in mind the restoration of the sinning man or woman. It has in mind the clearing of the sinning man or woman.

21:01 It has in mind the clearing of the sinning man or woman. It has in mind the clearing of the saints, the vindication of the honor of God. Unlike the sentence of the last day, which is pure justice unmixed with mercy and grace, the sentence of excommunication, biblically administered, is a gracious punishment that the spirit may be saved. And that's never the end of pure justice.

21:27 The end of the administration of justice in the last day is the vindication of the last day. The vindication of the honor of God and the punishment of the wicked. Never the salvation of the wicked. But thank God, excommunication in all of its frightening overtones, in its essence, though it is punishment, it is a gracious punishment.

Specific Ingredients: Privative Elements (What is Taken Away)

21:50 Now having seen the ground of it in the authority of Christ in our definition, the essence of it a gracious punishment, consider now the specific ingredients of excommunication. And there are two. There are those elements which we may call privative and those that we may call positive. By privative we mean those things which are taken away from a man.

22:16 One of you is disobedient in the form of punishment that your parents administer is to tell you that you must go to bed without your supper. That is privative. And they say prior to that you shall have a spanking. That's positive.

22:34 There is the withholding of something desirable and the infliction of something undesirable. And so in the act of excommunication the specific ingredients are privative, certain privileges taken away from the man the woman excommunicated, and certain things of a positive nature laid upon him or her. In brief, what are the privative elements? What are the privative elements of excommunication?

23:03 What are the privative elements of excommunication? What are the privative elements of excommunication? And I will make a summary statement and then I shall enlarge upon it in three directions. The summary statement is this.

23:13 The privative element in excommunication is being cut off from the visible people of God and from those peculiar privileges of that people.

23:27 It is a being cut off from the visible people of God and from those peculiar privileges of that people. Look at 1 Corinthians 5 carefully. In verse 2 the Apostle Paul uses these words. And ye are puffed up and did not rather mourn that he that had done this deed might be, and here are the key words, taken away from among you.

24:00 Now it's obvious he's not speaking of a geographical deportation. The word deportation is a word that is used to describe a person's life. The word of God knows no elements in excommunication but those that are moral and spiritual. They are never to inflict the body.

24:15 They are never to transport the body to prison or to Siberia or to any place else. That's the abuse of this gracious doctrine.

24:26 Paul says that the privative element is in being taken away from among you. Here is a man in the context who has been found as identified with the gathered people of God at Corinth so that when Paul writes his letter to the saints who are at Corinth, he was addressed. Now he says in the act of excommunication he is cut off from that community of people though he may yet be found amongst them attending to the preached word as a means for his restoration. He is no longer to regard himself nor are the people to regard him as an integral vitalist.

25:06 He is no longer to regard himself as an integral part of that visible community of the saints of God. And then he uses a stronger word in verse 13. But them that are without God judgeth put away the wicked man from among yourselves. You see the key phrase?

25:25 He is among you. Put him away from among you. Now it's obvious he does not mean geography because the subsequent letter shows the man was still there at Corinth. And Paul says, Give your love to him now and receive him back.

25:38 2 Thessalonians says you're still close enough to admonish him. Jesus said you're still in enough proximity to treat him. Though you must treat him as he even in public and he is there. So the taking away has to do with spiritual relationships.

25:53 It has nothing to do with geography. And it's interesting that the apostle's words here are almost word for word the words of Deuteronomy chapter 17, 7 and 24. In the Greek translation of the Hebrew scriptures you have a phraseology translating these Hebrew words which almost distinctly parallels the words of 1 Corinthians chapter 5. In Deuteronomy 17 and in verse 7 the hand of the witnesses shall be first upon him to put him to death.

26:31 Here is a man who has done things worthy of execution, corporal punishment in Israel. And afterward the hand of all the people. You see what God is saying? The witnesses who have seen the man in his sin and have sworn in the presence of God to his guilt.

26:50 They are to lay hands as bearing the most direct responsibility. Then the congregation is to put its hands upon him. They're involved in this work of excommunication. So shalt thou put away the evil from the midst of thee.

27:12 And the same phrase is used in chapter 24 and in verse 7. Putting away the evil from the midst of thee. Or we have the words of the Lord Jesus in Matthew chapter 18 and verse 17. Let him be unto thee as the heathen and the publican.

27:32 That is one who is no longer regarded as part of the covenant community. Now that's the summary statement of the privative elements of excommunication. Now what does that involve more specifically? Three things.

Privative Elements: Inward Privileges, Love, and Associations

27:49 It means that no longer does this individual have those peculiar inward privileges of the people of God. Secondly, that peculiar love and affection due to the people of God. And thirdly, those peculiar associations which are common to the people of God. First of all then, the privative element in excommunication involves the cutting off of a man or a woman from those peculiar inward privileges of the people of God.

28:22 What are they? Well, let's look at a couple of them. When the people of God gather for public worship, they do as the psalmist exhorts his companions to do. Magnify the Lord with me and let us exalt his name together.

28:40 With one voice they lift up one heart and one soul in praise to God. But now the congregation is no longer to regard that disciplined man or woman who yet may sit amongst them attending to the word. They must no longer regard his or her voice as blending with theirs in the praise of God. When the scripture says that God inhabits the praises of Israel, that is, his visible people, and the people of God no longer regard the excommunicated person's praise as being mingled with theirs, the excommunicated person is no longer to regard himself as part of that one-souled mouth, one-souled praise, and that one mouth worship and praise to God. When the congregation seeks the face of God, it is conscious that his ears are open to the cry of the righteous, that God has said of his covenant people, I will be their God and they shall be my people. And this sense of filial or family access in liberty is no longer to include the excommunicated person in the minds of the people of God. When they plead the special promise of Matthew 18, if two of you shall agree on earth, they must no longer regard this one as included in that agreement, that concert, that symphony of prayer, and no longer is that individual to regard himself

30:08 or herself as a part of that symphony of prayer, but is, as it were, to stand on the outside, pleading with the God to whom they pray, that for Christ's sake he would be merciful to him and liberate him from the bondage of his sin, that he may again join the concert of worship and of praise and of prayer. And so the first element of this privative aspect of discipline in its most extreme form of excommunication is being cut off from those peculiar inward privileges of the people of God. Secondly, being cut off from that part peculiar love and affection due to the people of God. The Bible makes it clear that all Christians are to love all men as God does. He sends his reign upon the just and the unjust, and in Matthew 5 Jesus says, Love your enemies, that ye may be like your Father who is in heaven, who sends his reign upon the just and upon the unjust. But it's equally evident from Scripture that God has a peculiar and distinguishing love to his own. Having loved his own, he loved them even to the end.

31:20 I love my sheep and I lay down my life for the sheep and the Scripture teaches that in the heart of the child of God, in the hearts of the people of God, there is this distinguishing love to their fellow saints. They have this love both by obedience to clear command and by the natural instincts of a renewed heart. The love that you and I have as Christians to fellow Christians is the love which is ours by obedience to command and by the instincts of a renewed heart. And both of those things are joined in 1 Thessalonians 4, verses 9 and 10.

32:01 Look at the verses. 1 Thessalonians 4, verses 9 and 10. But concerning love of the brethren, ye have no need that one write unto you. For ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another.

32:19 There is the natural instinct of a renewed heart. God teaches you to love one another. But he says, For indeed ye do it to all the brethren that are in Macedonia. But we exhort you, brethren, to love one another more and more.

32:34 It is the love they exercise, not only by the instinct of a renewed heart, but in obedience to explicit command. For Jesus said in John 13, 34 and 35, A new commandment give I unto you, that ye love one another. And by this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. Since the offending person who has been excommunicated can no longer be regarded as a brother, but as a saint.

33:04 We are to treat him with that attitude with which we would have to the unsaved. We are to regard him as the publican and the heathen. Now we are to love the publican and the heathen. We are to pray for their salvation.

33:16 We are to do deeds of kindness as I shall enlarge upon when we come to two questions deriving out of our present measure of study and understanding. But that is not the peculiar distinguishing love that we express toward those who are the people of God. And then thirdly, the privative element of excommunication involves not only being cut off from those peculiar inward privileges of the people of God, that peculiar love due to the people of God, but those peculiar associations which are common to the people of God. Again, go back to 1 Corinthians chapter 5, and we have the words put away from among you, clearly emphasizing this element in the act of excommunication. And you have a similar emphasis in 2 Thessalonians 3, 6 and 14, that we are not to company with the person who has been marked as disorderly and insubordinate to apostolic law and apostolic direction as found in the Scriptures. Now there are certain associations common to men as men. Such are not altered by this element of discipline.

34:31 We'll enlarge later. But suffice it to say that we're treating such associations which are planned, encouraged, or experienced not because men are simply men, but because they are brethren in Christ and therefore associations in which we have a peculiar delight. Now that touches even legitimate social intercourse. Look at 1 Corinthians chapter 5 again.

34:58 Paul says that I wrote to you in a previous letter not to company with those who were guilty of scandalous sin. And he says, now of course I did not mean sinners in the world. If you're to take a position that you will have no social intercourse with fornicators, with drunkards, with extortioners, with idolaters, he said there's only one way to do this, that's go to heaven. You must go out of this world.

35:27 But he says, notice carefully, if any man that is named a brother, verse 11, be a fornicator or covetous or idolater or reviler or drunkard or extortioner with such in one, know not to eat. In other words, the Bible clearly teaches that there is a legitimate contact with the unconverted in what we call normal social intercourse that is perfectly legitimate and even a duty as long as that relationship does not defile me. But even this is to be withheld from the man who is under the ban of the people of God. With such in one, know not to eat. Now two very practical questions arise from these matters which I've sought to expound. I shall mention them and then address myself to answering them. Question number one.

Practical Questions on Treating the Excommunicated

36:25 To what extent should excommunicated people be treated as those who have never been a part of the church? Well the answer is, according to the word of Christ, they are to be treated precisely as those who are and have never been part of the community of God. Matthew 18, 17. Let him be unto thee as the heathen and the publican, those who have never been named and are presently not found amongst the people of God.

36:55 But as Jonathan Edwards so perceptively points out, there are two main exceptions to this general rule. Exception number one. We are to show greater and more concentrated concern for such as have been a part of God's people than for those who never have been. Or may I repeat that this morning.

37:18 We are to show greater and more concentrated congregational concern for such as have been a part of God's people than for those who never have been. And this of course is the clear teaching of 2 Thessalonians 3, 14 and 15. Mark those who walk disorderly. But he says don't treat them as enemies but admonish him as a brother, that is one who has in the previous times been named as a brother, with whom you walked in the ways of God, with whom you sang the praises of God, to whom you have a far deeper and natural attachment.

37:58 Admonish him, though you regard him as no longer within the body of Christ, you have a greater responsibility to admonish him, to pray for him, than one who has never been amongst you. And then of course the whole teaching of the purpose of excommunication. It's the restoration of the person involved, that the spirit may be saved. And if that's the end, God's ordained the means.

38:26 And the means by which men are saved is compliance with the word of God. Preach formally and publicly the word of God laid upon the conscience by private exhortation and the word of God made effectual by the prayers of the people of God. We have no direct revelation concerning God's concern for any given individual who has never been named amongst God's people. We're to pray for all men in general.

38:55 We're to preach the gospel to every creature, to all creation. We have a mandate to evangelize him. We're to pray. But we have direct revelation that we have distinct and peculiar responsibility to every individual who has once walked with the people of God but is now cut off from them.

39:13 And the second qualification is but with respect to intimacy and what the theologians would call a love of complacency. That is a love of delight. And this is a helpful distinction. It's not philosophical.

39:26 The old theologians talked about the difference between the love of principle or the love of benevolence and the love of complacency. The love of principle is the love that God exercises to all his creatures. Though their sins disgust him and stir up his anger and wrath, in his loving kindness he wills their good and he sends rain and sunshine upon them. He gives them space for repentance.

39:52 But he doesn't delight in them. His soul loathes them, the scripture says. But with regard to his people he has more than a general benevolence and a love of principle. He has a love of complacency.

40:05 God leans back, I say it reverently, and when he thinks of his people clothed in the perfect righteousness of his Son and he smiles with delight. Now, when a man's been excommunicated on the one hand we are to regard him with greater concern than one who's never been identified with God's people but on the other hand we are not to regard him with a love of complacency but we are to avoid him or her more than those who have never walked with God because their sin is greater. They have turned from covenant responsibilities. They have turned from covenant relationships and that's why this passage in 1 Corinthians 5 is so clear because he says you're not even to eat with such an one whereas in the tenth chapter of this same letter Paul indicates that social contact with the unconverted and even the heathen may be perfectly legitimate 1 Corinthians 10, 27 if one of them that believeth not that's an unconverted man biddeth you to a feast and you're disposed to go whatsoever is set before you eat asking no question for conscience sake. Eat with the unconverted. If you can eat with thanks even meat that's been offered to an idol and not cause someone else to stumble but with the man who's been put out from your midst with such an one

41:32 no, not to eat. There is to be even less social contact than with the unconverted. So when Jesus said let him be to thee as the heathen and publican he meant in the very strict Jewish connotation a Jew would not eat with a publican or with a heathen. Eating was the sign of the delight of complacent love.

42:02 Remember Jesus said in Revelation 3 if any man hear my voice and open the door I will come in to him and do what? Sup with him. I'll delight in him. When the Easterner opened his home and bid you to come at his table it was his way of saying I love you with the love of complacency and delight and Jesus said he's to be as the heathen and publican there is to be no love of complacency and delight there is to be the love of principle but the love that will have in it admonition and censure.

42:34 Now the second question that comes out of our exposition thus far. Not only must we ask to what extent should excommunicated people be treated as those who've never been part of the church and we've given the general answer with the two exceptions or qualifications the second question is to what extent should excommunicated people be treated with kindness and respect. The answer lies in the realization already mentioned this morning that the act of excommunication is exclusively moral and spiritual having to do with the conscience and the relationship of a man to his God and to his people not the man in relationship to society and the normal functions of civil existence. And I stand this morning to protest with every fiber of my being away with Rome's foul burnings and boycotting and the infliction of temporal punishments upon multitudes in the history of her bloody and cruel and ungodly and unbiblical existence. The blood of the martyrs is in the skirts of Rome even if she fled from unthinking Protestants today. Excommunication in which a man was boycotted from work

43:59 boycotted from every form of physical and temporal ease and I stand to blush and say some of our great and good reformers were guilty of this vicious mentality of Rome and in that sense I must confess the sins of some of my revered fathers. And away on the other hand with the heartless unnatural castigation of a person's family that often happens in churches where this frightening means of grace is employed. I can do no better to answer this question to what extent should excommunicated people be treated with kindness and respect than to give you a quote from Jonathan Edwards I quote him now There are some things by which the members of the church are obliged to show kindness to such as are excommunicated and these are chiefly to pray for them and to admonish them and the common duties and offices of humanity ought to be performed towards them such as relieving them when they are sick or under other distresses allowing them the benefits of human society and that help which are needful for the defense of their lives and their property the duties of natural and civil relationships are still to be performed toward them excommunications do not release children from the obligations of duty to their parents

45:27 nor parents from the parental affection and care towards their children nor are husbands and wives released from the duties proper to their relationships and so of all less relationships whether natural, domestic or civil in other words if my neighbor's house is burning I do not go and first of all ask if he is a Christian before I seek to awake him and call the fire department and so a man or woman who has been excommunicated I owe to that person everything that is incumbent upon me in all of my civil and domestic and natural relationships to my fellow men as men therefore the kindness is shown along lines of natural responsibility to all men as men this kindness is to be shown to the excommunicated person this is what the apostle means when he says let us do good unto all men simply as men now there is an especial good to be done he says to the household of faith but not an exclusive good well then coupled with this element of the privative which I trust I have expounded with some degree of clarity and resolved some of the practical questions there is also the positive element of excommunication the privative element is the withdrawal from the privileges of the people of God because the individual has been set out of the boundaries

Specific Ingredients: Positive Element (Delivered Unto Satan)

46:55 of those people we have seen the privative along three lines and resolved these two fundamental questions but then there is this positive element of excommunication turn again to 1 Corinthians chapter 5 1 Corinthians 5 and verse 5 ye being gathered together in my spirit with the power of the Lord Jesus and here is the phrase to deliver such a one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus here is the positive element delivering such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh now what does this phrase mean and I say again with shame this has been seized upon as the occasion of some of the most foul wickedness ever perpetrated in the name of Christianity the concept of giving someone over to be destroyed by demons giving someone over to all forms of cruel punishments I can do no better in seeking to expound that little phrase

48:18 than to quote from that great prince in Israel Dr. John Owen who in answering this question says or who asked the question what does this phrase mean delivered unto Satan and his answer is this the design and end of it was the man's humiliation recovery and salvation as is expressly affirmed in the text and this is the key to it whatever the delivering unto Satan is the end in view is the salvation of the man's soul and any interpretation that doesn't land you there cannot be the right one and this is exactly the effect it had with this man at Corinth wherefore this delivery unto Satan is an ordinance of Christ for the exciting of saving grace in the souls of men adapted unto the case of falling by scandalous sins peculiarly effectual above any other gospel ordinance you see what he's saying all the other ordinances this man at Corinth resisted but when he was delivered unto Satan the positive element of excommunication it proved effectual to his repentance and restoration that's a means of grace not a means of judgment now then expounding in more detail this delivery unto Satan is no more but the casting of a man

49:46 out of the visible kingdom of Christ so giving him up as unto his outward condition into the state of heathens and publicans which belongeth to the kingdom of Satan for he who by the authority of Christ himself according unto his law and institution is not only debarred from a participation in all the privileges of the gospel but visibly and regularly divested of all present right to those privileges all interest in them he belongs to the visible kingdom of Satan you see what he's saying two visible spiritual kingdoms the kingdom of Satan and the kingdom of Christ and if a man has been put out of the visible kingdom of Christ he is regarded as in that only remaining kingdom the gathering of men to the church by conversion is called in Acts 26 18 a turning from the power of Satan unto God a delivery from the power of darkness Colossians 1 13 wherefore after a man has by faith and his joining to a visible church been translated into the kingdom of Christ his just rejection out of it is the redelivery of him to the visible kingdom of Satan which is all that is intended by this phrase and this is an act suited unto the end where unto it is designed for a man hereby is not taken out of his own power and the conduct of his own mind nor acted or agitated by the devil but is left unto the sedate consideration

51:15 of his present state and condition and this if there be any spark of true grace in him will be effectually operative by shame grief and fear unto his humiliation especially understanding that the design of Christ and his church herein is only his repentance and his restoration and brethren I cannot add a word to that to do so is to prostitute its beautiful accuracy here is the end here is the perspective the positive element of delivering unto Satan means nothing more nor less than pronouncing a man no longer to be within the sphere of the kingdom of Christ but in that other kingdom to the end that if grace is present the horror, the grief, the pain will stir him up to seek the Savior and have no rest until his sin is dealt with and he is restored to those to whom he belongs in conclusion in seeking to lay before you the answer to the question the nature of excommunication what is this act I have given you a formal definition I will repeat it a gracious punishment exacted in the name

Administrators of Excommunication: The Gathered People of God

52:43 and according to the will of Christ whereby a person who has hitherto enjoyed the privileges of membership in the visible church is cast out of the church and delivered unto Satan in that definition we see the ground of excommunication is the will of Christ the essence gracious punishment the special ingredients privative cut off from the peculiar inward and spiritual privileges of God's people cut off from the peculiar love due to and from God's people cut off from the peculiar associations common to God's people positively it is delivered unto Satan that is given over to the visible kingdom of the unconverted now I want to address myself to the second line of thought having considered the nature of excommunication we now move to consider the administrators of excommunication or who is responsible to administer this act and beloved that's why as your pastor I am constrained to speak at such length because if this were but my responsibility the hours that I have spent on my face in my bible and in the best of my books has enlightened my mind and the hours that your elders have spent in prayer

54:11 in consultation in searching the scriptures in seeking counsel from others we are absolutely convinced of the light of scripture but it is not our prerogative to excommunicate anyone in answer to the question who is the rightful administrator of excommunication the scripture is very clear the answer in principle is this the gathered people of God and the gathered people of God alone look at first Corinthians five Paul first of all charges guilt to the whole congregation for failure to administer excommunication ye are puffed up and did not rather mourn that he that had done this deed might be taken away from among you he charges the whole congregation with guilt then as he gives positive instruction he says verse four in the name of the Lord Jesus ye being gathered together there is the key phrase and this simply derives from the general responsibility and privilege of the church which has the keys of ecclesiastical authority committed to it keys in which the church is responsible for three things with reference to its membership admission into its membership the rule and discipline and edification of its membership

55:37 and the exclusion from its membership of those who no longer walk consistent with its standards and that's the responsibility and awesome privilege of the entire church that's why we as elders never impose new members upon you we propose new members but you have a week in which to voice objection concerning those whom you must incorporate to yourself that's no little trick that's a serious regard for the principle of holy scripture now then in the light of this notice the words of the Lord Jesus as well in Matthew 18 15 he says there is to be the individual activity when that admonition has not brought restoration he says tell it to the church and let the church then act to sever this man now it's obvious that that church is the body to which that man is joined it is the body affected by his sin it is the body gathered to be told and away with all intrusion upon this congregational privilege and right and responsibility by allocating this to presbytery to synod to bishops to consistory to session to board of elders ye gathered together it is the responsibility

57:04 of the gathered people of God and not a perfect people for in the previous chapters he had to castigate these very people about divisions about carnality and their attitudes to one another about going to law against one another in the next chapter they had excesses in the use of gifts and they even had some heresy but he doesn't exempt them and it's a clever little cop out of the flesh that says well we're all so imperfect who are we to discipline this was the most imperfect church that is called upon to gather together in the name of Christ and to exert discipline 2 Corinthians 2.6 underscores this same principle I only bring in these scriptures to enforce the principle of the answer that the administrators of excommunication are the gathered people of God notice how he describes it in 2 Corinthians 2.6 sufficient to such a one is this punishment which was inflicted by whom by the many by the more by the majority indicating there may have been some probably the anti-Paulist party at Corinth who would not comply with this disciplinary activity because they had no use for Paul but when the more the majority of the church acted in obedience to Paul's directive

58:32 that was to be regarded as the activity ratified by Jesus Christ himself and listen dear ones I'm not so naive as to think that there may be some of you who will rebel against the teaching I've given today who when we gather tonight for the solemn responsibility incumbent upon us with reference to one who has walked amongst us in the past there will be some of you who for reasons of pride stubbornness human sentiment or a thousand other things will dig your heels in and will not comply comply with the directive of God my friend you'll be held accountable before God for that reluctance but God grant that it should be said of us the punishment was inflicted by the more it is the responsibility of the gathered people of God but and oh may God give us ears to hear as I now draw all of this to a practical head and conclusion this morning the administrator of this act of excommunication is not only the church gathered as a body but if it is to be biblical it must be the church gathered as a body and acting in three perspectives number one in clear obedience to the word of Christ secondly in evident demonstration of the spirit of Christ

Conditions for Administration: Obedience, Spirit, and Awareness of Christ's Day

59:58 and thirdly in vivid awareness of the day of Christ let me flesh those out for a moment first of all the church gathered is to administer this solemn means of grace in clear obedience to the word of Christ for you see once the church steps out of the boundaries of the word of Christ she no longer acts in the legitimate authority of Christ a policeman has authority to use his gun his badge the influence of his position only within the framework of the designation of that authority under which he works the moment he begins to use his gun for personal vindictiveness his badge for personal gain he acts no longer in the authority of the municipality in which he works and so the church does not act under Christ's authority when she steps out of the boundaries of Christ's word do you see then as a church how essential that nothing be done in such matters about the authority of Christ within the church so the church says in the third day let us all sit together in the church in the body of Christ and in the heart of Christ and in the heart of Christ and in the heart of what our Lord has done the whole nation heads of theка and he has exalted the truth to the state of the world he has made the world the kingdom of Christ holy is the sign and holy is the kingdom of the lord

61:27 that he is the Lord and in the midst of it abides for all the world is full and cares for all under the authority of Christ from where a spirit and the spirit In your authority It must be in clear obedience to the word of Christ Not only as to what we do But as to why we do it It's possible to do what the word says But not why you ought to And oh dear ones If there's any gospel motive Driving the people of God to do What is proper and biblical It's at this point that it's desperately needed Jesus said if you love me Keep my commandments What commandments?

62:13 Tell it to the church and let him be to thee as the heathen Do you love me enough to do what is contrary to everything natural?

62:22 And even contrary to that which seems to be The dictate of your renewed man Your renewed spirit Do you love me? Keep my commandments Not only must excommunication be done by the gathered church In clear obedience to the word of Christ But secondly It must be done in evident demonstration Of the spirit of Christ Will you look again at 1 Corinthians chapter 5?

62:49 1 Corinthians chapter 5 As Paul rebukes the Corinthians for their failure to act With regard to this sinning man Will you notice the first element of the attitude That should have characterized them Is mentioned in verse 2 as mourning And ye are puffed up and did not rather mourn That he that had done this deed might be taken away You see what he says? He says if only you had been gripped with a proper mourning It would have led to right actions Indicating that Paul cannot conceive of the act of communication Administered in any other context But an evident demonstration of the spirit of Christ This word mourning is a strong word It is found joined to the word weeping Three times in the New Testament Mark 16, 20 James 4, 9 and 10 Revelation 18, 11 It speaks of mourning and weeping It is joined to the same word translated wailing It is translated as wailing In conjunction with weeping in Revelation 18, 15 and 19 It is a strong word Strong word Blessed are they who mourn Who carry about a due sense and weight Of the heaviness Of the awfulness of their sin

64:16 Same word in the Beatitudes Therefore Excommunication is to be administered by the people of God Duly affected with the tragedy The tragedy of the circumstances which necessitate it It's never to be done as vindictive, harsh and censorious I quote from Lenski, the Lutheran commentator Whose comment on this phrase Ye should have mourned Is most perceptive Paul first mentions the feeling Which this outrageous occurrence should have evoked In the hearts of the Corinthians And it is not anger and indignation But grief and deepest sorrow Ye did not rather mourn This indicates the motive that ought to underlie Proper Christian disciplinary action Grief over the devil's success Sorrow for our congregation Because it suffers such disgrace Mourning for the soul of the sinner Who has been overwhelmed with sin And with guilt And may God baptize us all With the spirit of holy mourning Mourning that the devil should gain advantage Over any one of our numbers So as to warrant this final step As a means of grace Mourning at the reproach that will come To the people of God who gather at this place

65:44 Mourning for the grief that will come To the offending man and his family The offending woman The offending boy The offending girl And the family and friends involved But thirdly The administrators are not only the gathered church Acting in obedience to the word of Christ Acting in evident demonstration of the spirit of Christ But thirdly Acting in vivid awareness of the day of Christ Look at verse 5 Delivering such in one to Satan That the spirit may be saved In the day of Christ Which is a reference to the day of judgment The day of his second coming A congregation must look beyond The pain of their present action Beyond the agony of exposure Of the individuals or individual involved Beyond the grief and shame to the church Dear ones Everything's moving to that day What will appear important in that day? The sparing of our name as a church Our reputation as individuals The sparing of face, of image Or the saving of soul What appears important In the light of that day And unless you're so besotten in your sins That you're to be pitied this morning With the deepest pity

67:11 You'll answer without hesitation Only one thing matters in the light of that day To be found right with God To be found right with God So Paul says to the congregation Bring near that day When you're gathered When you take him away from amongst you When you cut him off When you deliver him to Satan Have that day vividly before your minds Have that day vividly before your minds That day when Christ shall come That in that day When every tear shall be wiped from the eyes He may be found standing amongst the redeemed of God And you may rejoice that your very excommunication was effectual To bring him back from his sin Into the way of holiness As elders are to discharge their task in the light of that day Hebrews 13, 17 They must give an account That they may do it with joy And with love And not with grief So must a congregation In discharge of the stewardship of excommunication Bring near that day And I tell you, beloved It's been that perspective That has been the fortress of your elders In the past days To deal with things that are contrary To everything in one's temperament And nature But the awesome, awesome realization That we shall stand before the living God And his dear Son

68:38 And give an account of our sin And our stewardship And I say to you young men Preparing for the ministry If that day is not the most vivid thing to you Don't you step foot into the pastoral office Don't you dare do it Unless the awesome specter of that day Constantly and vividly Is etched before your mind And your conscience Because then you see Acting in the evident compassion of Christ Will not cause you to back off From this day of sin Ugly task But it will cause you To move into it For notice what he says He did not rather mourn That he that had done this deed Might be taken away There's the difference between sentimental mourning And biblical mourning Sentimental mourning says I'm so sorry for myself, for the church For the offending brother or sister So I will just show compassion And hope things turn out alright That's not godly mourning That's pure human sentiment A stench in the nostrils of God Godly mourning will lead to the putting away Or as Paul says in 2 Corinthians He says, yea, what clearing of yourselves

70:05 What zeal, what indignation In other words That mourning led to biblical actions Because they realized they were accountable To the Lord Jesus In conclusion then of our second point this morning And of our study For this hour We have established That the administrator of excommunication Or the question Who is responsible for this expulsion And delivery to Satan The answer of the scripture is clear The gathered people of God And they alone But the gathered people of God only As they act in clear obedience To the word of Christ Evident demonstration of the spirit of Christ And vivid awareness Of the day of Christ And may I say That perhaps there is no clearer test Of the death of Christ Or the death of Christ Or the death of Christ Or the death of our devotion As a congregation than this Oh may we fill our vision this day With the glory of the infinitely loving Wise head of the church Who has instituted this means of grace Fill our vision with him Who is infinitely wise The Lord Jesus Who left the legacy of this direction In Matthew 18 Who fleshed it out in the epistles And in the writings of Paul And the other apostles Lest we put human wisdom Against the infinite Wisdom of the Son of God The head of the church Fill your vision today with him

Conclusion and Final Exhortations

71:31 And fill your vision with him Who is the compassionate Lord of his people The one who is able And willing to restore So that in the enactment Of this act of excommunication Our concern will be salvation Restoration Renewal Reformation And never judgment and damnation And then let us fill our vision With the glory of Christ With that last day When we shall stand before him When we shall give an account For the deeds done in the body Not only to ourselves But with reference to others God willing tonight I shall attempt to expound The two remaining lines of biblical truth The recipients of excommunication Who should be excommunicated And last of all The goals of excommunication What are its intended purposes Beloved this is a serious day Little did I know when I expounded Joshua's words Up Sanctify the people Little did I know when I said When the people are to have Special dealings with God It demands special preparation And special measures that touch Even the normal activities of life And if you're a member of the Trinity Baptist Church God have mercy on you If you can find it in your heart

72:59 To fritter away this Lord's Day afternoon In light In jocular conversation In careless indifference To the word of God May God help us all To be found walking softly before him Meditating upon the things we have heard You have been faced with sober responsibilities This morning as a congregation And if you're here this morning As a child of God Who's been guilty of dalliance with sin That you thought was covered May God cause you to have your heart Searched to its depths Today For be sure your sin will find you out And if you're here as an unconverted man My word to you is this If God takes the sins of his professing people So seriously Where must you be?

73:53 Where must you be?

73:55 Some of you have been piddling around With the truth of God And the gospel of God And the blood and spirit of Christ For too long You better break off your sins by righteousness Before God gives you over To the carnal lust of your heart And you'll be in hell While your feet are still on earth And it'll only be a matter of time Before your body and soul will join The frightening chorus of the death I have no word of joy this morning The scripture says There is a time to laugh And there is a time to mourn May God bring us to a state Of holy mourning Let us pray