2 of 3

The other form of the state-church legacy is the church's copying of the state's pattern of dealing with offenders through legalistic machinery: filing charges, setting up courts, holding trials—in short, engaging in casuistry that obscures the spirit of the gospel.

When I was still teaching at Goshen College, the dean of students reported that some students disliked being called into his office to discuss the spiritual and moral significance of their infraction of some college rule—smoking or alcohol use on campus, for example. "Can't you just tell us what the penalty is for the first, second, and third violations?" they asked. They had internalized well our American society's mentality, so that when the office of student affairs wanted to deal with them in a Christian way, the way of achieving righteousness through grace, they preferred the way of the law.

A sense of the importance of church discipline has a lot to do with the church's sense of separation from the world, something state-church Christianity lost sight of. Three generations ago, many evangelicals still possessed it (for instance, Christian colleges' old student pledge not to attend movies or dance). In conflict with liberals or "modernists," many evangelicals withdrew from mainline churches. Today, evangelicals (the new mainline) are passionate about "Christianizing" society through legislation and the judicial system. Constantine still rules.

The church's history of dealing with problem persons in legalistic fashion is responsible in large part, I believe, for the present distaste for the term church discipline. Discipline is still the watchword of high-school basketball or children's music lessons, but has become objectionable in the church lexicon. For that reason, I have resorted to the term discipling. Evangelism and mission seek to make disciples of people, bringing them into Christ's way. But it doesn't make much sense to bring people into Christ's way in the first place if the church then fails to make every effort consistent with the gospel to bring back into Christ's way those who are straying from it.

In fact, every society on the face of the earth, past and present, has its codes of conduct, identifying behaviors it will not tolerate. The only questions are: first, who or what defines that code of conduct; and, second, how are violators of that code dealt with.

Modeling these decisions on societal mores and practices, rather than on the teaching of Scripture (especially that of the New Testament), leads rather ironically to both laxity and legalism. The church is a body of love, compassion, and honesty, preaching the power of God for salvation.

Marlin Jeschke is professor emeritus of philosophy and religion at Goshen College. His book Discipling in the Church (Herald Press) is the preeminent contemporary text on church discipline.

Copyright © 2005 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

Marlin Jeschke's book Discipling in the Church is available from Amazon.com and other book retailers.

More articles on church discipline or the need for it from CT includes:

To Judge, or Not to Judge | Christ commanded us not to judge others, but aren't there times when common sense or prudence requires it? (June 29, 2005)

The Evangelical Scandal | Ron Sider says the movement is riddled with hypocrisy, and that it's time for serious change. (April 13, 2005)

next page... |  2 of 3

share this page

August 2005, Vol. 49, No. 8