In this audio message, Scott Brown discusses different kinds of discipline that can be found within the Church. There are 16 examples of discipline that he shares. Excommunication is just one small part of discipline within a Church. There are varying areas and levels of it that can be found.

Galatians 5:9 (NKJV) - "A little leaven leavens the whole lump."

I'd like to talk about the various contours of church discipline. It's critical that we understand in some depth of the way that God does discipline His church. I want to give you a list of 16 kinds of discipline that really begin at the very lower level and they escalate. The Lord has wisely ordered various means for His church for sanctification through our relationships in the church and He's established different experiences for the people in his church. And I'm going to go rather quickly here.

I'll give you the item and then the scripture reference. The first kind of discipline that God gives his church is given at the Lord's Supper where he commands us to examine ourselves and that's in 1st Corinthians 11 31 through 32. The second level of discipline is at a personal level with the study of the Word of God and Colossians chapter 3 16 and James 1 21 we're instructed to let the Word of Christ dwell richly. We're instructed to lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word. Number three.

The third level of discipline is the preaching of the Word of God, 1st Timothy 4 1 through 4. The fourth level of discipline is brotherly admonition among the saints. This is explained in Galatians 6 1 through 10. The fifth level of discipline would include the trials and tribulations which are sent into our lives in order to refine us. 1 Peter 1 3 through 9 Deuteronomy 8 2 Isaiah 40 10 and 11 There are many many places where we can see that.

A sixth level of discipline comes from the various authorities that God has placed in the world. That would be the civil government, that would be various other authorities that God has given us Romans 13 1 through 7 Titus 3 1 through 8 a seventh level of discipline happens when someone has sinned in such a way that those around them are obligated to practice discipline by identifying or marking and avoiding those. And you find that in Romans 16, 17 through 19. An eighth level of discipline is experienced through direct and public rebuke. 1 Timothy 5 19 and 20 speaks of the rebuke of elders.

The ninth level of discipline is the result of personal offenses. Matthew 18 15 through 22 explains that. The tenth category of discipline is for doctrinal error and or duplicity. Galatians chapter 2, 11-16 speaks of Peter being rebuked as a hypocrite for doctrinal error and duplicity. Eleventh, An eleventh category of discipline is required when people cause contentions or divisions over matter of doctrine, particularly by heretical doctrine, or just simple causing disturbance and division separating brothers.

Number 12, the 12th kind of discipline occurs when a rebuke is necessary in the midst of a debate among leaders over doctrine or practice, Acts 15, 1 and 2. A 13th kind of discipline should occur after a punishment is inflicted by the majority of the church to forgive and comfort those swallowed up by too much sorrow. 2 Corinthians 2 1 through 11. A 14th kind of discipline occurs when it's necessary to withdraw from brothers who walk disorderly but yet still treat them like brothers. That's in 2 Thessalonians 3, 3-15.

A fifteenth type of discipline occurs when it's necessary to excommunicate for serious sin as is spoken of in 1 Corinthians 5, 1-13. And a sixteenth element of discipline is the discipline of parents. Hebrews chapter 12 5 through 8, Ephesians 6 1 through 4 speak of this, God has given parents to discipline. There are various kinds of discipline. It's an escalating type of discipline that God gives his church.

He begins very personally by the work of the Holy Spirit, by the use of the Word of God, by the activating of the Saints, our mutual obligations with one another to love one another and speak the truth in love And then it escalates to more public measures, even censure and removal from the church. God doesn't just give excommunication. That's just a very small part of this matter of church discipline. Often when we think of the word church discipline we think of excommunication and our minds need to change in the way that we consider this matter. God in his love disciplines his people.

Every act of his discipline is an act of love. And you can see how much God loves his people through the different ways that he deals with us dealing with such gentle and personal means and then using others to come into our lives and then even perhaps an entire church to speak to us this is all the love of God