FollowThe “Other Side” Of Church Discipline
© 2026 by C. O. Bishop
2nd Corinthians 2:1-11, compare 1st Corinthians 5:1-7
Introduction:
Quite some time ago, we taught through 1st Corinthians 5. There we saw a man known to be having sexual relations with his father’s wife. The church of Corinth did not see this as an evil thing. They did not know the Mosaic Law condemned such behavior in strongest terms. That is no surprise, since, in the first place, they were Gentiles, and abysmally ignorant of the Mosaic Law.
But Paul pointed out that, even in most Gentile societies, such a thing was unthinkable, and universally condemned. So, how could they have “missed the memo,” so to speak? Why did the Corinthian Church actively support behavior that “everyone knew” to be wrong? (And which God specifically stated was wrong?)
“Welcome to Corinth!” The community center for that city was the largest house of prostitution in known history! It was the temple of Aphrodite. There, the practitioners approved every form of perversion! The Britannica Encyclopedia said, in its peak years, that temple employed 10,000 prostitutes, male and female. Corruption ran especially deep in Corinth. And that is where this story originated! Please turn to 1st Corinthians 5:1-7.
1st Corinthians 5:1-7
1 It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father’s wife. 2 And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you.
3 For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, concerning him that hath so done this deed, 4 In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, 5 To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.
6 Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? 7 Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:
What Was The Problem? Incest!
This is nothing new. It happened in the Old Testament, at least once (Genesis 35:22.) And it had permanent consequences for the young man involved. He had committed incest with one of his father’s younger wives (Genesis 49:3, 4).
But in Corinth, they proposed no consequence for the sin. The church seems to have applauded it. They were at least proud of their own “tolerance.” (Sounds eerily familiar, doesn’t it? It is happening today, as a spreading pattern among churches.) Paul said they were “puffed up,” meaning “conceited, or proud.” But He condemned their pride. He said that they were dead wrong, for not judging the sin that was being openly paraded before them.
Paul warned that some sins are especially “contagious.” He said sin spreads, just as yeast multiplies in bread dough, until all the dough is full of yeast. They knew enough about the Passover to know that it used strictly “unleavened bread.” Yeast, or any kind of leaven was forbidden. God is Holy, and a walk with Him will constantly require self-examination and confession.
So, he concluded that their “glorying” in their tolerance of sin was not good: it was both counter-productive, and destructive. He said that they should have been mourning that such a thing was happening among them. And he commanded that they separate themselves from that Evil, by separating the individual from their fellowship.
Church Discipline
We usually call this practice “Church Discipline.” But we seldom practice it today. And, sadly, when we attempt to do so it is usually done wrongly, with wrong motives, and for wrong reasons.
I knew a man whose wife left him for another man. But his own church put him out of the fellowship! Why? Because they felt that he had “not done enough” to bring her back.
A few months ago, I heard of a young mother whose husband had been continually abusing her. She finally left him. And her church informed her that she was no longer welcome to take communion with them, because her marriage had failed.
Both of these circumstances are horrible misuses of Church discipline, and they are the sorts of things that give churches a bad name.
Galatians 6:1-5 outlines the correct motive for approaching another believer about sin: The motive is restoration, not condemnation. If there is sin that is threatening the flock, it does require that we approach the persons involved, hoping for restoration, but knowing that, “unless something changes, we are going to part ways.” So far as I am aware, that has only happened once in the thirty years’ history of this church.
So, what happens then? What if they repent, and they want to do right?
The “Other Side” of Church Discipline
The Corinthian Church repented of their sin, and they obeyed Paul’s command! We know nothing about the inner workings of how that played out, but we do get to “read the last chapter” on that situation: The man repented! So, what should they do now??
We Can Read About The End Results In 2nd Corinthians 2:1-11.
1 But I determined this with myself, that I would not come again to you in heaviness. 2 For if I make you sorry, who is he then that maketh me glad, but the same which is made sorry by me? 3 And I wrote this same unto you, lest, when I came, I should have sorrow from them of whom I ought to rejoice; having confidence in you all, that my joy is the joy of you all.
4 For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote unto you with many tears; not that ye should be grieved, but that ye might know the love which I have more abundantly unto you. 5 But if any have caused grief, he hath not grieved me, but in part: that I may not overcharge you all.
Here, in verses 1-5 we can see how Paul felt about the whole matter: He knew that the words he had sent the church, regarding the sin in their midst, were going to cause grief. He did not want to have to deal with such a “mess” in person, if they would respond to a letter.
He wanted to have a good relationship with them, and, if they would obey the Word without Paul’s personal presence, they would surely have a more joyful response when he finally arrived in person. In fact, in verse 9, he stated that one reason he wrote was to find out whether, indeed, they would obey,
Discipline is Temporary, for Restoration
But the most serious point, here: They had seen the separation as a permanent expulsion. Paul informed them that that was not the purpose of church discipline.
I have never played hockey: but I have read that when a player violates some rule, the referee sends him to a “penalty box.” And the rest of the team struggles on, competing without him. He is not “off the team,” he is just off the ice, for a period of time. It is a penalty for both him and the whole team! In a limited sense, Church discipline is similar.
We need one another, and we do not want to lose people. But God commands that if we “can’t play right,” then He requires our own team to put us out of fellowship. This is not due to some unintentional error, or because someone doesn’t like them. It is a united response to a known sin, and it is specifically due to an unrepentant response to all attempted correction.
We need one another, and we are aware of our own fragility. We are not condemning a person: we are condemning a persistent practice of deliberate sin.
But What Happens When The Sinning Brother Repents?
Paul says: 6 Sufficient to such a man is this punishment, which was inflicted of many.
The man in 1st Corinthians 5 was living in a corrupt city, where there was only one group of “Bible-believing Christians,” as we might call them today. He could not say, “Well, fine, there’s a dozen other churches I can join!” There were no other believers to join.
How to Understand The “Other Side” Of Church Discipline
The “Other Side” Of Church Discipline
© 2026 by C. O. Bishop
2nd Corinthians 2:1-11, compare 1st Corinthians 5:1-7
Introduction:
Quite some time ago, we taught through 1st Corinthians 5. There we saw a man known to be having sexual relations with his father’s wife. The church of Corinth did not see this as an evil thing. They did not know the Mosaic Law condemned such behavior in strongest terms. That is no surprise, since, in the first place, they were Gentiles, and abysmally ignorant of the Mosaic Law.
But Paul pointed out that, even in most Gentile societies, such a thing was unthinkable, and universally condemned. So, how could they have “missed the memo,” so to speak? Why did the Corinthian Church actively support behavior that “everyone knew” to be wrong? (And which God specifically stated was wrong?)
“Welcome to Corinth!” The community center for that city was the largest house of prostitution in known history! It was the temple of Aphrodite. There, the practitioners approved every form of perversion! The Britannica Encyclopedia said, in its peak years, that temple employed 10,000 prostitutes, male and female. Corruption ran especially deep in Corinth. And that is where this story originated! Please turn to 1st Corinthians 5:1-7.
1st Corinthians 5:1-7
1 It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father’s wife. 2 And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you.
3 For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, concerning him that hath so done this deed, 4 In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, 5 To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.
6 Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? 7 Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:
What Was The Problem? Incest!
This is nothing new. It happened in the Old Testament, at least once (Genesis 35:22.) And it had permanent consequences for the young man involved. He had committed incest with one of his father’s younger wives (Genesis 49:3, 4).
But in Corinth, they proposed no consequence for the sin. The church seems to have applauded it. They were at least proud of their own “tolerance.” (Sounds eerily familiar, doesn’t it? It is happening today, as a spreading pattern among churches.) Paul said they were “puffed up,” meaning “conceited, or proud.” But He condemned their pride. He said that they were dead wrong, for not judging the sin that was being openly paraded before them.
Paul warned that some sins are especially “contagious.” He said sin spreads, just as yeast multiplies in bread dough, until all the dough is full of yeast. They knew enough about the Passover to know that it used strictly “unleavened bread.” Yeast, or any kind of leaven was forbidden. God is Holy, and a walk with Him will constantly require self-examination and confession.
So, he concluded that their “glorying” in their tolerance of sin was not good: it was both counter-productive, and destructive. He said that they should have been mourning that such a thing was happening among them. And he commanded that they separate themselves from that Evil, by separating the individual from their fellowship.
Church Discipline
We usually call this practice “Church Discipline.” But we seldom practice it today. And, sadly, when we attempt to do so it is usually done wrongly, with wrong motives, and for wrong reasons.
I knew a man whose wife left him for another man. But his own church put him out of the fellowship! Why? Because they felt that he had “not done enough” to bring her back.
A few months ago, I heard of a young mother whose husband had been continually abusing her. She finally left him. And her church informed her that she was no longer welcome to take communion with them, because her marriage had failed.
Both of these circumstances are horrible misuses of Church discipline, and they are the sorts of things that give churches a bad name.
Galatians 6:1-5 outlines the correct motive for approaching another believer about sin: The motive is restoration, not condemnation. If there is sin that is threatening the flock, it does require that we approach the persons involved, hoping for restoration, but knowing that, “unless something changes, we are going to part ways.” So far as I am aware, that has only happened once in the thirty years’ history of this church.
So, what happens then? What if they repent, and they want to do right?
The “Other Side” of Church Discipline
The Corinthian Church repented of their sin, and they obeyed Paul’s command! We know nothing about the inner workings of how that played out, but we do get to “read the last chapter” on that situation: The man repented! So, what should they do now??
We Can Read About The End Results In 2nd Corinthians 2:1-11.
1 But I determined this with myself, that I would not come again to you in heaviness. 2 For if I make you sorry, who is he then that maketh me glad, but the same which is made sorry by me? 3 And I wrote this same unto you, lest, when I came, I should have sorrow from them of whom I ought to rejoice; having confidence in you all, that my joy is the joy of you all.
4 For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote unto you with many tears; not that ye should be grieved, but that ye might know the love which I have more abundantly unto you. 5 But if any have caused grief, he hath not grieved me, but in part: that I may not overcharge you all.
Here, in verses 1-5 we can see how Paul felt about the whole matter: He knew that the words he had sent the church, regarding the sin in their midst, were going to cause grief. He did not want to have to deal with such a “mess” in person, if they would respond to a letter.
He wanted to have a good relationship with them, and, if they would obey the Word without Paul’s personal presence, they would surely have a more joyful response when he finally arrived in person. In fact, in verse 9, he stated that one reason he wrote was to find out whether, indeed, they would obey,
Discipline is Temporary, for Restoration
But the most serious point, here: They had seen the separation as a permanent expulsion. Paul informed them that that was not the purpose of church discipline.
I have never played hockey: but I have read that when a player violates some rule, the referee sends him to a “penalty box.” And the rest of the team struggles on, competing without him. He is not “off the team,” he is just off the ice, for a period of time. It is a penalty for both him and the whole team! In a limited sense, Church discipline is similar.
We need one another, and we do not want to lose people. But God commands that if we “can’t play right,” then He requires our own team to put us out of fellowship. This is not due to some unintentional error, or because someone doesn’t like them. It is a united response to a known sin, and it is specifically due to an unrepentant response to all attempted correction.
We need one another, and we are aware of our own fragility. We are not condemning a person: we are condemning a persistent practice of deliberate sin.
But What Happens When The Sinning Brother Repents?
Paul says: 6 Sufficient to such a man is this punishment, which was inflicted of many.
The man in 1st Corinthians 5 was living in a corrupt city, where there was only one group of “Bible-believing Christians,” as we might call them today. He could not say, “Well, fine, there’s a dozen other churches I can join!” There were no other believers to join.
The unrepentant Sinner found himself “drifting” in a sea of vile sin and corruption. He found himself “shipwrecked” on a desert island, devoid of the food and water of fellowship. But he soon realized that his decision to practice the same sins as the community of the lost, forced him to take up residence with them again… He had nowhere else to turn.
Less Effective Today
Today, this practice is much less effective, because people do feel that they can just “find another church.” (And they can!) But… he repented! Paul told them how to respond to the repentant man:
7 So that contrariwise ye ought rather to forgive him, and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one should be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow. 8 Wherefore I beseech you that ye would confirm your love toward him.
Paul commanded them to receive him back, and to comfort him. The goal was never to drive him to despair, but only to allow him to reflect on his bad decisions, and make a new, good decision.
He needed to see that the other believers still loved him and cared for him: But they simply could not allow him to continue in a pattern that would not only destroy his relationship with God, but would also affect the believers around him.
9 For to this end also did I write, that I might know the proof of you, whether ye be obedient in all things.
Paul admitted that part of the reason he wrote to them in the first letter, regarding the sin in their church, was to discover whether they would respond to correction. They passed the test! Now he says, “The penalty is over! He is repentant, and he desires fellowship with you. He has abandoned his sin, and he is trying to walk with God again! Step in and help him! Encourage him! Forgive him for all the past error!”
Paul Concludes:
10 To whom ye forgive any thing, I forgive also: for if I forgave any thing, to whom I forgave it, for your sakes forgave I it in the person of Christ; 11 Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.
He assures the Corinthian Church that he is in full agreement with their forgiveness and the restoration of fellowship. The Unity of the Church is a vital part of our testimony in the World. The three criteria by which Jesus has authorized the World to judge the Church, are:
- The Agapé Love which we either do or do not show toward one another. Remember, Jesus said, “by this shall all men know that ye are my disciple if ye have Love one for another.” (John 13:34, 35)
- The Unity of the believers…not fighting and bickering amongst themselves. Jesus also said, (John 17:21) “…That they may be one in us, that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.”
- The Good Works of committed believers. The overall “Smell of Jesus” in their lives. (Matthew 5:15, 16; 2nd Corinthians 2:14-16)
We are not to be tearing each other up, in self-righteous indignation over imagined faults. But certain sins can “infect” other people. Hebrews 12:15 points out that bitterness, for example, is contagious, and, if it is allowed to remain, it will defile many. Give that some thought.
Lord Jesus, help us to learn the principles of Your Holiness, and the Power of Your Grace, and the Value of Your Forgiveness, to the end that our fellowship may grow strong in all three.