Will you please turn to Titus? Titus chapter 1.
We begin with Titus 1:10.
For there are many unruly men, vain talkers and deceivers, specially they of the circumcision,
whose mouths must be stopped; men who overthrow whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre’s sake.
One of themselves, a prophet of their own, said, Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, idle gluttons.
This testimony is true. For which cause reprove them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith,
not giving heed to Jewish fables, and commandments of men who turn away from the truth.
To the pure all things are pure: but to them that are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but both their mind and their conscience are defiled.
They profess that they know God; but by their works they deny Him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.
Also Titus 3:10-11:
A factious man after a first and second admonition refuse;
knowing that such a one is perverted, and sinneth, being self-condemned.
We mentioned before that this same Titus was a person well disciplined by the Lord, having a thorough Christian character. Being such, he was in a position to be used by God to help solve difficult problems.
Paul left him behind in Crete to put the house of God in order. In this letter to Titus, we find that there are at least four essential areas that must be dealt with in putting the house of God in order. In other words, if any of these four areas is left undealt with, the house is not set in order. They are equally important; none of them can be lacking in the building of the house of God.
Last night we mentioned the first thing: leadership. Leadership has to be raised up, recognized, and established if the house of God is to be put in order.
Tonight we would like to go into the second area, as we find in this book of Titus, and it is the area of discipline.
I am afraid that when we mention this word discipline, we have some kind of reaction within. We think that to be free is to be free from discipline. But actually, it is for discipline that we are made free.
A person who is not disciplined is a person in bondage. But a person who is disciplined is free. Why? Because he is free not to do what he should not do, and able to do what he should do. He is really free.
Discipline is a word very much misunderstood, and disciplining is an act very much abused. Because of that, it seems that among God’s people we have a kind of natural fear over this matter of discipline.
But let me, from the very outset, say this: an undisciplined person is not a mature person. Only discipline develops character. Only a person who is under discipline is in a position to be used by God.
This is not only true individually, but it is true in relation to the church. If there is no order, there is no testimony. But without discipline, there can be no order. So we can say that a church that is without discipline is no church. There is not the reality of a church until there is the reality of discipline.
If you go to the book of Proverbs, you find that this book of wisdom is full of passages on this matter of discipline. Different words are used: instruction, admonition, reproof, chastening, correction, and the rod. But when you put these things together, you see one thing, basically.
For instance, turn to Proverbs 3:11-12.
My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord;
neither be weary of His reproof:
for whom the Lord loveth He reproveth;
even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.
“Despise not the chastening of the Lord; neither be weary of His reproof.” These words convey to us the thought of discipline, and we know that these two verses are quoted in Hebrews.
Proverbs 6:23 says:
For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light;
and reproofs of instruction are the way of life.
Reproofs of instruction—that is discipline—are the way of life.
Proverbs 12:1 says:
Whoso loveth correction loveth knowledge;
but he that hateth reproof is brutish.
I think that is very clear.
Proverbs 13:24 is a verse that I believe most parents know about:
He that spareth his rod hateth his son;
but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes.
There are many other verses that you can find in the book of Proverbs showing how important discipline is in our lives.
Maybe you do not like to use the word discipline or chastening, but actually this word really means child training—the training of a child. Therefore, there is instruction, there is discipline, there is chastening, and there is correction.
There may be correction by words—admonition and warning—or correction by action. But you find that without discipline, without training, a child will never be able to grow into manhood or womanhood. Discipline is a must.
This is not only true in the natural realm; it is true spiritually. Any child of God who hates discipline will try to evade discipline. You may not suffer during that moment, and yet you will find that you will not be able to grow into maturity. Spiritual character will never be built up without discipline.
In Hebrews 12, it says that our God is our Father, who treats us as sons, not bastards. Because of that, He chastens us; He disciplines us; He is our Trainer, in order that we may be made partakers of His divine nature, His righteousness, and His holiness.
Individually and spiritually, we need discipline. Thank God, He knows how to discipline us and when to discipline us. He disciplines us by His Spirit.
Sometimes we use the term “the discipline of the Holy Spirit.” It is not in the Bible, but that term speaks of something. Sometimes the Holy Spirit so arranges our circumstances that we may be disciplined, that we may be trained.
But our problem is this: our Father knows how to discipline us and when; the Holy Spirit arranges our circumstances and gives us occasions and opportunities to be disciplined. But sometimes we despise the discipline of God. Sometimes we faint under His discipline. That is our problem. Yet it is necessary.
Of course, this evening we are not trying to talk about personal discipline. We will be talking about discipline in the house of God.
If discipline is so necessary and essential to our spiritual growth and to the building of our spiritual character, then, when you put God’s people together, you want these living stones to be built up into a spiritual house, a holy habitation of God.
You see immediately the importance of discipline in the house of God. If there is no discipline, how can the house of God be built? How can the house of God be put in order?
Look at the church in Corinth. They were rich in knowledge and in gifts, and yet that church was very slow in discipline.
They were so liberal. They considered themselves so loving. When there was someone in their midst who committed a thing that was not even seen in the world, they would not deal with the brother who had sinned. They acted as if it had not happened. Probably they even boasted of how liberal-minded they were.
There was a complete lack of discipline. The Apostle Paul was not in Corinth, but when he heard of these things, he was stirred by the Holy Spirit to write to them instead.
“You have to deal with this person. Do you not know that a little leaven will leaven the whole lump? Purge out the old leaven, that you may be unleavened before God.”
How important it is for the church to have discipline.
Especially in the case of the churches on the island of Crete, discipline was necessary. Why? Because you find these Cretans, in their natural characteristics, were such that they were natural liars, ferocious, ruthless, lazy, and gluttonous. These were the natural characteristics of the Cretans.
Added to that, you find those Judaizers in their midst, teaching them things that were not to be taught.
There is a difference here. When Paul travelled in Asia Minor and in other places before he was in prison, he was always troubled by these Judaizers. Wherever he went, they followed him and tried to confuse the gospel that he preached.
But in those days, those Judaizers were strict Jewish disciples. In other words, they emphasized greatly this matter of circumcision and keeping the law. They were strict Jewish people. They were Christians, and yet they still wanted to mix Judaism and Christianity—to Judaize Christianity. These were the people with whom Paul was confronted.
But here it was different: a different species, a different type of Judaizer. They also spoke on circumcision, that is true, but they were not people who were strict lawkeepers. Actually, they went into Jewish fables, the commandments of men, traditions, and things like that. In other words, they were a worse type than those with whom Paul had been confronted in earlier days.
They mixed these things with heathen philosophy, mysticism, a little mysticism, and speculations—going into genealogies and all these various things. Their problem was compounded by their national characteristics, Jewish traditions of men, and early forms of Gnostic speculation—deceivers of men’s minds, human reasonings.
These things added together, and no wonder you find in these churches many unruly, vain speakers—many false prophets and many false teachers. They taught things that ought not to be taught, and for filthy lucre’s sake: perhaps to gain financial profit, fame, popularity, or followers.
These were real problems in the churches in Crete. They divided God’s people. They led people away from the truth. The churches in Crete were in disorder and in chaos. It was a big problem.
Not only that, but when you go down to Titus 3, you find Paul speaking of a heretical man. What kind of man is a heretical man?
The word heresy, in the very beginning, meant something somewhat different from what it means today. Today, when we say that something is heresy, we mean that a person teaches false teaching or false doctrine. That is heresy.
But in the beginning, the word heresy simply meant that which one chooses for himself—an opinion, just an opinion. From that, it developed into a school of opinion: a set of people who hold to particular opinions. From that, it began to mean a sect.
Now it has taken on an evil meaning. It means that, without justification, people hold to certain opinions in order to divide God’s people. That is a heretical man.
A heretical man holds to some opinions of his own and, without any justification, becomes divisive in order to divide God’s people. In the case in Crete, these were people who held to Jewish fables, commandments of men, and Gnostic arguments and speculations. They mixed up all these things, drew people away from the truth, divided God’s people, and broke up the house of God. These are heretical persons.
So in Crete you find a real problem in the area of discipline.
Especially in this letter to Titus, you find Paul’s instruction to Titus emphasizing a great deal of discipline—strong discipline. What does Paul say? He says, “There are many unruly, vain speakers and deceivers of men’s minds.” How are you going to deal with these people? He says, “Their mouths must be stopped.”
The word stopped means that their mouths must be bridled. Very strong words.
Suppose someone comes in and tries to teach vain teaching, or merely speculates on some things. Do you think we would rise up and stop his mouth?
There is no such thing, as one brother says, as freedom of misleading speech. Yes, there must be freedom, that is true. If the Lord gives you something to share, you are free to share. But there is no such thing as freedom of misleading speech.
Their mouths must be stopped. Strong words. Paul uses strong words all the way. He says such people must be rebuked severely. That is a strong word. Not only is rebuke a strong word, but he says, “Rebuke severely.”
Would we do that? Then he says, “A heretical man”—yes, he should be warned once and twice—but if he does not listen to the warning, have done with him. In other words, have nothing to do with him.
This is very strong discipline. Why? Because the situation in the churches in Crete was such that it demanded strong discipline—for the sake of building the house of God.
It was not for any selfish reason, but for the sake of the unity of the body of Christ, and for the sake of keeping God’s people from being led away from the truth. Strong discipline had to be applied.
Titus was the right person in the right place. An undisciplined person is not fit to exercise discipline. Even if he tries, nobody will listen; it will not be effective.
But here you find a young man who was a highly disciplined person. Therefore, he was in a position to exercise discipline.
Of course, the elders who would be raised up later on would be the people who exercised discipline in the church. Because of this, you find how highly disciplined they themselves had to be. In the qualifications of the elders, you find that they had to be discreet, just, pious, and temperate. They had to be under control—highly disciplined.
Unless they themselves are disciplined, how can they discipline the disorderly? Those in the position of leadership have to exercise discipline, and that is why we ourselves must be disciplined.
There is no perfect person in the world except our Lord Jesus. Because we are not perfect, we need discipline.
There is no perfect church in the world. Some people are looking for a perfect church; I have met a few. Because they cannot find a perfect church, they are never committed to anything. As one brother says, they are all butterflies—spiritual butterflies.
There is no perfect church on earth. Because there is no perfect church on earth, there is always the need for discipline.
It may not be as bad as the churches in Crete, or it may be worse. But in every church, sooner or later, among God’s people, whenever God’s people come together, this matter of discipline will become an issue.
How are you going to deal with this matter of discipline? Will you simply overlook discipline completely and let it run its course? If you do, the church will be disorderly. It will not grow. There will be problems.
But suppose you deal with it drastically, and not in the right spirit or the right way. You may split the church. You may cause problems. It is a real problem in the building of the house of God.
On the one hand, without discipline there will be no order, and without order there is no testimony or reality of the church. But on the other hand, this matter of discipline is such a delicate and difficult matter that sometimes we are really afraid of it—especially those who know the Lord, who know what discipline is, and who have been disciplined by the Lord. They are often very reluctant to exercise discipline.
Let me read you something written by J. N. Darby on this matter of discipline. He said:
We ought to remember what we are in ourselves when we talk about exercising discipline. It is an amazingly solemn thing when I reflect that I am a poor sinner, saved by mercy, standing only in Jesus Christ for acceptance, in myself vile. It is evidently an awful thing to take discipline into my hands. Who can judge, save God? This is my first thought.
Only one thing gets me over that feeling, and that is the prerogative of love. When love is really in exercise, it cares for nothing but the accomplishment of its object. Though the subject matter of conduct be righteousness, that which really goes on is love—love in exercise to secure, at all costs of pain to itself, the blessing of holiness in the church. It is not a position of superiority in the least.
I think that is the right spirit when we approach this matter of discipline. Who are we? If we really know ourselves, we are poor sinners saved by grace.
We can stand before God because we are clothed with Jesus Christ, our righteousness. If we are left by ourselves, we are naked; we are vile. Just think: for us poor sinners to take discipline in our hands, that is an awful thing.
Darby said, “I cannot get over it. How could I discipline anybody? How could I exercise discipline?” He said the only thing that gets him over it is the prerogative of love.
When you are filled with love, your love for your brothers is such that you are willing to go through a painful process in order to reach that brother and restore him. That is the only reason why we can exercise discipline.
When we come to this matter of discipline, there are three different stages of discipline. According to the Word of God, it seems that discipline among God’s people is of three different kinds.
The first kind of discipline we find in Scripture is that of brotherly relationship.
Turn to Matthew 18. I think we are all familiar with this passage. Matthew 18:15-17 says:
And if thy brother sin against thee, 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 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 also, let him be unto thee as the Gentile and the publican.
The Lord says, “If thy brother sin against thee.” Of course, we know this happens in a local assembly. Where two or three are gathered together, these brothers are together. Being together in such close proximity and relationship, members one of another, there are plenty of opportunities for one to sin against another.
It is just like Peter and his brother Andrew. Here you find two brothers, Andrew and Peter. Because they were brothers in the flesh, they were thrown together so much.
Invariably, one would sin against the other, and the other would sin against the one. You find that Andrew did not complain to the Lord, but Peter did. Peter went to the Lord and began to complain.
He said, “Lord, my brother sins against me seven times, and I forgive him.” To Peter, that was quite an accomplishment. He was a quick-tempered, impulsive person. For an impulsive person to endure, to be patient, and not explode right away is quite an achievement.
When Peter came to the Lord and complained, he was actually quite happy with himself. He said, “My brother sins against me seven times, and I forgive him. But Lord, there should be a limit. Is seven times enough?”
I believe he expected the Lord to say, “Well, Peter, very good.”
I often wonder about one thing. Peter complained that his brother sinned against him, but I often wonder who sinned against whom. Andrew was such a person. Andrew was very careful. He was very observant even of very small things.
You remember that when there were five thousand men, besides women and children—perhaps more than ten thousand people—the Lord told all His disciples, “Give them to eat.” The disciples said, “We have nothing.” But Andrew stepped forward and said, “There is a lad here, who hath five barley loaves, and two fishes.” How observant he was.
He must have been a very careful person, a very observant person. Usually, when you put such a person with Peter, who was quick-tempered, impulsive, and rough, who sins against whom?
Maybe Peter sinned against Andrew, and he thought it was Andrew who had sinned against him. Most likely that must be the case. Usually, it is the one who sins against the other who complains.
Brothers and sisters, the Lord has put us together. If we could keep an arm’s length between ourselves and our brother or sister, we could live much more peacefully. But the church would never be built.
God has put us together as members of one body. God has put two or three in the same place, gathered together into the name of the Lord. Being together, there will be plenty of opportunities for someone to sin against another, step upon another, or offend another—plenty of opportunities.
When such things happen, what do you do?
According to the law, it is an eye for an eye. If your brother takes out one eye, you take out his eye—an eye for an eye, according to the law. But we are brothers, so what do you do?
Probably most of us would say, “All right. Unfortunately, we are brothers. I cannot take revenge, so what do we do? All right, I have to take it, whether I am willing or not. The Lord says not seven times, but seventy times seven, so I am stuck. I have to take it.”
Unfortunately, you may not forget it. You say, “Well, I forgive.” But if you cannot forget, is your forgiveness from the heart?
The Lord says that if you do not forgive from your heart, He will not forgive you. Recently, I was meditating on this so-called Lord’s Prayer: “Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” If you really know what it means, probably you dare not pray this prayer.
“Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.” A story was told that when G. Campbell Morgan spoke on that, a lady wrote him a letter. She said, “Is it all right? This is my practice: when I pray this prayer, I change it a little bit. I pray, ‘Forgive us our debts, and we will forgive our debtors.’”
Of course, Campbell Morgan wrote back and said, “You cannot do that.”
Just think: “Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.” In other words, if we do not forgive from the heart, the Lord explains that He will not forgive us.
This is not a sinner’s prayer. A sinner’s prayer is, “Lord, forgive,” and He forgives. That is a sinner’s prayer. But this is the prayer of the church.
After we have our sins forgiven, we ought to have the nature and character of our Lord. That is, we forgive those who sin against us from the heart. On that basis, He forgives us.
That is very important—very important. Peter came to the Lord and said, “I forgive him seven times.” When you remember and count them, I wonder how much forgiveness that is. If you forgive, you forget.
But the Lord says, “No, seventy times seven.” Not only must you forgive and forget that he has done you wrong, but the Lord goes a step further. He says, “If thy brother sin against thee, go to him. Show him where he has wronged you.”
If a brother sins against me, the best I would do is say, “Okay, I will just let it go.” If I do not speak against him or speak behind his back, I feel I am very victorious. But the Lord says, “No.”
There is discipline involved. You see how the church of God does not exercise discipline. If your brother sins against you—the case is not you sinning against your brother. If you sin against your brother, no doubt you should go to him and apologize. But if your brother sins against you, what do you do? Do you wait for him to come and apologize?
But the Lord says no. If you wait for him to come and apologize, he is in darkness. He would not do it. But you are in the light. Therefore, you go. You go as a brother.
When you go, it means that you have already completely forgiven him. You do not go with a spirit of revenge or vindication. No, you go in the spirit of love. You must have prayed for him.
“This brother sinned against me. It is true that I suffer, but that is nothing. I am willing to suffer for my brother. But when I think of my brother being in darkness—his communion and fellowship with the Lord have suffered, and his fellowship with the brothers and sisters has suffered—what a loss my brother is now in. I have to go and restore him.”
You know, that is difficult.
The first discipline that needs to be exercised among God’s people is brotherly discipline. You discipline as a brother.
Because you are disciplined by the Lord, you have the responsibility of disciplining your brother. Discipline does not mean going and saying, “Now, brother, do you not know that you did something wrong to me?” Nothing of that kind.
Rather, go and try to reprove him—not for your own sake, but for his good—that he has done something wrong and that it will hinder his life with the Lord, his life with God’s people, and his life with you as brothers. There is something standing in the way that hinders the building of the house of God.
So you go in love and try to restore your brother. Discipline is always for the sake of restoration. Discipline is never exercised for the sake of punishment.
When God disciplines us, He is not out to punish us. Many of God’s people have that kind of idea. I have met people who talked to me and said, “God punished them. God punished them.” God does not punish you; He disciplines you. He trains you.
He does not chasten you merely for punishment’s sake, but He chastens you in order to restore you. Discipline is always for restoration.
So you have to go to your brother and try to restore him. Suppose he does not listen to you. You have no problem with yourself, but you still have a problem with him. Is that the end of it? No.
You have to take one or two others. These one or two are not merely your friends. They must be brothers or sisters in the local assembly who are respected, who have spiritual stature, and whom this brother who sinned against you also respects. They should be fair, not partial.
You get one or two and go, that by the testimony of two or three every matter may be established. In other words, try to help that brother see it. Only if he refuses to see it do you tell it to the church. The church is the last resort of discipline.
If he does not listen to the church, do you know what the Bible says? He is not excommunicated.
It says, “Let him be unto thee as the Gentile and the publican.” This brother has not committed the kind of offense that calls for excommunication, like the matter in 1 Corinthians 5: “Put away the wicked man from among yourselves.” These are matters that need to be dealt with by the church.
But this brother who sins against you has not committed that serious offense. Still, he is unrepentant. What happens? Even after the church goes to him, if he will not listen to the church, he is not cast out of the church. He continues to meet as a brother, but to you—to you—you look upon him as one of the publicans and sinners.
Why? Because his fellowship with you is interrupted. But you should still pity him, not hate him, like a sinner and a publican.
That is brotherly discipline. If, in the church, more brotherly discipline were exercised, there would be less need for the church to exercise discipline.
The problem today is that, as brothers, we do not discipline one another. We think that is a virtue, but it is a weakness—not a virtue.
We have the responsibility of disciplining one another, because this builds up one another. When discipline is exercised, it brings us together even closer.
If we exercise discipline in the right spirit, and it is received in the right spirit, then you find that you and your brother come even closer together. You are really being built up together because there is much love there.
But unfortunately, this is something we dare not do. The reason is lack of love—lack of love. We do not love our brothers and sisters to the point that we are willing to go through the painful process ourselves, if only we can restore the object. That is our problem. It is a lack of love.
How much we need to ask the Lord to fill our hearts with such love for our brothers and sisters. Not in the sense that we see the mote in the eye of our brother and do not see the beam within us—not in that sense—but in the sense that, being disciplined ourselves, we can see better, and we want to help restore our brothers.
This is the first kind of discipline you find in the Bible, and I am afraid it is probably not exercised in the church. That is important.
If such discipline is not exercised, the church is always weak in its relationships—always weak. You do not find that real cementing together.
That is the first kind of discipline. Then there is a second kind of discipline. We call it fatherly care, a kind of discipline found in Galatians 6:1.
Brethren, even if a man be overtaken in any trespass, ye who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; looking to thyself, lest thou also be tempted.
Here you find that it is not the relationship of brothers in the sense of equals. The brother who sins against you and you who go to him are equal in a brotherly relationship.
But here, if anyone is overtaken in a fault, then “ye who are spiritual” are to restore such a one. In the church there are some brothers or sisters who are more spiritual than those who are in fault.
Those who are in fault may not be spiritual; they may be carnal. Being carnal, they may commit some fault and not know it, or they may fall into some sin and not be able to get out of it.
Then those who are as fathers in the church, who see and who care, go out to those who are in fault and try to restore them in a spirit of meekness.
In other words, you do not go and simply look down upon that person, rebuke him, and scold him as if you were spiritual and he were not. Rather, you go in a spirit of meekness.
Try to restore that sinful brother or sister in a spirit of meekness, with fatherly care and sympathy.
This is the second kind of discipline. In any gathering, there will be some who are more spiritual, and they have a responsibility before God, as fathers, to take care of the younger ones and go out to restore them in meekness.
But while you are doing it, remember that we ourselves are human. We have to humble ourselves. That is the second kind of discipline.
Again, we say that in the church you do not see too much of such discipline. Probably it is because there are not many fathers in the church.
But if there are such fathers in the church, how many of those who have fallen will be restored. That is discipline.
The last kind of discipline is church discipline. This is Hebrews 3:6:
But Christ as a Son over His house; whose house are we, if we hold fast our boldness and the glorying of our hope firm unto the end.
That is church discipline. Why must the church exercise discipline? Because the Son is over His own house. He rules over His own house. Therefore, His house must be put in order.
If there is any disorder, the Son will exercise His lordship over the house to set it right. Usually such discipline is in the hands of the elders.
Church discipline is found, for instance, in 1 Corinthians 5. Titus 3 is also a kind of church discipline.
When the church begins to discipline, it is the last resort—last resort. But it has to be done, because if it is not done, there will be disorder in the house of God. The evil influence will begin to spread and leaven the whole lump.
It is for the sake of the sanctity and unity of the church that those in responsibility have to exercise the authority of the Son over His house and exercise discipline.
You find that when this discipline was exercised in 1 Corinthians, Paul encouraged and exhorted the church to exercise it. When they exercised it, they restored that man in 2 Corinthians.
That is the discipline of the church. It is a last resort.
Unfortunately, today we find that instead of having brotherly discipline or fatherly discipline, whenever the problem of discipline comes up, it seems to become church discipline right away.
Those who are responsible in the church can become so authority-conscious that they sometimes forget they are poor sinners. They tend to exercise discipline overly severely.
Often it happens in this way: either you do not exercise discipline, or, when you do exercise it, you get involved yourself in such a way that it is actually you who discipline people, not the Son who disciplines.
When discipline is exercised, there are three attitudes that must be taken. Otherwise, do not exercise discipline.
We have already mentioned one: the spirit of love. Discipline has to be exercised in the spirit of love.
Whether it is brotherly discipline, fatherly discipline, or church discipline, it has to be love.
We need to look to the Lord that He will really fill our hearts with love before we dare to exercise discipline.
Number two: to exercise discipline, you must be in a priestly spirit.
In Leviticus 10, you find that the priests ate the sin offering of the people.
In other words, when you are exercising discipline, you do not exercise it as if you are superior. You exercise it in a way that, even though you have not sinned, you are so burdened and concerned with the sin of that brother or sister that you agonize before God as if you had sinned.
You eat the sin offering of that brother or sister. It is only when you get yourself, as it were, into such a union and such a feeling that you really feel it so deeply as if you had sinned, that you will pray for that brother. You will agonize together for that brother.
It is only in that kind of priestly spirit that you can go, restore, and exercise discipline.
Never exercise any discipline if you are not functioning as a priest. It has to be priestly.
Oftentimes you find discipline exercised, but the one who exercises discipline is aloof. Because of that, you do not have the right effect. Oftentimes it becomes legalistic and harsh, and people rebel against you.
If you go to a brother who sins against you with tears—“Dear brother”—if he is a brother, I would say ninety percent will be softened.
Because you go as a priest, with the spirit of a priest. That is the spirit in which discipline is exercised.
Thirdly, discipline must always be exercised in the power and energy of the Holy Spirit.
You never try to discipline anyone with your own energy. You will kill the person if you do. You will crush him. That is not the kind of discipline we find in Scripture.
When you discipline, you have to look to the Lord. It is not you trying to crush your opponent, but it is in the energy and power of the Holy Spirit.
When people refuse to be disciplined, they are resisting the Holy Spirit.
These are the necessary attitudes when discipline is exercised.
Brothers and sisters, I deeply feel that this area is one that is very much lacking in the church today. It has been so much abused that we dare not touch it.
But because of this, you find that the church is not built. The house of God is not set in order. Discipline is essential, very essential.
I do look to the Lord. I mean, I hesitated very much to speak on this. But I do feel very deeply that this is something very needed today.
But it has to be exercised in the right spirit and in the right way. May the Lord help us. Shall we pray?
Our heavenly Father, we have just been sharing on this matter of discipline. We tremble before Thee, because who are we? Thou art God, and Thou art the only One who can discipline.
O Lord, fill us with Thy love, that we may learn to move even into this area of discipline because we are moved by Thy love—love for our brethren, love for one another, and love for the sanctity of Thy house.
We pray that we ourselves will not be involved in a way that we put ourselves into it, and yet, in Christ, we do put ourselves into it.
Lord, we do desire to see that there is more discipline in Thy house, because we want Thy house to be built. We want to see the house set in order. We want Thee to rest in Thy house.
But Lord, we do look to Thy Holy Spirit to teach us and to train us in this area, that the beauty of the house of God may be manifested.
We ask in the name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.