Church discipline is the practice of church members calling upon an individual within the Church to repent for their sins. Church discipline is performed when one has sinned or gone against the rules of the church. Church discipline is practiced with the intent to make the offender repent and be reconciled to God. It was also used to protect the other church members from the influence of sin, and to prevent other members from acting out.

The Bible's teaching on corrective church discipline

Ultimate authority resides in Christ, who authorizes the church to use it as needed. (Matthew 18:17) Corrective discipline is for: * Troublemakers and those who sow discord. (Romans 16:17) * The unruly and disorderly. (1 Thessalonians 5:14) * Those who disobey the great

doctrines Doctrine (from , meaning 'teaching, instruction') is a codification of beliefs or a body of teachings or instructions, taught principles or positions, as the essence of teachings in a given branch of knowledge or in a belief system. The etymolo ...

of the faith. (2 Thessalonians 3:13-14) * Those who deny the great doctrines of the faith. (1 Timothy 6:3-4) Procedures in discipline * Arrange a private meeting with the offender. (Matthew 18:15) * If a private meeting fails, meet with them and several witnesses. (Matthew 18:16) * Admonish and warn them. (Titus 3:10) * As a final resort, bring the matter up to the whole church. (Matthew 18:17) * Remove their membership, and avoid them. (Romans 16:17) * Be ready to forgive them when

repentance Repentance is reviewing one's actions and feeling contrition or regret for past or present wrongdoings, which is accompanied by commitment to and actual actions that show and prove a change for the better. In modern times, it is generally seen ...

occurs. (2 Corinthians 2:7) Purpose of discipline * To maintain the standards of the church to a watching world. (Matthew 5:13-16) * To keep sin from spreading throughout the church. (Joshua 7:3); (1 Corinthians 5:6-7) * Help the guilty person find their way to God. (2nd Corinthians 2:6-8) * To escape God's judgment upon habitually sinning saints. (1 Corinthians 11:30)

Practice by ecclesiastical tradition

Catholic Church discipline

The

Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) is a department of the Roman Curia in charge of the religious discipline of the Catholic Church. The Dicastery is the oldest among the departments of the Roman Curia. Its seat is the Palace of t ...

is the oldest of the nine congregations of the Roman Curia. Among the most active of these major Curial departments, which oversees Catholic doctrine. The CDF is the modern name for what used to be the Holy Office of the Inquisition. According to Article 48 of the Apostolic Constitution on the Roman Curia, '' Pastor Bonus'', promulgated by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

on June 28, 1988: "the duty proper to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith is to promote and safeguard the doctrine on the faith and morals throughout the Catholic world: for this reason everything which in any way touches such matter falls within its competence." The

Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments The Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments () is the dicastery (from , from δικαστής, 'judge, juror') of the Roman Curia that handles most affairs relating to liturgical practices of the Latin Church as distin ...

is the congregation of the Roman Curia that handles most affairs relating to liturgical practices of the Latin Catholic Church as distinct from the Eastern Catholic Churches and also some technical matters relating to the Sacraments. In some contexts, ''church discipline'' may refer to the rules governing an ecclesiastical

order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood ...

, such as

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

s or

monk A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...

s, such as

clerical celibacy Clerical celibacy is the requirement in certain religions that some or all members of the clergy be unmarried. Clerical celibacy also requires abstention from deliberately indulging in sexual thoughts and behavior outside of marriage, because thes ...

Protestant church discipline

Along with preaching and proper administration of the

sacraments A sacrament is a Christian rite which is recognized as being particularly important and significant. There are various views on the existence, number and meaning of such rites. Many Christians consider the sacraments to be a visible symbol of ...

Protestants Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

during the

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

considered it one of the marks of a true church. Church discipline is mentioned several times in the Bible. In I Corinthians 5 and other passages, the Bible teaches that sin if not dealt with in a congregation can contaminate other members of the body of Christ, as leaven spreads through bread. This was an important doctrine in the development of different branches of the

Plymouth Brethren The Plymouth Brethren or Assemblies of Brethren are a low church and Nonconformist (Protestantism), Nonconformist Christian movement whose history can be traced back to Dublin, Ireland, in the mid to late 1820s, where it originated from Anglica ...

movement. It is also an important topic of discussion in many churches today. The

Westminster Confession of Faith The Westminster Confession of Faith, or simply the Westminster Confession, is a Reformed confession of faith. Drawn up by the 1646 Westminster Assembly as part of the Westminster Standards to be a confession of the Church of England, it becam ...

sees the three steps of church discipline as being "admonition", "suspension from the sacrament of the Lord's Supper for a season" and then finally

excommunication Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to deprive, suspend, or limit membership in a religious community or to restrict certain rights within it, in particular those of being in Koinonia, communion with other members o ...

, xxx.4.

Latter-day Saints church discipline

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

, a

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

or a stake president may hold a

church membership council In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), a church membership council (formerly called a disciplinary council) is an ecclesiastical event during which a church member's status is considered, typically for alleged violations ...

(formerly known as a "disciplinary council) to consider restrictions on or withdrawal of church membership for members who commit crimes or otherwise violate the standards of the church.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Ecclesiology Christian ethics