The Rules of Discipline
30. Discipline—Its Nature, Subjects, and Ends
Discipline is the exercise of authority given the Church by the Lord Jesus Christ to instruct and guide its members and to promote its purity and welfare. The term has
The Rules of Discipline
30. Discipline—Its Nature, Subjects, and Ends
Discipline is the exercise of authority given the Church by the Lord Jesus Christ to instruct and guide its members and to promote its purity and welfare. The term has two senses:
In the first and broader sense, all communing, non-communing, and associate members of the Church are subject to its discipline and entitled to the benefits thereof; but in the second and narrower sense the term discipline refers only to those who have made a profession of their faith in Christ.
In its proper usage discipline maintains: a) the glory of God; b) the purity of His Church; and c) the keeping and reclaiming of disobedient sinners. Discipline is for the purpose of godliness;55 therefore it demands a self-examination under Scripture.
The ends of discipline, so far as it involves judicial action, are the spiritual good of the offender, the rebuke of offenses, the removal of scandal, the promotion of the purity and welfare of the Church, and the vindication of the honor of Christ.
- The power which Christ has given the Church is for building up, and not for destruction, and is to be exercised as under a dispensation of mercy and not of wrath. As in the preaching of the Word the wicked are doctrinally separated from the good, so by discipline the Church authoritatively separates between the holy and the profane. The Church is to act as a mother who corrects her children for their good, that every one of them may be presented faultless in the day of Christ.
31. Discipline of Non-communing Members
- The spiritual nurture, instruction, and training of the children of the Church are committed by God primarily to their parents who are responsible to the Church for the faithful discharge of their obligations, and it is a principal duty of the Church to promote true religion in the home.
- The Church should also make special provision for instructing the children in the Bible and in the church Catechisms, and to this end Sessions should establish and conduct under their authority Sunday Schools and Bible classes, and should adopt such other methods as may be found helpful. The Session shall encourage parents of the Church to guide their children in the catechising and disciplining of them in the Christian religion.
- The Church should maintain constant and sympathetic relations with the children, and should encourage them on coming to years of discretion56 to make confession of the Lord Jesus Christ and to enter upon all the privileges of full church membership. Even if they are wayward they should be cherished by the Church and all diligent means used to reclaim them.
- Adult non-communing members57 who receive with meekness and appreciation the oversight and instruction of the Church are entitled to special attention. Their rights and privileges under the covenant should be frequently and fully explained, and they should be warned of the sin and danger of neglecting their covenant obligations. When a non-communing member neglects the ongoing exhortation of the session to profess faith in Christ and rejects the covenantal responsibility of submission to home or church, the session may upon prior notification erase his name from the roll. This is an act of discipline without full process.
- All non-communing members shall be deemed under the care of the church to which their parents belong, if they live under the parental roof and are minors; otherwise, under that of the church where they reside, or with which they ordinarily worship.
- An offense, the proper object of judicial process, is anything in the principles or practice of a church member professing faith in Christ, which is contrary to the Word of God. The Confession of Faith and the Larger and Shorter Catechisms of the Westminster Assembly, together with the formularies of government, discipline, and worship, are accepted by Evangel Presbytery as standard expositions of the teachings of Scripture in relation to both faith and practice. Nothing, therefore, ought to be considered by any court as an offense, or admitted as a matter of accusation, which cannot be proved to be such from Scripture, as interpreted in these Standards.
- Offenses are either personal or general, private or public; but all of them being sins against God, are therefore grounds of discipline.
- Personal offenses are violations of the divine law, considered in the special relation of wrongs or injuries to particular individuals. General of