Ordered by Christ: How the Church Judges Itself

Ecclesiology and Polity: Theory and Practice

Over the last several weeks, the central question has been this:

Does the congregation itself have any role in major decision-making in the church, especially in matters of discipline?

How you answer that question will shape your entire doctrine of the church (ecclesiology) and the practical way the church is run (polity).

Ecclesiology is the theory: What is the church? How does Christ rule His church?
Polity is the practice: How is the church actually governed week to week, year after year?

Different Christian traditions read the same Bible and come to very different conclusions:

The Anglican / Episcopal View

Our Anglican and broader episcopal friends do read the Bible. They are not ignoring Scripture. But they understand “the church” chiefly as an institution governed through bishops (an episcopacy).

When Jesus says, “Tell it to the church” (Matthew 18), they see that as functioning chiefly through the bishop and a hierarchical structure above the local congregation.

The Presbyterian View

Our Presbyterian friends also read the same passages. They tend to see the church as ruled by a body of elders, including:

Teaching elders – those who preach and administer Word and sacrament.
Ruling elders – those elected from within the congregation who generally do not preach but help oversee the spiritual and practical life of the church.

In that system, when Scripture says “tell it to the church,” that phrase is often understood as “tell it to the elders, who represent the church.” The elders are viewed as the church in its representative capacity.

We’ve seen reasons to believe that this may not be the simplest or most straightforward way to read the text.

The Congregational View

Our confession (a historic Baptist, congregational confession) understands passages like Matthew 18 in a different way. When Jesus says, “tell it to the church,” it takes that to mean:

Tell it to the assembled body of believers—the members of the congregation.

That doesn’t mean elders are unimportant. In fact, elders normally take the lead in approaching people, counseling, and guiding the process. But in the decisive step—public discipline, especially excommunication—the whole church acts.

There are exceptions of circumstance. If, for example, there is only one elder and he is the one accused of sin, then you cannot “go tell another elder.” The process will look different practically. But the underlying principle remains:

Christ has given real responsibility and real authority to the gathered congregation.

This is what we’re trying to see clearly from Scripture.

Learning to Judge: From Snow to Scandal

We actually practice judgment from childhood, often without realizing it.

Up here in the north, many of us were taught from a young age there are different kinds of snow:

White snow – the kind you can (generally!) eat.
Yellow snow or brown snow – the kind you absolutely do not eat unless you want a nasty surprise.

From early on, we learn to distinguish:

“This is good; that is bad.”

The church must learn to do the same, but in a far more serious way.

Notorious Sin vs. Ordinary Sin

All sin is rebellion against God and serious in His sight. But not all sin is dealt with in the same way by the church.

There is a difference between:

A believer saying, “I was short with someone today,” and
A believer saying, “I gunned someone down in the street.”

In one case, you go privately, gently, and apply Matthew 18 in the ordinary way.
In the other, we would say: that is notorious sin—something so scandalous that even the surrounding culture regards it as shockingly evil.

Notorious sin is the kind that would be “all over the news.” The world itself would recoil from it. That’s what Paul confronts in 1 Corinthians 5.

Corinth: A Church in Crisis

Turn your attention to 1 Corinthians 5. Corinth was not a model church. It was a church with many problems—divisions, pride, confusion, and moral compromise.

After addressing a number of issues in the first four chapters, Paul comes in chapter 5 to a particularly shocking case.

“It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans, for a man has his father’s wife.” (1 Corinthians 5:1)

What is the sin?

A man is in an ongoing immoral relationship with his father’s wife (likely his stepmother).
The church knows about it.
And yet the man remains a member in good standing—without repentance.

This is not gossip or hearsay. Paul says it is “actually reported.” Word has reached him that there is a notorious sin going on in Corinth, and it is a scandal because:

The culture knows.
The church knows.
The culture condemns it.
The church tolerates it.

“Of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans.”

This is the key point: the Gentiles condemn the sin, but the Christians who have the Holy Spirit are tolerating it.

That is an inversion of the proper order. Those with the Spirit, the Word, and the gospel are treating sin more lightly than the unbelieving world around them.

“Even Among the Pagans”: What Standard Is Paul Using?

We shouldn’t misread this. Paul is not saying that pagans are the moral standard. He is not bowing before the opinions of the culture.

So what is he doing?

He is recognizing that:

Unbelievers are still made in the image of God.
They still have the work of God’s law written on their hearts (Romans 2).

Sometimes that natural-law sense is darkened. Sometimes it is badly deformed by culture. But sometimes—even in their fallen condition—pagans see certain things clearly: “That is evil.”

So when Paul says this kind of sin is “not tolerated even among pagans,” he means:

This sin is so obviously vile that even a very immoral society recognizes it as wrong.

To make it concrete, think of Corinth as the Las Vegas of the ancient world—“Sin City.” If even there people say, “That’s too far,” then you know it is a notorious sin.

Modern example? Think of someone like Jeffrey Epstein or a person complicit in his crimes. The world was outraged by what he did. If a man like that were a member in good standing of a local church and the church did nothing, it would be a scandal of the sort Paul is addressing.

Notorious sin is not a matter of, “I was irritable this week,” or, “I let my temper get the best of me.” Those are serious, and they do require repentance and sometimes Matthew 18. But 1 Corinthians 5 is speaking about something else:

Sin so public, so shocking, and so obviously wicked that everyone knows about it and even unbelievers condemn it.

Arrogance in Tolerating Sin

Paul’s evaluation of the Corinthians is blunt:

“And you are arrogant! Ought you not rather to mourn? Let him who has done this be removed from among you.” (1 Corinthians 5:2)

The church has failed to act. That failure isn’t neutral. Paul calls it arrogance.

Why arrogance?

Because to tolerate what Christ has commanded us to remove is to say—functionally—

“We know better than Jesus how to run His church.”

The church’s refusal to discipline is not mercy. It is pride.

At the same time, Corinth has been dividing over lesser matters. In 1 Corinthians 1:10, Paul urges them to be of the same mind and the same judgment, because factions have formed around favorite teachers (Paul, Apollos, Cephas, and so on).

Imagine a church arguing fiercely over:

What kind of coffee should we serve?
Which hymnals should we buy?
Where exactly should we meet?
How many songs should we sing?

All those questions have some value. They are not entirely trivial. But if at the same time the congregation is shrugging at notorious sin—like having a Jeffrey Epstein as a member in good standing—then priorities are catastrophically backwards.

That is what Paul is rebuking in Corinth.

The Congregation Is Responsible and Equipped

One of the major points in 1 Corinthians 5 is this:

The congregation bears responsibility for the purity of the church and is equipped by Christ to deal with sin.

If Christ had not equipped them, Paul could not rightly rebuke them. But he does.

Look at verses 3–5:

“For though I am absent in body, I am present in spirit; and as if present, I have already pronounced judgment on the one who did such a thing. When you are assembled in the name of the Lord Jesus and my spirit is present, with the power of our Lord Jesus, you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.”

We learn several crucial things:

The man is to be removed from the congregation because of the nature of the sin.
- This is excommunication—removing him from the membership and from the visible fellowship of the church.
- This is not a long, drawn-out Matthew 18 process. It is immediate due to the notoriety and clarity of the sin.
This action is taken when the church is assembled.
- “When you are assembled…”
- This is not a private decision of the elders only.
- This is not a decision Paul makes alone from a distance.
“You” (the church) are to deliver this man to Satan.
- Whatever this phrase means in detail, it clearly signals a serious spiritual reality.
- The man is being put outside the realm where Christ’s shepherding care is formally exercised through the local church. He is being removed from the protective context of God’s people and handed over to the realm where Satan is given more freedom to afflict.

There are many debates about what exactly “destruction of the flesh” means here—whether physical illness, temporal judgments, or something else. For our purposes, the critical point is this:

The goal is ultimately restorative, not vindictive.

Paul says this discipline is so that:

“his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.” (v. 5)

Even this severe case has a gospel aim: that through painful discipline, he might be brought to repentance and be saved.

Discipline Is Always Aimed at Restoration

Discipline in Matthew 18 and discipline in 1 Corinthians 5 share the same heart:

To restore the sinner, if possible.
To protect the purity of the church.

The church is not seeking vengeance. It is not trying to “get even.”

Instead, discipline says:

“Brother, sister, we love you too much to pretend your sin is fine.”

And if there is repentance and restoration, then the church must receive the person back with full love and fellowship.

That doesn’t erase all consequences. For example:

Civil law may still impose prison time, fines, or even the death penalty for notorious crimes.
Within the church, a person may be restored to membership and fellowship but never again be eligible to serve as an officer because he is no longer a “man of good reputation.”

But whatever the consequences, the church’s posture toward the repentant one must be genuine love and full acceptance as a brother.

Congregational Authority: Not Just for Apostles or Elders

Notice again the wording in 1 Corinthians 5:

“When you are assembled…you are to deliver this man to Satan…”

This is not Paul acting alone. If ever there were a time for an apostle to exercise unilateral authority, it would be here. But Paul does not excommunicate the man from afar.

Instead, he instructs the assembled church to act.

That means:

This is not the unique prerogative of bishops in an episcopal system.
This is not solely the decision of a session or presbytery of elders.
This is an act of the local congregation exercising the keys of the kingdom under the authority of Christ and according to His Word.

Even an apostle does not “open or close the doors” of membership in isolation from the church. He instructs; they act.

Acts 15: A Pattern of Elders, Apostles, and the Church Together

This understanding is reinforced by Acts 15.

In Acts 15:6 we read:

“The apostles and the elders were gathered together to consider this matter.”

This was a major doctrinal and practical question: must Gentile converts be circumcised and keep the law of Moses to be saved?

Apostles are there. Elders are there. But the broader church is also present and involved.

In verses 19–21, James delivers a judgment, rooted in Scripture, about what they should require of Gentile believers. But that judgment is limited to what Scripture actually obliges. Leaders cannot bind consciences with unscriptural burdens.

Then in verse 22 we read:

“Then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders, with the whole church, to choose men from among them and send them to Antioch…”

The phrase “with the whole church” matters. It indicates a congregational presence and participation. The church is not a mere audience. It joins the apostles and elders in affirming and acting upon the decision.

Applied to our situation, this means:

If our church were to seek help from like-minded churches, they could only require of us what Scripture clearly commands.
If they advised us, “This man is not fit for ministry because of unbiblical reasons—say, he’s not good at video games”—we’d politely thank them and ignore that.
Their counsel has weight only insofar as it faithfully reflects Scripture.

Acts 15 and 1 Corinthians 5 together show that:

Christ’s rule is exercised through Scripture, through elders and leaders, and through the gathered congregation.

2 Corinthians 2: Restoration by the Majority

1 Corinthians 5 tells us about the man’s removal. 2 Corinthians 2 shows us what happens when he repents.

In 2 Corinthians 2:5–11, Paul refers back to a painful discipline case in Corinth (very likely the same man from 1 Corinthians 5). He says:

“For such a one, this punishment by the majority is enough, so you should rather turn to forgive and comfort him, or he may be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. So I beg you to reaffirm your love for him.”

Important observations:

The discipline was carried out by “the majority.”
- That implies a vote—a congregational decision.
- It was not necessarily unanimous. It was a majority.
- Scripture doesn’t specify whether that majority is 51%, 80%, 95%, etc. That’s a matter of wisdom. But it is clearly congregational action.
Paul cannot simply reinstate the man himself.
- Just as he could not excommunicate the man alone, he cannot now receive him back alone.
- He instead begs the church to forgive and restore him.
The goal is to avoid crushing sorrow.
- Discipline, if not followed by restoration when there is repentance, can lead to a person being “overwhelmed by excessive sorrow.”
- Satan would love to use discipline not to heal but to destroy. Paul says, “We are not ignorant of his designs.”

So again, congregational action is central. The majority put him out. The majority must bring him back in. The congregation holds the keys, under Christ.

Who Do We Judge? Inside and Outside the Church

1 Corinthians 5 not only describes what to do with notorious sin, it also clarifies where our responsibility lies.

In verses 12–13, Paul writes:

“For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? God judges those outside. ‘Purge the evil person from among you.’”

This means:

We make no vow to exercise Matthew 18 over our unbelieving neighbors in the same way we do with church members.
We are not called to police the morality of the world in the same sense we guard the purity of the church.
Our specific obligation is to those who have joined themselves to Christ’s people by membership.

We do call the world to repentance and faith. We do bear witness against evil in the culture. But formal church discipline is for those “inside”—those who profess Christ and have been received.

Within the church, we are called to:

Go after the wandering sheep.
Admonish the idle.
Encourage the fainthearted.
Help the weak.
Warn those who persist in sin.

One pastor has observed that sheep, when placed in a pasture, will often just keep their heads down and graze. They do not naturally stop and look around. They may wander far from safety without noticing.

So it is with us. People will simply keep “grazing”—living day to day—without recognizing how far they’ve drifted. Christ sends His people to go after them.

When Do We Use Matthew 18 and When 1 Corinthians 5?

Putting this together, we can think of two “paths” of discipline:

The ordinary path – Matthew 18
- For sins that are not widely known and not notorious.
- You go privately.
- Then, if necessary, with one or two witnesses.
- Then, if still unrepentant, you tell it to the church.
The emergency path – 1 Corinthians 5
- For sins that are already widely known and obviously notorious.
- The facts are clear and public.
- The sin is “not tolerated even among pagans.”
- There is no need to pretend nothing is known and then slowly walk through the steps. The case is already public and scandalous.

In these rare cases, Paul does not say, “Now, carefully follow Matthew 18 step by step over a long period.” He says:

Remove him.

This is a kind of “break glass in case of emergency” provision. It protects:

The purity of the church.
The witness of the gospel.
The sinner himself from being hardened by long continuance in a notorious sin without clear rebuke.

We pray we never need to use 1 Corinthians 5. But we must know it is there, and why.

What Counts as “Notorious”? A Voice from Our Confessional Heritage

Our own heritage as confessional Baptists gives us a glimpse of how earlier generations understood notorious sin.

Benjamin Keach, one of the signers of the 1689 Confession, wrote this about notorious sin and excommunication. He lists sins like:

Swearing
Lying
Drunkenness
Fornication
Covetousness
Extortion

…and says that if such sins become widely known and bring great scandal and reproach on Christ’s name, they must be addressed publicly.

He describes a process in which:

The church sends brethren to call the offender to appear.
If he refuses and despises the authority of the church, that adds guilt.
If he appears, the charges and witnesses are presented.
If the congregation finds him guilty, the censure of excommunication is passed with the aim that he may be brought to genuine repentance and that God’s name be cleared.
Only after some time and evidence of real repentance and “holy walking” is he received again, and the censure solemnly taken off.

Keach’s standards are, in many ways, higher and stricter than those of our own culture. That should cause us to examine how dulled our sense of “notorious” has become and where our blind spots may be—especially regarding sins like covetousness.

Why This Matters Now, Before a Crisis

It can be tempting to think:

“We’re at peace right now. Do we really need to dig into all this?”

The pastoral concern is this:

When a crisis hits, it’s too late to start deciding what we believe about church discipline and congregational authority.
In the heat of conflict, emotions run high, opinions harden quickly, and it becomes far more difficult to come to a shared, principled understanding.

Many Reformed Baptist churches in recent years have faced hard cases and painful conflicts. In the aftermath, they’ve begun revisiting and clarifying their constitutions and practices.

It is far better to work slowly and carefully through these things before a crisis:

To understand the congregation’s role.
To clarify how elders and members work together.
To think wisely about how we relate to other churches.
To make sure our practice matches our confession and the Scriptures.

As Baptists, we always have a “first-generation” challenge:

Members join.
Members go to glory.
New believers come in.

So every generation must be taught again how Christ orders His church. We cannot rely on inherited memory alone.

Moving Forward: Slow, Careful, Scriptural

The aim in walking through these passages isn’t to rush or to turn Sunday School into a dry polity seminar, but to:

Let Scripture shape our instincts.
Help every member understand his responsibility in guarding the purity and peace of the church.
Learn how to act, if we must, not only in peacetime but in times of trial.

Christ is the Head of the church. He loves His bride. He has given us His Word, His Spirit, and one another.

Our task is to listen carefully to that Word, receive with humility what He commands, and be ready—whether in ordinary Matthew 18 situations or the extraordinary cases of 1 Corinthians 5—to act in a way that:

Protects the honor of His name.
Guards the purity of His church.
Seeks the true restoration of sinners.

And in all of this, we rest in the same steadfast love with which we began: the kindness of the Father toward us in the Lord Jesus Christ.