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Titus 3.10 (NIV)
Warn a divisive person once, and
then warn him a second time. After that, have nothing to do with him.
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| Though it is unpleasant for the moment, discipline has in view the joyful outcome of the habitual practice of holiness.* |
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I like how one commentator facetiously answered the
question of what to do with the divisive person: “Burn him alive?”* We
in the church are “notoriously poor at confronting.”* We are
prone to extremes – from tolerating everything to charging the castle with our
pitchforks. Thankfully, Paul offers an alternative wherein we confront without
bloodshed – and presents no loopholes allowing us to avoid confrontation.
Paul is not authorizing any random member of the
congregation to conduct church discipline; this is a public matter to be
addressed by the church leadership.* It is up to the elders to
determine that there is a heretic in their midst and to issue the prerequisite
warnings. After the individual has been given an opportunity to explain himself
and to repent,* our responsibility as church members kicks in. At
this point, God has given no man – church member or elder – “any other authority
over him but to shun him.”*
What does it mean for us to have nothing to do with this person? Well,
it doesn’t give us license to harm
him – in any way – and that includes gossiping about him. It means that we are
to “hold no communion with him; but leave him to God.”* While “shunning”
is not formally practiced in the Christian church, it is a scripturally sound
and viable method of bringing about restoration. Should we let someone divide
the church just because we’re reluctant to hurt his feelings?
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| If we build our foundation on our own authority, ultimately we have no solution for resolving conflict except “might makes right.”* |
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