Church discipline has at least five purposes. First, discipline aims to expose. Sin, like cancer, loves to hide. Discipline exposes the cancer so that it might be cut out quickly (see 1 Cor. 5:2). Second, discipline aims to warn. A church does not enact God’s judgment through discipline. Rather, it stages a small play that pictures the great judgment to come (1 Cor. 5:5). Third, it aims to save. Churches pursue discipline when they see a member taking the path toward death, and none of their pleading and arm waving causes the person to turn around. It’s the device of last resort (1 Cor. 5:5). Fourth, discipline aims to protect. Just as cancer spreads from one cell to another, so sin quickly spreads from one person to another (1 Cor. 5:6). Fifth, it aims to present a good witness for Jesus. Church discipline, strange to say, is actually good for non-Christians, because it helps to preserve the attractive distinctiveness of God’s people (see 1 Cor. 5:1).
Jonathan Leeman

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Tired Out by the Journey

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#1 · May 23, 2004, 12:15 pm

Posted by: ba <ba@...>

Forthright Magazine
http://www.forthright.net
Straight to the Cross

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at forthright.antville.org/stories/794536/
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COLUMN: Final Phase

Tired Out by the Journey
by J. Randal Matheny

I had my Sunday all planned out. We had gotten to
Brazil early Friday morning. Our son Micah arrived
by bus from another city at 6:30 a.m. Saturday to
spend a few days at home. No extra sleep that day.
Sunday, we had to rise early for church. No
sleeping late then, either.

So the plan was to meet with the brethren in Sao
Jose dos Campos in the morning, eat lunch and then
rest some in the afternoon before heading off to
the new congregation in Taubate, 40 minutes away
from us.

Until I walked in the auditorium yesterday morning
and saw the note on the white board. Door-to-door
canvassing in the afternoon to offer a Bible
correspondence course.

Hmmm, do I knock doors, or do I sleep?

I was leaning toward the latter until the Bible
reading and sermon text. This verse made me sit up
straight:

"Jacob's well was there [in Sychar], and Jesus,
tired out by his journey, was sitting by the well.
It was about noon" (John 4:6, NRSV).

We know what follows. Jesus brings good news to a
Samaritan woman and the entire city of Sychar.

Like anyone else, Jesus felt the normal wear and
tear of being human. He got hungry and thirsty. He
got tired. He felt heat and cold, frustration and
elation. As far as his humanity was concerned, he
was a normal guy.

But he was above normal because, even in the heat
of the day and beyond the hunger of the stomach,
he could still consider the needs of others and
offer them what they needed most. In his
privation, he made others abound.

If Jesus did it, could I be content to sleep and
let others work? Would I be just normal, and let
my tired body keep me from bringing the Good News
to someone in need?

My willing spirit was still wrestling with my weak
flesh when someone announced that the canvassing
had been postponed. I was saved from the choice.

But perhaps I still need to be faced with my
tiredness, my poverty, my lack of optimal
conditions, and the continuing need to offer the
water of life.

I'm still pondering that one.

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