Chapter 7: The Church's Authority in Discipline

Article XXXIII

OF EXCOMMUNICATE PERSONS, HOW THEY ARE TO BE AVOIDED^[1]

That person which by open denunciation of the Church is rightly cut off from the unity of the Church, and excommunicated, ought to be taken of the whole multitude of the faithful, as an Heathen and Publican, until he be openly reconciled by penance, and received into the Church by a Judge that hath authority thereunto.

Like any other society, the Church has the right to expel, temporarily or permanently, those who are disloyal to her principles. The Jewish Church practiced excommunication^[2] at least from the time of Ezra.^[3] In the Gospels we find several references to ‘separation from the synagogue’ as a penalty imposed on offenders.^[4] Our Lord gave the Church authority to ‘bind and’ to ‘loose’,^[5] which are Rabbinical expressions meaning to ‘prohibit’ and to ‘permit’, and would suggest to Jews a form of ecclesiastical discipline.^[6] He also suggested a definite procedure (possibly based on a similar Jewish procedure), consisting of (a) private admonition of the offender, (b) admonition in the presence of two or three witnesses, and (c) if both of these failed, then the offence should be reported in the presence of the Church. If the offender failed to hear the Church, he was to be treated as ‘an heathen man and a publican’,^[7] that is, as one outside the fellowship of the Church. Here ‘Our Lord lays down a general principle which the Church has embodied in her system of discipline. She can only enforce obedience by spiritual penalties such as depriving the offender of certain privileges of membership. The final penalty is that of depriving him of membership altogether.’^[8]

In New Testament times we find that the Church did in fact exercise such discipline. For instance, when St. Paul discovered that a member of the Church in Corinth had committed a grave moral sin,^[9] he exercised his authority as an Apostle to excommunicate the offender^[10] and directed the Church to carry out the sentence at a public assembly.^[11]

^[1]The original title of this Article when it was published in 1553 was ‘Excommunicate Persons are to be avoided’. No other change of substance has been made.

^[2]To excommunicate means to exclude from the communion and privileges of the Church.

^[3]Ezra 10:8.

^[4]Jn. 9:22, 12:42, 16:2; cf. Lk. 6:22.

^[5]Mtt. 16:19, 18:18; Jn. 20:23.

^[6]J. H. Bernard, St. John I. C. C., vol. ii., p. 680.

^[7]Mtt. 18:15-18.

^[8]E. J. Bicknell, Op. cit., p. 315.

^[9]1 Cor. 5:1-2.

^[10]1 Cor. 5:3.

^[11]1 Cor. 5:4 f. The expression ‘deliver unto Satan’ expresses the belief that the Church is the sphere of salvation, and exclusion from the fellowship of the Church means that the offender is put out into the sphere in which Satan is supreme (Cp. Col. 1:13). Sickness and death was sometimes regarded as a punishment for sin (Acts. 5:1-11; 2 Cor. 12:7; Heb. 2:14).


	The Church's Authority in Discipline
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Title Contents Preface Introduction Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Appendix A Appendix B Appendix C Site Search: powered by FreeFind Copyright & Credit	Article XXXIII OF EXCOMMUNICATE PERSONS, HOW THEY ARE TO BE AVOIDED^[1] That person which by open denunciation of the Church is rightly cut off from the unity of the Church, and excommunicated, ought to be taken of the whole multitude of the faithful, as an Heathen and Publican, until he be openly reconciled by penance, and received into the Church by a Judge that hath authority thereunto. Like any other society, the Church has the right to expel, temporarily or permanently, those who are disloyal to her principles. The Jewish Church practiced excommunication^[2] at least from the time of Ezra.^[3] In the Gospels we find several references to ‘separation from the synagogue’ as a penalty imposed on offenders.^[4] Our Lord gave the Church authority to ‘bind and’ to ‘loose’,^[5] which are Rabbinical expressions meaning to ‘prohibit’ and to ‘permit’, and would suggest to Jews a form of ecclesiastical discipline.^[6] He also suggested a definite procedure (possibly based on a similar Jewish procedure), consisting of (a) private admonition of the offender, (b) admonition in the presence of two or three witnesses, and (c) if both of these failed, then the offence should be reported in the presence of the Church. If the offender failed to hear the Church, he was to be treated as ‘an heathen man and a publican’,^[7] that is, as one outside the fellowship of the Church. Here ‘Our Lord lays down a general principle which the Church has embodied in her system of discipline. She can only enforce obedience by spiritual penalties such as depriving the offender of certain privileges of membership. The final penalty is that of depriving him of membership altogether.’^[8] In New Testament times we find that the Church did in fact exercise such discipline. For instance, when St. Paul discovered that a member of the Church in Corinth had committed a grave moral sin,^[9] he exercised his authority as an Apostle to excommunicate the offender^[10] and directed the Church to carry out the sentence at a public assembly.^[11] ^[1]The original title of this Article when it was published in 1553 was ‘Excommunicate Persons are to be avoided’. No other change of substance has been made. ^[2]To excommunicate means to exclude from the communion and privileges of the Church. ^[3]Ezra 10:8. ^[4]Jn. 9:22, 12:42, 16:2; cf. Lk. 6:22. ^[5]Mtt. 16:19, 18:18; Jn. 20:23. ^[6]J. H. Bernard, St. John I. C. C., vol. ii., p. 680. ^[7]Mtt. 18:15-18. ^[8]E. J. Bicknell, Op. cit., p. 315. ^[9]1 Cor. 5:1-2. ^[10]1 Cor. 5:3. ^[11]1 Cor. 5:4 f. The expression ‘deliver unto Satan’ expresses the belief that the Church is the sphere of salvation, and exclusion from the fellowship of the Church means that the offender is put out into the sphere in which Satan is supreme (Cp. Col. 1:13). Sickness and death was sometimes regarded as a punishment for sin (Acts. 5:1-11; 2 Cor. 12:7; Heb. 2:14).
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