Consistency: Evangelism or Excommunication?

This post was originally written in October 2021, and I’ve held off publishing it for four and a half years. If you click the hyperlink about my experience below, you’ll probably be able to place this post in a timeline.

It was later in October 2021 that I set out to study Church Discipline from as many angles as I could possibly imagine. In the four years since, my perspective has only solidified. When I mention “forthcoming work” below, that could be future blogs, or it could be a book on Church Discipline that I outlined around this same time.

The Church today (especially in America) is facing a crisis of credibility, and heavy-handed Church Discipline practices have only added to the damage. If we’re to make Jesus beautiful again, we have to reform the Church—his hands and feet. This post seeks to start this discussion.

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Church discipline is biblical. It is. There’s no doubt about it. Matthew 18; 2 Thessalonians 3; and 1 Corinthians 5 make it very clear that churches should not take the sins of Christians lightly.

However, when it comes to the concept of excommunication, churches that practice it are often faced with a glaring inconsistency. And if it’s not an inconsistency, then it is gross neglect of (read: disobedience to) the Great Commission.

Allow me to explain.

Jesus says the following in the culmination of His discussion of church discipline:

If he pays no attention to them, tell the church. But if he doesn’t pay attention even to the church, let him be like an unbeliever and a tax collector to you.

Matthew 18:17

It is unfortunate that the final phrase there is often understood to mean, “Say nothing to an excommunicated person unless you are calling them to repentance.” (I know this from experience, because I’ve been in that boat and been treated that way.)

Or, in other words, “Treat the excommunicated person like a nonbeliever.” The text says as much itself. “Let him be like an unbeliever … to you.”

But I would posit that if this is the way you are treating unbelievers (refusing to say anything to them besides “repent!”) then you’re grossly misunderstanding Jesus. If this is you, then you might as well join Westboro Baptist Church or something, because you’re giving Christians a bad name.

You see, we cannot rightly draw people to Christ if we stand aloof and act like we’re better than them. We must be in the trenches with those who are not believers, shining a light that shows them we’re different. If we’re not around them, then we are certainly showing we’re different than them, but we’re showing it in a judgmental, prideful way. We’re showing it in a way that casts disgrace on the name of Jesus. We’re showing them that we think we’re better off with them in hell.

We must make friends with non-Christians, and we must spend actual time with them, and we must show them what Christians are truly like.

We’re not goody-two-shoes.
We’re not anti-fun.
We’re not fools.

But these are the stereotypes that will continue to be publicized and popularized as long as we take the attitude that we are to treat unbelievers differently than we treat believers.

Let’s break the stereotype!

Therefore, if you want to practice excommunication, do it! It’s biblical!

But shunning them, and citing Matthew 18 to do so, is the wrong way to go about it. Teaching your people this is giving them mixed messages about how we are supposed to view unbelievers.

Our hearts are supposed to break for the lost like Paul says in Romans 9. Are our hearts really breaking for the lost when we stand aloof and refuse to spend even an ounce of time with unbelievers? And if those we excommunicate from our churches are to be treated as unbelievers, shouldn’t we treat them the same way we treat any other unbeliever?

The answer, of course, is yes.

We must love on them, spend time with them, and be sure to publicize the hope that is in us (cf. 1 Peter 3:15). This hope is Jesus Christ! It’s not your local church!

“But wait!” you exclaim. “Paul wrote about this very concept in 1 Corinthians 5.”

I wrote to you in a letter not to associate with sexually immoral people. I did not mean the immoral people of this world or the greedy and swindlers or idolaters; otherwise you would have to leave the world. But now I am writing you not to associate with anyone who claims to be a believer who is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or verbally abusive, a drunkard or a swindler. Do not even eat with such a person.

1 Corinthians 5:9-11

You’re right. Paul does say that. In other words, Paul’s words indicate that the Corinthians could be consistent in treating unbelievers who have never been in the church with love and compassion and time, but still shun those who have been excommunicated from the church. This distinction is biblical, as much as it might hurt to admit.

It goes beyond the scope of this post to dive into the reasons for Paul’s specific words here: “Do not even eat with such a person.” (In a forthcoming work, we will look at this topic in-depth.) But suffice it to say that the context and situation are very important.

Not all excommunications are equal!

As such, the point stands: Love unbelievers! Those who claim to be believers and those who don’t! Show them that Christians are different—different by being the most loving community under the sun!

Or, be consistent and admit that you are okay with disobeying the Great Commission. You cannot have it both ways.

In this with you.

Thanks for reading.

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