SBS | 1st Quarter of 2024 | CPAD Adults | Theme: THE BODY OF CHRIST - Origin, Nature and Mission of the Church in the World | Sunday Bible School | Lesson 8 - Discipline in the Church Slides created by Celso Napoleon

1. February 25, 2024
Lesson 8
Discipline in the Church

2. GOLDEN TEXT
And you have already forgotten the exhortation that
argues with you as children: My son, do not despise
the correction of the Lord and do not faint when he
rebukes you. (Hb 12.5)

3. PRACTICAL TRUTH
Christian discipline is a necessary biblical
doctrine because it allows the believer to
reflect the character of Christ.

4. DAILY READING
Second - Lev 11.44 The Lord our God is holy
Tuesday - 1 Pe 1.14,15 God's people must be holy
Wednesday - Rom 2.22-24 God must be honored in life
Thursday - 1 Cor 5.6 The contagious power of sin
Friday - Gal 6.2 Bearing one another's burdens
Saturday-Heb 12.7 God corrects those he loves

5. BIBLE READING IN CLASS
Hebrews 12.5-13
5 – And you have already forgotten the exhortation that argues with
you as children: My son, do not despise the correction of the Lord
and do not faint when, by him, you are rebuked;
6-because the Lord corrects what he loves and scourges anyone he
receives as a son.
7 - If you endure correction, God treats you as children; for what son
is there whom his father does not correct?
8 - But if you are without discipline, in which all are made
participants, then you are bastards and not children.

6. 9 - Furthermore, we had our fathers according to the flesh, to correct
us, and we revered them; Shall we not subject ourselves much more
to the Father of spirits, in order to live?
10 - For those, in truth, for a little while, corrected us as it seemed
good to them; but this, for our profit, that we might be partakers of
his holiness.
11 - And, in truth, all correction, at present, does not seem to be one
of joy, but of sadness, but later, it produces a peaceful fruit of
righteousness in those exercised by it.
12 - Therefore, lift up your tired hands and your disjointed knees
again,
13 - and make straight paths for your feet, so that he who limps may
not go completely astray; rather, be healed.

7. INTRODUCTION
In this lesson, we will study the practice of discipline in the
church. Although it is very necessary, discipline as a practice
of the Christian Church has been forgotten and neglected by
many. Now, a church that does not correct its members has
lost its identity, becoming nothing more than a mere social
group. The result of this is weak, anemic churches without
Christian witness. Therefore, our subject of Christian
discipline as a formative process of Christian character in
corrective and formative modalities.
KEYWORD: Discipline

8. I - THE NEED FOR BIBLICAL DISCIPLINE
1. God is holy. Holiness is one of God's attributes and,
therefore, it is one of the causes that justify the need for
discipline in the church: “I am holy” (Lev 11.45). God is holy and
must be recognized as such. Jesus showed in the Lord's Prayer
the need to recognize God's holiness: “hallowed be your name”
(Mt 6.9). When God is present, our sinfulness becomes evident:
“And when Simon Peter saw this, he fell at the feet of Jesus,
saying, Lord, depart from me, for I am a sinful man” (Luke 5:8).
Thus, when sinful behavior in the believer's life is not corrected,
God's holiness ceases to be recognized.

9. 2. The Church is holy. God is holy and the church
must also be: “Be holy because I am holy” (1 Peter
1:16). When forming his people, both in the Old and
New Covenants, the Lord's desire was for them to
be a separate people. In fact, the Greek word hagios,
translated as “holy”, has the meaning of “separate”
or “consecrated”.

10. 3. When the church does not discipline. If the church, as
the Body of Christ, must be holy (1 Cor 3.16), in the same
way the Christian, as a member of that Body, must be holy
too (1 Cor 6.19). Holiness is part of the Christian’s identity
(Eph 1:1). Therefore, the lack of discipline ends up blunting
this identity. Then the image of the “worldly” or “carnal”
believer emerges. In fact, these adjectives actually reveal an
undisciplined believer. Someone who did not treat, or was not
treated, what ended up becoming a sinful habit. In this sense,
the lack of discipline ends up destroying the limit between
the sacred and the profane. Therefore, a church that does not
discipline its members becomes worldly (Rev 3:19).

11. SYNOPSIS I
Holiness is one of God's attributes and,
therefore, it is one of the causes that
justify the need for discipline in the church.

12. II - THE PURPOSE OF BIBLICAL DISCIPLINE
1. Maintain the honor of Christ. When sin is not dealt with in the
life of the believer, Christ is dishonored: “The name of God is
blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you” (Rom 2:24). If not
corrected, sinful behavior compromises Christian testimony. In the
case of the church in Corinth, where one of its members adopted
blatantly sinful behavior without, however, having an energetic
response from the church, condemning this practice, led the apostle
Paul to censure it (1 Cor 5.2). It is not possible for someone to adopt
sinful behavior without incurring divine judgment (1 Cor 11.27-34;
Rev 2.14,15).

13. 2. Curb sinful behavior. Another purpose of
Christian discipline is that it puts a brake on sinful
behavior. This is because sin is something
extraordinarily contagious that has the power to
spread very easily. “Don’t you know that a little yeast
makes the whole dough rise?” (1 Cor 5.6).

14. 3. Do not tolerate the practice of sin. In 1 Corinthians 5,
the apostle Paul reproaches the Corinthians because they
were not taking any action against the practice of sin by
one of their members (1 Cor 5.1,2). The consequence of
this is that this sin would end up weakening the church, as a
church that does not practice biblical discipline will
inevitably fail. In this sense, the practice of sin, or sinful
behavior, cannot be tolerated, in the church or outside it:
“But I have this against you if you tolerate Jezebel, a
woman who calls herself a prophetess, teaching and
deceiving my servants to commit prostitution. and eat the
sacrifices of idolatry” (Revelation 2:20).

15. SYNOPSIS II
The purpose of Christian discipline is that
it maintains the honor of Christ in the
believer's conduct and puts a check on
sinful behavior.

16. III - FORMS OF BIBLICAL DISCIPLINE
1. Discipline as a mode of correction. The Scriptures show the need for
us to be corrected. Correction contributes to the growth and formation of
Christian character: “For what son is there whom his father does not
correct?” (Hb 12.7). All believers, in some way, have had the need to be
corrected at some point. If someone is not corrected when they make a
mistake, then, according to the Bible, they are a bastard and not a son (Hb
12:8). Peter, for example, had to be corrected by Paul when he adopted a
visibly wrong attitude toward the Gentiles (Gal. 2:11-14). When the believer
commits something wrong and is not corrected, the tendency is for this to
end up becoming a behavior. Wrong behavior is reinforced. In this way, the
aim of discipline is to lead those who have sinned, or live in the practice of
sin, to restoration and reconciliation (Gal 6.1).

17. 2. Discipline as a form of restoration. The Greek word
katartizo, translated here as “forward the one” actually means
“to restore”. It is used in Matthew 4:21 to refer to the
“repairs” (patches) of fishing nets. The meaning, therefore, is
to restore the person affected by sin to their previous state of
well-being with God, in the same way that a fishing net
returns to its usefulness after being repaired. In this aspect,
we say that discipline fulfills the important role of restoring
the injured, according to the apostle Paul's instruction to the
church of Corinth to restore the erring one to communion (2
Cor 2.5-8).

18. 3. Discipline as a mode of exclusion. This type of discipline is
also known as “surgical”. This is because the member is cut off
from the Body of Christ: “Take away this lawless one from among
you” (1 Cor 5:13). In this case, there is a disconnection and not just
a separation from communion: “Truly I say to you, whatever you
bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on
earth will be loosed in heaven” (Mt 18:18). Thus, the individual
loses his membership status upon dismissal, since the Lord said
that he is now considered a “gentile” and a “publican” (Mt 18:17).
This disconnection severs the bond of communion between the
member and the church. There is, therefore, no longer a link
between the believer excluded by this disciplinary process and the
church of which he was part.

19. SYNOPSIS III
Discipline causes the person affected by sin
to be restored to their previous state of
well-being with God.

20. CONCLUSION
In this lesson, we saw the value of Christian discipline from
different aspects. Discipline is necessary when we know that
God is holy and demands that his people be holy. On the
other hand, discipline also fulfills God's purposes when it
leads the Christian to conform to the character of Christ. An
undisciplined church, therefore, has lost the good smell of
Christ (2 Cor 2:14).

21. REVIEWING THE CONTENT
1. What is one of the causes that justify the need for
discipline in the church?
Holiness is one of God's attributes and, therefore, it is
one of the causes that justify the need for discipline in
the church.
2. What happens when sin is not dealt with in the
believer's life?
When sin is not dealt with in the believer's life, Christ is
dishonored.

22. 3. Why does the apostle Paul rebuke believers in 1 Corinthians 5?
One of its members adopted blatantly sinful behavior without,
however, receiving an energetic response from the church. The
condemnation of this practice led the apostle Paul to censure it
(1 Cor 5.2).
4. Name three forms of biblical discipline according to the
lesson.
The forms of discipline are: discipline as a mode of correction;
discipline as a form of restoration; and discipline as a mode of
exclusion.
5. What does the correction contribute?
Correction contributes to the growth and formation of Christian
character.

23. REFERENCES
CPAD. O CORPO DE CRISTO - Origem, Natureza e Missão da Igreja
no Mundo. Rio de Janeiro: Casa Publicadora das Assembleias de Deus
(CPAD), 2024. (Lições Bíblicas, Adultos CPAD).
SOCIEDADE BÍBLICA DO BRASIL (org.). Bíblia De Estudo Plenitude
Revista E Atualizada. Barueri, SP: SBB, 2005.

24. Slides created by Celso Napoleon
SBS | 1st Quarter of 2024 | CPAD Adults |
Theme: THE BODY OF CHRIST - Origin, Nature and
Mission of the Church in the World | Sunday Bible
School | Lesson 8 - Discipline in the Church

25. LESSONS:
Lesson 1- The Origin of the church
Lesson 2 - Biblical Images of the Church
Lesson 3 - The Nature of the Church
Lesson 4 - The Church and the Kingdom of God
Lesson 5 - The Mission of the Church of Christ
Lesson 6 - Church: Organism and Organization
Lesson 7 - The Ministry of the Church
Lesson 8 - Discipline in the Church
Lesson 9 - Baptism – The First Ordinance of the Church
Lesson 10 - The Lord's Supper – The Second Ordinance of the Church
Lesson 11 - The Worship of the Christian Church
Lesson 12 - The Role of Preaching in Worship
Lesson 13 - The Power of God in the Mission of the Church