Yesterday, in our Tuesday morning Men’s Bible Study, we tackled one of the toughest issues of life - the discipline of purity. We’re currently studying through R. Kent Hughes’ book The Disciplines of a Godly Man (I’d highly recommend it to all men, more on that in a future post). Allow me to allow Hughes to introduce the topic…

“Sensuality is easily the biggest obstacle to godliness among men today and is wreaking havoc in the Church. Godliness and sensuality are mutually exclusive, and those in the grasps of sensuality can never rise to godliness while in its sweaty grip. If we are to “disciples [ourselves] for the purpose of godliness.” (1 Timothy 4:7, NASB), we must begin with the discipline of purity. There has to be some holy heat, some holy sweat!”

One of the issues raised early in our study time was the correlation between purity and church growth. I’ve been reading church growth material for a dozen years now. I’ve read most of the “hot” books on the subject and there is an element that is almost always missing. Most address the need to better market the church, to teach more relevant material on Sundays, and to be more entertaining in our worship styles. Almost none raise the issue of divine blessing.

The question is, will God bless a church with true “growth” when her leaders are compromising their moral integrity on sexual issues? I know that many will point to some large churches that have grown under the leadership of pastors who were later found to have significant behind-the-scenes moral failures. But I’m not really addressing the numerical boastings of megachurches, but rather the actual, visible impact that local churches are having on their communities today.

We live in an age of limitless conferences on church growth, contemporary worship, communicating and preaching in today’s culture, evangelism and missions, etc. We are surrounded by Christian bookstores whose shelves are stocked with all the help one could ask for. Seminary training is a click away and most pastors are a short drive away from some kind of campus or extension center. Our resources abound, but something is amiss. Richard Dawkins and the new atheists seem to be having almost as much impact on culture as the church. Why? Could it be that we’ve lost our sense of awe for a holy God, who demands holiness of us?

Let me close on a practical note. Man (or Woman), if you’re struggling with sexual purity, seek help. Make it known and avail yourself of the church’s assistance. If it’s a potential affair, or a current one, seek an altar of repentance, seek counseling, and scramble to salvage the marriage into which God has sovereignly placed you. If it’s pornography, seek help. Check out pureintimacy.org for some answers. Download a filter and some accountability software and have your spouse block the bad stuff on the TV. Take action now!

One of the most encouraging aspects of our Bible study was the discovery that though men are wired to be visually stimulated, and though our world taunts and bombards us with sensual imagery at every turn, it is still possible to be pure. God has given us the Holy Spirit who will, at our willingness, stand guard over our hearts. He has given us the Scriptures to feed our minds on His thoughts and His will. And He has given us each other as brothers and sisters in a family of faith.

I want the church in America to grow again, to have a real impact, to see a lasting difference made in our surrounding communities. But it will only happen as holy men of God lead the charge!

“Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.” –Galatians 6:1

In a recent discussion with other church leaders, the subject of church discipline was approached. I have read in the history of the church in which I grew up that a few people were “churched” for dancing, cardplaying, or some other evil practice. Obviously the subject of church discipline can be very misunderstood and abused. So often we think of it as a mere cleaning of our church rolls or “kicking the sinners out.”

Real church discipline is a very biblical practice but it is also an almost forgotten practice. In our world of individualism, we sometimes go too far to protect the privacy of our hurting brothers and sisters. Jesus commanded church discipline and the New Testament expands on His teaching. The idea of excluding a believer from the fellowship of the saints was reserved as an extreme last resort. Real discipline is much, much more. One of the best phrases to use in conjunction with “church discipline” would be “restorative discipleship.” Church discipline is really a means of correcting and helping another believer.

Paul challenged us to do the very uncomfortable task of approaching one who had fallen into sin in order to restore them to full fellowship with the church. Needless to say, the church should never resort to eliminating from her fellowship those who merely struggle with addictions or problems. Exclusion is limited to those who willfully ignore the problem of sin and minimize its impact while flaunting an unbiblical lifestyle as an embarassment to the church’s testimony.

It takes great courage to approach a struggling brother or sister. We’re never sure how much to say or how far to push. We are usually concerned about jeapordizing the friendship, but real friendship is a matter of strengthening each other and sometimes, even rescuing one another. As the writer of Proverbs indicated, “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens the countenance of his friend.” If we offend someone by offering help, we may lose a friend, but if we end up rescuing them from the powerful grip of a moral problem, we may have saved a friend for life and eternity.

Real church discipline is rarely expressed through a congregational vote, but by courageous Christians who love enough to rebuke, correct, and exhort using God’s inspired Word.

”For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.” -1 Corinthians 11:31

Did your parents ever make that ludicrous comment to you, “If you don’t stop crying, I’m going to give you something to cry about?” I never really understood the logic behind that line of reasoning, especially when I was the direct object of the statement. When I read Paul’s words to the Corinthians, it suddenly makes more sense.Paul wrote to a church with severe moral problems within and they were doing nothing about those problems. There was no restorative discipline taking place, yet they came together for the Lord’s Supper as though everything was fine. Paul had the wisdom to foresee that God would judge them for their tolerance of sin, but there was a way they could avoid God’s judgment – handle the problem themselves.

You see, all of us need pruning, and God as our great husbandman and vindresser will certainly take care of us by pruning us. But the process of pruning is always painful. Suffering and crises are often God’s means of cleansing us. He intends for His Son’s bride to be pure, so He purifies us through chastisement… and it hurts. Thankfully, God has given us an escape plan from His punishment in our lives.

That escape plan is to prune ourselves. In our prayer time each morning, we should pray for God to reveal any part of us that He would like to have us prune. When we spend this time judging the sin and evil in our own hearts, we are able to enjoy the wonderful freedom of a relationship with Jesus in purity. Don’t misunderstand. What is necessary is not merely putting ourselves down all the time, rather an honest facing of our darkness with the light of Jesus within.”

Prune thyself, that He prune thee not” might be a good way of looking at it.