Page 50 - Pastoral Ministries -Student Textbook

In this passage, the goal of confrontation is to bring about repentance within the heart of the offending party.
We are commanded to go to that person and point out their offense. If they listen and repent, problem solved.
But if they refuse to repent, then take one or two other people along with you as witnesses and present the
offense a second time. If they refuse to repent in the presence of the witnesses, the matter is to be referred to
the church. Church leadership then is to attempt to bring them to repentance, but if there is no response to do
so, the church is commanded to treat them as if they were LOST and put them out of fellowship, just as tax
collectors were disfellowshipped from Jewish society. This command comes from the mouth of Jesus Christ.

This is not practiced for personal grudges or offenses. It is only for sins that are unrepentant, outward and
obvious, and significant. The sinner, after being confronted with the sin, refuses to let go of the sin or to fight
against it. The sin is outward, meaning everyone in the church or community can see or hear the sin. And it
must be significant enough for the church to feel unable to continue affirming one’s profession of faith. Every
situation requires the exercise of careful judgment. If the sin is a blatant disregard of clear commands in
scripture, and the sinner is unrepentant, then church discipline is warranted.

The goal of church discipline is always restoration. Paul could not be clearer: “You are to deliver this man to
Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord” (1 Cor. 5:5).

Code of Ministerial Ethics
(taken from the Code of Ministerial Ethics, Columbia Baptist Conference)

The following standards are set forth in an effort to create professional
understanding and to preserve the dignity, maintain the discipline, and promote the
integrity of our chosen profession—the ministry of Jesus Christ.

MY PERSON
• I will endeavor to pray daily; to read, study, and meditate upon God’s Word;
and to maintain extended times of contemplation.
• I will plan time to be with my family, realizing my special relationship to them and their position as
important members of my congregation.
• I will seek to keep my body physically fit through proper eating habits and planned exercise, renewing
myself through a weekly holiday and an annual vacation.
• I will try to keep myself emotionally fit, keeping in touch with my feelings and growing in healthy control
of them.
• I will strive to grow through comprehensive reading and through participation in professional
educational opportunities.

MY PROFESSION
• I will seek to conduct myself consistently with my calling and my commitment as a man of God.
• I will give full service to my congregation and will accept added responsibilities only if they do not
interfere with the overall effectiveness of my ministry in the congregation.
• I will consider a confidential statement made to me as a sacred trust not to be divulged without consent
of the person making it.
• I will responsibly exercise the freedom of the pulpit, speaking the truth of God’s Word with conviction in
love; and will acknowledge any extensive use of material prepared by someone else.

49