In his recent Paul and the Faithfulness of God, N.T. Wright suggests in a discussion of 1 Corinthians that the church’s disciplinary practices are intimately connected with its eschatology, such that when “faced with flagrant scandal, the church must do in the present among its own membership what the one God will do in the future in relation to the rest of the world.” For Wright, the same inaugurated eschatology that suggests the church is to be a foretaste of the life to come also suggests the future judgment by the saints is worked out through church discipline in the present by the power of the Spirit.
This paper will survey New Testament passages on church discipline by examining them in their literary and socio-historical contexts in order to assess to what degree eschatology is linked to exclusionary practices of church discipline so that the appropriateness of N.T. Wright’s claim may be evaluated. Finally, the paper will conclude with a brief hermeneutical discussion evaluating how these insights may apply to compassionately ministering and serving within the contemporary church.
The full paper is attached to this post as a PDF.
Note from administrator: Your SVS membership dues must be up to date in order to see the attached file.
