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A Biblical Theology of Church Discipline
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Description
This book discusses strategies for meaningful discipline within church communities.
Drawing from pastoral and academic experience, Charlie Ray III turns to the New and Old Testament to reexamine what the Bible says about church discipline. Ray contends that a study of the Old Testament, and specifically Old Testament law, clarifies both the grounds for and the process of church discipline within the church today. By illuminating how New Testament authors repeatedly appeal to the Old Testament Law-both for the foundational principles of and processes for church discipline-Ray reveals how the modern practice of church discipline should be similarly influenced by a study of Old Testament law. While recognizing that the Old Testament does not neatly provide answers for every question about church discipline, Ray suggests that it provides a working model for navigating sensitive, yet vital, issues within church communities. By embarking on a study of biblical theology, extending from capital punishment in the Old Testament through excommunication in the New Testament, Ray formulates a rigorous biblical theology of church discipline for the church of today grounded in the wisdom of the Bible.
Accessibility Information
Additional accessibility information
- PDF/UA-2, 1.4
- accessibility@bloomsbury.com
Hazards
The publication contains no hazards
Support for non-visual reading
Has alternative text descriptions for images
Navigation
- Page list to go to pages from the print source version
- Elements such as headings, tables, etc for structured navigation
- All or substantially all textual matter is arranged in a single logical reading order
Table of Contents
1: “Purge the Evil from among You”: From Execution to Excommunication
2: “On the Word of Two or Three Witnesses”: The Need for Careful Inquiry
3: “Bring Him to the Elders”: The Role of Church Leadership in Church Discipline
4: “So That He Might Be Ashamed”: Church Discipline as a Warning to a Brother
5: “Your Hand Will Be First against Him”: The Participants in Church Discipline
6: “So That They Might Be Afraid”: Church Discipline as a Warning to the Rest of the Church
7: “Your Eye Will Not Pity”: The Danger of Avoiding Church Discipline
Conclusion
Product details
| Published | 15 Oct 2026 |
|---|---|
| Format | Ebook (PDF) |
| Edition | 1st |
| Pages | 192 |
| ISBN | 9798216269557 |
| Imprint | T&T Clark |
| Publisher | Bloomsbury Publishing |
About the contributors
Reviews
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This well-informed study tackles a neglected topic with verve and rigor. The author opens up the logic of the Old Testament in ways that inform its appropriation in the New. He thereby outlines a whole-Bible approach to a whole-church problem. This book merits a wide readership, engaged discussion, and discerning application among scholars and church leaders everywhere.
Robert W. Yarbrough, Covenant Theological Seminary
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Church discipline must be rightly understood and applied as Scripture clearly teaches, and such understanding requires that we comprehend how NT authors read and build on key OT passages. Ray offers a poignant study, demonstrating an adept approach to biblical theology that applies OT wisdom to a necessary practice in the church today. In doing so, readers will be well served to think more broadly about biblical theology and more deeply about overseeing one another in the local church.
Jeremy Kimble, Cedarville University

























