I Cor. 11:29–32: “For he that eateth and drinketh, eateth and drinketh judgment unto himself, if he discern not the body. For this cause many among you are weak and sickly, and not a few sleep. But if we discern ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world.”

A few weeks ago while my wife and I were enjoying a pizza in a restaurant, there were two large birthday parties going on at nearby tables. One group was total disaster, with children running around, screaming, throwing food at each other, while their parents sitting at a separate table didn’t even seem to notice. The other group was well behaved, with the children doing nothing more drastic than blowing their horns and making other sounds of enjoyment. I wanted so to go over to the only mother in that group and ask her her secret.

Sometimes we wonder how some children survive parents who neglect their discipline so noticeably. Yet a surprising number of them do survive and turn out quite well as adults. Where did they learn self-discipline? Probably they learned it at school, or from a good youth leader, a coach, or even in the army. The ideal is that children learn self-discipline at home. But there are substitutes that do sometimes work in the place of parental neglect.

What happens when people don’t learn spiritual self-discipline in their borne and in their church? What happens when the elders and the pastor neglect their duty for fear of men? Is that church necessarily doomed to extinction? We would think so, yet some churches embarrass us with their seeming vitality, when we would predict certain disaster on account of their neglect of discipline. How can we account for that?

I don’t want to underrate the importance of discipline in the church. In fact its importance is underlined in the passage above. It is so important that when we fail to do it, Jesus in his love for his erring church steps in to work the same result, but in a very painful way.

First Church of Corinth had fallen seriously in her discipline. Party division, incest, pride, selfish use of Christian liberty, heresy in regard to the resurrection, and thoughtless observance of the Lord’s Supper were all permitted. Yet this was the same group that had been gathered by Paul’s preaching the gospel there after he had been encouraged by the Lord in a vision saying, “I have much people in this city.” Acts 18:10. How did this church ever survive such neglect of discipline long enough for Paul to even write this corrective letter? I Corinthians 11:30 points to a substitute discipline in the hands of the Lord—a drastic substitute to be sure, but effective nevertheless—an extraordinary measure of illness and death amongst them. “For this cause many among you are weak and sickly, and not a few sleep.”

It would be tempting to apply this to those individuals guilty of the sin of thoughtless eating and drinking at the Lord’s table. After all, doesn’t verse 29 tell us that he eats and drinks “judgment unto himself?” This is the way many interpreters see it.

In my pastoral visits to the sick and dying, I am very hesitant ever to make a direct connection with some special sin that brought sickness or deaths even if it looks like a natural result. Sick and dying people usually are struggling hard enough wit h self-accusation as it is without someone adding to their burden by suggesting that the Lord is judging them. I even wince a little when using the prayer in back of our hymn book where speaking of those in poverty, imprisonment, physical illness, or spiritual distress; it asks, “Grant that their chastening may lead them to acknowledge their sins and to amend their lives.”

I believe this hesitancy to make direct connections in individual cases is supported by Scripture. Our Lord Jesus warned his hearers against thinking that those who were killed by a crumbling tower were greater sinners than others, but said that they should all repent or likewise perish. Luke 13:4, 5. The effect of this tragedy was intended to be communal, not individual.

We need not look far in this very passage of I Corinthians to see that Paul was not thinking so much about sickness and death as God’s discipline for the individual as for the body of Christ at Corinth.

Notice first that he calls the death of some “sleep”—a word reserved for the death of believers. It is hardly fitting to describe the discipline of the individual who died. It is too late for him to profit. But it is very fitting to speak of those whose death is being used by the Lord as a loving discipline for the whole body of Christ at Corinth.

We also notice the interesting choice of word for what the Lord is doing with these painful judgments in verse 32 –“discipline,” or “chastening,” literally “child–rearing.” This language makes such illness and death not a wrathful visit upon those who abuse the Lord’s table, but a loving formation of a better character.

And see how clearly the Lord’s goal of His substitute discipline is stated, “That we may not be condemned with the world.” What could be worse than being left to the results of our own neglect of discipline? A gracious Lord steps in with something to take its place.

The sudden translation to “we” in 31 and 32 shows that this is something with application beyond Corinth, in fact, a characteristic way in which the Lord works in His church.

The Lord does not quickly give up on a church that is disobedient in discipline. She may indeed be worthy of eternal condemnation with the rest of the world. But He who loved her and gave Himself for her has another way of achieving the healing of His precious body where she neglects her duty. An extraordinary measure of sickness and death in a congregation has a way of cleansing the body. Her divisions can be healed by the mutual concern generated for her sick and grieving and their families. All are reminded of the fragility of life and the need of depending on the Lord more. Unbelievers are driven off by the obvious lack of material advantage in being part of such an afflicted group. Why not go where there is a better percentage?

Some years ago our congregation was shocked by a very public offense involving people in leading positions. The assault on the faith of the youth especially and on our unity as we differed on how to deal with it, were very threatening. However, at almost the same time a young man in the congregation was struck with a severe illness which kept him poised between life and death in the intensive care unit of a hospital for months.

Were he or his family being punished? These were about the last ones you would think deserved it. Yet looking back on the whole experience, many have agreed that this was used by the Lord to hold us together as a congregation and bring us a measure of healing as we and the whole community rallied behind them in prayer. What else would bring an entire public high school together in a prayer service during school hours?

We cannot predict when the Lord will apply such painful measures for the healing of a congregation. We can, however, learn that sometimes our neglect of discipline brings into action another kind of discipline which in the hands of the Lord will do what we failed to do ourselves. The Lord does not quickly give over a negligent church to the judgment of the world. We can thank Him for His patient love, but why invite such painful measures by our neglect?

Editor’s note: John H. Elenbaas is the pastor of the S econd Christian Reformed Church of Wellsburg, Iowa. Corroborating J. Elenbaas’ observations about the Lord’s discipline where the church neglects that duty are a number of the Lord’s admonitions and warnings to the seven churches in Revelation 2 and 9  “Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; be zealous there· fore, and repent” (9:19).