(Gospel Advocate, Nashville, TN, Vol.142, No. 10, October 2000, pp. 24-25.) First, discipline will help by turning sinning Christians back to the Lord. What problem is more common in the church? Yet, most church leaders feel helpless to deal with it. According to Matthew 18:15-18, 1 Corinthians 5:5 and Galatians 6:1, this is the primary goal of discipline. God has given us a tool that we are not using! What usually happens when a member of a church sins in some serious1 or obvious way? Most often, nothing — at least nothing that will help correct the situation. Talking behind the person’s back, developing hard feelings against him or simply striking his name from the church roll — the most serious form of discipline for most churches — is not likely to do anything to bring the person back. What should happen, according to Matthew 18:15-18, is an all-out effort to get the person to repent. If he listens, Jesus says, you have gained your brother. There are no guarantees that every sinner so confronted will repent. But, contrary to popular belief, some do. It usually takes some time, but people have come back to the Lord, confessing their sins, after being disciplined as Matthew 18 teaches. I have no statistics on this, but even if only one in 100 returns to the Lord, isn’t that worth the trouble? Do we really mean what we say about the value of a soul? Practicing discipline will prevent many from being needlessly lost to the kingdom.