Gospel discipline

"The church and people of God, have in no age kept up the Gospel standard. They have come short in faith, in the order and discipline of the church, and in practice. In times of outward peace, the churches are apt to become careless in reference to these things; the living members will become lukewarm and too much disposed to conform to the world, and persons destitute of grace are suffered to get in and remain with the church. Hence the importance of the churches being first purged before God inflicts his judgments upon their enemies. In the times of persecution and some other judgments, these judgments will do for the churches what they had failed to do for themselves by a faithful and correct exercise of discipline; the dead members will fall away and go to their proper associates, and thus be in a place to meet the judgments awaiting the enemies of the truth." -- Samuel Trott, 1856