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of Matthew 18, we find ourselves 
in the fourth discourse in Matthew's Gospel. There are five total. The last remaining one is the 
Olivet Discourse with an eschatological focus in chapters 24 and 25. The specific section we find 
ourselves in is verses 15 to 20, and I've sought to outline 
that or give you sort of a map on how these verses flow in this 
three-fold construction. First, the procedure for the 
church's discipline in verses 15 to 17, the possession of the 
church's authority in verse 18, and then the presence of the 
church's Lord in verses 19 and 20. We have been taking our time 
as we move through this particular section because it is a most 
important teaching, a most important section. If with a majority of 
the Reformed Church we confess that the discipline of the church 
is one of those identifying marks of the church, then we really 
ought to understand what's going on in 15 to 20. As I've mentioned 
in the Belgic Confession and the Scots Confession, They indicate 
the three marks of the church, the true preaching of God's word. 
Secondly, the administration of the sacraments. And thirdly, 
the discipline of the church. I think the churches, by and 
large, are sufficiently instructed, or at least ought to be, in terms 
of the importance of preaching and in terms of the doctrines 
of baptism and the Lord's Supper, or the sacraments. But it will 
be helpful for us. to think clearly through this 
issue of church discipline. In the larger context, chapter 
18, this fourth discourse as a whole, deals with relationships 
in the covenant community. It deals with how the people 
of God are to get along with one another in the life of the 
church. Remember in verses To four, the 
disciples ask, who then is the greatest in the kingdom? And 
Jesus indicates by virtue of this living illustration, this 
little child, that greatness in the kingdom is those are manifested 
by those who are indeed humble. He then highlights the importance 
of us not causing offense to brothers and sisters. Certainly 
if we're humble people, we're not going to cause a scandal 
to the people of God. In verses 10 to 14, he highlights 
the importance of recovering the lost sheep. There are those 
who stray in the context of the Church of Christ. There are those 
who wander astray, and the Church ought to be dutiful in terms 
of visitation, in terms of prayer, in terms of personal exhortation 
to try and recover those lost sheep. And what 15 to 20 does 
is extends that further. The first aspect in Church discipline 
is the private confrontation of verse 15. If your brother 
sins against you, go to him. Don't talk about him, don't post 
nasty things about him on the internet, don't bring it up as 
a matter of prayer publicly simply so you can highlight the fact 
that he has wronged you or sinned against you. We're not supposed 
to do that. We are to go to our brother, 
we are to tell him his fault between us and him, and if he 
hears us and he repents, then we have won our brother. But 
if he refuses that, then there are two further steps of discipline 
that the Church must employ. So the Church is about recovering 
the lost brother. But if the brother refuses to 
listen to witnesses, the brother refuses to listen to the Church, 
the brother refuses to listen to those means that have been 
given by God for his recovery and his well-being. then it comes 
to the point where the church must act decisively, in the name 
of Christ her head, to deal with that person. In the first place, 
so that God's glory will be had. In the second place, that the 
church's purity will be maintained, but as well, so that the sinner 
can be recovered. so that he can be restored. Well, 
let us read verses 15 to 20 and then we'll start with that second 
step this morning, the necessity for witnesses. Beginning in verse 
15. Moreover, if your brother sins 
against you, Go and tell him his fault between you and him 
alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. But if he 
will not hear, take with you one or two more, that by the 
mouth of two or three witnesses, every word may be established. 
And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if 
he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen 
and a tax collector. Assuredly, I say to you, whatever 
you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose 
on earth will be loosed in heaven. Again, I say to you that if two 
of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will 
be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three 
are gathered together in my name, I am there in the midst of them. 
Amen. Well, let us pray. Our gracious 
Father, we thank you for the Word of God. We thank you that 
Christ, who is the head of the Church, has spoken so clearly 
in the matters of preaching and sacraments and discipline. We 
thank you that he has spoken clearly on matters of worship 
and all things affecting the faith and practice of the Church. 
Give us ears to hear. Give us hearts to receive these 
things. Give us grace and a humility 
and a courage to deal faithfully one with another. Certainly, 
as the apostle says in the book of Hebrews, we are to exhort 
one another daily while it is called today, lest we too be 
hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. We know that sin is an 
active force in the life of the church. We know that there is 
remaining corruption in our own hearts. So we pray God, help 
us to deal faithfully with one another. And even now we confess 
our sins and transgressions. We ask that you would forgive 
us and cleanse us in the blood of the Lord Jesus. And for those 
who are unbelievers, God, may they see your view of sin as 
it's revealed in a passage like this. We know that you do not 
just wink at it. We know that you do not just 
ignore it. We do not, or we know that you don't just make it go 
away, but it caused the son of God, his life and his, his everything 
for the sins of his people. I pray that we would see it as 
it is clearly displayed in the scriptures and in our own hearts, 
that we would use the means that you have given to deal with sin. And even now we confess it, we 
ask that you would hear us, forgive us, not for our sake but for 
Christ's sake. And please fill each and every 
one of us with your Holy Spirit that we may understand your truth. 
And we pray through Christ our Lord, amen. Well, as I've just 
rehearsed and highlighted, that first step is found in verse 
15. It is to be a private matter. If someone sins against me, if 
someone wrongs me, I go to that person, I tell him his fault. 
And if he hears me, then I win my brother. It is buried at that 
point. I don't bring it up again. I 
don't continue to bring it to his face. I don't continue to 
highlight the fact that he had the gall to sin against me. Brethren, 
we all sin against each other. And the way that we deal with 
sin is described or defined for us in the Bible. Proverbs 28.13 
is a blessed reality, both toward God and toward men. Whoever covers 
his transgression shall not prosper, but the one who confesses it 
and forsakes it, he will find mercy. We know that to be the 
case. Jesus, or John rather, says concerning 
the gospel, if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just 
to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 
We have recourse through the blood of the Lord Jesus to our 
Holy God. We confess it to Him and we ask 
for forgiveness. And on the same hand, when we 
sin against people in the church, the Apostle Paul commands us 
that we are to forgive one another even as God in Christ has forgiven 
us. We ought to know that if we sin 
against a brother and we repent of that sin, that brother is 
going to forgive us. Brethren, do you realize that 
you have been forgiven much? You ought to exercise that same 
sort of a forgiving and charitable spirit and attitude toward others. 
Do not take your grudges to the grave. Do not change the way 
you live because that person sinned against you. You're going 
to consider them as being dead to you. You're going to walk 
around the block so you'll never bump into them. You're going 
to avoid them when it comes to church luncheons and the like. 
Brethren, let's just deal with sin the way the head of the church 
has commanded us. There is blessing, there is joy, 
there is happiness, there is peace, and there is corporate 
security when the church does what her master commands her 
to do. So let's, by the grace of God, 
do what Jesus tells us in this passage. We've gone to the brother. He has not heard us. He rejects 
what we have said. The second step of the process 
is the necessity for witnesses. Notice. in verse 16, but if he 
will not hear, he will not hear the person that came to him, 
he will not hear the person that says you have sinned against 
me, he will not hear, he rejects it, he refuses it. Notice, the 
hope for response is that he will hear, that he will repent, 
and that he will forsake and find forgiveness. But what Christ 
is doing now is he's showing the escalation. Remember last 
time I said you cannot promise absolute confidentiality about 
a matter of sin. There is no attorney-client privilege 
in a pastor's office. There is no doctor-patient privilege 
in a pastor's office. Insofar as we are able, we keep 
things quiet. Insofar as we are able, we keep 
things to ourselves. But there are times and necessities 
where we must escalate. And in this particular situation, 
now that he refuses to hear the original person, the original 
person takes two or three witnesses. They're going to hear the matter. 
They have to understand what's going on in this particular situation. This is now becoming not just 
a matter of a personal sin against another individual, but now it's 
starting to take on the nature or the character of obstinance 
on the part of the one who is sinning. Now note Christ's command 
here. Again, we're dealing in the church. We're dealing with believers. 
You don't go to your next door neighbor who doesn't confess 
faith in Christ and say, I'm going to bring two or three witnesses 
with me to tell you that your dog did something bad on my grass. That's not the point. Paul tells 
us in 1 Corinthians chapter 5, the issue is dealing with those 
in the context of the church. 1 Corinthians 5.12, for what 
have I to do with judging those who also are outside? Do you 
not judge those who are inside? One of our operating presuppositions 
in this passage is that it is not in conflict with Matthew 
7. Matthew 7 says, Judge not, lest you be judged. That is dealing 
in a different context. That is dealing with a petty, 
fault-finding attitude between persons, probably over things 
that aren't necessarily sin. But the Church as Church, as 
Jesus says in Matthew 18.18, has authority. We must judge. We must exercise these sentences. We must deal specifically with 
sin and transgression in our midst. So notice, you take two 
or three witnesses to the particular man. The private matter must 
now be escalated. You see what happens if you give 
him an oath of confidentiality. Well, I want you to come and 
attend to this. I can't really tell you what happened. That's 
not what Jesus says here. They have to be included on the 
particular procedure. And this for a variety of reasons. 
In the first place, they probably didn't witness the original sin. Verse 15 envisions the idea that 
one sins against another. He sins against you, go and tell 
him the matter between you and him alone. There probably wasn't 
two or three witnesses. The second place, these two or 
three witnesses are probably verifying the procedure at this 
point. They are serving as witnesses 
to the actual process to make sure that things are done in 
a biblical and in a righteous manner. George Knight commenting 
on 1 Timothy 5.19, a passage we've looked at within the last 
year. do not receive an accusation against an elder except on the 
basis of two or three witnesses. What's Paul's point there? It 
ought not to be the case that persons are exposed to malicious 
or unsubstantiated claims. We all have a right for protection. We all have a right under God 
that due process be served. And if the church has or can 
abuse this passage, it's because the church doesn't follow the 
passage to begin with. If we take each step and we give 
it its due course, and we engage in it properly, it will protect 
the Church from an overreach, or from a tyranny, or from some 
sort of an exercise of authority that is unrighteous or ungodly. 
But Knight, concerning these two or three witnesses, he says, 
in effect, Paul is urging Timothy to follow Matthew 18 and the 
Old Testament before the church accepts or acknowledges as correct 
an accusation against an elder. The process may consist of two 
or three witnesses bringing an accusation, but normally, this 
is what we need to understand, it would consist of two or three 
witnesses verifying an accusation that may come from only one individual 
before it is considered further. So when we get to this point 
in the process, you go to your brother, you tell him his fault 
between you and him alone, he refuses to hear you, you now 
take two or three witnesses and they are going to help ensure 
that everything proceeds in a biblical trajectory. The presence of the 
witnesses provides protection for the offended party. The presence 
of the witnesses provide protection for the offended party. I like 
what Spurgeon says. Possibly the offender may notice 
what is said by the other brethren. You brought two or three now. 
Listen to what he says. Possibly the offender may notice 
what is said by the other brethren, although he may be prejudiced 
against you, or he may attach weight to united expostulation. He was reading Puritans at that 
particular time. United expostulation, which he 
might not feel if the complaint came from one only. By calling 
in worthy arbitrators, you give the offender a fairer opportunity 
to set himself right. This time, let us hope the brother 
will be one. And then this is what Spurgeon 
says that I think is germane to this issue. But if not, you 
will have secured yourself against misrepresentation. See, that's 
important. If I go to you, you say, this 
man's attacking me. This man's trying to ruin me. 
All he's doing is he's malicious. These two or three witnesses 
will help protect the original party that brought the accusation 
against such a charge. But as well, these two or three 
witnesses protect the one who is being accused. It may be the 
case that I have an axe to grind against you. It may be the case 
that I am petty. It may be the case that I'm hyper 
delicate and hyper sensitive. And when you glanced away at 
me at that day, I was crushed and ruined and broken because 
I thought you hated me, and I've come to you, and I've brought 
this concern to you." And you said, nothing could be closer 
to the truth. And the man doesn't take no for 
an answer. So you bring the two or three 
witnesses who will help protect the accused. You see, this is 
imperative as well. It's not just the one making 
the accusation of the charge of sin, it is the one who's being 
charged with sin. What's Proverbs 18, 17 say? You should know this because 
I remind you very often that this is a primary tax that every 
Christian ought to have in their minds and in their hearts to 
keep them from that sort of hypersensitive, hyper-delicate offense that really 
is unconscionable among the people of God. The first to plead his 
cause seems right until his neighbor comes and examines him. So imagine, 
you charge me with sin, and I say, I don't see it that way. You 
bring the two or three witnesses. If they've got a modicum of wisdom 
and a bit of knowledge and understanding, they're going to be able to say 
to the original man, wait a minute. You read this wrong. You did 
not interpret this properly. This is not a legit argument. 
You're getting bent out of shape over a preference. He didn't 
break the law against you. You see, these two or three witnesses 
are there to ensure the process is handled properly, to protect 
the one who has been offended, but as well to protect the alleged 
offender. And let's just suppose, for the 
sake of argument, the man is guilty. What else do these two 
or three witnesses help do? They help to urge the man to 
repentance. Because notice what it goes on 
to say in verse 17. If he refuses to hear them, what's 
the implication? Them, the two or three, are saying 
exactly what the original one was saying. You've sinned. You 
have done something wrong. You have rebelled against God. 
You have rebelled against His people. You need to hear it. 
You need to repent. You need to forsake. You need 
to find mercy. So the collected wisdom of these 
two or three, in addition to the one, is putting some holy 
pressure on the man so that he will own his sin and so that 
he will deal with it properly. R.T. Frantz says it this way. 
He says specifically, the two or three witnesses, the object 
of the gathering is not to pronounce judgment, but to strengthen the 
pastoral appeal in the hope that the offender may yet listen. 
He says that with reference to us telling it to the church, 
but certainly it does help with the two or three also. Is everybody 
with me? Everybody following? You say, 
this doesn't affect me. This doesn't have anything to 
do with me. I'm not a member of this church. We ought to consider 
church membership. Jesus does not envision and the 
New Testament does not comprehend this idea of a maverick Christianity. The people of God covenant together 
in local expressions. Remember Matthew 16 is a declaration 
concerning the church universal. Matthew 18 is a declaration concerning 
local churches. What we have in 15 to 18 or 15 
to 20 is not a universal application. I'm not a pastor of the universal 
church. If I was in the RCMP, I'd have 
no authority in Beijing. Just because I'm a pastor in 
Chilliwack doesn't mean I go to Beijing and say, you need 
to listen to me, I'm a pastor. That's just not what the Bible 
envisions. You to know your elders, you 
to know those who labor in the word and doctrine over you. Doesn't 
mean you've got to know every bio of every man out there, but 
you should be able to know Pastor Kim and Pastor Jim pretty well. 
The very idea of the discipline of the church. If a person doesn't 
covenant together with a particular body, if they haven't expressed 
submission to that particular organization, how can we discipline 
them? We might recommend that they 
don't come back, we might recommend that they reform their ways, 
But all of that notwithstanding, the churches of Christ, to the 
degree that they obey Christ, they're going to be strong. Brethren, 
today church, in some sectors, is nothing more than a social 
club. If, as we've argued, houses, fathers have rules for conduct 
in their homes, if McDonald's can refuse service to someone 
who's not wearing a t-shirt or socks, If the most basic fundamental 
societal organizations exercise discipline over the persons who 
occupy those places, what if the church, the one whose head 
is Christ, the one who legislates conduct that is to be imbibed 
in his church, If the church is the house of God, the church 
of the living God, the pillar and the ground of the truth, 
we do not have the right and we do not have the warrant to 
either A, change the rules, B, resist the rules, or C, just 
kind of shrug them off. Discipline is a vital and important 
doctrine in the context of Christ's churches. It's interesting because 
there's a precedent. Remember when we looked at verse 
15? If your brother sins against you, what do you do? You go to 
him. What was the precedent? Leviticus 19.17. Right? If you got a problem with your 
brother, do not hate him in your heart, but rebuke him. What's 
the point? Don't be bitter. Don't go the 
silent treatment. Do any of you deal that way? 
You take the silent treatment, take it from someone who received 
the silent treatment when he was growing up, it's terrible. 
I think I'd rather be beaten with a rod than get the silent 
treatment. Just talk. Deal with it. Get it out there. Own it. Confess 
it. Forsake it. Don't be silent and 
embittered and hard-hearted. That's Leviticus 19.17. Do not 
hate your brother in your heart, but rebuke him. You say, that 
seems paradoxical, don't hate him but rebuke him. It is through 
rebuke that we deal with issues and we get them dealt with and 
then we can move on. It is through not rebuking and 
internalizing it and getting all offended and then seeking 
to emotionally punish that person and give them bitter eyes and 
hard looks and hope that they somehow intuit that we've got 
problems with them. Let's just man up, okay? Shouldn't 
be that way among adults in the first place, but among Christian 
adults who have the Holy Spirit? Come on, at some point in time, 
we've got to act our age. I quite expect it when three-year-olds 
treat each other like three-year-olds. I don't expect it when 33-year-old 
spirit-filled, blood-bought children of God treat other 33-year-olds 
like that. That's just wrong. There was 
a precedent, Leviticus 18. Or 19, rather. And the same thing 
is true here. Is Jesus just concocting new 
procedures for the church? No, he's preaching biblical law. 
What is the procedure? Take two or three witnesses. 
Where does this come from? From the book of Deuteronomy, 
19.15. One witness shall not rise against 
a man concerning any iniquity or any sin that he commits. By 
the mouth of two or three witnesses, the matter shall be established. 
was absolutely demanded in the capital offense, Deuteronomy 
17, verse 6, Numbers 35-30. For those persons who say that 
the implementation of the judicial law will result in countless 
bloodshed and rivers of blood, that is simply jargon, that is 
simply rhetoric. You cannot execute somebody according 
to biblical law except for two or three witnesses. I don't just 
come to someone and say, look, this person did this, now kill 
him. That's just not a proper representation of biblical law. 
Now notice, the two or three witnesses have come, they've 
applied some holy pressure upon him. The implication unstated 
is simple. If he hears them and he repents, 
then you forgive him, right? Would be the same as in the previous 
case. If he hears the one, and he repents, 
you forgive him. If the two or three witnesses 
come, and he hears them, and he repents, then they would forgive 
him. And the same rule applies, two or three. Don't go blog it, 
don't go Facebook it, don't tweet it, and don't bring it up subsequent 
and say, wow, this guy really did a horrible sin. But to his 
credit, he did own it. Brethren, don't do that. Protect 
the privacy and the reputation of persons, especially persons 
who deal with their sins. Why do we want to out them? Why 
do we want to make sure everybody knows what they did? So Jesus' 
unstated assumption is if they hear, if he hears the 2 or 3 
plus 1, then you've won him. You restore him, you hug him, 
you worship, and you praise God Almighty. But if he refuses to 
hear them, this is verse 17 in the involvement of the church. And we ought to appreciate that 
this is a process, isn't it? This is a process. It's not the 
case that today I go to you and say, wow, you did this against 
me. And then tonight we're having 
a public excommunication, not execution. Don't make those things 
synonymous. That was really a slip of the 
tongue. I do not mean execution. Church excommunication is not 
execution. The church has never been given 
the sword. Even in Old Covenant Israel, 
there was a distinction between church function and state function. Certainly in the New Covenant, 
the church is given the keys of the kingdom of Christ, the 
proclamation of the truth, the exercise of discipline. It is 
the civil government, Romans 13, that is given the sword. for the execution of God's wrath 
against criminals in society. So that was just a slip. But 
you see, there's a process here. You sinned against me, and then 
tonight we're excommunicating you. That's not it. The person 
has gone to the other. I doubt it's just once either. 
You sinned against me. Well, you didn't repent, so I'm 
going to bring two or three witnesses. Is that ever how it's happened 
for you? Somebody hasn't received it, you typically pray about 
it, you think through it, you make sure that you were actually 
talking about a sin, it wasn't a preference, you're weighing 
things. You meet with the person again and you say, you know, 
this is still nagging at me, this is still tugging at my heart. I really believed you sinned 
against me. You see, there's a process involved for this idea 
that there's this room full of malevolent men that have these 
black hoods. and these undefined shapes, and 
they just excommunicate people from the church. That's not what 
Christ is talking about in the passage. Recovery of the brother 
is what is paramount. You go to him on your own, if 
he doesn't hear, you bring two or three witnesses. If he refuses 
to hear them, you tell it to the church. And then notice what 
it goes on to say, if he refuses, even refuses to hear the church. So that first time we tell the 
church, it's not with the purpose of excommunication. The first 
time we tell the church is to call the church to go to that 
person and to exhort them to repent. We publicize what they've 
done. Remember this whole idea of escalation. We cannot take an oath of confidentiality. There's no attorney-client privilege 
here. We don't publish needlessly. We don't tell others who do not 
have a need to know. gets to the point where the church 
must be told we must deal in concrete terms. Well, this guy 
kind of did this, but we're not really sure. No. You need to 
deal properly. You need to have chapter and 
verse. You need to be able to show very specifically and make 
the case that so-and-so did what you are alleging so-and-so did. 
Again, maybe this guy or this process got past the two or three 
witnesses. And everybody still thinks the 
guy is guilty. But then the church hears about 
it. You've got collected wisdom. You've got more people praying, 
more people thinking through it, and more people perhaps coming 
to the aid and the defense of the alleged offender. You see, 
this is a means by which we protect people. It's not just drop the 
hammer on them and send them packing. Notice, very specifically, 
the procedure is escalated. It involves the local church. 
The goal remains the same. The recovery of the brother if 
he refuses to hear even the church. If he refuses even to hear the 
church. Now note the outcome. What can 
we assume again? If he hears the church, if he 
repents of his sins, what does the church do? The church hugs 
him. The church serves him the Lord's 
Supper. The church sees him as a beloved 
brother in Jesus Christ. He's sinned, but he's dealt with 
it. We don't hold it against him. 
Well, it took you these three stages to get... He repented. Praise God. You ever notice that 
with us? We don't often accept people's 
repentance. Have you ever seen somebody say, 
because you probably never have, well, that person only repented 
because he got caught. That person only repented because 
he got caught. A man gets caught in the sin 
of adultery, a woman gets caught in the sin of adultery, and then 
she repents. You say, well, she got caught and then she repented. 
So did King David of Israel. Do we question the validity of 
David's repentance? Do we say that David was not 
legit? Do we say that it was only because 
he got caught? Brethren, if a sinner repents, 
we praise God, from whom all repentance comes. If a sinner 
repents, we praise God for the ministry and the work of the 
Holy Spirit. To move us hard-hearted rebel transgressors to a place 
of actually owning and identifying ourselves as the man, and then 
confessing and forsaking. Who gets the credit? Not the 
sinner, but the God of the sinner. The God who is gracious. The 
God who is at work, both in us to will and to do according to 
His good pleasure. Notice the spoken assumption, 
if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. Verse 17, if 
he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen 
and a tax collector. The man refuses, I love the way 
this word is used, even, even. What's Jesus' assumption? You 
should repent when someone comes to you. You should really repent 
when that someone brings two or three witnesses to you. You 
should really, really, really repent if the church says to 
you, you are the man and you need to repent. Christ says, 
but if he refuses even to hear the church. Look at the place 
this man is now. He was a straying sinner. Now 
he's an obstinate rebel. This is what sin often does. 
It doesn't just lie dormant. It doesn't just lay there passive. It actually causes the one who 
is not dealing with it to grow worse. Proverbs speaks to this 
in 1531 to 33. The ear that hears the rebukes 
of life will abide among the wise. He who disdains instruction 
despises his own soul, but he who heeds rebuke gets understanding. The fear of the Lord is the instruction 
of wisdom, and before honor is humility. Proverbs 19, 20. I 
think these are good passages for us as parents to employ with 
our children. You see, the fifth commandment 
doesn't end at their 18th birthday. The fifth commandment does not 
end at their 18th birthday. Wow, they're 18, they blew out 
the candles, out you go, you're done, I'm never gonna see you 
again. That's just not what happens. I mean, that may happen, but 
their responsibility to God's fifth word does not end. Honor 
your father and your mother. Now, most responsible commentators, 
both Jewish and Christian, throughout the history, of the church throughout 
the history of the theocracy saw that not just as parental 
authority, but as authority. You see, in Romans 13, and we're 
not here to debate all the ins and outs of that, but Paul does 
tell the believer, let every soul be subject to the governing 
authority. For there is no authority except 
from God, and the ones that exist are established by God. Again, 
I don't think that legitimizes state tyranny. I don't believe 
that legitimizes the state to be this overarching you know, 
sort of nanny from cradle to grave. I certainly do not believe 
that one moment. Nevertheless, Paul, writing to 
Christians under Nero, now arguably Nero wasn't as bad as Nero got, 
but he tells the believers to be subject to the governing authority. 
You see, if we are not inculcating in our children obedience to 
the Fifth Commandment, what happens when they enter into life? They 
can't submit to a boss. They can't submit to legitimate 
authority, both in the state and in the church. You see, some 
of this is most necessary to be brought home to bear in the 
nursery. Proverbs 19.20, listen to counsel 
and receive instruction that you may be wise in your latter 
days. Proverbs 28.14, this is just 
after 28.13, whoever confesses It covers his sin, will not prosper, 
but whoever confesses and forsakes it will find mercy. On the heels 
of that, in verse 14, happy is the man who is always reverent, 
but he who hardens his heart will fall into calamity. In Proverbs 
29.1, he who is often rebuked and hardens his neck will suddenly 
be destroyed, and that without remedy. You see, Solomon doesn't 
say it's good to just express yourself. It's good to just throw 
off all restraint. It's good to take off your clothes 
and run around and eat nuts and berries and sing Born Free. No. It's good to submit to lawful 
authority in your life. If that lawful authority is not 
commanding you to sin, Acts 5.29, when the apostles are prohibited 
from preaching, they say, we must obey God rather than man. But the idea is, is if the responsible 
agent is not commanding you to sin, what's Paul's response? He's subject to the governing 
authorities. Now note the judgment involved here. If he refuses 
even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen 
and a tax collector. Up to this point, he's been a 
brother, right? If your brother sins against 
you, go to him. If he doesn't hear you, bring 
two or three witnesses, too, to the brother. He has refused 
to hear the two or three. He has now refused to hear the 
church. The identification or re-identification happens. He 
moves from the place of brother to the place of heathen and tax 
collector. Some commentators treat verse 
17 as the private judgment of the private individual who was 
initially sinned against. Because in verse 17, if he refuses 
to hear the church, let him be to you. Some say that's the individual 
who was first sinned against. I don't believe that's the case. 
I believe what we are dealing with here is what's called corporate 
or church excommunication. I think the context demonstrates 
this in verse 18. The keys of the kingdom that 
were given to Peter and the church in Matthew 16, vis-à-vis the 
preaching of God's holy word, are now given this additional 
element of responsibility in Matthew 18. 18. You have the 
authority as church to bind and to loose. And whatever you do 
on earth is ratified by God in heaven. The implication is, is 
the church, if she's obeying her head, if she's conducting 
herself accordingly, she's got the Spirit of the Holy God in 
her, she is exercising authority that Christ has rightly invested 
to her, or given to her. So the idea here is corporate, 
corporate responsibility. It's also important to understand, 
it's not just the elders. Woe to the church where the elders 
make the decisions on who to put out. You got big problems 
if that happens. You may not like our church, 
that's fine. But I guarantee you, as far as 
I know, until Cam and I breathe our last, we are committed never 
to putting someone out of the church on our own judgment. What 
does Paul say in 2 Corinthians 2? Whether you believe that the 
man being restored in 2 Corinthians 2 is the man who was excommunicated 
in 1 Corinthians 5 or not, Paul says that this decision was inflicted 
upon the man by the majority. By the majority of who? The government? No, the church. The elders may lead meetings, 
the elders may orchestrate some things, the elders might even 
participate in the two or three witness part of that whole process. But when it comes to the rendering 
of a man a heathen and a tax collector, it is not the part 
of the elders alone. It is the church. I cannot accept 
that interpretation that says, let him be to you. What would 
that envision? That would envision a church 
where someone thinks someone else is a heathen and a tax collector, 
but not everybody else does? It just doesn't make sense to 
me in the context. Again, what is going on in verses 
18 to 20 is the authority that the church has been granted by 
the Lord Christ for the exercise of these sorts of decisions. 
The person is now identified as a heathen and a tax collector 
and he must be treated accordingly. Now, if you've been trafficking 
with us over the last year or two, you know that in Matthew's 
gospel, Jesus speaks favorably of heathen and tax collectors, 
doesn't he? Matthew chapter 8, he exercises 
mercy to a centurion. Matthew chapter 9, Jesus exercises 
mercy upon tax collectors and heathen. Matthew chapter 15. Remember that Syrophoenician 
woman? She was a Gentile. So some suggest 
that when Jesus says you are to treat them as a heathen and 
a tax collector, that means you just keep giving them the gospel. 
No, I think we are to understand heathen and tax collector in 
its conventional Jewish sense. They're bad people. Treat them 
as outsiders. You say, well, that sounds pretty 
harsh. What is bad? According to the Bible, it's 
a rejection of God's will. It's a rejection of God's law. It is rebellion against the truth. 
And that's almost getting to the point nowadays. We can't 
tell someone that someone's behavior is bad. Well, they're not bad, 
they're just socially challenged. No, that kid is bad and he needs 
some discipline. That's harsh today, isn't it? 
I came over to your house and I saw your kid and I said, look, 
that kid's acting bad. I shouldn't say bad, like there's 
some intrinsic evil in the kid. In that instance, we'd say, the 
child is acting badly. Spank him. Oh no, he's not bad. He just thinks that, you know, 
chandeliers are for swinging. It's just the way he expresses 
himself, you see. We've lost all sense of a black 
and white approach in some areas. Now, there's a lot of gray areas 
in life. I grant that. But not as many 
as people want us to think. For the most part, you do what 
God says or you don't. But what has happened here? He 
has rejected one, he has rejected two or three, he has rejected 
the entirety of the church. Jesus says you now identify him 
with a different badge. He was brother, now he is heathen 
and tax collector. Calvin says that we ought to 
have no intercourse with the despisers of the church till 
they repent. Augustine, the early father said, 
He speaks of delivering over to Satan. You can turn to 1 Corinthians 
5 while I read this particular quote. So I want you to see that 
Paul puts into practice what Jesus specifies in Matthew 18. Some have said what's in view 
in 1 Corinthians 5 is just this super scandalous sin. No, what's 
in view in 1 Corinthians 5 is that there was undealt with sin. 
The Corinthians knew that this was going on, and instead of 
dealing with the sin in their midst, they were arrogant. They 
were puffed up. They were proud. So Paul takes 
matters into his apostolic hands and says, you've got to deal 
with this. But with reference to verse 5, notice, "...deliver 
such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh." And even in this, 
there is a remedial benefit, that his spirit may be saved 
in the day of the Lord Jesus. You see, this whole idea of excommunication, 
while we look at it as this harsh, terrible sentence pronounced 
by the Church, there is a redemptive end in view. I have met people 
that were put out of the Church and they say, God used that to 
bring me to repentance. Some of us are stubborn and hard-hearted. Some of us will refuse one, will 
refuse two or three. We might refuse the entirety 
of the church. And when that church declares, 
thou art a heathen and a tax collector, and we're put out 
into the world for a time, it's there that oftentimes God shows 
us our sin. And then when we come back, what's 
Paul's admonition in 2 Corinthians? Receive Him! Hug Him! Love Him! Feed Him the supper! That's the 
way Christianity moves and breathes and has its being. Notice, Augustine 
says he speaks of delivering over to Satan because the devil 
is outside the church as Christ is in the church. Notice in 1 
Corinthians 5.1, the particular sin is mentioned. It's incest. 
Verse two, you are puffed up and have not rather mourned that 
he who has done this deed, notice the language, might be taken 
away from among you. This isn't a private declaration 
concerning another private person. This is the removal of the offending 
party from the context of the church. Again, implied is that 
he doesn't repent. If he repents, you have won your 
brother. Even in that case, Seems to be 
the implication. Notice four and five. In the 
name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together 
along with my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ. Sounds like 1818, doesn't it? 
The church has the authority to bind and to loose. Where does she get that authority? 
From a group of backroom men that have these deals and machinations? 
From her head, the Lord Christ. Paul says the same thing. With 
the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, notice verse 5, deliver such 
a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh that his spirit 
may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. This isn't a black 
mass. We don't go find a group of cultists or occultists that 
have a pentagram on the ground, who have candles on each of the 
points, and we say, we're going to deliver this one over to Satan 
because he did. The idea, I think, is more akin 
to what Augustine says. The devil's over the world. Christ 
is over the church. It is a removal from the church 
that is in view in this instance. Paul upholds what we find in 
Matthew 18. Notice in verses 11 to 13, but 
now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named 
a brother. This is the issue, named a brother. We're not dealing with your next 
door neighbor. We're dealing with somebody who says he's a 
brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, 
or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner. Not even to 
eat with such a person. For what have I to do with judging 
those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are 
inside? But those who are outside, God judges. Therefore, put away 
from yourselves the evil person. I just said bad. Paul says evil. 
So that's what's in view. The church moves the man from 
the identity of brother to heathen and tax collector, and he is 
excommunicated. Primary visible expression of 
excommunication is no communion, no supper. I don't mean tacos 
tonight. I mean the bread and the wine 
wherein the church preaches the glorious gospel of free and sovereign 
grace. He is cut off from that means 
of nourishment that the householder God gives to his weary pilgrims. See, brethren, if you continue 
to absent yourself from the Lord's Supper, it is a form of self-excommunication. You need to see the supper as 
a means of grace. It's not a reward for well-doing. 
It is a meal for weary pilgrims wherein the householder God gives 
that bread and wine to refresh his weary ones, to confirm his 
weary ones, to urge them along the way. And of course, the putting 
out from. the life, the context, the benefit 
of the local church. Well, in conclusion, first, we 
have seen all of the particular steps involved in the procedure 
for church discipline. There is, first, the private 
confrontation. Secondly, there is a necessity 
for witnesses. And thirdly, there is the public 
involvement of the church and the function of the church with 
reference to this particular offender. The purpose is in view, 
the purity of Christ's church for the glory of God. Why doesn't 
that matter more to us? Why doesn't that matter more 
to us? We are a people called out of 
darkness into marvelous light to proclaim the praises of the 
one who did that. We are to be holy as our Heavenly 
Father is holy. Churches should not mirror the 
society around them. Churches should not do the exact 
same thing that everybody in the world is doing. There ought 
to be a purity among the people of God, a righteousness, not 
a self-righteousness, not a walking around on our high horses. Remember, 
if you want to be great in the kingdom, Matthew 18, 1 to 4, 
you'll be like a little child. You see, the purity of Christ's 
church for the glory of God, that's at stake. That's important. We ought not to want to pollute 
the house of God. We ought not to want to make 
it dirty and defiled. A second reason for church discipline. is for the protection of God's 
people. What happens when sin goes undealt 
with? People start to say and start 
to imply, well, if that guy doesn't get in trouble for doing it, 
well, then I'll do it too. I know we shouldn't think that 
way, and probably none of you do, but I think in the world 
there's probably some in the church that might think that 
way. Well, they're not in trouble, so why are you picking on me? 
They're getting away with it, so why can't I? We need to protect 
the people of God. And then the particular, specific 
reason, especially in our context in Matthew 18, is to recover 
the brother. We're not doing this because 
we hate you. We're not doing this because we despise you. 
We're doing this because we love you and want the best. Now some 
will say, well that doesn't feel like love being called a heathen 
and a tax collector. It may not feel like love, but 
when the head of the church, who is the definition himself 
of love, mandates that we carry out ourselves in this particular 
manner, it is love. It may not be syrupy, it may 
not be emotional, it may not be sappy, it may not jive with 
Hollywood, but if it is according to the revealed word of the living 
and true God, this, my brothers and sisters, is an expression 
of love. Secondly, we ought to consider 
the implications of excommunication. First, it is the final step in 
an otherwise long process. I cannot reiterate that enough, 
brethren. It's tough to deal with people in sin, isn't it? 
Isn't it? Are you the kind of guy that 
finds a secret delight in correcting everybody around you? If you 
are, you're annoying. But for the most of us, it is 
difficult to get the courage and the gall to go and actually 
talk to somebody about what they've done. It's tough. Listen to Spurgeon 
concerning this whole idea. He says, at any rate, from the 
first personal visit of the injured brother down to the last act 
of disownment, nothing has been done vindictively, but all has 
been affectionately carried out with the view of setting the 
brother right. The trespasser who will not be reconciled has 
encouraged much guilt by resisting the attempts of love made in 
obedience to the command of the great head of the church. You 
see where Spurgeon puts the emphasis and the responsibility. It's 
on the offender. Davies and Allison say the same 
thing. Excommunication, when it comes, will in truth be self-imposed 
exile. You had the opportunity. You 
should have listened. You should have repented. We've 
gotten to this point of telling the church that you're being 
treated as a heathen and a tax collector. Don't at that point 
say, well, you guys are so mean. It's so bad. Look, all along 
the way, we've pleaded with you. All along the way, we've spiritually 
shaken you. All along the way, we've applied, 
hopefully, holy pressure upon you so that you'll repent. Davies 
and Allison say, the Christian community, if it is to be true 
to itself, if it is forbearing, anxious about the welfare of 
all its members, and animated by a spirit of forgiveness, will 
give sinners more than a fair chance. That's been my experience. That has been my experience. 
It's not been with elders who've got black hoods and big axes 
that are ready, you know, just sort of bury the hammer on everybody. 
It's been a fair chance. A lot of long suffering. They 
say, if despite everything excommunication follows, that can only be because 
the one excommunicated has finally refused to follow the commandments 
of Christ and therefore just does not belong in the Christian 
church. Another implication, I hope you've 
probably thought about it up to this point. Let's say we did 
excommunicate a man, and let's just assume for the sake of argument, 
we're just using man not to say that only men get excommunicated, 
women can too. But let's just suppose for a 
moment a man gets excommunicated, but he wants to attend church. 
I really doubt that's going to happen, but if it does, do we 
allow him to attend church? Potentially, yes. Because if 
he is wearing the badger moniker of heathen and tax collector, 
how do we treat heathen and tax collector? Hopefully we preach 
the gospel to them. But if the man is a danger to 
someone else in the church, probably no. If a man is excommunicated 
for beating his wife or abusing his children, he will not be 
welcomed here. We will, as elders, make sure 
he gets the gospel. We will visit him. We will bring 
him Spurgeon. We will bring him sermon audio 
sermons. We will make sure he's got an 
iPad so he can listen. Plug for Apple there. iPad or 
a tablet, whatever manner of means you want. We'll make sure 
he gets the gospel. But if his wife or his children 
are here, And they can't listen to the preaching of the Word 
of God because there's a man who has abused them? The church 
is in rebellion against God, not providing safety and security 
and peace and stability to those who've been victimized. You say, 
well, what if he's repentant? We need to make sure that this 
is the case and we will never proceed without the involvement 
of the victims. So yes, on the one hand, we want 
heathen and tax collectors to hear the gospel, but on the other 
hand, if the heathen and tax collector are sitting in the 
front pew and they've got, you know, a gun fixed on someone 
in the church, we'd rather you not be here, we'll make sure 
you hear the gospel, but it's not going to be under threat. 
It's not going to be when there's danger to someone else in the 
life and the context of the church. Third place, we need to recognize 
the abuse of church authority and excommunication. It's interesting, 
the reformers typically identify papal Rome in this aspect of 
church abuse. Ersinus, in his commentary on 
the Heidelberg, says, Christ has given to the church the power 
of excommunication, not for the destruction of the sinner, but 
for his edification and salvation. The design of ecclesiastical 
discipline is, therefore, not to establish the sovereignty 
and tyranny of the ministers of Christ. We need to recognize 
that, in fact, this is a potential. Men see it. Men engage in bad 
things. But as I said, if we follow the 
process, if we follow the procedure, if we have a plurality of elders, 
and we have a church where dialogue is encouraged and questions are 
asked, and it's not this secret society. or this sort of cult, 
or this secret place where no one ever questions anything. 
Pastor Cam said before we actually got into worship, if you have 
questions about anything, come and ask. Don't ever want it to 
be the case that people visit our church and say, they're weird, 
they don't say it. You just ask. We'll confirm that we're weird. 
But hopefully we'll give you biblical validation and reasons 
for the things that we do. You see, we need to acknowledge 
that that abuse is present. It's interesting, the idea of 
power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. That was 
a statement made in reference to the papacy. It was a statement 
made in reference to the papacy. Power corrupts and absolute power 
corrupts absolutely. It's certainly seen in the civil 
sphere as well. I mean, just ask Mao. Just ask 
Adolf, just ask Stalin, just ask these men. Well, they wouldn't 
be honest. Ask the people that were under them. Does power corrupt? 
Does absolute power corrupt? Absolutely. Identifying and recognizing 
that this is a possibility among fallible men is necessary so 
that we don't fall prey to it. That we are committed by the 
grace of God to doing what Matthew 18, 15 to 20 says. That's why 
if anyone ever comes to one of the elders in the church and 
they say, so and so sinned against me, the first thing you're probably 
going to hear is, did you go to him? Well, no, I didn't go. Don't try to bypass the procedure. 
You don't know, you don't understand. I understand what Jesus says. 
That's what we need to toe the line with, is what Christ says 
concerning. this particular situation. And 
then finally, I want to say in conclusion to each and every 
one of us that if excommunication in the Church of Christ looks 
hard, looks difficult, looks severe, consider the excommunication 
that is coming on that day. The Lord God Almighty has furnished 
proof that He will judge every man. Living and dead, He furnished 
that proof with the empty tomb. Christ is the agent by which 
judgment will come. And those who, by God's grace, 
are in Christ will hear those blessed words, well done, good 
and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your rest. But those who are outside of 
Christ will hear those Most terrible words. Depart from me for I never 
knew you. Being counted a heathen or a 
tax collector by a church on earth will seem a walk in the 
park compared to those particular words uttered by our Lord on 
that day. Depart from me. Depart from me. It's one thing for the church 
in an ecclesiastical context to utter that statement concerning 
a man or a woman. who then can repent. Christ makes 
that declaration on that day, there'll be no repentance. There 
will be no second chance. There will be no remedy or redemption 
at that point. If you are not in Christ, this 
is what you are facing. If you are not a believer, you 
will be excommunicated by the Lord of heaven and earth. If 
you are not in Jesus, may I say, come, believe on Him. Turn from your sins. and you 
will have everlasting life. Well, let us pray. Our Father, 
we thank you for the Word of God, and we thank you for its 
clarity in these matters of church discipline, and in matters concerning 
the gospel and where men stand in relation to you. We know it's 
not by our works, it's not by our obedience, it's not by our 
merit or law-keeping, for we do not do these things consistently 
or perfectly. because of the grace of God manifested 
in the gospel of Christ. We thank you that he lived, we 
thank you that he died, we thank you that he rose again, so that 
all those who look to him in faith will have everlasting life. Go with us now, we pray, in Jesus' 
name, amen. We'll close with a brief time 
of meditation and then be dismissed.