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Chapter 26 in the Second London 
Confession of Faith, we're concerned with or dealing with the doctrine 
of church discipline. I just want to read the two paragraphs 
that are appropriate to our study, and then we'll pick up where 
we left off last time. But in paragraphs 12 and 13, 
we read, as all believers are bound to join themselves to particular 
churches, when and where they have opportunity so to do, so 
all that are admitted unto the privileges of a church are also 
under the censures and government thereof, according to the rule 
of Christ. no church members, upon any offense 
taken by them, having performed their duty required of them towards 
the person they are offended at, ought to disturb any church 
order, or absent themselves from the assemblies of the church, 
or administration of any ordinances, upon the account of such offense 
at any of their fellow members, but to wait upon Christ in the 
further proceeding of the church. Well, having been reading this 
book by Dr. Renahan on the practical ecclesiology 
of the English Particular Baptist from 1675 to 1705, he indicated 
through church books, those books that were extant or or still 
in existence from various churches in the 17th century, things that 
were recorded there in terms of church meetings and discipline 
and all that sort of thing. Dr. Renahan scoured and surveyed 
many of those church books, and he comes up with this list of 
things that were offenses wherein persons were disciplined. He 
says, among the sins for which censures were necessary are laxity 
in attendance, interpersonal strife, neglect and or abuse 
of family, marriage to an unbeliever, breaking a marriage engagement, 
disobedience to parents, failure to pay bills, financial irregularities 
and bankruptcy, theft, drunkenness, various moral offenses, attendance 
at Church of England or Quaker meetings, theological heresy, 
witchcraft and visiting a conjurer, Sabbath breaking, and many others. In some cases, members were restored 
to full membership after their repentance. Typically, some kind 
of inquiry would be made to ensure that the confession and repentance 
were genuine. So just sort of a sampling there 
of what our Baptist forefathers saw as disciplinable offenses. Remember, as we consider this 
particular doctrine, the administration of discipline in the church, 
note specifically in paragraph 12, by way of review, The prerequisite 
to church discipline is church membership. Notice in paragraph 
12, as all believers are bound to join themselves to particular 
churches when and where they have opportunity so to do. Remember, 
these divines did not look at being a Christian the way that 
we oftentimes associate or the way that we can look at those 
persons who engage in premarital activities without being married, 
this sort of fornication. That's something that is analogous 
to the way persons use the church. They like the benefits, they 
like the preaching, they like the sacraments, they like all 
the attendant things that come along with being a part of a 
church, but they don't become members. They don't join themselves 
to that local body, just like a man ought to join himself and 
to become one flesh with the person that he's going to share 
his bed with. The Baptist forefathers, or these 
particular Baptists, did not see a maverick Christianity. 
In other words, if you are converted, if you have been baptized, you 
ought to be a member of a church. And we saw the biblical warrant 
for church membership in many things in the New Testament. 
We saw that the church at Jerusalem was numbered. We saw that the 
church at Jerusalem was joined. We saw the duties of the pastoral 
ministry. It necessitates membership. A 
pastor is not the pastor over everybody on the face of the 
earth. He is the pastor of those who 
have chosen to voluntarily associate themselves in local expressions 
of Christ's church. As well, the duties of members 
toward pastors necessitate membership. You, as a member of this church, 
do not have the same obligation to pastors in other churches. 
Certainly, esteem and respect and love and prayer All those 
things are according to be sure, but you have those duties in 
a particular way towards your own local church pastors. And 
then as well, the discipline of the church necessitates membership. Persons have not officially joined 
themselves or formally joined themselves to a local church, 
we can't enact this sort of membership. Now there are other things that 
perhaps we can do, but when we come to this doctrine of church 
discipline, membership is essential or necessary. So we are to be 
members of churches for both the blessings and the privileges, 
but as well the responsibilities. We ought to show up at church 
workdays. We ought to, you know, give. sacrificially to the support 
of the church. There are responsibilities associated 
with church membership. It's not just taking, but it's 
also giving. And as well, there are liabilities 
associated with church membership, and that's what the Confession 
goes on to say in paragraph 12. Notice, so all that are admitted 
unto the privileges of a church are also under the censures and 
government thereof according to the rule of Christ. It's important. 
It's according to the rule of Christ. It's not men. It's not 
elders. It's not the church who came 
up with this particular procedure. It is the mind of Christ revealed 
to us in Holy Scripture. And very specifically, that mind 
of Christ is revealed to us in Matthew chapter 18. And you can 
turn there as we continue our study in this particular section 
with reference to church discipline. We noticed with reference to 
the biblical warrant and process of church discipline, Matthew 
18, specifically verses 15 to 17 deal with this. And the last 
time we gathered together, we looked at the private confrontation. 
Notice in 18.15, 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. That's discipline. We associate 
discipline with excommunication, but that's not always the case. 
Certainly excommunication is a part of discipline, but excommunication 
does not exhaust church discipline. This is a vital step necessary 
in the process, this private confrontation. Just by way of 
reminder, note the specific situation if your brother sins against 
you. That is crucial. That is required. It's not if your brother violates 
your preferences or if your brother does something that you find, 
you know, suspicious. Now, if your brother sins against 
you, you need to have chapter and verse. You need to be able 
to present the evidence that your brother has, in fact, sinned 
against you. I think a lot of our problems 
and a lot of our issues and a lot of our interpersonal strife would 
disappear if we held persons according to the rule of God's 
Word, according to the standard of His law. Certainly, we are 
easily offended at times. We are easily offended by what 
persons say, but if they are not lawbreakers, then it's not 
a sin. It's the law of God that defines 
for us what sin is. So Jesus says, if your brother 
sins against you, notice what we are told. Go and tell him 
his fault between you and him alone. He doesn't say stew on 
it. He doesn't say whine about it. He doesn't say cry. He doesn't 
say change the way that you respond to that brother. No, he says 
go to him. Spurgeon says, the offended is 
to seek the offender. We must not let the trespass 
rankle in our bosom by maintaining a sullen silence, nor may we 
go and publish the matter abroad. We must seek out the offender 
and tell him his fault as if he were not aware of it, as perhaps 
he may not be. So man up and deal with things 
the way God says. If your brother sins, you've 
identified its lawlessness, go and tell him his fault between 
you and him alone. It's another very important part 
of it. It's between you and him alone. You're not supposed to 
tell the elders, hey, I'm going to go confront this brother on 
his sin. He did such a... Don't tell us that. If you haven't 
done your duty, don't tell us that. Do not include other persons 
that have no business in being a part of your issue or your 
beef. Persons have a right to privacy. Again, this isn't a 
secret society. We're not sort of drinking goblets 
of blood in some ritualistic practice behind closed doors. 
But nevertheless, persons ought to have a right to privacy. Their 
things ought not to be published for others. Because it may be 
the case that they aren't guilty and you've identified or you 
have suggested to others that this person is in fact guilty. You know, I'm going to go talk 
to this brother because I know he beats his wife. Well, it turns 
out he doesn't beat his wife. Does the person who heard that 
ever fully evacuate that thought from his mind? I hope so. But 
probably there's that nagging suspicion that, you know, I heard 
once that he beat his wife. Well, you don't want to do that 
to people. If your brother sins against you, go to him alone. Don't involve others. There's 
a place for others, as we see, when it escalates. But in that 
initial step, do not tweet it. Do not Facebook it. Do not, you 
know, seek prayer or help at the prayer meeting. You know, 
brethren, pray for so-and-so because he beats his wife and 
I have to man up and go to him. Don't do that. That is not your 
prerogative. I know that there's this desire 
to say things about others, at least in this sense of pride 
and arrogance. We need to guard against that. 
And Jesus tells us such. So notice, if he hears you, you 
have gained your brother. Blessing. Wonderful. He hears 
you. The emphasis or rather the implication 
is that he repents, right? Luke 17, 3. He repents and you 
extend forgiveness. And that's it. You don't have 
to do anything else. You don't have to submit a report 
to the elders in triplicate for their review. That's just not 
the way things are supposed to be done. He hears you. He repents. You move on. Everything is hunky-dory. But if he doesn't hear you, that 
escalates the situation. So we move from the private confrontation 
in verse 15 to the necessity of witnesses in verse 16. Sort 
of like a flow chart. If your brother sins against 
you, go to him. If he hears you, then you've 
won your brother. If he doesn't hear you, then 
you do this. You see there's steps to be taken 
in this whole process. Notice in verse 16, but if he 
will not hear, you've done what you're supposed to do. You've 
gone to your brother. You've established the fact that 
he has sinned against you. Take with you one or two more 
that by the mouth of two or three witnesses, every word may be 
established. So in this particular instance, we have the refusal. So, the brother refuses, he doesn't 
hear you, he doesn't listen to you. In other words, he doesn't 
repent and so forgiveness is not extended to him. If he does 
not repent, you do not forgive him. That is the clear implication 
from the text. Notice we are dealing still with 
believers. We are dealing still in the house 
of God. We're dealing with brothers. 
We pointed this out when we looked at verse 15. Paul tells us in 
1 Corinthians 5.12, for what have I to do with judging those 
also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are 
inside? Paul is dealing with the Corinthians 
saying, you need to discipline this fellow who had his father's 
wife. You're not supposed to be arrogant. 
You're not supposed to be brash. You're not supposed to be proud. 
You're supposed to deal with Him. And if the charge is leveled, 
well, then we'd be disciplining everybody. Paul says, we're not 
tasked with judging those who are outside of the church. We're 
tasked with judging those who make a profession of faith. We're 
tasked with maintaining the purity of Christ's church. So we're 
dealing here with a brother. Notice the command Jesus gives. If he will not hear, take with 
you one or two more. Take with you one or two more. 
So this private matter must now be escalated. You see why you 
can never give an oath or maintain a vow of silence. In other words, 
you might deal with people sometime and they say, I'm going to tell 
you something, but you can't ever tell anybody. You can't hold 
me to that. I won't tell anybody unless the 
circumstances necessitate it. You come into my office and say, 
you can't tell anybody, but I molest children. My first thing is to 
pick up the phone and dial 911. My first order of business is 
to call the RCMP and have them dispatch an agent of the state 
to deal with your criminal behavior. So you cannot maintain a vow 
of silence or an oath or some sort of an utter and absolute 
commitment. You might suggest or you might 
say, I will keep this silent and I will keep this private 
and I will keep it to myself insofar as I am able, but if 
circumstances necessitate, if I have to stand before the Church 
of God and say, you know, Brother A did some horrendous things, 
but I swore an oath of silence, I can't tell you. That's just 
not what is allowed via the Scripture. So we ought to be able to maintain 
privacy, to make it an in-house thing, to keep it between brothers, 
but if it becomes escalated, and note why it's becoming escalated. It's becoming escalated because 
Brother A won't deal with his sin. That's the problem in this 
whole passage. It isn't mean-spirited Christians. It isn't mean-spirited two or 
three witnesses. It's not a mean-spirited church. It is an obstinate, hardened, 
rebel sinner. That's the problem that we're 
dealing with in this passage. You hear about excommunication, 
and who do people typically blame? Oh, that church. They're so nasty 
and mean. They put out those poor, innocent 
people. No, they're not poor, innocent people. They are sinners 
that got found out, and they resisted and rejected one, they 
resisted and rejected two and three, and they resisted and 
rejected the entirety of the church. It's a long, involved, 
detailed, patient, gracious process. The problem isn't the church. 
The problem is the obstinate rebel sinner that will not listen 
to the one, the two, or the three, and he will not listen to the 
church. So we need to maintain or get that properly in our head. Now notice, what was the function 
or what is to be the function of the witnesses? If he will 
not hear, take with you one or two more. What's the function 
of these one or two more? Well, a few thoughts. First, 
the witness most likely did not witness the offense, right? If your brother sins against 
you, verse 15a, go and tell him his fault between you and him 
alone. So it's quite likely that the 
two or three didn't actually witness the offense, but rather 
what they do is verify the process and confirm that it is conducted 
properly. George Knight commenting on 1 
Timothy 5.19, 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 
it would consist of two or three witnesses verifying an accusation 
that may come from only one individual before it is considered further. 
So you see that. The witnesses may not have been 
party to the offense, but they have been brought in after the 
fact to conduct or to make sure that the process is conducted 
according to Scripture. As well, the presence of the 
witnesses will help to move the offender to repentance. I mean, 
someone might be able to dismiss that one person who comes to 
them. But when that one person comes 
back with two or three, the hope is, and the idea is, is that 
this man now sees the nature of his sin, and hopefully it 
will press him and move him to the place where he will repent. Also, the presence of the witnesses 
provides protection for the offended party. In other words, if I go 
to person A, the two or three witnesses help ensure that I'm 
not on some vendetta, I don't have some axe to grind, it's 
not some malicious venture. Because if we didn't have two 
or three witnesses, person A could say, he attacked me, he said 
these horrific things, he leveled all these charges. Well, the 
two and three witnesses confirmed that wasn't the case. He didn't 
come in a spirit of anger, he didn't come hitting you, he didn't 
come falsely alleging every crime from Dan to Beersheba, but he 
came in a very responsible, righteous, and moderate way to bring to 
your attention your sin. Spurgeon 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, 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, but if not, you 
will have secured yourself against misrepresentation. You see, you 
don't want that to happen either, right? If I have a problem, somebody 
sinned against me, and I go to that person, and I don't bring 
witnesses, then it becomes a he said, he said type of a thing. You want the witnesses to verify, 
no, he didn't come leveling all these accusations. He came in 
the spirit of graciousness, kindness, love. He pointed out the specific 
offense, he pointed out the specific details, he pointed out the specific 
text, and this man rejected it and refused it. So there is protection 
there for the offended party to bring the two or three witnesses. 
But we ought also to notice that the two or three witnesses serve 
to protect the offender. It could be the case that when 
this man comes with his two or three witnesses and levels his 
charge against the offender, the witnesses may hear it and 
say, wait a minute, that's not a sin. Or the witnesses may hear 
it and say, wait a minute, he didn't do that. The witnesses 
may hear it and say, you read the worst possible thing into 
a perfectly innocuous situation. It can protect the offended party. We ought not to be able to be 
run down by anybody in the church. There is a sense where every 
individual member has rights and has prerogatives and has 
protection under the law of God. And so these two or three witnesses 
not only serve to help and assist the offended party, but also 
the offender. The process is calculated to 
not only afford protection to the offended, but to the one 
accused of offending. You've all heard Proverbs 18, 
17, haven't you? I hope you have. If you've been 
here for 19 years, you've heard it. The first to plead his cause 
seems right. Until what? Until his neighbor 
comes and examines him. These two or three witnesses 
may hear from the man. And then we go and hear from 
the alleged offender, and he says, no, that's not what happened. 
I didn't beat my wife. She fell down, and I offered 
a helping hand to try and pick her up. And when I did, she stumbled. 
And this guy saw it and thought I smacked her. Oh, if that's 
what happened and we confirm that with the wife, the so-called 
abuse, oh yeah, you know, I'm a klutz and I fell and he reached 
out his hand and I stumbled and I don't know how this guy got 
that bee in his bonnet. You see, it protects the offended 
party. We cannot get this pitchfork 
mentality. How many times have you heard 
something about another person and your heart has risen up in 
condemnation? Don't raise your hand, don't 
nod, don't wink, don't do anything, but examine your heart for just 
a moment and ask yourselves, has that never happened to me 
where I heard about a particular situation and I was quick and 
rash to proceed to judgment? I had already condemned and crucified 
an innocent man. The first to plead his cause 
is right, until his neighbor comes and examines him. In that 
same chapter, he who answers a matter before he hears it, 
it is rash, it is folly to him. In other words, you've got to 
get both sides of the story. How come civil courts have this 
down? How come civil courts will not 
accuse a man or will, you know, say, you know, innocent until 
proven otherwise? And yet in the church, man, the 
first time somebody makes a charge or an allegation, we all rush 
to judgment with pitchfork in hand. And it turns out the brother 
is as pure as the driven snow, at least in that area. So please, 
make sure that you understand these witnesses are very key 
and very helpful in this whole process. Note the precedent. Jesus doesn't just suggest something 
new. Jesus operates according to the 
law of God. But if he will not hear, take 
with you one or two more. That, here's a scriptural appeal, 
by the mouth of two or three witnesses, every word may be 
established. This is in the Old Testament, 
Deuteronomy 19, 15. You see it as well in Deuteronomy 
17 and Numbers 35 with reference to capital crimes. You see it 
in Deuteronomy 19, specifically in 16 to 20, that deals with 
false witnesses. You see, these two or three witnesses 
aren't just, you know, an afterthought in the mind of Christ. This is 
the way it's always been designed to be. This is the way that sinners 
deal with one another. You see, God never addresses 
us in this sort of Pollyannish way, that you just live in a 
life where there's bluebirds fluttering about and where there's 
rose petals garnishing your way to heaven. No, you live in a 
sinful world, sinners get converted, they come into the church, and 
guess what? They still sin against each other. It never ceases to 
amaze me the way people are so offended at the thought that 
somebody would dare to sin against them. Welcome to earth. Welcome to life. You've heard 
the old adage, life ain't fair. Why do we actually think that 
it would be in a world populated with sinners? I mean, have you 
ever met somebody, or it may have been you, heaven forbid, 
somebody sin against me, how could they do such a thing? They're 
sinners. That's what sinners do. Even 
redeemed sinners sin. I'm not legitimizing it. I am 
not justifying it. I am stating it in the indicative 
mood. It is what is. The Bible prescribes 
how to deal with it. Don't stew, don't whine, don't 
cry, don't blog. Go to him. If he refuses to hear 
you, bring two or three witnesses. If he doesn't hear them, there's 
another step in the process. But do not be blown away at the 
thought that somebody would ever sin against holy you. It's going to happen. You know, 
it's like parents with their kids. How could you ever do that? 
How could you say that knowing your own heart? How can you, 
in good conscience, without utter hypocrisy, look your child in 
the eyes and say, how in the world could you ever do such 
a thing? How in the world can you and I do such things against 
the living and true God? Again, not legitimizing, not 
justifying, but giving you hopefully a dose of biblical reality. We not only need a spoonful of 
it, we need a shovelful of it because this would be helpful 
if all of us understood these things relative to life in the 
church. Now, note the outcome. 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." What's the implication? If he 
hears them and he repents, they forgive him. It's beautiful, 
isn't it? That's the intended result. That's 
the desired result. That's the goal in view. He hears 
them and then he repents and they exercise forgiveness. 
They hug, they embrace, they go back to their homes, they 
mow their lawns, they do whatever it is they do on a Saturday afternoon. It's a beautiful thing. Notice 
what Jesus says. If he refuses to hear them, tell 
it to the church. Again, we have another instance 
of escalation. And isn't that beautiful? If 
he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. It is the church that is entrusted 
with the authority of Christ. It's not just the elders. The 
elders help administrate. The elders have specific tasks 
in the conduct of the church, but the church is the body with 
the authority. It is the church that is involved 
in the process. It's not a band of offended elders 
that are acting in diatrophies manner to just exclude persons 
from their sight. They're not diatrophies engaged 
in multiplying bodies, throwing them under, but it's not the 
elders. just wander around in their swagger 
and bravado, dulling out discipline to the hapless multitudes. That's 
not the way it's supposed to be. Jesus says, tell it to the 
church. Again, the elders are going to 
be involved in that, to be sure, in terms of administration and 
ministerial function and capacity, but it's not just this sort of 
watchtower Bible and Tract Society operating from Brooklyn, you 
know, sort of calling the shots behind the curtains and, you 
know, making those hapless souls fall and bow and toe the line. 
It is to the church that Jesus addresses this instruction. Note, 
He refused to hear them. If He refuses to hear them, now 
tell it to the church. So all of the persons in the 
church are involved. And the implication here, notice 
what he goes on to say, if he refuses to hear them, the two 
or three, tell it to the church. That is the collective body of 
a local church. But if he refuses even to hear 
the church, you see, this isn't the final step. I think we do 
err at this point. We say, well, now the church 
is involved, the next step is to treat him as a tax collector 
and he that. No, Jesus is very specific and conspicuous. If 
he refuses even to hear the church, you see there's a period of time 
in there where the church is calling upon the man to repent. 
Not tell it to the church so they can drum him out, tell it 
to the church so they can prayerfully go to the man and exhort him 
to repent. Tell it to the church so they can plead with him. Tell 
it to the church so they can cry over him. Tell it to the 
church so that they can fast on his behalf. Tell it to the 
church so that they will plead with the mercy of Christ for 
this man to be reconciled. You see, I think sometimes it 
gets into our head that it's a three-step and not a four-step 
process. We bring the two or three witnesses, 
we tell it to the church, and then we treat him as a tax collector 
and a heathen. No, if he refuses to hear the church, then treat 
him as a heathen and a tax collector. You see? You've got to understand 
there's this period between the two and three witnesses and this 
designation of heathendom and tax collectorhood. There is that 
period of time where the church is pleading with the man to be 
reconciled. They are pleading with the man 
to deal righteously with his sin. The object of the gathering, 
this is France, is not to pronounce judgment, but to strengthen the 
pastoral appeal in the hope that the offender may yet listen. 
He's not at the point of no return, even now. I mean, he isn't even 
after he's considered a tax collector and a heathen. We've got to understand 
that. There's never a point of no return. He can repent as a 
heathen and a tax collector, and what do we do? we bring him 
back in, we love him, we, you know, hug him, and then we go 
mow our lawns, or whatever it is we do on a, well, not on a 
Sunday afternoon, but on a Saturday afternoon. So notice, this man 
is being pleaded with by the church, and Jesus now deals with 
that final step. If he refuses even to hear the 
church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector. If the man hears the church, 
he repents, he is restored. If the man refuses, I love the 
way Jesus includes this, even, even to the church. It's almost 
like unthinkable that a professing believer in Jesus Christ won't 
listen to his or her church. I mean, it's outlandish, right? 
Not all of us are athanasius contra mundum, athanasius against 
the world. I mean, for every one athanasius, 
there's, you know, probably a few million persons that are just 
flat out wrong and sinful. And so we need to understand 
that. Tell it even to the church. He is obstinate. He is hardening 
his neck against reproof. Again, brethren, your church 
can be wrong and you can be right. If that happens, there is redress 
in the confession of faith, even to such an eventuality as that. 
For the most part, we ought to listen to the collective wisdom 
of God's Spirit-filled people. We ought to listen to the collective 
wisdom of those involved in our local church. The Lord God Almighty 
is active by His Spirit in the hearts of His people in the local 
church when it comes to the selection of officers, when it comes to 
the administration of discipline, when it comes to financial expenditures, 
all that stuff we trust that Spirit-filled people have a modicum 
of wisdom and ability to be able to speak intelligently to those 
things. So we need to hear the church. 
There are several Proverbs that deal with a man who will refuse 
even to hear the church, and by man I mean man and woman. 
Proverbs 15, 31 to 33. The ear that hears the rebukes 
of life will abide among the wise. He who disdains the 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. If you've got a tendency 
to be a hard-headed individual, read Proverbs and pray for a 
spirit of compliance. Read Proverbs and ask God to 
soften your heart, soften your head, not so that you're foolish 
and ignorant, but so that you're not headstrong and rebel, rebellious. Proverbs 19, 20, listen to counsel 
and receive instruction that you may be wise in your latter 
days. Proverbs 28, 14, happy is the man who is always reverent, 
but he who hardens his heart will fall into calamity. You 
notice Solomon never envisages a happy occasion when persons 
are rebel and obstinate. Solomon doesn't say, you know, 
life's going to be good for you. You're going to just soar through life, 
there's never going to be... No, it's just the opposite. If 
you are headstrong, if you are obstinate, if you have a rebellious 
tendency and streak, if you cannot submit to authority, you need 
to change, because life in God's world is about submission to 
authority. The fifth commandment is the 
moral law and will of God for His creatures. Yes, of course, 
parents to children, but citizens to the civil government. persons, 
to all manner of government, whether civil or ecclesiastical, 
we are called in this life to be submissive to others, and 
that is something that Solomon enjoins upon his sons. And then 
Proverbs 29.1, he who is often rebuked and hardens his neck 
will suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy. So again, 
I think if you did a study in the book of Proverbs and you 
said, you know, I'm just a stubborn, hard-hearted, obstinate rebel. 
What does Solomon want from me? He wants you to change. He wants 
you to repent. He wants you to stop being that 
way. That doesn't mean be milquetoast. It doesn't mean, you know, be 
a limp noodle. It doesn't mean be that sort 
of a passive person that everybody runs roughshod over. I think 
you know what it means. It means when persons with wisdom 
try and correct me, I ought to receive it. When persons who 
know more than I do tell me you're walking into a foolish place, 
then I really should listen to them. I ought to defer to my 
parents. I ought to defer to my elders. 
I ought to defer to older brothers in the context of Christ's church. 
I ought to respect those hoary heads because God tells me that's 
a mark of wisdom. Why wouldn't I talk to the hoary 
heads in the church and say, what do you advise on this? Well, 
brethren, that's the sort of mindset that is envisaged by 
the Proverbs. And then notice what Jesus says, 
if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like 
a heathen and a tax collector. The identification of the offender, 
he moves from brother to heathen and tax collector. He moves from 
the position of being counted as a brother into the position 
of being counted as a heathen or a tax collector. Now, Gill 
and France believe that only the offended one of verse 15 
renders this verdict. I think it's the entirety of 
the church. The bulk of commentators take 
it as the entirety of the church. I think the text most naturally 
reads that way. The church is involved. The church 
has pleaded. The church has been resisted, 
rejected, and refused. Therefore, the church now considers 
this man as a heathen and a tax collector. He must be treated 
accordingly. Now, if we survey Matthew's gospel, 
we'll see that Jesus deals quite nicely with heathen and tax collectors, 
doesn't he? I mean, Jesus is kind to heathen 
and tax collectors. Is that really what we're being 
told at this point? Treat him as a heathen and a tax collector. 
Give him a warm embrace. No, that's not what's in view 
here. France says, the terms are being 
used in their conventional Jewish sense. Heathen and tax collectors 
were outsiders. They were not brothers, they 
were not part of the church, they were not members of the 
church. They were looked upon as those 
outside. That's why it was scandalous 
for Jesus to eat with tax collectors and the sinners. The Pharisees 
would say, how in the world could you eat with those outsiders? 
It scandalized them. Now Jesus obviously is doing 
this in an evangelistic capacity. Jesus isn't having church with 
them. Jesus isn't engaged in the Lord's Supper with them, 
but He's showing kindness in the hopes and in the attempt 
to bring them to Jesus, to bring them to the Savior. Calvin says, 
we ought to have no intercourse with the despisers of the church 
till they repent." Again, what Calvin says rightly understands 
what's in view in Matthew's gospel here. If the guy repents, we 
forgive him. If the guy repents, we exercise 
mercy, kindness, love, gentleness. But if he does not, then we treat 
him as a heathen and a tax collector. Augustine on 1 Corinthians 5 
where Paul says, deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction 
of the flesh. Augustine says, but he speaks 
of delivering over to Satan because the devil is outside the church 
as Christ is in the church. and other portions there in 1 
Corinthians 5 illustrate this also. So this identification 
or movement from calling him brother to calling him heathen 
and tax collector does imply, infer, demonstrate or show the 
authority of the church in loosing and in binding. Isn't this what 
Jesus says in Matthew 16? He gives the keys to the kingdom 
And one of the specific functions of the church is to bind and 
to loose, to make judicial pronouncements. And in this particular instance, 
that judicial pronouncement has to do with the church and a brother, 
who at one time was called a brother, who sins, someone faithful went 
to him, he refused, he rejected, that faithful one brought two 
or three, they pleaded with him, they wanted him to repent, but 
he refused them, he was obstinate, he was hard-hearted. So they 
now tell it to the church, and the church pleads with the man. 
How long is this process? I don't know. The man looks like 
he might break it. You're patient. You're compassionate. 
You're loving. You're exercising grace and mercy. 
You're appealing to him to be reconciled. I don't think it 
happens, you know, in one church meeting. Everybody come up and, 
you know, tell him to repent and sock him in the arm and tell 
him to No, that's not it. There's a period involved. Persons 
go to him. They set up meetings with him. They talk to him. They 
pray for him. So this grace and kindness and 
forbearance has been practiced, but if it comes to the point 
where he refuses even to listen to the church, then let him be 
to you like a heathen and a tax collector. So with reference 
to church discipline, we have seen the particular steps involved. There is a private confrontation, 
there is a necessity of witnesses should the private confrontation 
go unheeded, and then the function of the church. The church is 
brought in to plead and to push the man to repentance. The purposes 
of discipline, the purity of Christ's church for the glory 
of God. And again, I think whenever we 
ask, why do we do what we do, it's for the glory of God. So 
then, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to 
the glory of God, 1 Corinthians chapter 10. I'm certain that 
if God is concerned about how we eat and drink, He's concerned 
about how we exercise discipline in the church, and it ought to 
be so that He would be glorified and honored. But as well, there 
is the protection of the people of God. Undealt with sin, and 
the ranks will spread like gangrene. I mean, maybe you've never seen 
it in your own life, but some of us have. If you don't deal 
with sin, does it just sit there, innocuous? Does it just say, 
well, I'm happy to just dwell here content? No, it wants to 
grow, it wants to gain power and force, and that's why you 
don't give it any air, you don't give it any food, you don't give 
it any coddling. You try to root it out. If you 
allow it, any quarter, any recourse whatsoever, it's going to grow. 
It's just the nature of sin. The same thing is true within 
the church. And then, of course, obviously, the recovery of sinning 
brethren. The recovery of sinning brethren. And even the exclusion, the excommunication 
has a remedial end. I think if you, you know, most 
commentators believe that that man that has come back to the 
church in 2 Corinthians is the man who was put out under the 
instruction of Paul in 1 Corinthians. Receive him, he's repented, right? You love him and you hug him 
and you welcome him back into the church's embrace. Now, the 
implications of, let's just say, this final step in terms of church 
discipline. We see that this is the final 
step in an otherwise very long process. Now, I don't think it 
takes ten years, but it shouldn't take ten minutes. Spurgeon 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 incurred much guilt by resisting the attempts 
of love made in obedience to the command of the great head 
of the church. You see what Spurgeon says. His problems have now exceeded 
that initial offense. I mean, he's compounding it. Again, sin doesn't just stay 
one sin. It grows these nasty, you know, 
tentacles and it spreads out. Now he's refused to listen to 
a faithful brother. He's refused to listen to two 
or three. He's refused to listen to an entire church who is doing 
difficult things. It's not easy to do those sorts 
of things. I mean, if you've ever had to 
confront somebody about sin, if you get some sick, twisted 
fascination out of it, you've got problems. Most of us, our 
knees knock, and, you know, we grind our thumbs down to the 
nub, and, you know, we try, you know, as we're reaching for that 
phone, well, I better go check my hair before I call in, and 
before you're reaching for that, well, I better check, you know, 
my Twitter feed, because who knows what might be on there. 
Reaching for that, you know, I should just, Yeah, you can 
pray some more. It's hard, isn't it? And now 
this fellow has resisted all these persons who have done hard 
things in obedience to their head, and he still refuses to 
hear them. It is him. It's not the church 
that's mean and nasty. It's the man who's a rebel and 
obstinate sinner. Davies and Allison say, excommunication, 
when it comes, will in truth be self-imposed exile. The Christian community, if it 
is to be true to itself, if it is forebearing, anxious about 
the welfare of all its members and animated by a spirit of forgiveness, 
will give sinners more than a fair chance. 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. I think 
they're right. Absolutely. As well, when we 
look at a passage like this, I think a natural suggestion 
from the text is, can he still attend church? I mean, he's moved 
from that place of being identified as brother, and now he's identified 
as heathen and tax collector. Can he still come to church? 
Well, let's assume that he wants to come to church. I'm not convinced 
that he's going to want to, but if he wants to come to church, 
what do we do with heathen and tax collector? We evangelize 
them. We preach the gospel to them. So, by all means, he should 
come to church. In fact, we can tell him that. 
If we call you heathen and tax collector, we urge you to be 
there on Sunday morning. We know that pastor whoever is 
going to be preaching the gospel, and you need to hear the gospel 
so that you'll believe and repent. So certainly, because he's in 
the category of heathen and tax collector, we evangelize him. We let him come to church. However, 
if he is a threat to persons in the church, then we can say 
no. If McDonald's can refuse me service 
because I'm not wearing a t-shirt, I'd like to think the church 
of God can refuse someone service if they are a threat to a wife 
or to a child, say. If he's a child molester or he's 
a wife beater and his wife and children continue in our church 
and they can't worship God because he's there, we're not going to 
let him there. We will make sure he gets gospel. 
We'll go visit him. We'll tell him where to go on 
sermon audio. We'll pipe it in for him. We'll do whatever it 
is so that he can hear the gospel. But if he poses a threat to persons 
in the church, brethren, he is not going to be here. But again, 
if he's not a threat, he's not a harmer, he's got some private 
issue that hasn't tentacled its way into the dismay and ruin 
of other people's lives, then we will let him be in church 
so that we can preach the gospel to him as a heathen and a tax 
collector. As well, we ought to appreciate 
the seriousness of excommunication. It is a judicial statement from 
the church of the Lord Jesus Christ, and it is serious business. And then finally, we ought to 
consider the reality of the abuse of church authority in excommunication. Churches can err, churches can 
sin, churches can do things wrong. The church can abuse authority 
and discipline in an ungodly manner. Ersinus in his commentary 
on the Heidelberg Catechism 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. So it can 
happen. Abusive elders, guiding the body, 
guiding the membership to put persons out. That is a reality 
that we need to guard against. But the abuse of power or the 
abuse of authority does not argue against its legitimate use. Because 
some people drink and drive and kill people doesn't mean I shouldn't 
drive. or I shouldn't drink. So I can't combine those two 
because they have unholy effects. You see? Just because somebody 
abuses things, somebody takes a gun and they sit up in the 
clock tower and they pick off persons in downtown Chilliwack, 
does not mean I can't have a rifle. pick off booze, or go out and 
shoot targets, or cans, or watermelons, or pumpkins, or whatever it is 
I want to do. You see, the abuse of something does not argue against 
its lawful use, and we need to understand that. And then, as 
well, we ought to appreciate that our confession affords redress 
to those who have been wronged. Notice, specifically, in paragraph 
15, in cases of difficulties or differences either in point 
of doctrine or administration wherein either the churches in 
general are concerned or any one church in their peace, union, 
and edification. or any member or members of any 
church are injured in or by any proceedings and censures not 
agreeable to truth and order. It is according to the mind of 
Christ that many churches holding communion together do by their 
messengers meet to consider and give their advice in or about 
that matter in difference to be reported to all the church's 
concern." You see, there is redress. There is recourse. There is a 
procedure in place and one of those procedures is ARBCA. If you have been wronged or persons 
that you know have been wronged in an ARBCA church, encourage 
them to call another ARBCA pastor. The phone numbers are available 
on the website. We try to make that known to 
persons. We typically have a member directory 
in the back of the church. That's what it's for. If you've 
gotten what you believe or perceive to be an unfair shake, there 
is a structure put in place so that churches holding communion 
together can offer advice and can offer support and can offer 
help in those areas. Well, let's close in a word of 
prayer. Our Father, we thank you for your word and we thank 
you for the mind of Christ as it's revealed to us in scripture. 
We ask that you would just bless us as a local church and help 
us to take these things seriously. We know the marks of the church 
as identified in church history are discipline and preaching 
and the sacraments. May we hold to these things and 
may we do these things in a manner that is consistent with the revealed 
mind of Christ. And we ask these things through 
Jesus our Lord. Amen.