Beginning in paragraph 5, in
the execution of this power wherewith he is so entrusted, the Lord
Jesus calleth out of the world unto himself through the ministry
of his word by his spirit those that are given unto him by his
Father, that they may walk before him in all the ways of obedience
which he prescribeth to them in his word. Those thus called,
he commandeth to walk together in particular societies or churches
for their mutual edification and the due performance of that
public worship which he requireth of them in the world. The members
of these churches are saints by calling, visibly manifesting
and evidencing in and by their profession and walking, their
obedience unto that call of Christ. and do willingly consent to walk
together according to the appointment of Christ, giving up themselves
to the Lord, and one to another, by the will of God, in professed
subjection to the ordinances of the gospel. To each of these
churches thus gathered, according to his mind declared in his word,
he hath given all that power and authority, which is in any
way needful for their carrying on that order and worship and
discipline which he hath instituted for them to observe, with commands
and rules for the do and right exerting and executing of that
power. A particular church, gathered
and completely organized according to the mind of Christ, consists
of officers and members, and the officers appointed by Christ
to be chosen and set apart by the church, so called and gathered,
for the peculiar administration of ordinances and execution of
power or duty which He entrusts them with, or calls them to,
to be continued to the end of the world, are bishops or elders
and deacons. The way appointed by Christ for
the calling of any person fitted and gifted by the Holy Spirit
unto the office of bishop or elder in a church is, that he
be chosen thereunto by the common suffrage of the church itself,
and solemnly set apart by fasting and prayer, with imposition of
hands of the eldership of the church, if there be any before
constituted therein, and of a deacon, that he be chosen by the like
suffrage, and set apart by prayer, and the like imposition of hands.
The work of pastors being constantly to attend the service of Christ
in His churches, in the ministry of the word and prayer, with
watching for their souls as they that must give an account to
Him. It is incumbent on the churches to whom they minister, not only
to give them all due respect, but also to communicate to them
of all their good things according to their ability. so as that
they may have a comfortable supply without being themselves entangled
in secular affairs, and may also be capable of exercising hospitality
towards others. And this is required by the law
of nature and by the express order of our Lord Jesus, who
hath ordained that they that preach the gospel should live
of the gospel. Although it be incumbent on the
bishops or pastors of the churches to be instant in preaching the
word by way of office, yet the work of preaching the word is
not so peculiarly confined to them, but that others also gifted
and fitted by the Holy Spirit for it, and approved and called
by the church, may and ought to perform it. 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
under 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.
As each church and all the members of it are bound to pray continually
for the good and prosperity of all the churches of Christ in
all places and upon all occasions to further it, everyone within
the bounds of their places and callings in the exercise of their
gifts and graces, so the churches, when planted by the providence
of God, so as they may enjoy opportunity and advantage for
it, ought to hold communion among themselves for their peace, increase
of love, and mutual edification. 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, due by their messengers, meet
to consider and give their advice in or about that matter in difference,
to be reported to all the churches concerned, albeit these messengers
assembled are not entrusted with any church power properly so
called, or with any jurisdiction over the churches themselves,
to exercise any censures either over any churches or persons,
or to impose their determination on the churches or officers.
So, as I said, this section in chapter 26, paragraphs 5 to 15,
take up the issue of the local church. And I just want to give
you sort of an outline and then focus primarily on paragraph
12 this morning. But what we have is the origin
of the church in paragraph 5. Secondly, we have the membership
of the church in paragraph 6, the power of the church in paragraph
7, or authority, the government of the church in paragraphs 8
to 10, the preaching of the church specifically in paragraph 11,
the discipline of the church in paragraphs 12 and 13, and
then the local church's relationship to other churches in paragraphs
14 and 15. So as I said, we're going to
focus on the issue of church discipline. I'm going to quote
the Belgian Confession in the morning sermon this morning,
which says, the true church can be recognized if it has the following
marks. The church engages in the pure
preaching of the gospel. It makes use of the pure administration
of the sacraments as Christ instituted them. It practices church discipline
for correcting faults. So we're going to deal with the
whole idea of the pure preaching of the gospel in the Sunday morning
worship this morning. Certainly we're going to take
up the sacraments as we continue to proceed in our study of the
confession, so I thought it would be good for us to visit a study
we've done before on the discipline of the church. And I want to
do so first by looking at the prerequisite to church discipline,
and then secondly, the liabilities of church membership. I'm sorry, the prerequisite to
church discipline is church membership, and then secondly, the liabilities
of church membership is the discipline of the church. We all think about
privileges. We all think, hopefully, about
responsibilities. There are liabilities, and I
don't mean that, therefore, don't join a church, but realize that
there are negative sanctions in the life and conduct of the
Church of the Lord Jesus Christ for those who do not repent and
those who continue to forsake. The Bible has a specific methodology
of dealing with such persons. So our focus tonight, or this
morning, will be on the prerequisite to church discipline, which is
church membership, and then secondly, the liabilities of church membership,
specifically church discipline. But notice, specifically in the
Confession, at paragraph 12, it says, as all believers are
bound to join themselves to particular churches when and where they
have opportunity so to do. Now, I think that this whole
idea of church membership is misunderstood in our present
situation. It's not even applied in some
churches. I think if you just show up,
or perhaps you give to a particular church, then you are considered
to be a member. Well, the Bible makes the case
that there is a formal membership associated with local churches,
and therefore, as the Confession says, it is a binding duty. All believers are bound to join
themselves to particular churches. So I want to look at some statements
in the New Testament that highlight the reality that there was, in
fact, a formal church membership. I mean, there's not a Roman 17
that says, thou must join a local church, and it must do these
certain things. But we can infer, based on scriptural
data, that church membership was, in fact, practiced from
the earliest stage. First of all, the church at Jerusalem
was numbered. If you turn to the Book of Acts,
the book of Acts, specifically chapter 2. Just looking at five
pieces of evidence to argue that biblical church, or that church
membership is indeed a biblical concept. In Acts chapter 2 at
verses 40, 41, and 47. verse 40, and with many other
words he testified and exhorted them, saying, Be saved from this
perverse generation. Then those who gladly received
his word were baptized, and that day about three thousand souls
were added, and I think to them, I don't think, it is supplied,
but it's a legitimate supply. They were added to them, the
existing church, under the preaching of the Gospel of Peter, by the
power of the Holy Spirit. There were those who gladly received
His Word. That number was about 3,000,
and that number was then added to them, that already existing
number of disciples. And then in verse 47, praising
God and having favor with all the people, and the Lord added
to the church daily, those who were being saved in a specific
locale, a specific place vis-a-vis Jerusalem. Notice as well the
church at Jerusalem was joined. This is the second line of evidence,
chapter 5, verses 11 to 13. I already see that there in Acts
2, but just some more data. The church at Jerusalem was joined,
Acts 5, 11, and 12. So great fear came upon all the
church and upon all who heard these things, and through the
hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were done among the
people, and they were all with one accord in Solomon's porch. Yet none of the rest dared join
them, but the people esteemed them highly." So there was this
specifically identifiable body of persons that could be joined
or not joined, which indicates that there was something holding
these people together beyond just a social contract. As well,
we notice in chapter 9, verses 26 to 28. Chapter 9, verses 26
to 28. Again, the prerequisite to church
discipline is church membership. Sometimes it comes up. Well,
so-and-so is an attender at your church, and they're doing such-and-such,
but you haven't done anything about it. Well, first of all,
maybe we have done something about it, but second of all,
if they're not a member, they're not subject to the discipline
of the church the way that a member is. Now, certainly, as pastors
or elders in a local church, you try and deal with regular
attenders in a gracious and kind way, and hold them accountable
and do the same sorts of things. There is a difference between
just regular attendance and church membership. And when we come
to these texts, we see that church membership itself is a biblical
concept. Notice Acts 9.26. And when Saul
had come to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples. Again,
it's a disciple group there specifically in Jerusalem, identified as the
church. But they were all afraid of him
and did not believe that he was a disciple. But Barnabas took
him and brought him to the apostles, and he declared to them how he
had seen the Lord on the road, and that he had spoken to him,
and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus.
So he was with them at Jerusalem, coming in and going out. And
he spoke boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus and disputed against
the Hellenists, but they attempted to kill him. When the brethren
found out, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him out
to Tarsus." So we not only see that Saul of Tarsus, or Paul
the Apostle, joins this local body, but this local body has
a vested interest in who they allow and who they disallow in
terms of the membership of the church. This is why when we announce
somebody for membership, we encourage the people of God to get to know
them, because it's a community effort to bring members into
the church. Just as it is to excommunicate
them, so it is to bring them into the body of the church.
And that's precisely what happens here. Hey, we heard this man
killed disciples. We don't want him in our midst.
Barnabas smooths it over, tells him, no, that Saul has been genuinely
converted, he's a godly man. So there is a prerequisite, there
is a sort of process, there is sort of a way to vet incoming
members so that they don't pose a threat to the body of Jesus
Christ. As well, thirdly, the duties of pastoral ministry necessitate
church membership. Look at Acts 20. Again, some
of these passages we'll reflect on in the morning service as
well in a different connection, but notice in Acts 20, 28. Therefore,
take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the
Holy Spirit has made you overseers to shepherd the church of God,
which he purchased with his own blood. Now, pastors aren't like,
you know, U.S. marshals that have sort of jurisdiction
in every state and in every county and every territory in the United
States. That's not how pastors are. I
don't have the same obligation to a Christian that goes to,
say, the South Side or to Main Street or whatever church. I
don't have sort of that accountability that one day I will be called
upon by God to give an account for that person's soul. You all
get that, right? I'm not expected to be that U.S. Marshal. I'm not expected to
be, you know, a federalized sort of police force for the people
of God everywhere at all times. Notice in Hebrews 13. The argument
here is that the duties of pastoral ministry necessitate church membership. Notice in Hebrews 13, 17. Obey those who rule over you
and be submissive for they watch out for your souls as those who
must give account. Again, it's not a count for persons
that aren't members of their particular churches. It's for
those who are within the church that these particular elders
rule over or have authority over, not as tyrants, but in terms
of a constituted church and the eldership thereof. And then he
goes on to say, let them do so with joy and not with grief,
for that would be unprofitable for you. And then as well, fourthly,
the duties of members towards pastors necessitates church membership. Look at 1 Thessalonians 5. 1
Thessalonians 5. specifically verses 12 and 13,
and we urge you, brethren, to recognize those who labor among
you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you. The whole idea
of recognize doesn't just mean, oh, I think I know that particular
fellow. No, it means to know them, know
those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and
admonish you. And we say it's not a civil authority,
it's not family authority, it's in the Lord authority. So it's
churchly authority. We urge you, brethren, to recognize
those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and
admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love for their
work's sake. Be at peace among yourselves. I understand, I've
heard of it, there's a pastor's appreciation week or month or
something, Everybody has an appreciation week or month, don't they? And
just realize you don't have to go buy pastors coffee at every
other church out there, just me. No, I'm kidding. Just kidding. It was a joke. You don't need
to buy me anything. But you see, the idea of members
toward pastors necessitates this whole idea of membership. And
again, Hebrews 13, 17, submit to those who have rule over you
within the context and confines of your local church. And then
fifthly, in terms of the biblical warrant for church membership
is the discipline of the church necessitates membership. The
whole idea behind excommunication means that at one time somebody
was a communicant, somebody was within the context of that particular
local church. Again, that doesn't mean we just
turn a blind eye when attenders are engaged in sin or terrible
things. We certainly talk to them, we
deal with them. There's also issues and things concerning
how far we can discipline somebody that hasn't formally submitted
themselves to the context of the local church. You see, all
of these lines of evidence tell us that, in fact, church discipline,
or rather church membership, was practiced in the early church. So that's the background of the
prerequisite to church discipline. Let's look now at the liabilities,
or maybe responsibility is a better word, of church membership, specifically
church discipline. Notice the privileges are outlined
in the Confession with reference to our belonging to churches. Paragraph 12, 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
under the privileges of a church are also under the censures and
government thereof according to the rule of Christ. Now, you
can probably see an analogy of this when it comes to male and
female relationships, where there's not a covenant of marriage in
place, and yet they want to fornicate. They want the privileges associated
with marriage, but they don't want the liabilities or responsibilities
that are associated with marriage. They want the benefits, but they
don't want the hard work of covenant keeping and stability and security
that goes into building a solid marriage. And I think the same
thing is true here. We have at times people that
want the benefits of church membership, but they aren't submitting to
the particular responsibilities or potential liabilities involved
in the church. And this is what our Confession
says. So all that are admitted under the privileges of the church
are also under the censures and government thereof. according
to the rule of Christ. I would suggest to somebody,
you know, that I was counseling, that we're fornicating. You don't
have a right to do that. You're disobeying God, you have
not entered into the marriage covenant, and you're not responsible
to put food and clothing and all those sorts of things on
your spouse. There's responsibilities that come along with privileges.
We see it in that, you know, male-female realm. we ought to
see it within the context of the local church. It's not only
coming and seeing brethren and hearing preaching, it's showing
up on the workday. It's being subject to the discipline
of the church. It's all those things that we
are called upon as members in churches to engage in. So as
I said, this was probably just a long introduction to get us
to Matthew 18. Matthew 18, I want to look at the process of church
discipline, biblical warrant and the process of it. We're
only going to take up the first section this morning in Matthew
18, but I'll read the section in verses 15 to 20. Matthew 18, 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. And 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. Just by
way of a preliminary observation, how many times have you heard
verse 20 wrenched out of the context and made to give sort
of confirmation to a small-ish prayer meeting? Two people show
up at prayer meeting and then we raise our hands in glee because
for where two or three are gathered together in my name, I am there
in the midst of that. Now certainly Jesus is in the
midst of his people, I'm not discounting that, but look at
what Jesus is saying in what connection. It's in the discipline
of the church. It's in this whole idea of providing
evidence and calling persons to repent. and issuing, you know,
sort of ultimatums and all that particular stuff, it's in that
connection that Jesus promises the head of the church will be
in the midst of the church when the church is engaged in the
discipline process. You see, it's not just some sort
of add-on, or it's not just some sort of thing that, you know,
some of those hardcore churches actually practice discipline.
This is one of the marks of the church, the pure preaching of
the gospel, the administration of the sacraments, and the discipline
of the church. If you don't have discipline,
you don't have church. That's what Christ is establishing
here in Matthew 18. And there's a whole host of reasons
for this, and we'll uncover some of them as we move through our
material this morning. First, the private confrontation
that is to take place. It's unfortunate whenever we
say church discipline or we hear church discipline, all we ever
consider is the end of verse 17. Let him be to you like a
heathen and a tax collector. I mean, isn't that our conception
of church discipline? We know there's Jehovah's Witness,
and he got disfellowshipped, he got cast out, and nobody even
smiles at him anymore. That's sort of the conception
that we have. You realize that right now, and this morning,
and this evening is church discipline? There's not only sort of the
corrective influence or the punitive influence of church discipline
like we find here, but there's the corrective, the disciplining
by the Word. Every time you're taught the
Word, every time you learn more of the Word, the idea is is that
that word penetrates into the heart and shapes the conduct.
So that's discipline. Discipline is when, you know,
we encourage one another. It's not just, let him be to
you a tax collector and a heathen. That's really just not the way
it is. There's a punitive form, and
that's what we find here, but then there's this formative.
There's this, you know, disciplining through the Word of God. And
then notice, before it ever gets to telling it to the church,
it's supposed to happen at the interpersonal relationship, in
verse 15. Notice, if your brother sins
against you, disown him. Never have anything to do with
him again. Say to him, how dare you sin against one such as glorious
as me? No, there's a way to deal with
stuff in the context of the church. I remain convinced that if the
people of God actually put into practice Matthew 18 and Matthew
5, we'll be a whole lot better off. Matthew 18 tells us what
we do when somebody sins against us. Matthew 5 tells us what we
do when we're conscious of the fact that our brother has a problem
with us because of something we did to them. And in both instances,
the idea is, is deal with it. How do marriages function that
they don't communicate, and they don't deal with stuff, and they
don't talk through things? They don't function typically
very well. Well, the same thing in the life of the church. If
we don't deal with things, it's all going to fester, we're all
going to be grumpy, we're all going to be broody, and we're
all going to avoid each other. That's not God's vision for the
people of God. The idea is not that we are to
pursue churches where there is no sin. I mean, in one sense,
that ought to be all of our goal. You know, my little children,
I write these things so that you may not sin. But if anyone
does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, even Jesus Christ
the righteous. And if anyone does sin, in the
context of the corporate body of Christ, we have a process
in place so you can deal with it. You don't just disown people. If that's your MO, when somebody
sins against you, you no longer have any truck with them, that's
not biblical. It's ungodly and it's unrighteous,
and both Testaments testify to us concerning that. So this is
the situation. 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. So the translation
here, I know it differs in NIV and NASB, where it says, if your
brother sins against you, but the fact that it goes on to say
between you and him alone argues for its inclusion. As well, the
context is obvious. It's Christians, it's believers,
one to another. The Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians
5 says, for what have I to do with judging those also who are
outside? Do you not judge those who are
inside? In other words, Paul's issue as an apostle was not with
what are the citizens of Corinth doing, but what are the members
of the church at Corinth doing? We've got to deal with this guy
who had his father's wife. I can't think about somebody
that's not even a professing believer having his father's
wife. The issue is we are to deal with
sin in the ranks among God's people. It's church discipline. And then notice, verse 15, if
your brother sins against you, This whole section in chapter
18 deals with the community, the people of God in the context
of the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. Notice he doesn't say,
moreover, if your brother sins against you, go and tell the
elders, get them involved. They have to know everything.
They have to be tyrants. They have to be US marshals.
They've got to be in everybody's business at every step of the
way. No. I don't know why we've adopted
that mindset that the elders have to know everything. Do you
want the state to know everything? Absolutely, positively not. You
shouldn't want elders involved with your business if you can
take care of it. I mean, come on. Why do you need
to tell an elder, hey, this brother and I, we sinned against each
other, and we took care of it. Well, good. That's what you're
supposed to do. Part of the process is not come
and report back to me. This isn't headquarters. Brethren,
deal with your issues. It's like your kids. Mom, this,
this. Just deal with it, or you're
going to get smacked. Can't say that to church members,
but you get the point. Kids just continually come to
you, if you don't settle it, then I'm gonna settle it. Now
again, the analogy breaks down, pastors shouldn't do that, but
you see the point. So the addressees are all believers,
not just church leaders. And then notice as well, something
that we have to take to heart. The problem in view, if your
brother sins against you, This is crucial because your personal
preference being violated is not necessarily a sin. If you
like the blue trinity hymnal and your brother likes the red,
that's okay. If it's not a sin, do not reprove
a brother for sin. This happens, you know, pretty
regularly. Oh, he did this and that. Well,
what's the sin? What's the sin? If there's not
a sin objectively defined by the law of God, you have no business
trying to impose your preferences on another human being. You can't
do that. Christ alone is Lord of the conscience. Look at John 7 for just a moment. John 7. And eventually we're
going to get to Matthew 7 that speaks about, judge not lest
you be judged. Obviously Jesus didn't mean with
a part in the context of church discipline, because this whole
idea implies judgment. I mean, if you can't see in Matthew
18 in terms of private confrontation, in verse 15, in terms of the
two or three witnesses in verse 16, and the telling it to the
church in verse 17, that's judgment. Jesus expects judgment. What
He's dealing with in Matthew 7 has no connection with ecclesiastical
judgment. It has to do with being Pharisaical,
little, you know, sniveling, whining pickers on everybody
else. That's what Matthew 7 is, and
Jesus says don't do that. But in terms of judgment, notice
in John 7, verse 24, "...do not judge according to appearance,
but judge with righteous judgment." Again, if we just gave some heed
to that particular text, we'd see something that appears to
be a terrible sin on the part of a brother. Well, maybe it's
not. Why is it that we automatically conclude they're doing the worst
possible thing? They're terrible, they're horrible,
they're wicked. Well, maybe there's a real legitimate
explanation as to what's happening here. But if you're gonna go
to him, make sure that it's an issue of sin. Now, there is another
option. We have Matthew 18, 15. Moreover,
if your brother sins against you, go and tell him. There is
another option. It is to let love cover a multitude
of sins. See, here's the problem. I think
at times, and please forgive me if I'm offending you. I'm
not trying to. I think that we're cowards and we don't want to
go tell somebody that they've sinned against us. So we say,
oh, we're going to let love cover it. But we really don't because
we treat them different. If you let love cover it, it
really must cover it. If you're going to say, I'm not
going to go to that person and reprove them of their sin because
I'm going to let love cover it, and then you treat them differently
because of that sin, you're not letting love cover it. You're
just not. So either you A, let love cover
it and let it really cover it, or B, you do what God tells you
to do and go and tell him his fault. So that's the situation. One brother sinning against another.
And then notice the command given, you are to go and tell him his
fault. Now, there is precedent for this
in Leviticus 19, 17. You know, we talk about 1 Corinthians
13 as being the love chapter. Well, Leviticus 19 is the love
chapter in the Old Covenant. And Leviticus 19, 17 says, you
shall not hate your brother in your heart, you shall surely
rebuke your neighbor and not bear sin because of him. Is that
an interesting connection? You shall not hate your brother
in your heart. You shall surely rebuke your
neighbor and not bear sin because of him. What's the implication?
If I'm not going to deal with my brother properly, I'm going
to end up hating him. I'd rather deal with him properly and love
him. When a commentator says, if you have a real reason to
be annoyed with him, discuss the matter with him, rebuke him. The value of having things out
with people rather than brooding on them is mentioned more than
once in the Bible. Better is open rebuke than hidden
love. Proverbs 27.5. You see, you know,
they go back to the analogy of marriage for people that don't
deal with stuff and they just let it fester and they let it
brood and they, you know, they get there, you know, get all
sour, you know, messed up and twisted and they start holding
each other. And, you know, at a distance, it's like just deal
with your stuff. You know, I think we bring into
marriage and into the church this idea that, you know, I can't
believe that they actually sin. Believe it. Everybody sins. It's
not the most savory concept, but it's something that we need
to deal with. And then notice the verb that Jesus used. between
you and him alone. It's the same verb used in the
Greek translation of Leviticus 19.17. Davies and Allison explain
it or define it this way, to lay open, expose, uncover, reveal,
demonstrate the mistake or guilt of another. And applied to the
guilty person, it means to convince him of his objective mistake
by furnishing evidence of his culpability. This is a beautiful
thing, right? In other words, if you're going
to go and charge somebody that they've sinned, you better be
able to put up. That's why I think Paul says,
specifically with reference to elders in 1 Timothy 5, do not
receive an accusation against an elder except on the basis
of two or three witnesses. Why? Because it has some ramifications
or implications for the life and conduct and health of the
church. If the elder is sinning, These two or three witnesses
are going to confirm that. If the elder isn't sinning, and
it's a personal vindictive thing on the part of one person, that
needs to be seen. It needs to be demonstrated.
And here specifically, when you tell him his fault, be able to
show him concretely why it is that he sinned against you. This
is all a good thing. It's proper procedure, and we
ought to embrace it. And then you go and tell him
his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you've
gained your brother. So the offended, notice, is to
go to the offender. The offended is to go to the
offender, not to others, including elders. Is that evident to everybody?
If your brother sins again, should you go and tell the prayer meeting?
Go and post it on Facebook? Tweet about it? Go and tell this
guy's best friend? No, tell him! Just be men, women
of integrity, and go and tell the person. 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. Imagine if you go to somebody
and you say, wow, I didn't even know that. Please forgive me.
Isn't that a beautiful thing? It really wasn't like that. I
did it in such, oh, so many things can be clarified by the simple
act of dialoguing with one another, but we would rather just pull
away, treat them differently, and no longer love them the way
we should. The offended is to privately
tell his brother what he has done. Again, tell him his fault
between you and him alone. Man, the church is not a secret
society. It bothers me when people accuse
us of being a cult. You all know what a secret society
is. It's persons who, you know, swear an oath or an allegiance
to that particular organization that whatever happens within
those four walls will never exit outside the church. The church
isn't that, but members have a right to privacy insofar as
it is possible. I mean, come on, you all know
what it's like to have your own stuff, you know, put out for
other people. It's like, that's not their business.
Respect the person enough not to tell everybody else. Hey,
you know what? And sometimes it's pious. You
know, I had a problem with Brother so-and-so, so I went to him and
he repented and we're all good. Why are you telling me that?
I don't need to know that he sinned and that it was forgiven.
Why is it that we feel the need to tell everybody everybody else's
business? How about if we exercise that
legitimate biblical right to privacy? Again, it's not a secret
society. If you come into my office and
you confess to rape or murder or pedophilia, I will report
you to the authorities. There is not a secret society
operative here. But if there is an issue that
we can protect the privacy of another member, we shouldn't
really want to do that. We shouldn't want people to Google
us and see that we sinned against brother so-and-so 18 years ago
and brother so-and-so forgave us. Who cares? I mean, it's a
done deal. It's over. And as well, the offended
must demonstrate the validity of his charge between you and
him alone. You've got to tell him, you've
got to convince him, you've got to show him that what's happened
is sin. And nine times out of ten, when
brethren with grace and the Spirit are confronted, they're typically
willing to say, please forgive me, you're right, I'm sorry.
And then it can be done with. So many molehills are made into
mountains because we just don't deal with each other. And the
offended must be open to the possibility that there has been
a misunderstanding. You know, we're not sovereign,
omniscient, omnipotent beings. We are not the kinds of people
that that know everything and the motives of the heart. I'm
going to preach on riches tonight. I think that's an area where,
you know, we just think because somebody doesn't spend the money
that we do, or spend their money the way we do, or save the way
we do, they must be in sin. No. No, they're not necessarily. And we need to be careful. And
then note the outcome. The end of verse 15, if he hears
you, you've gained your brother. The offender hears, obeys, and
the implication is that he repents. That's made clear in Luke 17,
13. He hears, he repents, you forgive him. It's kind of like
a flow chart, okay? You go to him, he repents, and
you forgive him, and everything's good. But if he doesn't repent,
then there's another sort of avenue that you need to take
that we'll look at in the coming weeks. But notice, the offended
wins his brother. You have gained your brother.
Chamblin said, if someone in the church can cause a little
one to fall into sin, chapter 18, verse 6, there can also be
influence in the opposite direction. When the sinner responds as here
described, the little one who goes to him has become, precisely
in his lowliness, an instrument of God's power. His recompense
is to gain his brother. It's a beautiful thing that we
ought to engage in. and seek to practice in the context
of the local church. And again, I'm not convinced
that every time somebody sins against us, we need to operate
according to this paradigm. I mean, imagine a married couple
that this was their lot in life. Every single thing was a Matthew
18 15. You know, the broccoli was a little bit tough tonight,
sweetie. I'm going to you and I'm going to, you know, demonstratively
show you it wasn't the way I like. If we live like that, we're going
to go bananas. And the same thing in the life
in the context of the Church. Things that are grave, things
that are repetitious, those might be some particular elements.
Notice the Scripture. Jesus doesn't say, if your brother
sins against you in this way, in this manner, this many times.
No, there's the principle, the guideline, the instruction on
how to deal with it. But do I go to my wife or my
husband, you know, if he didn't cut the grass like he promised?
Do I go to my brother in the church that, you know, brought
a, you know, whatever casserole instead of the one that he covenanted
to bring? Where does it stop? You know, we can't be those guys
either. So if something is graver than
normal, the garden variety sort of sin, or it's a repetitious
thing, or it caused some hurt or whatever, or it causes some
breach in the relationship, may not necessarily be a repetitious
thing, may not have been necessarily a grave thing, but it hurt me
and I want to deal with it so that we can continue on with
an unblemished relationship. Those are the sorts of things
that we ought to consider with reference to this whole issue
of church discipline. Well, in terms of its necessity,
I would just suggest that first, the command of Christ. That should
always drive the practice of the Church. What does Jesus say?
Jesus says, if your brother sins, go tell him his fault. Secondly, the recovery of brethren. I mean, that's ultimately the
goal here in this process of discipline in terms of the individual.
The goal is always that he repents, that he hears. I mean, look at
the structure. One person goes to him, he doesn't hear. Two
or three go to them, goes to him, he doesn't hear. Tell it
to the church, they go to him. There's a particular space of time after the telling
it to the church and treating him like a heathen and a tax
collector. Notice in verse 17, if he refuses even to hear the
church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector.
That infers or implies that there's a period of time that the church
is telling him to repent. If he refuses to hear the church,
then let him be like a heathen and a tax collector. So you've
got one person going to him, two or three witnesses going
to him, and then the entire church going to him. What do you think
God is saying? I want this guy to repent. I want this guy to
amend his ways. I want him to come back to the
fold. This is a good process and full of the patience of God
for the recovery of brethren. As well, church discipline is
necessary for the purity of the church. If we let sin go unchecked,
it typically multiplies. It's like gangrene. You don't
get a big blotch of gangrene and say, well, I'm just going
to leave it there. No, it's going to spread. You've got to deal
with it or else it's going to affect a lot more than that particular
place. And of course, the protection
of the church. Now, again, I preach this stuff
from Matthew chapter or preach these things when I went through
Matthew 18, and I think they are still in terms of the disposition of
the offended. In other words, if I'm going
to go to you because you sinned against me, should I go with
guns blazing? Should I go with, you know, all
of the machismo of whoever and just say, you sinned against
me. In the name of Jesus, I command you to repent. No, there's a
disposition the people of God who are offended must imbibe. And I think first, a desire to
obey Christ. So ultimately it's an obedience
issue. If your brother sins against
you, Jesus says, go and tell him his fault. Not whine, not
hide, not snivel, not disown, but go and tell him his fault.
So there ought to be a desire in all of our hearts to obey
the Lord Jesus Christ. Secondly, there ought to be a
love for brethren that manifests itself through a desire for reconciliation
and restoration. In other words, we love our brethren.
We want to fix any breach. We want to fix any problems. Again, the marriage relationship.
Husbands and wives shouldn't be content living 100 miles away
from each other. They should try to have communion,
union, fellowship, love. Thirdly, there ought to be an
attitude of humility and gentleness. An attitude of humility and gentleness. Not that machismo, bravado, you've
sinned and I'm gonna sort you out. That's not gonna win the
day, brethren. Fourth, there ought to be a manner
that is calculated to promote reconciliation and restoration. Proverbs 15, one says, a soft
answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.
You may exacerbate the situation by the way that you come to the
person. Use the words always and never. That typically helps.
I'm just kidding. You always burn the pot roast. You never cut the grass. Those
words are not designed to promote healthy conversation. They really
aren't. You're always lazy. Always? Really? Well, maybe not. Typically, we'll requalify when
we use those words. And they become hate words and
hurt words when it comes to interpersonal relationships. Never? He's never
cut the grass? Okay, maybe he has, you know,
nine times out of ten. Okay, then don't say never. Those
are the sorts of things that exacerbate a situation. Fifth,
we need to recognize that we offend in many ways. In other
words, we're not a sinless angel coming to sort out our wicked
brother. We got our issues, too. And I
think that hopefully will temper us and hopefully promote that
requisite humility. And then, finally, a commitment
to dealing with sin biblically. 1 Peter 4.18, if we're going
to let love cover it, really let love cover it. If we're not
going to let love cover it, then rebuke him, tell him his fault,
between you and him, so that you can win your brother. Now,
if that's the disposition of the offended, the one going,
what is the disposition of the offender, the one being approached? In other words, it works both
ways. We probably all had that time where we've gone to others
and perhaps we've had those times where others have come to us.
What's supposed to be our disposition? I would suggest first a realization
that your brother loves you. I mean, why else would somebody
try to correct your bad behavior if they didn't love you? I think
this ought to be a driving factor. You know, again, in marriage
relationships and any interpersonal relationships, there ought to
be that recognition. This person really does love
me. I don't think they're telling me these things just because
they hate me and they want to make me feel bad. They really do love
me. Faithful are the wounds of a
friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful. Proverbs
27.6. Second, realize that this is a difficult situation for
the one offended. It's not easy to come and tell
you that you're a fool. It's not easy for somebody to
come and tell you, look, you sinned against me, you hurt me,
that was bad. D.A. Carson says, if it is hard
to accept a rebuke, even a private one, it is harder still to administer
one in loving humility. I mean, that somebody actually
has the love for you to come and tell you you're acting like
a fool and you need to repent? Praise God for that. You know,
somebody loves me. Somebody cares. They don't want
me to continue to act like, you know, an idiot in the context
of God's people. Thirdly, a realization, you know,
just for a moment. If somebody corrects you or tells
you, you know, you got food on your cheek. We typically say,
thank you, don't we? We don't want to walk around
with some smudge on our face. If somebody has the guts and
the wherewithal to say, you've got something right there, your
zipper's down. I've been in context, and this
may sound funny, but I'm in context where a dude's had his zipper
down, and some dear brother said, your zipper's down. The guy doesn't
say, how dare you tell me that? He's like, thank you, and he
zips his zipper up. We're not the sorts of people
that are without fault or error or sin. We need to realize that
it's difficult for the offended. Thirdly, a realization that this
is a mercy from God to stop you from a self-destructive tendency.
I often think that when God stops us in sin, this is an evidence
of His love for us. I mean, if he just allowed us
to continue like fools in the context of the local church,
we might wonder, why isn't he protecting me? Protect me from
myself. I'm, you know, acting like an
idiot. Well, God sends people as a display
of his love. Fourth, realize that defensiveness
and or blaming the other person is just sinful and childish.
You might go to somebody and you rebuke them and they say,
well, what about you? We're not talking about me right now. You
can come to me, that's fine. Why haven't you? But right now
the issue is yours and we need to deal with it. It's sinful
and childish to get defensive and point the fingers at everybody
else. It's just not a good way to live. Proverbs 9, 7 to 9. He who corrects a scoffer gets
shame for himself, and he who rebukes a wicked man only harms
himself. Do not correct a scoffer, lest
he hate you. Rebuke a wise man, and he will
love you. Give instruction to a wise man, and he will still
be wiser. Teach a just man, and he will increase in learning.
Proverbs 15, 31 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. So this defensiveness, and I
didn't do it, or you don't like me, it's just not going to win
the day. It just shows that you're not
only sinful, but you're childish. Fifth, a realization that you're
probably a whole lot worse than your brother even knows. I think
this is always a good thing to keep in mind. You know, we're
always a whole lot worse than any of our dear brethren ever
know. So they come to you and say,
you know, brother, I notice that you keep bringing this to the
fellowship luncheon instead of that. Brother's going to probably
say, man, if that's the biggest of my worries, praise God Almighty.
Yes, you're right. I'll bring the tuna casserole
next time. We all got a lot more issues that persons don't even
see or know. I mean, idealistically or ideally,
we could have, you know, everybody in the church spend all day long
going through our sins, and it still wouldn't even touch the
surface. I don't know why we... Me? I sin? Of course you sin! Deal with it, own it, confess
it, forsake it, and you'll find mercy. And that's the last aspect,
the realization that Proverbs 28, 13 is a blessed truth. I'm here to tell you, if somebody
sees their biblical duty in Matthew 18, 15, and actually obeys its
command, actually goes to the brother with a view to winning
the brother, if they do it out of love, they do it with humility,
they do it with charity, when you repent to that brother, they're
going to forgive you. Absolutely, positively, 100%,
they are going to forgive you. He who covers his sins will not
prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.
So somebody's going to do the more challenging thing to actually
go to you and call you to repentance. When you repent, most likely
they're going to forgive you. They're going with that view
in mind, and if you, in fact, repent, you're going to meet
the arms of mercy, grace, forgiveness, and kindness. So there's that. We'll take up the next aspect
in terms of the two or three witnesses next time. Again, I
think this is an important subject that often goes unnoticed in
the context of the local church. We focus a lot on preaching,
and we should. We focus a lot on sacraments,
and we should. But we also ought to focus on
discipline, which we should. So I'll close in a word of prayer.
Father, we thank you for your Word. We thank you for our confession
of faith and its clarity in these issues. I pray that you'd help
us to be faithful men and women in terms of our relationships
with one another. Help us, God, to protect the
privacy of our brothers and sisters when we deal with things in private. Help us to conduct ourselves
in the fear of the Lord. And if it is the case that we're
going to let love cover a multitude of sins, may we genuinely do
that. We pray now that you would go with us into this hour of
public worship. We pray that as we sing and pray
and hear your word, it would be for the glory of Father, Son,
and Holy Spirit. And we pray these things in Jesus'
name. Amen.
