God’s Plan for Purity in the Church

Transcript

GRM 727
4/8/2001
God’s Plan for Purity in the Church
Matthew 18:15-20
Gil Rugh

I want to follow up on a theme related to what we’ve been talking about in the book of Acts. We talked about Ananias and Sapphira. The judgment that God brought upon on them for their sin in the early church. Obviously, that is not the way that God works as a general pattern. We sometime refer to that and express our gratitude that people don’t actually drop dead physically for being hypocritical or less than honest in their activity in the church. But what that did was establish clearly, at the beginning of the church, how seriously God takes the functioning of the body of Christ. Even though that is not the way that He deals with it even through the book of Acts that is a unique occasion. At the very beginning of the church God establishes how seriously He views the conduct and behavior of His people. But He has made provision for the church to deal with sin and function in a way that maintains its purity. That’s what I want to talk to you about tonight. The subject we usually refer to as “church discipline”. A matter we have looked at before on a number of occasions. I just want to refresh our minds on God’s plan and pattern for purity in His church today.

We ought not to think that God has changed and that He is more tolerant and more understanding and more accepting of sin among His people today than He was in the days the church was beginning. The day when Ananias and Sapphira experienced His judgment. God has not changed. His attitude toward sin has not changed. His expectations and requirements for His people as His church have not changed. We need to be careful that we do not become lax. Simply because His attitude is not manifest as clearly in open discipline all the time, we begin to think perhaps it’s not as serious a matter in God’s sight as it was at one time.

Go to the book of Matthew in your bible. Matthew chapter 18, which is really the foundational passage for the pattern set down in scripture and followed in scripture. Here we have it set down for us step by step. As we look in other passages of scripture, we’ll see exhortations related to the matters that are set down in order here. This is in the context of the importance and significance of every one of God’s children. Those that God has called to Himself and made part of His family are under His care and oversight. Again, we can appreciate that in our own families, with our own children. It doesn’t matter whether you have one child or a dozen children. Every one of your children is precious to you. It is of a concern to you, and you desire the best for them. In the first part of Matthew 18 Jesus has addressed how God views His children and warned people about how they deal with His children. That’s the subject of really the first 14 verses. Verse 12 He talked about the fact if any man has a hundred sheep and one of them has gone astray does, does he not leave the 99 on the mountains and go and search for the one who is straying? There is a picture of the shepherd and the sheep. He doesn’t say, “look we’ve got a hundred sheep” and you don’t care if you lose one. Yes, that one is very precious, and he will do whatever it takes to restore that wandering sheep.

Verse 14. “Thus, it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones perish.” As you are aware He starts out by using a child as an example in verse 2. We must become converted, verse 3, and become like children. The transition then is the talking about the spiritual children of God. Sometimes people fail to appreciate the transition that has occurred from physical children to spiritual children here. You get caught up in the misunderstanding. We are talking about the children of God here. Ultimately that we do become like little children. That trusting faith in Him. It is God’s intention that not one of His children will perish.

Now it is in that context verse 15 comes in. “And if your brother sins…”. He has talked about a wandering sheep and the shepherd will go after that sheep. Do what it takes to restore that sheep back into the fold with the other sheep. Well, we don’t just jump into a totally new subject in verse 15. This is building on that. What is God’s plan for the restoration of His wandering sheep? If one of those who belongs to God wanders. Gets involved in sin. What is God’s plan? God’s plan is to use us as His people to restore that one to right relationship with Him. We don’t just write them off because it is not God’s plan that any of His sheep will perish. So, when one wanders, we have to be ready to be an instrument of God in restoring them to right relationship to God and to God’s people.

That’s the subject of verses 15-20. Verses that we often talk about in the context of discipline. But you have to understand there is a positiveness that pervades this. We are talking restoration. That is the point and the goal, the theme if you will. We talk sometimes About church discipline, people think of it, it is something geared for the negative. This is a positive. What are we going do to restore a sinning Christian? Are they as precious to us as they are to God? We will do what God says needs to be done to restore them. That’s the context that flows, really through all of Matthew 18. Because Peter will chime in with the question after Jesus gives the points of restoration in verse 21. “How often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him?” You see the context is of the erring sheep. The sinning brother or sister. Restoration of them and our role and responsibility in that.

Jesus says in verse 15, “And if your brother sins…”. We are dealing with a fellow believer, fellow member of the family of God. They did not understand what God was going to do, obviously, at this point in building the church but Jesus Christ is preparing them for what will take place. He doesn’t specify what the sin is because it is purposely open. Whatever the sin, any sin moves us away from God. Puts a barrier between God and us. Any sin not dealt with moves us progressively away from the proper relationship and fellowship with our God, and of course with God’s people as well. If your brother sins and some manuscripts have “against you” and that is, fits in the context well. That is what Peter is going to bring up in verse 21 how often shall my brother sin against me. On another occasion Jesus will refer to it that way in Luke chapter 17, verse 4. In the context here I think we are starting out with sin. The first person usually to be aware of sin is the person who is sinned against. So that would fit the context. The point is when the brother sins, we have to be ready to help him deal with it. If he sins against me there is a proper way to deal with it. That is not to let resentment build, not to let bitterness get a hold of me. That’s not just to ignore it but go around and stew over it. Talk to my wife about it. Maybe talk to someone else about it because there is no question here the person has committed sin. It may have done harm to the other believer. Someone has been an offended party in this.

What is your responsibility? Go and reprove him in private. That word to reprove – and this is given here clearly as our responsibility, a command given to us. The word reprove means to bring something to light, to expose it, to set it forth, to convict or convince someone of something. To point something out to someone, to reprove them or correct them. You can see the flavor of the word and how it narrows down to focus on you reprove or correct them because what? You bring to light or expose the wrong that they have done. You point out the sin they are guilty of. You reprove them. This is a ministry of the Holy Spirit in John 16:8. He will reprove. What we really are is being instruments the Holy Spirit is using. It is a ministry to be done with proper biblical authority.

Turn over to Titus chapter 2, Titus chapter 2:15, Paul tells Titus “These things speak and exhort and reprove with all authority. Let no one disregard you.” Now here we’re talking in the context of the ministry of the Word of God. God’s truth. The response of God’s people to God’s truth. When there is sin there is disobedience to the Word of God. Our responsibility before God is to reprove. We don’t do that with arrogance. That’s different than authority. We’re dealing with clear sin here. We’re not talking about the fact that a fellow believer does something you don’t like. Something you wouldn’t do. Something you would prefer they not do. Again, there is a place to talk to fellow believers about that. “What you do there dearly bothers me, can we talk about it?” That’s different though than reproving them for sin. You know, somebody might say to me, “you know it really bothers me when you wear a tie like that, it’s distracting.” Well, I say that’s nice to know. Thank you. I want to be sensitive to that, now obviously I can’t have a thousand people picking out ties for me. But you know I want to be sensitive. That’s different than sin. I might say, well fine. Don’t wear a tie like that. You wear the tie you want; I will wear the tie I want. Because personal preferences, I want to mention here that we sort these things out. Personal preferences, personal opinions, personal convictions are one thing. We’re talking about reproving a fellow believer for sin. I want to be careful that we’re dealing with sin here where clearly, they are in disobedience to the Word, rebellions against the Word in an area. Their conduct is not biblical.

You go and reprove them, back in Matthew 18:15, in private. Literally that is between you and him alone. That’s what we have as the translation “in private”. Between you and him alone. This would present, prevent much of the problem, the unhappiness, the misunderstanding that goes on in the church. Someone sins against you, the first thing you do is go to that person alone. Nobody else. Nobody else needs to know about it, no you don’t need to talk about it – we always want to use the excuse “well I’m just not sure what I ought to do”. What’s the confusion? Did they sin? Yes. Go and reprove him between you and him alone. No what don’t you understand? Sometimes we think that is an excuse for not doing the biblical thing. What we’re really saying is I’d like somebody else to know about this. Besides I’m not sure that I want to do what the Scripture says I have to do. Already we have stepped then ourselves outside what the Word requires and we’re guilty because I didn’t do what the Word of God says. “To him that knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.” Now it is not only the sin of this person that started it, but now I have become guilty because I have refused to do what God has said I am required to do. As this sin become begin to compound itself; and then if I tell it to someone else and they don’t rebuke me for not doing the biblical thing they get drawn into the sin. Now pretty soon we’ve got what? We’ve got a lot of interaction going on and the sin has grown. It needs to be dealt with first of all between the two people. This brother has sinned. Sinned against me. A sin that I have become aware of, I go and talk to them in private. If he listens to you, you have won over your brother. You see the goal. It is the restoration of that believer. What you did was sin. The Scripture is clear. That is wrong. That is sin. I’m not here to tell you because I am a perfect person. I am here because God says that I need to come and talk to you about that. I’d like to help you deal with it, help you deal with it whatever way I can so that you can settle this before the Lord and our relationship can be what it ought to be. Your relationship with God and with God’s people ought to be. Let’s get this settled. And if he listens to you that’s it because the goal here is restoration. It’s not humiliation. It’s not a vindication. For me if I’m the innocent person it’s restoration of the wandering sheep. The earlier we catch him the better.

The farther he strays the more involved the restoration becomes. Verse 16. “If he does not listen to you,” you may go and talk to him and he’ll say – but out, you have no business in my personal life. Mind your own business. I don’t particularly care what you think about what I do or what you say about what I do. I think you ought to just keep your nose out of my business. As we don’t know. Sin does ugly things to our hearts and minds. All of us, even as believers. It twists us and if I’ve allowed sin to harden me you don’t know what your response will be if you confront me about it. It may be they are unwilling to listen. They shut you down. They are not willing to deal with the sin. You can’t say I wash my hands of the whole thing. I’ve done my duty. I’m not going to take this kind of thing. There’s no sense in me. I tried and they weren’t open to it and it just created more hard feelings, and I had to suffer the indignity of listening to them tell me to mind my own business. No matter how it goes my responsibility is not done. In other words, if you look at the picture that the context where Jesus talked about the straying sheep, the point is while the sheep is not interested in coming back so let it go. Who cares if it perishes!

That’s not the kind of shepherd that I’d be dealing with then, these are God’s sheep, God’s children. How many of you do that with your children? You rebuke them for something they do, and they say “look, I don’t want to do that.” You say oh, ok. I’m out of here, do what you want. No why don’t you do that? Because you care for your children. You love them and you know you’ve got to get them back on track. It amazes me what parents will go through in attempt to restore their children. Seems like nothing is too much trouble, is it? Well, that’s the way we are with God’s children, these are precious.

So, he doesn’t listen. “Take one or two more with you, that at the mouth of two or three witnesses every fact may be confirmed.” He won’t listen. If he did no one else would know about it. It’s over, Galatians 6:1 “You see a brother overtaken in a fall, you who are spiritual restore him.” But now he won’t listen, so I go and talk to two other, one or two other Christians. I need to have you go with me to talk to so and so. I do have to apprise them a little bit of the situation. Now this is not a matter of gossip. These are two mature, godly believers that I need to involve in this process. I’ve tried to talk to them, this sinning Christian has not been willing to listen to me so I need you to come with me to talk to them as well. Now these people will be witnesses according to the requirement of the Scriptures, Deuteronomy 19:15 what is quoted here, and this is substantiated a number of New Testament passages as well. These people will be witnesses. Number one, against his unbiblical conduct. In other words, it’s not just one person telling you your conduct is sinful, unbiblical and wrong. But now you have two or three godly Christians confronting this sinning Christian saying, “look, this is a serious matter before the Lord.” There is no doubt your conduct is sinful; it is unbiblical and needs to be dealt with. We are here to help you; we want to restore you. You can’t have the right relationship with God and God’s people unless you deal with this sin. So, they are witnesses against his conduct. They will also be witnesses against him if he refuses to change so it won’t be one person’s word against another. But there will be multiple witnesses if it comes to that in the development of the process. If he responds, it’s over. Again, the purpose is restoration. What we want to do is get this erring Christian back in right relationship to the Lord and to God’s people. They are not two distinct things, they are really part of the same thing and if he says, “you know, I didn’t respond properly when I was confronted by so-and-so. I appreciate you coming together.” Because you see what happens – the weight of it, the seriousness of it is impressed upon him. This is a matter that’s not going to go away, and it is because we love you too much just to walk away from this and let you continue on a destructive road. If he responds, praise the Lord! It’s over. In most of the things that are dealt with in the church, are dealt with on this level and never become public matters, public information. If he refuses to listen to them and again sin has a hardening effect, and it’s amazing how a person will turn against those who at one time he respected most and submitted to gladly. He was open to counsel and advice. You begin to wonder, is this the same person? Sin does ugly things in our hearts and minds and lives. “If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church.” Again, your responsibility is not over because restoration is the goal. If he refused to listen, you tell it to the church. At Indian Hills this involves two steps. It would be brought to the leaders of the church, the elders who represent the church and have the responsibility for the oversight of God’s people. That enables them, representing the body of Christ to make sure that, you know, there is sin involved here and it has been dealt with according to the pattern set down. This person does understand the gravity of the situation. So that’s the first step that we take as a church and if that is the case, the person is unwilling to deal with it. There are times when it gets to this point before the church that it is dealt with. Because again every step increases in severity and the seriousness of it. But if they refuse and continue, no I’m unwilling to deal with it and I don’t think you have any business. This is often the attitude that is developed, at least by this point, that nobody has any business involved in my life and so on. We’ve had all kinds of situations, as you are aware and in our day lawsuits. I had one person come with their attorney at this point to sit in my office and discuss this matter. It’s a matter of this is what we have to do, these are the biblical reasons why it is being done. The next step here in the two parts of telling it to the church, first it comes to the leaders of the church – the elders here, and then if it’s clear they are not dealing with it, then it is presented to the church. We follow the process here of making the body aware that there is an individual involved in sin and they are unwilling to turn from their sin. We give the church, as the church, an opportunity to pray for them. Those that would desire to make a contact with them. Again, all this is elevating the seriousness of the sin and the situation. If he refuses to listen to the church let him be to you as a gentile and a tax-gatherer; and the Jews, He is addressing Jews, understand the significance of this. You have nothing to do with him, you cut yourself off from him. You deal with him the way the Jews deal with gentiles and tax-gatherers – they cut themselves off from fellowship with them. That’s very difficult and we have to be careful. On these occasions there are people that always want rationally to think, what good will it do to cut them off? I mean, what we really need to do is encourage them to continue to come so they will hear the Word and maybe the fellowship with believers will help them. God determines what the discipline of His people and how it should be handled. We need to be careful about trying to overrule God. You know in your own home there are certain things you do in discipline. You make those decisions within the confines of the Word of God, and you are responsible for that. Others don’t have the right to intervene and say “oh no, that’s not the way you should do it” with your children, in your home.

Here Almighty God has spoken. We need to be careful that we don’t sin and say, “you know, I just don’t think that’s a good idea”. Particularly in our day it does more damage than good. That becomes a matter of arrogance on our part and sin, because what are we telling God? You don’t know as much as I do. I know better than you what is the right thing to do here. Now the church is involved in sin, arrogance, rebellion. So, I say that all the reason and rationale is worked out for us. What God says to do is clear. Look in I Corinthians chapter 5 verse 5, here was immorality in the church. Verse 5,
“I have decided to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of his flesh that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.” What it is really saying is what? I remove him from the fellowship of believers. Put him in the realm of the god of this world, the realm of Satan for additional discipline. Verse 11, “I wrote you not to associate with anyone who is called a brother if he should be immoral, covetous, idolater, reviler, drunkard, swindler. Not even to eat with such a one.” Here we are talking about the fellowship is broken. The social interaction, we don’t even go to lunch with them, dinner with them. Now again, we are open to deal with them about their sin, but we just can’t overlook that and say look let’s go to dinner, we won’t even talk about the problem at church. We won’t even talk about the issue of sin. I just go and have lunch together. No, can’t do it. Can’t do it.

Verse 13 Paul says, “What do I have to do with judging outsiders?” You know you hear a lot of preaching in the church today about the sin in our country and immorality and greed and all that. Paul says “I’m not concerned about the sin in the world. It’s not my responsibility.” But I am called to deal with sin within the church. Remove the wicked man from among yourselves. We don’t have time to turn there, but I Timothy 1:20, Paul refers to two men, “Hymenaeus and Alexander that he has turned over to Satan.” Again, similar kind of activity. II Thessalonians 3:6, verses 14 and 15 – “any who are lazy Christians not being diligent to provide for themselves and their family.” Cut yourself off from them. The church has to take seriously the purity of the body of Christ, the family of God and deal with it accordingly. Two purposes in discipline. One it is for the restoration of the sinning Christian, but secondly it is also for the health and well being of the body. We didn’t look but in I Corinthians chapter 5 verse 6 Paul says, “you can’t tolerate this sin because a little leaven leavens the whole lump.” It will spread. Did you ever notice when a sin becomes acceptable in a church pretty soon it seems it has multiplied. We see that even in our society. Certain sins have become acceptable, at one time they were unacceptable and now what? Becomes common practice, happens in the church. Well, we will tolerate this sin. What happens? Pretty soon it spreads. We have made a statement. This is not serious. We do not view this as a sin. It’s just behavior we might not quite approve of. Pretty soon we find it multiplying everywhere. So, for two reasons we have to remove the offending party. One – it is part of emphasizing to them the seriousness of the matter. Number two it is to preserve the purity of the church and the purity of the church has been sacrificed on the ideas of men. Well, we just don’t think church discipline today is good. It ruins the reputation of the church. Pretty soon people talk about us as a church that shuns people, that humiliates people, embarrasses them, tries to run people’s lives. Tried to tell them what they could do and couldn’t do. Then how do you get your unbelieving friends to come because they’ve got their mind that I’m not going to that church, that’s the church that humiliates people, embarrasses people, that’s…. But did the discipline of God do in Acts chapter 5? Kept unbelievers from coming. So, we oughtn’t to be surprised that does happen. Again, this is family business, but it does get out there and you have experienced that. That is…we ought to be known. Yes, sin in that church will not be tolerated. The world will misunderstand it, but we have to function biblically.

Come back to Matthew 18 verse 18 “Truly I say to you whatever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven. Whatever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” You note the context here. We are talking about church discipline. The action of the church becomes the action of God. The church represents God. This is similar to what we saw in Acts 5. Annanias and Sapphira lied to the Holy Spirit. The action of the church in this discipline is the action of God. Heaven is acting here in reflecting the mind and will of God in this matter. There is genuine authority here. This is not an absolute authority to rule people’s lives. Again, we have to take the context. We are talking about church discipline for sin and when the church acts in this way it is acting with the authority of heaven behind it. Now this is not broad indiscriminate authority to run people’s lives. This is the context of what Jesus is talking about here. The pattern of restoring a sinning Christian and disciplining them for rebellion.

Verse 19 “Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask it shall be done for them by My Father in heaven for where two or three have gathered in my Name there I am in their midst.” You know the context here. We haven’t just jumped off now to a totally new subject. Because remember in verse 21 Peter’s response is “how often do I forgive my brother who sins against me?” We haven’t changed the context. We sometimes hear these verses quoted as though they were verses that related to general fellowship of believers. There may be truth in them that relates to other believers but what Jesus is talking about here is the matter of discipline. Once you have brought the two or three witnesses in, you bring it before the church and the ultimate action of the church then heaven acts accordingly. You understand the seriousness of this action here. It is recognized by heaven. I say look, the church can’t influence my relationship with the Lord. That relationship with the Lord has been seriously altered not only by the sin but now by the action of God’s people, of God Himself toward that person. That’s why Paul says I put him into the realm of Satan for the destruction of the flesh. Now things have changed. No longer is this person under that special protection of God. They have been put out into the realm of Satan where Satan will have liberties. So, heaven has recognized the action of these witnesses and the church in that context where two or three have gathered in My Name there I am in their midst. You see that at the mouth of two or three witnesses every fact will be established. The church acted not because everyone in the church had all the details and knew all about it. The church acted really on the basis of the two or three witnesses. I mean this church cannot get involved in all the details of a case of sin in a believer’s life. But this church is responsible to act as one on the basis of the testimony of the witnesses that have brought this before the church. “Where two or three are gathered in My Name there I am in their midst.” They act with authority of Jesus Christ. We need to be careful; we need to understand this as a church because gets this independent idea, says oh I don’t know enough about it and I’m just not in it. You know I’ll just, what is it, ahh. Again, that’s sin. Because Christ has declared His position, I am in the midst like He said in the churches in Revelation. He stood in the midst and acting in judgment, in the midst of the candlesticks which represented the churches. Here with there two or three witnesses I am in their midst. They act with My authority. The purity of My church. For me to say, look I don’t know enough about it, it’s not my decision. It is! Because He is the Head of the church. One thing ought to happen that brings the weight of the discipline of God’s people for the restoration of a sinning Christian along with the purity of the body is the church is unified. That settles it. It doesn’t matter if it is my best friend. I cannot stand against Jesus Christ on this matter. Well take a vote of the church. That’s not what Christ said to do, take a vote of the church. He says He is in the midst with the two or three witnesses. The church acts accordingly and not to do so is to put them self in the position of identifying with the sinning Christian and rejecting the authority of Christ over His church in this area. This is a serious matter. In matters of church discipline, we are afraid it will divide the church. This person has a lot of friends, people won’t understand because they don’t have all the details. Let’s go back and say what God said how to handle it. Jesus Christ stands with the two or three witnesses here. This case so the church stands unified according to what He has said must be done. From that point they are turned over to the realm of Satan and God acts from there on. There are other things the church does. We don’t regard them as enemies, we regard them as brothers. Our desire is to restore them. God will pick up the discipline from this point. We are clear on what our responsibility is. Very simply to follow through, we do it in love. The desire of our heart is in wandering sheep being restored. He is not willing that any should perish. Understanding that they are precious to God. He has redeemed them for Himself, then we are willing to do even what we might find to be at times unpleasant. It makes us uncomfortable. But they are precious to God, they are precious to us and that is even more important to me than my being comfortable. My doing what is right before the Lord that the erring sheep might be restored, and God might be honored.

Let’s pray together. Thank you, Lord, for the truth of Your Word. Thank you for the simplicity of the plan you set out. May we be a people who are obedient. Lord may we be humble before you for it’s only by your grace that we have been saved and cleansed. It is only by your grace that we are privileged to walk day by day in fellowship with you. Lord may our love for one another be deep and strong because of our love for you so that we will be willing to be instruments you use when necessary for the restoration of erring Christians. We pray in Christ’s name. Amen.