Two or Three are gathered
Notes
Transcript
Text: Matthew 18:15-20
Intro: In chapter 18 of the book of Matthew, Jesus gives this powerful parable of a king with a servant. It was a normal day just like any other. Except this fine morning as the birds were singing and the breeze blowing through the house their was a knock at the door.
As the young mother and wife answered the door their was a thunder for a voice bellowing from the other side for her husband. A commotion ensues a door smashed in and the man of the house was put into handcuffs and drug down to the prison. He never meant to be so delinquent with the debts they and accrued. The king had been so gracious he never thought this day would come.
Two days go by and finally the king can see this mindless servant. The amount owed was astronomical and really it was comical to think that this man would ever be worth this amount of money. So the law was clear. Sell the man’s home, children and wife are to be sold into slavery, and the man will work everyday for the rest of his life as a ward of the state to pay back his debt.
The wave of the kings hand was stayed by only one simple phrase. “Lord, have patience with me…” One simple plea for mercy. It really could have gone unnoticed in all of the business of the day. But it didn’t go unnoticed in fact it was powerful in a big way.
Everything stopped, he was helped to his feet. His feet were unlocked and his arms freed. The debt that had been hanging over his head was dissolved. Literally the only one that could set him free, did. Life changing – I would say.
Really it would be an incredible story if that is where the story ended but it doesn’t. The servant goes on to make a huge mistake.
As the man is leaving the palace in my mind he hasn’t even made it off the palace steps. This same servant finds another man that owes him money. So the shake down occurs. I imagine that he is handling him roughly, and screaming in his face. (Scripture is clear that the amount owed isn’t to be compared to the amount that had just been forgiven.) This forgiven servant throws this man into prison, has his house sold, and wife and children sent to service.
We are to draw the exact conclusion that you have burdening you right now. HOW?
How did this guy miss all that was just done and said for him to be made free only to turn around and do this to this man.
1. Pursuit of the King
I have to ask of this servant how differently would this servant have behaved if the goodness of the king drew the servant to know the king more. Really, what if in response to the goodness of his king. This servant began to ask what the king wanted from his life. What does the king think about my career, what does the king want in my children’s life. How does my king want me to care for the relationships that I have with the other people inside this kingdom.
I seriously doubt that this man would beat another servant up if when he had left the presence of the king he was thinking of a way to be a help just like my king.
I want to step out for a second and say that this is of course written in the context of the local NT church. Many think of the forgiveness of the king was the forgiveness of salvation. But this passage is not in the context of salvation but rather the relationships inside the body of Christ.
Look vs 15-20, he is using this story as a working picture of what he just described in 15-20. He is asking us to view the fault of a brother in a specific way and to handle it a specific way.
NOT TO…
A. Diminish the seriousness of the sin.
1. Excusing sin as typical or common doesn’t help. "After all, he’s only human," we say, apparently
believing it is simply natural for Christians to fall into sin.
2. Sin, sometimes characterized as leaven, has a pervasive influence on others.
B. Join a witch-hunt.
1. The trouble with this discipline -- and it is a discipline -- of restoring a brother is that those least likely to do it are the best for the job and those most likely to lightheartedly greet the idea of restoring another are the worst ones to do it.
2. Such "headhunters" love nothing better than the juicy discovery of some member’s wrongdoing. Like the Pharisees, they are always anxious to cast the first stone.
C. Ignore the sin.
D. Hastily expel the stumbling saint.
1. While we should not overlook sin, we must guard ourselves from rapidly booting the brother or sister out of our fellowship -- amputating a member of the Body.
2. Restoration is all about fixing broken lives. Exiling a hurting member is a radical remedy like amputating an infected leg. It is not to be used until all other attempts at restoration fail.
3. This does not mean that we must never expel people from the fellowship of the church. We must fairly distinguish between the Christian who stumbles and falls into sin from the one with a deep-seated rebellion who refuses to accept correction.
E. We must avoid ostracism.
1. In many churches an offending member is neither restored nor expelled -- he is simply given the cold shoulder.
2. Most persons who experience this kind of psychological torture eventually drop out of the church or switch to another fellowship which seems more open and accepting.
How would things have been different in our story if he…
II. Actions of the King
The goal of the king was Restoration. Really the goal is always restoration. It tells us specifically what to do when our brother stumbles into sin. We are to "restore" him. The word is the same as used for "mending nets" or for a surgeon "setting a dislocated bone." Restoration means becoming my brother’s "repairman." We are to get involved in helping the Christian to his feet again, putting him back where he belongs. Here’s how:
A. The transgression, and the transgressor, must be FACED.
1. Restoration is personal work. It should not be done by letter, E-mail or with the telephone. It’s nasty work but is necessary.
2. Restoration is delicate work. You are attempting to correct the misdirection of a brother or sister who has wandered. It is not to be done without much prayer and thought. Perhaps this is why so few do it. But if we take the Bible seriously, those among us who are spiritual, mature, guided by the Spirit, are to arrange a face-to-face meeting with the brother who has fallen in order to restore him.
B. Your MOTIVES must be pure.
1. The restorer must approach the brother or sister "humbly and gently,". He must avoid gossip, and keep his talking and advice to the minimum. Restoring is not lecturing. The godly restorer puts the best construction on the actions and motives of the fallen brother. He is not looking for an opportunity to give harsh, heavy-handed condemnation or to display his own spiritual superiority. He is not accusatory nor does he demonstrate a holier-than-thou attitude.
2. Most of all he is humble. Restoration is not for those who feel spiritual superior. The godly restorer comes, not as one stooping down to raise another up to his level. Rather, he comes alongside as a friend to help a brother back to his feet.
3. There are precious few folk who meet these criteria. In fact, merely reading the description causes most of us to give up. "Obviously this is not the kind of work for me," we say to ourselves. "I’ll pray while others, stronger than I, do this restoring business." But we are too hasty in dismissing the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
C. Always keep in mind: The goal is RECOVERY.
Restoring is about discipline, not punishment. Punishment looks backward to the offense and seeks to inflict pain. Discipline looks forward toward recovery. Restoring is discipline. Restoring puts a fellow back on course and gets him moving in the right direction again. You do not visit your brother to see him cower in pain and guilt. You want to get the confession out of the way as quickly as possible, so you can get on with bringing the cure.
D. Wisely reckon your APPROACH.
1. Before you go, determine what your approach will be. Are you offering simple words to admonish, a more definite correction, or clear-cut rebuke? Each person and each situation, may require a different approach. In most cases, we will be giving gentle admonition.
2. There is seldom a need to be harsh. In some instances a more direct correction or outright rebuke is required, but a gentle admonition given earlier is usually adequate. Trutst that the Holy Spirit has gone before you and is working in both you and the person being confronted.
C. The Goal of the King.
If this servant had come to the brother who owed him he would not have looked for a dollar or two, but a relationship restored. A recovery that allows for a whole new way of life.
REPENTANCE is the only way to recovery.
1. When a Christian falls there is only one way back -- repentance. Repentance is sorrow, brokenness, heartache for sin. It begins with a confession, but is followed by a desire to abandon the sin. When a real Christian falls, he experiences a profusion of guilt and remorse and is usually ready to repent. He may have even already repented privately.
2. That is why it is so important to approach carefully at the most appropriate time. I recently heard of a man prompted to offer correction to a friend about his treatment of a certain individual. He called on Monday and made arrangements for lunch. At lunch that Wednesday, after he had offered the admonition the guilty man said, "I knew the moment you called two days ago why you wanted to see me and I’ve thought about it these last two days." God had already prepared his heart to receive the word of correction. Restorers never arrive first. The Holy Spirit always precedes him.
3. Occasionally, however, a person will not receive the correction. Sometimes the individual will deny everything, even attack you. He may dismiss it as a minor offense, tell you it has been exaggerated, or offer excuses for his behavior. Sometimes this happens even after you have done everything right. If it does, simply offer an apology for offending the person and change the subject. Dismiss the issue, and treat the person tenderly and carefully. Remember, a fallen Christian has a serious spiritual wound. Sometimes when you offer therapy, it causes greater pain than the wound itself. In these cases, simply withdraw and let the Holy Spirit continue His work.
4. Immediate rejection may, however, be only a temporary delay. Sometimes your admonition is rejected, only to become a seed for eventual obedience.
5. Restoration is often risky. But, they say faith is spelled "R-I-S-K." Sometimes, without taking the risk we elect to leave our brother in the clutches of his sin.
F. When we offer restoration, it must be COMPLETE restoration.
1. The whole purpose of restoration is to get the person back to where he or she was -- and often that even means leadership roles. Why is it that the church will take an infamous sinner who has been saved out of the raw and propel him to leadership, while a fallen Christian forever forfeits any claim to leadership? It’s a kind of Protestant penance, only worse -- it never ends. Eventually a fallen Christian who clearly repents and reforms should be restored completely, even to leadership.
2. That doesn’t mean such restoration should be immediate, and it doesn’t mean that following a hasty repentance, the fallen Christian keeps all his responsibilities in the church as if nothing ever happened. On the contrary, a Christian who falls into obvious public sin should relinquish all leadership positions in the Church. But this should only be for a set time. He should be placed under a loving, spiritual mentor for accountability and growth. When a reasonable time has passed, he should be free to be appointed or elected to any post in the church. Restoration to fellowship is the fallen Christian’s immediate need, not his restoration to leadership.
Maybe like me you have read this one verse on its own. To my own embarrasement I have quoted this verse. Like multiple times recently and said where two or three are together there He is in the midst of them.
As if Jesus was on the outside waiting for the third person to show up.
This ignores His Omnipresence
Whither shall I go from thy spirit?
Or whither shall I flee from thy presence?
If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there:
If I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.
If I take the wings of the morning,
And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;
Even there shall thy hand lead me,
And thy right hand shall hold me.
If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me;
Even the night shall be light about me.
Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee;
But the night shineth as the day:
The darkness and the light are both alike to thee.
This ignores His Promise
And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
This ignores the context:
The preposition “for” at the beginning of our verse (often dropped when recited, as above) is our first clue this sentence does not stand alone, but is a concluding statement at the end of a line of reasoning. It alerts us to the verse before it that starts with the word “again,” alerting us to go back further still. When we do, we discover that the concept of “two or three” is repeated multiple times in the section, a notion Jesus lifts from Deut. 19:15
One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sinneth: at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established.
Here is Jesus’ point in verse 20: When the church follows the specific procedure He outlines to resolve the issue of sin in the Church, then the leadership can rest assured He is “with them” in their decision. Indeed, Jesus is “there in their midst” conferring His authority to the process. It’s a promise of divine sanction of a procedure, not divine presence in group prayer.
Ironically, plenty of groups cite this promise to assure themselves of Jesus’ presence in prayer, while precious few apply the lesson of church discipline that Jesus had in mind in the first place.
CONCLUSION:
A man fell into a pit and couldn’t get himself out.
A subjective person came along and said, "I feel for you down there."
An objective person walked by and said, "It’s logical that someone would fall down there."
A Pharisee said, "Only bad people fall into pits."
A mathematician calculated how deep the pit was.
A news reporter wanted the exclusive story on the pit.
An IRS agent asked if he was paying taxes on the pit.
A self-pitying person said, "You haven’t seen anything until you’ve seen my pit."
A Christian Scientist observed, "The pit is just in your mind."
A psychologist noted, "Your mother and father are to blame for your being in that pit."
A self-esteem therapist said, "Believe in yourself and you can get out of that pit."
An optimist said, "Things could be worse."
A pessimist claimed, "Things couldn’t be worse."
"Jesus, seeing the man, took him by the hand and lifted him out of the pit."