CHURCH MATTERS: Authority Matters (Matthew 16:13-20 & 18:15-20)

“with great power comes great responsibility” Uncle Ben from Spiderman

mishandled power scares us

by evil kings

Ahab {Jezebel} norther kingdom of Israel

Manasseh southern kingdom of Judah

by dictators WW2

Mussolini

Stalin

Hitler

not all in the past

dictators in the present

Russia — Vladimir Putin

China — Xi Jinping

North Korea — Kim Jong Un

but mishandled power not in American politics ;)

“Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Lord Acton

don’t have to look far to see authority abused

by a parent

by a teacher/coach

by a boss

by a company

because we have seen authority abused

are we to place all authority in the “bad” category?

because your father abused his authority

does that mean all fathers abuse their authority?

because your boss abused his authority

does that mean all bosses abuse their authority?

because your pastor abused his authority

does that mean all pastors abuse their authority?

Authority Matters

have you seen authority used as God designed?

what about in the church?

is there authority given by God in the church?

final authority in the church? Jesus

but Jesus gives authority when gives keys of the kingdom of heaven

is there final earthly decision-making authority?

in the church? here at FCC?

final decisions in the church made by whom?

pastor? elders?

hint: probably not who you suspect

pastors/elders

authority of counsel, not of command (more next week)

let’s see what Jesus (the one with true final authority) has to say about earthly authority

2 passages linked together

only 2 where Jesus used church

both have same phrase

16:19

18:18

we have to go back in history to set the proper stage for our text

history of the kingdom of Israel

citizens of Israel were to represent God on earth

Israel failed miserably at this job

then Jesus came and spoke about the kingdom

Israel was losing their job as a whole for representing Him

Jesus was establishing a kingdom (not a place like Israel)

but as His rule over a particular people

the citizens would be people who are repentant, poor in spirit, humble like children

Jesus would purchase their citizenship with His blood

they would join Him in representing God on earth

problem: anyone can claim to be a citizen of the kingdom (Christian)

imposters would drag the king’s name through the mud

this kingdom was supposed to be made up of a transformed kind of people

but if ANYONE can claim to be a citizen (Christian)

this is gonna be a mess

forget about a new society

the kingdom of Israel was easy to identify

particular land

even when they left land

distinctives separated them

circumcision

Sabbath

dietary restrictions

how would a landless, borderless kingdom mark off its citizens?

who would exercise border patrol when there are no borders?

this didn’t catch Jesus by surprise

He predicted and prepared for it

Jesus mentions church in 2 passages

Jesus mentions “church” 3 times and “kingdom” 49 times—just in Matthew

Paul’s letters mention “church” 43 times and “kingdom” 14 times

thus, Jesus talked about the kingdom while Paul talked about the church

kingdom is not exclusive to its citizens (church)

George E Ladd “The church in fact comprises the people of the kingdom . . .”

but they are not the kingdom

kingdom is much grander

God’s reign is over all creation

what kingdom citizens are NOT like: Pharisees

Matthew 16:1-12

Israel’s leaders were fired and term in office had expired

hypocrisy of Pharisees

talk good

look good on outside

but whitewashed tombs

outwardly appear beautiful

inwardly full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness

outwardly appear righteous to others

but inwardly are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness

NOT how a follower of Jesus is to be

then what is a follower of Jesus to be?

pew Bible # 977

Matthew 16:13-20 (what and who)

the church (citizens of the kingdom) is for confessors confessing the right confession

Jesus

16:13—Who do people say that the Son of Man is?

16:14—people think Jesus is someone significant

16:15—But who do you say that I am?

do you agree with them?

have you formed your own opinion?

who is Jesus to you???

“You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.” C.S. Lewis

good teacher or prophet doesn’t give proper authority to Jesus

Peter

16:16—You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.

based on Jesus’ affirmation in 17,

Peter confesses the right Jesus

Christ/Messiah — way more than good teacher or prophet

what is a right confession?

Are we talking about the same Jesus?

not talking about the Mormon Jesus

not talking about the Jehovah’s Witness Jesus

or he’s-just-a-great-teacher Jesus

talking about

the fully God, fully man,

died on the cross for MY SIN and rose again Jesus

are you a confessor confessing the right confession?

Jesus affirmed Peter’s confession

16:17-18

Jesus was going to build His church on this rock

Peter??? confession???

Roman Catholic understanding is Peter = 1st pope

difficult especially when Paul comes on scene in Acts

Peter fades into background

hard to see church built on a man

rather built on Peter confessing the right confession

16:19

but what does that mean?

to do the same thing Jesus did

affirm true gospel confessions and confessors

though Jesus was on earth

He spoke on behalf of heaven

then He authorized Peter and the apostles to do the same thing

authority…

to stand in front of a confessor

to consider his/her confession

to consider his/her life

then to announce judgment on heaven’s behalf

declaring (best as possible) who on earth is a kingdom citizen (Christian)

not final judgment (God’s realm), but earthly realm

in essence this is what happens with church membership

being a church member means the church affirms you as a Christian

in a way you cannot by yourself

anyone can say they are a Christian

when church says you are a Christian and baptizes you into membership

says you are a Christian in a more significant way

like an embassy vouches you are a citizen

doesn’t make you a citizen

but gives greater credibility

did Jesus only give this authority to Peter and the apostles?

clearer picture when connect to other sighting of “church” and similar wording

Matthew 18:15-20 (keys to the kingdom given to a local church)

the gathered local church has the authority to determine if a confessor’s confession and life are in contradiction

binding and loosing are extended to church—thus keys of kingdom

authority given to apostles AND gathered local church

clearer—is one’s confession AND life in contradiction?

Pharisees—not what kingdom citizens are like HYPOCRITES

what is a church to do when a person

says they are a Christian

but their life says something else?

most people would do what Jesus commands

Matthew 7:1—judge not

BUT ignore the rest of Matthew 7:1–5 where Jesus instructs on how to judge (gotcha moment)

1 Corinthians 5:12-13

prior slide

what is a church to do when a person

says they are a Christian

but their life says something else?

Jesus has a plan that many churches have abandoned

because they think they know better than Jesus

process—4 rounds of confrontation

always moving towards restoration (NOT PUNISHMENT)

do you love your sin more than Jesus?

1. private confrontation

approach sinning brother/sister IN PRIVATE (18:15)

if repent, then credibility is back in line and confrontation stops

confession and life are representing Jesus rightly

2. still unwilling to repent

expanded confrontation, includes 2-3 witnesses (18:16)

3. still unwilling to repent

whole church becomes involved (18:17a)

4. even still unwilling to repent

removing individual from committed community (18:17b)

must be an identifiable group of gathered people to carry out

church vouches for its members

must be a member to vouch

church disciplines its members

must be a member to discipline

church…not leadership, small group, but gathered church members

5. the whole, gathered church is the final court for evaluation and judgment (17b)

then Jesus utters 18:18—plural (same as 16:19–singular)

Jesus is giving the keys of the kingdom to the gathered church

church discipline is an act of love

and needs to be conducted in that manner

not all church discipline is PUBLIC (private, 2-3, etc.)

but it is all to be LOVING

souls are in the balance

1 Corinthians 5:5 “you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.”

Paul asks Corinthian church to cast man out of church (Satan’s realm)

not giving him a false assurance that everything was alright

SO THAT he would see his sin and need for Jesus’ forgiveness

if you are a Christian, you want to be disciplined; you want accountability

Hebrews 12:8

Hebrews 12:11

if I stray, I want you chasing after me

prior slide

this type of authority is a heavy responsibility

should never be taken lightly

when a person’s confession and life do not add up

Jesus has given the church authority to declare they are no longer a member

the church doesn’t make a person a Christian or not

rather the church can no longer vouch

that the person’s life supports their confession as a Christian

notice we are not talking about “small” sins (miss a Sunday or two, slip up, etc.)

but significant sins that make the church believe this person is not a Christian

lack of repentance is a big deal

Christians will sin, and possibly sin big

but Christians cannot continue hanging on to their sin

1 Corinthians 5

unrepentant adulterer

Paul tells the church to remove him

1 John 1:6 “If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.”

1 John 3:6 “No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him.”

1 John 3:15 “Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.”

1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

confess, repent, repeat

Authority Matters

authority over all matters???

accepting an igloo ice chest that was donated???

why have leadership? wise to give them room to lead

what areas are biblical?

membership

add seems wise since able to remove members

doctrine (Gal 1)

affirm doctrinal truth

what areas are wise?

church leadership

big picture financial

budget

land/building purchases

Jesus gave the highest earthly authority to the local church

declaring who on earth is a kingdom citizen, therefore representing heaven

THEREFORE if you are a church member at FCC

we all need to be trained how to use this authority in accordance with the Bible

church membership is not just a status

it’s a job

and we need to be trained through discipleship of the Word

without committed members to the Lord and His local church,

the use of the keys can easily go amuck

this is why Jesus established leadership in the church

not to be the final authority

but to disciple the church members how to use their authority

we are responsible for one another

do you sense a growing love for these people?

are you growing in your commitment to them?

do you feel responsible for their spiritual growth?

do you want fellow Christians coming after you when you stray? remembering judgment day is coming

then maybe the Lord is leading you to unite in membership