Church Discipline With Forgiveness
Notes
Transcript
Intro; One of the most difficult but necessary functions in the church is “Discipline” among the believers. Without discipline in the home there is chaos in the family. It is no different in the church.
6 Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?
7 Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us.
Leaven in scripture is always a type of evil/sin. The church is to clean out all evil/sin in its membership [verifiable public sin]. The goal in discipline, is to restore a brother/sister in fellowship with the Lord and the church.
Text; Mt. 18:15-20
Matthew 18:15–20 (NKJV)
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.
16 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.’
17 And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector.
18 “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.
19 “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.
20 For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”
Discipline- the practice of training people to obey rules or a code of behavior, using punishment to correct disobedience:
At the beginning of chapter 18, the disciples came to Jesus wondering which one of them would be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. What great humility they showed!
Jesus tells them unless they are converted [repent] and become humble [trusting] like little children, they won’t even get to heaven. The person who humbles himself as a child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
I believe what Jesus is teaching about discipline and forgiveness is in direct correlation to the disciples actions at the beginning of the chapter.
There are three steps instructed by Jesus to believers for “Discipline with Forgiveness”
1. Reprove in Private; 15
1. Reprove in Private; 15
Sin has taken place in a relationship, therefore discipline is required to restore fellowship.
Reprove- reprimand, correct a fault
First check ourselves to see if we are the cause of the sin
Matthew 7:3–5 (NKJV)
3 And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?
4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye?
5 Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
Second, go to one who has sinned privately, in humility and not condemning, explaining the fault with the intent of restoration
20 let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.
If we will follow the Lord’s blueprint for discipline and forgiveness, we may very well re-gain a friendship before things have to be carried to the next level of discipline!
2. Bring Two or More Witnesses; 16
2. Bring Two or More Witnesses; 16
If the first attempt fails, then Jesus says to carry with you two or more witnesses that the sin committed is established by fact and that the brother cannot deny it.
Witness- a person who sees an event take place; one who has information and knowledge of something.
A witness is not someone who has heard from a friend that told their sisters uncle about something someone did.
A witness was there at the time of the incident, or has been told by the one who committed the sin that they did it. A witness is not biased towards anyone but the truth!
Jesus refers to Old Testament precedent
15 “One witness shall not rise against a man concerning any iniquity or any sin that he commits; by the mouth of two or three witnesses the matter shall be established.
In Jesus’ trials there were many false witnesses that came forward to testify against Him, but even their false testimony didn’t agree. Jesus wants us to make sure that if we are to discipline one for their sin, we better be sure of what we are talking about!
3. Tell the Church; 17
3. Tell the Church; 17
When Jesus says to tell the church, I believe He means to go to the pastor/elder and inform him first, why? Because the pastor is to shepherd the flock of God as an “overseer”, keeping order so things don’t get out of hand and people don’t get hurt or ruined.
Matter’s of Christians should be handled in the confines of Christianity and not the world.
Hopefully, christians would respect the God given authority of the pastor in measures of discipline and reconciliation.
19 that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.
20 Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.
17 Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.
If all these three steps have failed, then the pastor is to bring the unrepentant sinner before the church and reveal their sin to the congregation, praying for repentance and restoration.
“Treat as a Gentile and tax gatherer”. Treat this person as you would a lost person trying to bring him to repentance in Christ. Why? Because like a lost person, your brother does not see the error of his ways!
1 Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted.
2 Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
4. Binding and Loosing; 18-20
4. Binding and Loosing; 18-20
To Bind and Loose are actions taken by the [Apostles, pastors, church] on earth through heavenly direction.
Bind- to impose a legal or contractual obligation; to tie up or to; to prohibit, to not allow, to not permit
To be tied to and obligated to the Word of God, even in discipline!
Loose- release, to permit, to allow; untie or forgive
To be obligated to the Word of God in forgiveness upon repentance
Biblical Example of church discipline and forgiveness;
1 It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and such sexual immorality as is not even named among the Gentiles—that a man has his father’s wife!
2 And you are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he who has done this deed might be taken away from among you.
3 For I indeed, as absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged (as though I were present) him who has so done this deed.
4 In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together, along with my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ,
5 deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.
6 Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?
7 Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us.
8 Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
9 I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people.
10 Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world.
11 But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner—not even to eat with such a person.
12 For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside?
13 But those who are outside God judges. Therefore “put away from yourselves the evil person.”
3 And I wrote this very thing to you, lest, when I came, I should have sorrow over those from whom I ought to have joy, having confidence in you all that my joy is the joy of you all.
4 For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote to you, with many tears, not that you should be grieved, but that you might know the love which I have so abundantly for you.
5 But if anyone has caused grief, he has not grieved me, but all of you to some extent—not to be too severe.
6 This punishment which was inflicted by the majority is sufficient for such a man,
7 so that, on the contrary, you ought rather to forgive and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one be swallowed up with too much sorrow.
8 Therefore I urge you to reaffirm your love to him.
9 For to this end I also wrote, that I might put you to the test, whether you are obedient in all things.
10 Now whom you forgive anything, I also forgive. For if indeed I have forgiven anything, I have forgiven that one for your sakes in the presence of Christ,
11 lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices.
Close;
The ends in view in the discipline are three: that the church be not dishonored, the good not corrupted, and offenders brought to repentance.
John Calvin (French Reformer)