Preserving and Protecting The Community

We are called to “love our neighbor.” But, when we have a problem with our neighbor, what do we do? Do we just ignore the problem, hope it will go away? Or, do we confront our offending neighbor, presenting his or her sin to her in a spirit of love and reconciliation and in the hope that they’ll repent ()?

2 Corinthians 2:5–7 ESV

Now if anyone has caused pain, he has caused it not to me, but in some measure—not to put it too severely—to all of you. For such a one, this punishment by the majority is enough, so you should rather turn to forgive and comfort him, or he may be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow.

Sin In The Community

2 Corinthians 2:5–7 ESV

Galatians 6:1 ESV

Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.

Sin In The Community

Leviticus 19:17–18 ESV

“You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him. You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.

After the transfiguration, and Jesus’ providing a miracle to pay tax for himself and Peter, the disciples engage in a debate about who is the greatest. They then ask Jesus who the greatest is. Jesus turns their expectation on its head and tells them that true greatness in the Kingdom of Heaven is repentance and humility.

With Jesus’ teaching on “greatness” in the Kingdom of Heaven, Matthew records the fourth of the five discourses of Matthew’s Gospel (See Handout)

This is the Community Discourse (Mt. 18)

Deuteronomy 19:5 ESV

as when someone goes into the forest with his neighbor to cut wood, and his hand swings the axe to cut down a tree, and the head slips from the handle and strikes his neighbor so that he dies—he may flee to one of these cities and live,

1) For the prideful, Jesus says they must repent and humble themselves

2) Jesus warns against those in the community who remain prideful, causing weaker believers to stumble: they would be better off dead!

3) Jesus then charges the community to “cast off” anyone who refuses to repent, who causes “little ones” to sin and stumble.

4) Jesus then turns his attention to the little one who has gone astray (presumably because of the prideful one who causes sin), and charges the leaders of the community to go after such a one.

5) Then, Jesus describes conflict resulting from sin in the community.

If we’re truly meant to be a close family that loves one another, what happens when one member of the community sins against another member? What do we do?

This is the question that Jesus through Matthew addresses next in the community discourse.

Turn with me in your Bible to Matthew 18:15

Sin In The Community

v. 15

Jesus begins this section of the community discourse by describing what is a likely scenario in any (and probably every) group of people. What is wrong with the church? It is full of selfish and sinful people! What is the solution to this problem with the church? Jesus gave us the ability to address sin and problems, and to forgive and reconcile!

Jesus presents us with a scenario with multiple possible outcomes: A brother sins against a brother (an insider conflict).

First, the offended person is to “go and tell him his fault.” Those who are offended should take the initiative. Too often, though, we take offense, and then we tell everybody that we know about how we were offended. When we do this, we are not working toward reconciliation and restoration, but rather toward condemnation and destruction. Gossip destroys.

Although it is not easy, we first go to our brother in the hopes that truth and love will lead our brother to repentance. At this early stage, though, multiple outcomes are possible: 1) our brother repents and “we have gained our brother.” Thus, a deeper fellowship is possible when we are reconciled. Or, 2) he does not listen (v. 16).

Those who are offended should take the initiative.

Before turning to the “unrepentant” brother, though, who should go to who first? Each person might be feeling like the other should take the initiative. But, if each person feels this way, then reconciliation will not happen. And, further, the problem between the two people will only spill into other relationships within the church, and further fracture is not only possible, but inevitable.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus also taught that if a person remembers that a brother has something against him, it is on the offender to take the initiative first (). This situation is likely one in which this first step has already taken place: the offended brother went to show him his fault, and he didn’t listen. But, then, when the offender is at the temple, he is convicted (likely by the Holy Spirit), and remembers his brother has something against him. In this scenario, Jesus says that the offender should take the initiative.

Regardless of who is at fault, when two people in church recognize that there is a rift in relationship, both parties are equally responsible to take the initiative and resolve the conflict. However, someone might not even know that they offended another. For this reason, the offended person should take the initiative.

fnded another: I

Yet, Jesus also taught that if a person remembers that a brother has something against him, it is on the offender to take the initiative first ().

Matthew 5:23–26 ESV

So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison. Truly, I say to you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.

The result of listening is repentance and humility (see 18:3) and “winning” the brother, or restored relationship.

The second step of this “church discipline” process is to take some more people as witnesses.

Evidence Of Two Or Three Witnesses

v. 16

You’ll notice that church leadership is explicitly left out of this process, even in this step. Some scholars, therefore, assume that the “two or three” refers implicitly to leadership or elders. While this is a possibility, it is also possible that Matthew is encouraging the idea or concept that we know as the “priesthood of all believers.” In other words, Matthew’s desire is that all believers are able to participate in this church discipline process.

This next step likely has two purposes. First, the two or three witnesses might serve the function of “witnessing” the reconciliation process. Two or three people make the confrontation a little more weighty, and the person might be more inclined to repent. However, should the person not repent, the two or three witnesses would then become the people who would “bear witness” to the church in the next step of church discipline.

Two or three witnesses comes from . In legal matters, when one member of the community had a problem with another, the “charge” had to be established not simply on the word of mouth testimony of the offended party. Witnesses were required. Interestingly, in the Dt. passage, there is provision for punishing a false witness, as well as provision for limiting retribution.

Back to Matthew, the two or three witness serve to add weight to the original confrontation, to witness that confrontation, and to become witnesses in the “church trial” should the person remain unrepentant.

Paul seems to use similar logic when he describes the way that charges may and may not be brought against church elders.

1 Timothy 5:19–22 ESV

Do not admit a charge against an elder except on the evidence of two or three witnesses. As for those who persist in sin, rebuke them in the presence of all, so that the rest may stand in fear. In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of the elect angels I charge you to keep these rules without prejudging, doing nothing from partiality. Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands, nor take part in the sins of others; keep yourself pure.

Should the original offended person, and the witness be unsuccessful in winning over the brother, by his repentance and humility and reconciliation, then Jesus says, “tell the church.”

Tell It To The Church

v. 17

Is this a small group, a house church, or a mega-church? Most likely it is a house church. Thus, the group might be anywhere from 8-30 people. This is definitely a small church, one in which everybody knows everybody.

Some scholars argue that “tell it to the church” doesn’t mean to tell the whole congregation. These scholars may be applying the passage more to the 21st century mega-church culture. However, care should be taken if and/or when this step of the church discipline process is undertaken. While I agree with the idea that an entire congregation does not need to know everything that happens behind closed doors of church leadership and discipline issues, it seems clear to me that Jesus means what he says, that church discipline, when it reaches the point of excommunication, means to tell it to the church. The only way for the community to know that the brother is unrepentant and dangerous to the well being of the body, is to tell the whole body what happened.

At the “Tell it to the church” level, it is clear what the sin is, spiritual pride, since the person persists in their view that they are “right,” even while prayerful leaders have determined that the offending person needs to repent. Thus, we’re back to the issue from the original situation that spurred on the community discourse, pride (see 18:1)

Spiritual Backup

Excommunication is healthy for the body.

The “cut off a limb,” “pluck out your eye,” in the previous passage was a person who causes temptation to sin, which is a contrast to the humility of a child. Thus, those in the church, who are prideful and cause others in the church to sin, those are the ones who are to be “cut off” and “thrown away” (vv. 2-9 above).

Paul:

Romans 16:7 ESV

Greet Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen and my fellow prisoners. They are well known to the apostles, and they were in Christ before me.

1 Corinthians 5:5 ESV

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.

1 Corinthians 5:9–13 ESV

I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— not at all meaning the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one. For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? God judges those outside. “Purge the evil person from among you.”

1 Corinthians 5:9-

1 Timothy 1:18–20 ESV

This charge I entrust to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies previously made about you, that by them you may wage the good warfare, holding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting this, some have made shipwreck of their faith, among whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme.

1 Timothy 2:18-20

1 Corinthians 5:5 ESV

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.

Jesus told his disciples to cast off the sinful and unrepentant brother, as did Paul. What, then, is more important: to fear offending a sinful and unrepentant brother, or to allow the prideful and unrepentant to scandalize (or to cause to sin) the weak and vulnerable in the church (the little ones)?

1 Timothy 1:20 ESV

among whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme.

1 Corinthians 5:5 ESV

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.

God’s Presence

vv. 18-20