Heavenly Verdict

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Connection

Scripture Reading

Matthew 18:15–20 ESV

15 “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. 16 But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. 17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. 18 Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. 19 Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”

Prayer of Illumination

Exegesis

Jesus has been responding to a question that the disciples asked back at the beginning of chapter 18: “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” This exposes a failure on the disciples' part to grasp what citizenship in the kingdom of God looks like. So, Jesus has taken this opportunity to explain what the community of his followers will function like. First, he says, they have to become like children – meaning they have to understand that they have no status in the kingdom without Christ. They must be humble, like children. Second, he says they must receive the little ones – the disciples of Christ. And to receive his disciples means watching after their souls so that they don’t wander off into sin. And third, to let them wander off into sin is to despise the followers of Jesus, and they must not do that.

So rather than being concerned with their position in the kingdom, they should be concerned with their fellow citizens. Last week we saw that the bar for “despising” God’s sheep is as low as not knowing what sins they’re currently struggling with. It’s a failure to warn them, when and if they do wander into sin. So it’s a low bar for despising God’s sheep, and it’s a high bar for care within Christ’s kingdom. And Jesus is putting everyone who would-be citizens in his kingdom on notice as to what exactly is required of them, especially as it relates to their brothers and sisters. Helping each other as we strive toward holiness is the name of the game. And we should never despise God’s sheep.

And that makes our text this morning particularly interesting. There are times – or so it would appear – where exclusion from the church community is necessary. So you might be inclined to think that, especially after last week’s text, that if we shouldn’t despise any of Christ’s little ones – his disciples – then we should err on the side of caution and just include everyone. As Jesus will warn us, that is to avoid the frying pan for the fire, so to speak. The topic of church discipline – confronting someone in sin and, if necessary, removing them from membership – is not one of the more glamorous aspects of church life that we usually love to discuss. However, along with preaching, teaching, singing, and praying, church discipline, as we will see, is a mandatory aspect of our life as the body of Christ.

There are two aspects of this we have to understand to grasp our responsibilities as a church to the membership in this body.

The church forgives the repentant and condemns the unrepentant sinner.

Matthew 18:15–17 ESV

15 “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. 16 But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. 17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.

The goal is repentance

The church calls for repentance

Repentance is a gift God gives to his children

The church is the mouthpiece of heaven, speaking in Jesus’ name.

Binding and Loosing

You have the authority to speak for Christ (Implication: what does a church say if it stays silent on sin?)

Application