Hard Conversations with Christ - On Sin and Forgiveness Pt 1

Blessing and honor, glory and power to him who sits on the throne and to the lamb forever and ever. Amen. Dear members and friends at Shepherd, Today we start a 6-week sermon series. This follows specifically on the heels of last week's gospel. As a Christian, Jesus asks us to pick up our cross and follow him. Some of the crosses we bear as Christians are easier than others. But I would venture to say the tougher ones, make some people feel like their cross is unnecessary. As if Jesus is just making life hard on purpose. That's part of what this sermon series will touch on. The sermon series is entitled, "Hard Conversations with Christ." I want you for the next 6 weeks to imagine yourself in a room with nothing but a table, a light, and some chairs. One chair is for you. Another chair is for Jesus. We are going to have hard conversations with Christ for the next six weeks. The conversations are hard, not because of anything Christ has asked of us. What he asks of us is good for all people. The conversations are hard, as a result of sin. Sin makes conversations about "hard" doctrines tough. Sin make conversations about sin hard. The next 6 weeks will challenge you. They will challenge me. These conversations will all be as a result of sin. Who really likes to talk about sin in a serious way? It's so easy to joke about sin, to talk in a sinning way about others, to commit sins. But when it comes to talking about sin, its effects, and lowering our pride to hear what sin can end up doing to eternal well-being, we would rather avoid these conversations altogether. And I get it. But that's why we have to talk about it, because Jesus talked about it. He talked about it bluntly and pointedly. He talked about it openly and frankly. He talked about it lovingly. Wait, Jesus talked about sin lovingly?! He talked about, to, and against sinners to show his love. It's because of his loving demeanor that we have our lesson today. If you search for this section of Scripture online, you'll find its entitled, "Church discipline." But there is more to this section of Matthew than just church discipline. It's personal. It starts a conversation on sin and forgiveness. Let's enter our hard conversations with Christ remembering his love to talk about sin so that we might have forgiveness. Let us pray: Lord Jesus, we thank you for coming to this earth to take away our sins. However, our sins have left blind spots in our faith. Help us, by your Word, to open our eyes to sin, to see the mortal consequences of unrepented sin, and to seek the forgiveness that you have won for us. Help us to live in repentance, that sin may never have its hold on our lives. Help us through your Word to be faithful members of your church, watching and guarding the lives of our brothers and sisters that all may walk in your ways. Be with us now and send your Spirit to help us grow. Amen. Why do I have to hold the keys? Paul wrote to Timothy, a young pastor, and said, "Watch your life and doctrine closely. Preserve in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers" (1 Tim 4:16). We are looking at our doctrine closely today. The doctrine of Ministry of the Keys. Luther's Catechism defines the Ministry of the Keys as: "The power and right given by Christ to the church either to forgive sins or to refuse to forgive sins" (380). That's what Jesus teaches us in our lesson. We are to forgive sins or keep people in their sins. In other words, we unlock or lock the door to forgiveness. That's the key that Jesus has given us. But before we even get to the keys of forgiveness, Jesus says there is something that must be done. And it is because of sin. Jesus says, "If a brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you." Here is where the hard conversation with Christ begins. "Why do I have to hold the keys? Why must I be the one to point out someone else's sins? Can't the pastor do that? Isn't that sort of what we call him to do? To point out sin and then pronounce forgiveness to the repentant? Jesus, just leave me out of this please. Let me walk my life of faith in joy and happiness." What was it that the Lord said to Ezekiel? "When I say to the wicked, 'You wicked person, you will surely die,' and you do not speak out to dissuade them from their ways, that wicked person will die for their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood." The Lord is serious about sin. He is just as serious about forgiveness. This is why you are part of this wonderful privilege to help build up the brothers and sisters in Christ. The church is the family of the forgiven. The family of grace. The family of those who have recognized their need for Jesus and do not spurn his teachings, even the hard ones. Do you want to have this hard conversation with Christ? As in just the two of you. Where you are on one side of the table and he is on the other and he asks you, "Why didn't you point you Billy's evident and open sin? You know why I came to this earth. Why would you let someone else continue down a destructive path?" I don't want to have that conversation with Christ. I want the hard conversation to be WITH Christ. As in, he is on my side, leading a fellow sinner to repentance. This is the goal-to do all things with Christ. Sin has made this type of conversation hard. There's no way around it. We worry that because we are also sinful, we cannot go to our fellow sinner and speak about their sin. We almost feel unqualified. What if they knew about my sin? This prompts us to go with humility and restore gently. We aren't wearing a shirt that says, "Jane has grievously sinned against the Lord by doing ______." We aren't standing on the street trying to condemn every sin we can see. We are privately, humbly, earnestly confronting a dear friend in Christ about their ways always in the name of reconciliation. If we go to someone that we see sinning hoping only to send them to hell and condemn them for their sinful ways, we have brought judgment upon ourselves. We pray in the Lord's prayer, "Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us." What we are saying is, Lord when I forgive others, forgive me too. Let your forgiveness and love move me to forgive as you have forgiven me. This is going to be a hard conversation. But let this conversation be had with Christ as your ally. Why do I have to involve others? "Alright Jesus, I did my part. I told the person about their sin. My job is done. Please take over." Well actually Jesus says if step one is unsuccessful then, "Take one or two others along, so that 'every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses." Jesus helps us along the way with the personal Ministry of the Keys, but that doesn't mean it will always be effective on the first try. Sometimes people love the sins they commit. They fall victim to them and find comfort and purpose in them. A simple conversation might not be enough to convict a fallen heart. At this point the unrepentant sinner has the door of forgiveness still locked to them. Step 2 brings in this hard conversation with Christ: "Why do I have to involve others? Jesus, can't this just be the elder's job?" As easy as that would be for just about everyone, but the elders, Jesus says, no. This is your job as a regular Christian. As someone who works a 9-5, goes home to their family, does chores at home, comes to worship, reads the Bible, prays - you are qualified to do this job. Jesus says to bring in other people because sometimes a single conversation isn't enough. Think about an intervention. You calmly tell a friend that their boyfriend/girlfriend really isn't good and has changed them for the worse. They brush it off. So you bring in two more friends who also care deeply about your friend and see how poorly the friend is being treated. The witnesses show the seriousness of the situation, and the real hope of resolution. These witnesses come with you out of love for the sinner. These witnesses come not to pile on the guilt of sin. They don't come to make a mockery of the sinner's life. They come out of love. They come out of responsibility. They come to bring the good news. The good news is Jesus Christ and his forgiveness. This is the goal of involving others. "Why do I have to involve others?" Because Jesus says this is another way to win over the sinner, to help them see the error of their ways, and to lead them to the open arms of Jesus, our merciful Savior. This is going to be a hard conversation - to go back to the sinner now a second time. It probably will feel awkward. But you'll have Christ with you and other caring, loving members of Christ's forgiven family. Why do I have to tell yet another group? "Alright Jesus, I have tried twice. Surely, I'm off the hook now, right?" If the sinner still hasn't seen the error of their ways, Jesus gives this unrepentant person one more chance for repentance. "If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector." There is still a chance to show Christian, personal discipline. It's a little more involved than just one on one ministry, but it's still personal. It is talking about a single, sinning soul that needs to hear from a unified body the seriousness of unrepented sin. The third step of church discipline brings up yet another hard conversation with Christ. "Why do I have to tell yet another group? I've done so much already. Can't this just be over with? They haven't repented." The erring person often comes with this mentality, "If you love me, then you will let me continue doing this. If you love me, you won't worry about how I'm living my life." Yet Christ loves you too much to let you continue in your sinful ways. The hard conversation with Christ is answered simply by that statement. Christ loves you too much to let you continue in your sinful ways. He didn't go to the cross so that those listening to the message about sin and forgiveness would turn their back on the forgiveness part and clutch onto the sin portion. He loves you too much for you to NOT be your brother or sister's keeper. He loves you so much that he has put you here to help correct one lost sheep. Jesus has bestowed upon you this wonderful opportunity to lead the charge of repentance and forgiveness. Another group must be involved because Christ has given the whole church, all the believers who gather together, the Ministry of the Keys. It starts here, in the family of the forgiven, that we love our people and treat them as Jesus would. Right before our lesson Jesus spoke the parable of the lost sheep. The shepherd left the 99 to find the one who had gone astray. And when he finds that lost sheep, when he brings that lost sheep back to the fold, "I tell you the truth," Jesus says, "he is happier about that one sheep than about the 99 who did not wander off. In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost." Not one should be lost. That's how Jesus introduces the lesson about personal, church discipline. He introduces it with the reminder that our merciful Father in heaven desires that not one of his sheep be lost. He desires not the death of the wicked, but that we would turn from our evil ways and live. Turn. So turn and live! So why do you have to get the whole assembly involved? To win back the one who was lost. It isn't so that we can get that wretched sinner out of our membership. It isn't to get that stain on our roster out of the gathering of the elect. It isn't to get that miserable loser to go somewhere else. It's to love them. It is to forgive them. It is to show lovingly, the way Jesus would, the error of their way. This is a hard conversation. I would venture to say there has never been a time in church history where excommunication was celebrated by the people. It's a feeling of sadness. It's a feeling of emptiness. One little sheep was lost. Imagine your Father in heaven pleading as he did with Ezekiel. Imagine him pleading for this sinner to repent and turn to forgiveness as he does here in our lesson from Matthew. This is a hard conversation. And one we can't take lightly. It is necessary to show the seriousness of where sin leads and to be united in this effort so that the sinner may see the sin and may hear the words "Christ has forgiven your sin." Why do I have this great responsibility? "Okay Jesus. This is a lot to handle. Why do I have this great responsibility? Why can't you use the other, stronger, bolder Christians to do this work?" The weight of this work is heavy. Who really wants to be the one to sign off on kicking someone out of the church? Who really wants to be the one to start this whole process? Wouldn't it just be easier to let it go? To just brush off the sin and pretend you don't see it? To let someone else handle it? Yes, that would be easier. Yes, that would make being part of a church easier. Yes, that would be easier for every Christian. But if you have that attitude, and the person next to you, and the ones in front and behind you - who would do the work Christ asks of us? Just because a doctrine of the Bible is hard, doesn't mean we skip over it. Just because the work Christ asks of his church isn't fun, doesn't mean it isn't necessary. Just because we see our brother or sister sinning, doesn't mean we can avoid it. Christ has lofty expectations for his disciples. But the easiest expectation he has given us is simply to be forgiven. You don't have to work to earn the forgiveness. Christ did it. You don't have to try to come up with the steps of how to do personal, church discipline. Christ did it. You don't have to go alone into these hard conversations. You are going into these hard conversations with Christ. He says, "Truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done by them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them." You are not alone. What you do here in Christ's name, is as good as if Christ himself were doing it. When church admonition is neglected, the church becomes a safe haven for impenitent sinners. When church admonition is practiced lovingly, the church becomes, as it is meant to be, a hospital for sinners. Through mutual and Spirit-filled ministry the people of God are released from the crippling bonds of sin. They find healing and restoration that can only be found in our Savior. Through mutual and Spirit-filled ministry the family of the forgiven will someday be reunited as the family of the righteous-dwelling with the Lord in his glory. Because of sin, the conversations are hard. Because of forgiveness, the conversations are worth it. Jesus sinners does receive. Even I have been forgiven. And when I this earth must leave, I shall find an open heaven. Dying, still to him I cleave -- Jesus sinners does receive. Amen. Pastor Rathje0Hard Conversations with Christ: On Sin and Forgiveness part 10Pentecost 16 Shepherd Lutheran Church Matthew 18:15-20 September 20, 2020