The Correction of God’s Children

This section of Scripture is not one that is heeded in much of today’s Christianity. It deals with confronting believers that are living in sin. It seems that people have two problems with Christians today: they are judgmental and they are hypocrites. One of the most well known verses in the Bible is “Judge not that ye be not judged” (7:1). Now think about that verse in light of the ones we have before us. Most would have us think that the “Judge not”. Verse means “Mind your own business”. Clearly God did not mean to say in Matthew 7:1 that believers should not confront one another about sin. If that were the case what we have ion 18:15-20 would be a contradiction. Remember that I said that two of the main problems people have with the church today is hypocrisy and judging? Think about this, what Jesus lays out for us here is for the purpose of keeping believers from being hypocrites. Perhaps we have so many hypocrites in the church today because believers are not following the instructions Jesus gives us here. I personally think that is the case. Let’s look at what Jesus says about confronting sin in the Body.

The first thing we see is that God expects His children to correct one another. Notice Jesus says “brother”. That implies that the person we are correcting is a Christian. We don’t expect lost people to live for the Lord, but we do expect Christians to. Paul made that clear in 1 Cor. 5:10-11. That does not mean that we do not share the gospel with the lost. We certainly do. But the lost do not have the desire or the power to live the Christian life. Therefore, we should not expect them to. Correction among God’s children is nothing new. The Old Testament made it clear that God’s covenant family had an obligation to keep one another accountable. Leviticus 19:16-17 says

“ Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people: neither shalt thou stand against the blood of thy neighbour; I am the LORD. 17Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him.”

Those verse show the balance between being a gossip and a sincerely concerned believer. Which is also the same balance that we see in the New Testament. Concern over a brother or sister in sin is consistent with the character of God. Proverbs 13:24 says “He that spareth his rod, hateth his son but he that loveth him chasteneth him quickly”. Hebrews 12:8 tells us that God disciplines His children and the people who are not disciplined by Him for their sin are not His children. The people of God are to correct one another out of love because that love reflects the heart of the Father. To fail to correct one another is to treat each other as if we are not the children of God.

We see that sin is committed against the body. Notice the text says “trespass against thee”. “Trespass” is a general term for sin, meaning to miss the mark. As believers we sin against our brothers and sisters. Sometimes we do this personally. That is we may do something particular against a person. We may lie to them, treat the disrespectfully, not keep an agreement we made with them, steal from them, etc. There are just a lot of ways we can sin personally against someone. But we should understand that ultimately we always sin against the body. The body is inseparably connected. Christians are a family and when one lives in sin he affects all of us. It is a reality that Christians as a whole are judged by the actions of individuals. Therefore, when someone that calls himself a Christian begins to live in sin that person is sinning against all Christians. So we can’t say “My sin isn’t any of your business, it only affects me.” That just isn’t the case. Paul dealt extensively with that in 1 Cor. 12:12-30.

Next we see that it’s the responsibility of the believer to confront the believer in sin. Jesus says in verse 15 “Go and tell him”. The problem is that we usually go and tell someone else. That’s not what we are called to do. We are to go to that person and speak with them about the sin. Let’s consider how this is to be done.

Explain why what the person has done is wrong. Jesus says “go and tell him his fault between thee and him”. That implies a conversation. If we confront someone in sin we should be ready to be specific about it. We should be able to explain why the sin is wrong and how it affects us as well as the Body as a whole.

It is to be done privately. The less people that know, the better it is. If we begin by calling a person out in front of others that person may be embarrassed. The person may become proud and be unwilling to admit they are wrong.

It is to be done in humility. Galatians 6:1 says “Brethren if a man be overtaken in a fault ye which are spiritual restore such a one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself lest thou also be tempted”. Jesus tells us in Matthew 7:5 to pull the beam out of our eye before we confront others in sin. That implies humility. If we come to a brother in a self righteous attitude we should not think that we are going to win that person back.

It should be done with integrity. In other words, if we are not living for the Lord w should not expect that someone will listen to us when we confront them about their sin. That point is taken from the Matthew 7 account as well.

Jesus says that if the person we confront “hear thee”, in other words they take your counsel that you have “gained your brother”. In other words, he gets right. That is the goal of discipline in the church. The goal is not to point fingers. The goal is always restoration. The account is given of Paul rebuking Peter in Galatians 2:11. Peter was showing hypocrisy by acting one way around the Jewish leadership and another around the Gentiles. Paul had no choice but to point out Peter’s sin. Peter repented and the two had a great relationship after that. Peter actually called Paul his “beloved brother” (2 Peter 3:15). Clearly Paul gained his brother! That is always the goal.

Jesus continues, in verse 16 to tell us what to do if our brother refuses our correction. Jesus says “If he will not hear thee” in other words, he will not listen to you. Jesus says we should take it to the next level. We are not to simply say “Well I tried”. We are to get some witnesses to go with us to speak to the brother. The practice of having witnesses was well known to the Jews (Deut. 19:15). They should be humble and righteous as well. They are there to plead the brother to get right. They are there to confirm that the situation warrants the attention it is getting. And they are there as witnesses as well. If the situation escalates to be brought before the whole church they can affirm to the congregation that the situation was conducted properly. Obviously, if the brother listens to the group of witnesses, though it is not mentioned, you have gained your brother. At that point the process would stop and all involved would rejoice.

If the brother still will not listen it is to be brought before the church. The idea here is that the person is openly rebuked before the congregation. An example of this is seen in 1 Tim. 5:20. The church speaks as a whole to the person revealing the sin and voicing their displeasure of it. Once again, the church should do this in humility and personal holiness. For instance, the church would have to make sure that it was not excusing the sin in one and condemning it in another.

If the brother still refuses to listen, then the brother is treated as if he is lost. That’s what “heathen man and publican” refer to. In our culture it would mean that the person could no longer be a member of the church. That is a serious action but it is clear that there are times it must be done. Paul actually rebuked the church at Corinth for not dismissing a brother (1 Cor. 5:1-13). Paul described this action in other places as “delivering someone over to Satan” (1 Tim. 1:20, 1 Cor. 5:5). Removing a person from the church takes them away from the spiritual protection of the local church. Paul’s intent was to see the person hit rock bottom and realize their need for restoration. It is important that one person not have the ability to remove a person from a church through church discipline. John mentioned a person that a church had allowed to do this in 3 John 9-10. The man had become a tyrant and was ruining the church. The process begins with one person initiating the discipline but that person should never have the sole authority to remove someone. That is a matter for the entire church to speak to.

Church discipline is a matter in which we should be extremely careful. Paul mentioned a case in 2 Corinthians 2:5-8 that had been taken too far. A brother had been confronted and later repented of his sin. But there were those in the church that would not forgive him. Paul warned that such a one could be swallowed up in sorrow if the people were not careful. The brother or sister that gets right with God should be joyously received back into the congregation. Just as God rejoices when a lost sheep is found, the congregation ought rejoice as well.

Verses 18-20 have been difficult for some to interpret. When interpreting them it is important we remember the context. The context is church discipline. The issues are binding and loosing, agreeing, and the presence of Christ. Let’s consider each of those.

In verse 18 Jesus says that whatever we bind on earth is bound on heaven and whatever we loose on earth is loosed in heaven. To Rabbi’s in Jesus day the phrase bound or loosed in heaven meant that something was either not permitted by God or permitted by God. Or we could say it was either disapproved by Him or approved. Jesus is teaching us that when the church follows the proper procedure in church discipline we can be sure that our actions are approved by Him in heaven. If we operate the church according to God’s Word we do not have to feel guilty about what we have done. That truth should encourage the church not to be afraid to administer discipline when necessary.

In verse 19 Jesus says that if two or more agree on something on earth it will be done by the Father. Many have taken this to mean that the key to answered prayer is to get Christians to agree on things. That’s not the case. God can answer prayer if only one man stands in the gap! This verse is teaching that Christ will confirm the truth with the two or three witnesses mentioned in verse 16. The church can be assured of that.

In verse 20 Jesus says that where two or three are gathered, Jesus is there. This verse is often used to encourage a small congregation. That’s not the point of the verse. Jesus is present with one believer! The Lord is telling us that He is with those witnesses. He is working His will through them as they seek to get the erring brother to come back to the Lord.

I think we should remember that this comes on the heels of Jesus leaving the 99 and looking for the one. Jesus is seeking His sheep through His people! That ought to encourage us to use church discipline when necessary. We confront our brothers and sister when they are in sin for many reasons. Let me share a few of those as we finish.

We care about the person. We want to see that person healthy and holy and happy. Therefore we confront them when we see them leaving the safety of God’s presence.

We care about the body. We know they represent Christ and we want the world to get a proper picture of Him through His Body. Every believer is to represent the Body well.

We are concerned about the glory of God. Sin robs God of glory. That person is not bringing God glory. I fact, if they name God as their Father they are bringing reproach upon His name.

Thoughts to Consider

1. Christians can fall into serious sin.

2. If we ignore a straying sheep we show that we don’t care about that sheep.

3. God has ordained the process through which He restores His children.

4. We should not expect to gain our brother if we do not go after him.