Church Discipline and Forgiveness.

Opening:

Good-morning again Connection Church. It is so good to be gathered with you all. The gathering of the Church is such a wonderful thing. Here we love one another in worship of God. I speak often of the love we should have for the Lord’s Day. This is true, but we must also love one another. The Lord’s Day is when we gather to worship God. But we must also have a love for the church as a whole. The Lord’s Day is when the church gathers, but the church is the church on more than just the Lord’s Day. We love one another as brothers and sisters in Christ.

Introduction of the Text:

Sometimes this love is easy. But often this love is hard. It is not easy to love sinful people. We are all sinful, therefore it is hard to love one another at times. Today we are going to learn about a difficult way to love. Open with me to Matthew 18:15-35. We will be covering a large portion of Scripture, but that is okay. There is a lot in this passage and I hope we can do it justice. What is contained in this passage is seldom practiced in the church but it is central to the life and health of a church. When it is neglected, the church dies. This passage may seem mean or harsh but it is definitional to love. This is how we love one another. This passage is also how we express the gospel to one another. Christians are to love one another and to hate sin. We are to constantly be putting to death the sin in our own hearts and calling out the sin in one another. But how? This text tells us. With this in mind, stand with me for the reading of God’s Word.

Reading of the Text:

Matthew 18:15-35. 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.”

21 Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” 22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.

23 “Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. 24 When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. 25 And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. 26 So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ 27 And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. 28 But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’ 29 So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ 30 He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. 31 When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. 32 Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 33 And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ 34 And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. 35 So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”

The Word of God, Let’s Pray.

Prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for who you are. Lord, we want to live holy lives. We know that you call us to be holy as you are holy. We know this is not fully achievable in this life, but we know that the Spirit’s work within us is to make us more holy through this life. Help us not to write off the hard teachings of Jesus just because they are hard. Help us to see the seriousness of what Jesus commands. May we exercise this with love and patience. May we love one another enough to confront sin.

Lord, I pray that you would convict us of sin. May we continue to confess our sins and repent. May we grow closer to you and closer to each other. Lord, we ask that you would continue to grow us as a church. May we see the lost saved and the saved grow. We thank you for all you have done and we ask that you would continue to bless this work. May you build your church.

Lord, I ask that you would also be with me. Forgive me for where I have sinned. Help me to communicate the truth of this passage well. Please do not let me speak against you or your word. Help me to speak the truth in love.

We ask this in Jesus name, amen.

Setting of the Context:

We must understand this passage in the context of the surrounding passages. Jesus has been painting a consistent narrative. He is still speaking to the same thing. He is transitioning to different points but He is still in the same discourse. This is not an isolated passage. Jesus began this discourse by emphasizing the seriousness of sin.

Seriousness of Sin 18:1-9

Verses 1-9 of chapter 18 paint a picture of the severity of sin. Jesus compares Christians to little children. Jesus condemns strongly causing others to sin and personal sin. He takes this emphasis so far that He says it is better to be physically maimed than to sin. Then Jesus moves from declaring the seriousness of sin to showing His own commitment to sinful Christians.

Christ’s Commitment to the Sinful Christian 18:10-14

In verses 10-14 Jesus says that He will go and bring back any true Christian who strays. He is the good Shepherd. No Christian will ever be lost. Jesus speaks of the security that Christians have in Him. No Christian can lose their salvation. Jesus holds us secure.

Transition:

We must see the context of this passage. Sin is serious, but Jesus loves us enough to bring us back from sin. In light of this context we read of what is known as church discipline.

Church Discipline.

Explanation:

In many cases church discipline is seen as one step from evil. If we are being honest, church discipline is hated in most of the modern church. However, Jesus does not give these guides as suggestions. He frames all of this as a command. We are not given the option of neglecting this practice. We are commanded to enact church discipline. And this is good. If sin is as serious as Jesus claims it to be and He loves us as much as He says He does, then it makes sense for Him to give us guidelines on how to handle sin. Church discipline is truly beautiful. It is a great act of love. It is incredibly loving that Jesus spells out how we are to enact this act of love. We are all sinners. We will all sin against each other. If we were to be left unguided, it would be almost impossible to get this right. We would likely er into pride or passiveness completely. But our loving Lord has given us guides for how to handle sin and being sinned against.

But we must first see two primary truths about church discipline. We must see these before we even define church discipline. They are fundamental to the understanding of what church discipline is. First, we must see the purpose of church discipline. The purpose of church discipline is to restore the brother.

The Purpose of Church Discipline is to Restore the Brother.

Verse 15 is clear that if your brother who sins against you listens to you, you have gained your brother. This is the light of this entire passage. I think we view the idea of church discipline as a hateful act. This is not the case. The purpose and intent of church discipline is to restore. It is to seek the death of sin and the health of those you love.

Secondly, we must see that exercising church discipline is not limited to the leadership of the church.

Exercising Church Discipline is not Limited to the Leadership of the Church.

This passage paints a picture of any Christian going to any other Christian and confronting sin. This is not just my job as the pastor. This is an act between any two Christians. It is not reserved for just the pastors or church leaders. If any Christian is in open sin, any other Christian is able and commanded to go and confront them.

Now with these two introductory things out of the way, we can define church discipline. Church discipline is any Christian confronting the sin of any other Christian in love with the purpose of seeing the sinning Christian free from the grips of sin and restored.

Church discipline is any Christian confronting the sin of any other Christian in love with the purpose of seeing the sinning Christian free from the grips of sin and restored.

Now comes the question, “How do we do this?” This is an excellent question. We need guidelines on this. Thankfully Jesus makes it very clear how we are to accomplish this excellent and noble task.

Transition:

First, go by yourself and confront your brother.

1. Go By Yourself and Confront Your Brother.

Remember, any Christian is able to do this with any other Christian. Verse 15 says, 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.” This is step one. If Christians took this seriously, this is where most conflicts would end. If someone has sinned against you, then go to them and tell them their fault. Often times the sin is unknown to the party who is guilty. If they are made aware of their sin, often they will repent of it and the relationship will be restored.

But how does this apply to sin in general? The verse seems to indicate some form of personal conflict. This is true that it does apply to personal conflict. However, it is also true of sin in general. From the larger context of Scripture we see this same process exercised in regards to the entire category of sin, not just personal offence. For example, Luke 17:3-4 is one place where we see this. It says this, “3 Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, 4 and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.” This seems to be a similar discourse, but Jesus equates the same process to sin, not just personal offence. Paul also speaks of restoring sinners in Galatians. In 1 Corinthians Paul exercises the final step of church discipline even though the one he excommunicates did not personally sin against Paul.

This is because all sin affects those around them. Sin affects the entire church. Your sin is not just your sin. It affects everyone in this room. Your sin is as if you have sinned against those here personally. Remember two weeks ago I gave the example of Achan. Achan thought his sin was his own, but it lead to the death of many. He hid riches that were not his. He kept them as spoils of war, even though God commanded it not to be. Many Israelites died because of his personal sin. Every sin you commit is not just against God but against the entire community of Christians.

Because of this, if someone is in open sin, it is the job of the Christian who knows about the sin to first go privately to his brother and confront him. He is to go to him and tell him that he is in sin and call him to repentance. This is step one. If the brother repents, all is well! You have gained your brother and have restored a wandering sheep. What a blessing!

Transition:

But what if the Christian refuses to repent? What if you go to your brother and confront their sin and they refuse to repent of it? Step two. Take one or two witnesses.

2. Take One or Two Witnesses.

If the brother refuses to listen, you take one or two witnesses and all three of you call the brother to repent. This is the next step. You go with one or two others. Verse 16 says this, “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.”This is so that multiple may call the straying Christian back.

But what of the phrase “that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses?” This hearkens back to the process of the Old Testament. Deuteronomy 19:15-21 says this, 15 “A single witness shall not suffice against a person for any crime or for any wrong in connection with any offense that he has committed. Only on the evidence of two witnesses or of three witnesses shall a charge be established. 16 If a malicious witness arises to accuse a person of wrongdoing, 17 then both parties to the dispute shall appear before the LORD, before the priests and the judges who are in office in those days. 18 The judges shall inquire diligently, and if the witness is a false witness and has accused his brother falsely, 19 then you shall do to him as he had meant to do to his brother. So you shall purge the evil from your midst. 20 And the rest shall hear and fear, and shall never again commit any such evil among you. 21 Your eye shall not pity. It shall be life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.

God has a high standard of justice. This standard is not gone. It is still righteous. Charges are to be established on the evidence of two or three witnesses. If the witnesses are found to be false, then they are to be disciplined. Not only does Jesus hold this up, but Paul as well. 2 Corinthians 13:1 says, “This is the third time I am coming to you. Every charge must be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses.” Again Paul says it in 1 Timothy 5:19 19 “Do not admit a charge against an elder except on the evidence of two or three witnesses.”

Transition:

The primary purpose of bringing two witnesses is that you may all call for repentance but it also establishes the charge. This plays right into step three. You see, if the brother repents at the pleading of two or three, then all is well. It is over. But what if they do not repent even now? Step three, bring it before the church.

3. Bring it Before the Church.

This is the third step. Verse 17, “17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church.” After you go, and after you take one or two witnesses, if there is still refusal to repent, it is taken before the church. The purpose of this is so that the church can call the person to repent as a whole. The charge is established by two or three witnesses. It is not just one person saying that someone is sinning, but three people coming together and expressing to the church as a whole that one of the members is living in sin and has refused to repent. Now the entire church begins to call on that person to repent.

Transition:

Even now, if that person repents, all is well and the process ends. But if the person still refuses to repent, it continues. Step four, excommunication.

4. Excommunication.

Verse 17 ends this way, “And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.” This is the final step. The sinning Christian is to be excommunicated. Paul refers to this step multiple times as turning them over to Satan. This is the extreme last step. At this point the person is treated as an outsider. The church is not to be mean or harsh but is to stop associating with them. They are not to be treated as a brother but as one who is lost. The call to repent never ends, but the person is removed from fellowship. The church continues to call the Christian to repent. In love, the church is to continue the call, but is not to treat the person as lost.

Transition:

This is not easy, but Christ’s commands are not complicated. They are understandable and coherent. However, I find that practical examples make it even more simple to understand.

Illustration:

Let’s fast forward five years. Let us pretend it is five years in the future. At this point we have a member named Joe. Joe has been a member for four years. By all indication Joe is a productive and faithful member of the church. He is in good standing. He gives faithfully, he is a faithful attender, the whole nine yards. Joe is a business owner. He sells trinkets. Lets say that his shop specializes in selling black hills souvenirs. It is good business and Joe seems to be honest in his practice.

Now I’m going to pick on Tim. Let’s say that Tim stops in to see Joe at work. Joe and Tim and a few other men have been having a men’s Bible study, so Tim wants to stop in and check on Joe. When Tim walks in, Joe is talking to some tourists. Joe is showing them some of the wares of his shop, so Tim waits patiently and begins to browse. As he is waiting, Tim overhears Joe telling the tourists that he has a mythical cure all that will heal their sick daughter. In the back he has some snake oil that if rubbed on their daughters crippled legs will restore her ability to walk. The couple is gullible and buys this story hook line and sinker. Joe goes in the back and gets his little vile of cleverly packaged olive oil. He then sells it to them for two thousand dollars. They leave in a hurry to go and rub it on their daughters legs. Joe has just lied and cheated these people out of a lot of money. This is clearly sinful.

Tim, being a God fearing man who loves Joe dearly as a brother is obviously concerned. As the couple leaves, Tim walks up to Joe and promptly give Joe the appropriately loving verbal kick in the pants. This what for is along the lines of “What the heck Joe? You just lied and cheated those pour people! That is sinful and you need to repent and give those people their money back!” If Joe stops and repents and says “You’re right! I am so sorry!” And then he chases the people down and makes it right, then it is over. Tim doesn’t gossip to anyone and the issue is resolved. Joe stops selling this lie and cheating people. End of story.

However, for the sake of argument say that Joe blows Tim off and refuses to repent. Tim then goes home and calls Wilson and Thomas who are also in the Bible study. They also love Joe. He meets with them and tells them what happened. They all three go to Joe and confront him. The three of them see the fake healing potion and call Joe to repent. This is a loving act. They don’t want Joe to continue in the sin of lying and cheating. Now if Joe repents at their call and stops his sinful practice, it is done. He is restored and it is not to be spread as gossip through the church. But again for argument, lets say Joe blows them off and continues to cheat people out of money.

If that is the case, I receive a phone call asking to meat. Tim, Wilson, and Thomas tell me of what is happening and then that Sunday they stand before the church. They stand there and tell the church what has happened. In old school police show style, it’s just the facts. Then the church is called on to call Joe into repentance. The entire church prays for and begins to call on Joe to repent of this evil practice. If this causes Joe to be convicted and he repents, the issue is done. He is restored and we rejoice at it! We forgive him and he is forgiven. We all celebrate as Joe pours the oil down the drain and stops cheating people. However, again for arguments sake let’s say that Joe still refuses to repent.

Then comes the hardest part. We then are commanded by Christ to treat Joe as an outsider. He is no longer treated as a Christian. We continue to pray for Joe and call him to repent. We also call on him to place his faith in Christ. This is not easy but it is what we are commanded to do.

Argumentation:

Many object to this but we must remember the purpose of church discipline.

1. Remember the Purpose of Church Discipline.

We are calling sinful Christians to repent. This is an act of love. This is not malicious. This is love. In love we call Christians to remove the sin from their lives. This is an act of love. Sin is serious. It is deadly and destructive. We are not to allow those we love to live in sin. We long with ever fiber of our hearts to see them restored. We love them and plead with them through tears to repent. As soon as they repent, we forgive them and welcome them back with open arms. This is because we must see the importance of church discipline.

2. The Importance of Church Discipline.

Sin is deadly. It is destructive to the the person in sin and to the entire church. We are not allowed to tolerate it. But we don’t often see the act of discipline as loving. However, Scripture is filled with language about how discipline is loving.

Proverbs 13:24 24  Whoever spares the rod hates his son,

but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him.

To spare the rod of discipline is to hate. We do not hate our brothers in Christ. We love them.

Hebrews 12:5-11 says this, “ 5 And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons?

“My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,

nor be weary when reproved by him.

6  For the Lord disciplines the one he loves,

and chastises every son whom he receives.”

7 It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? 8 If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. 9 Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? 10 For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. 11 For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

Discipline is a sign of love. This is a hard teaching but it is clear. If we love, we will not neglect discipline. This is because we are called to be holy. We are called to holy living. We are God’s children.

1 Peter 1:14-19 describes the holiness we are called to. “14 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, 15 but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” 17 And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, 18 knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.”

Beloved, do not buy into the lie that discipline is hate. A church that loves is one that disciplines and calls to repentance. We are to sharpen one another and help one another grow. A hateful church refuses to call to repentance. A hateful church is one who neglects church discipline.

Transition:

This is not easy. The reason this is so neglected in the church today is because of how hard it is. It is easy to leave those we claim to love in their sins. However, we are not allowed to do this. But we must not fear because this is hard. We are promised that Christ will be with us in the act of Church Discipline.

Christ Will be With Us in the Act of Church Discipline.

Explanation:

Verses 18-20 say this, “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.”

Much has been made of these verses. We do not have much time to cover what these verses mean. I will keep it brief. Many view these as a blank check for whatever we ask of Christ. However, in context we see the truth of these verses. In the context of church discipline we see that these verses are an encouragement in this difficult task. We are not alone in this. When we enact church discipline and it ends poorly with having to treat one as lost, we see that Christ confirms this step in the binding. When one is restores, we see Christ confirms this step in the losing. We see that when the witnesses come together, Christ confirms it. We also see that our prayers will be heard and Christ will confirm this faithful work. And it ends with the encouragement that Christ is with us. When we come together for this hard task, Christ is right there with us. What comfort.

Transition:

And lest we think that this act of discipline is wrong, we are reminded of the thing that church discipline must be done in light of. This is the thing that must never been forgotten. Christians are to to all things in light of this and never neglect it. What is this? Forgiveness.

Forgiveness.

Explanation:

Remember the context of church discipline. It is to seek the restoration of the Christian lost in sin. And Jesus makes sure that we understand how important this is through His parable. Look again as verses 21-35. “21 Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” 22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.

23 “Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. 24 When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. 25 And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. 26 So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ 27 And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. 28 But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’ 29 So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ 30 He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. 31 When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. 32 Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 33 And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ 34 And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. 35 So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”

First we see Peter ask a pertinent question. How many times do we welcome a repentant brother back?

How Many Times Do We Welcome a Repentant Brother Back?

This is an important question. Peter is wondering how many times forgiveness must be given? According to Jewish tradition one was to be forgiven for the same offence three times. Peter more than doubles this. Likely he thought this would be enough. However, Christ has a different answer. Jesus says seventy seven times, or perhaps more accurately to the Greek, Jesus says seven times seventy. This obviously is not a literal number but it given to show that forgiveness should have no limit. When our brother or sister repents, we forgive them. When they turn away from sin, they are without exception welcomed back. This does not mean that sin has no consequence. Many sins rightly result is legal ramifications. However, we hold it against them no longer! The fellowship is restored.

Jesus echos this in Luke 17:3-4. 3 Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, 4 and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.” We are to forgive! Why? Well, we see in Jesus’ parable the importance of forgiveness and the idiocy of unforgiveness in the Christian community.

The Importance of Forgiveness and the Idiocy of Unforgiveness in the Christian Community.

Jesus’ parable is so relevant. He paints a picture of a king who was settling debts. In this process he comes across a slave who owes him more money than can ever be paid back. In modern terms, the amount this slave owes could equate to $1.5 billion. This is a hopeless amount. It can never be paid back. However, the slave cries out for mercy and king forgives this debt. This is great forgiveness! The king would be just and right to send the slave to prison with his entire family. However, the gracious king forgives the debt.

The slave then goes out and begins to choke a fellow slave and demand that the fellow slave pay him back roughly $25. This is a ridiculous picture. It is sarcasm of the finest sense. Everyone knows that the one who is forgiven much forgives much. It makes no sense for a man who is forgiven $1.5 billion in debt to go and hatefully demand $25. Jesus is using extremely effective sarcasm. His point is this, it makes no sense for a Christian to be unforgiving.

Argumentation:

Christians ought to be the most forgiving people.

Christians Ought To Be the Most Forgiving People.

In essence, it is impossible for a Christian to be unforgiving. We have been forgiven our sins. We owe a debt to God that we can never ever in our wildest dreams repay. However, God, in His great mercy, forgave us. $1.5 Billion is nothing compared to the debt we have been forgiven. In light of this, we are not allowed to hold debts against one another.

When a Christian repents, we forgive them. If they sin again, we forgive them. If they sin again, we forgive them. If they sin again, we forgive them. It is the most ridiculous thing on earth to try to picture a Christian who is unforgiving.

“Forgiveness reflects the highest human virtue, because it so clearly reflects the character of God.” John MacArthur.

We have been forgiven more than we can fathom. How can we possibly refuse to forgive others? The point of Jesus’ parable is not that withholding forgiveness removes our salvation. We cannot lose our salvation. The point of Jesus’ parable is that a Christian will not withhold forgiveness. Refusal to forgive when a brother is restored is antithetical to the Christian. You simply cannot do it. In light of the gospel, you are not able to withhold forgiveness.

Application:

And this is the application. Love one another enough to practice church discipline.

Love One Another Enough to Practice Church Discipline.

This is the application. This is a very practical text. Go to one another in private.

Go to One Another In Private.

In a word of wisdom, go men to men and women to women, but go to one another. When a brother or sister is sinning, go to them. Love one another enough to go to each other. You are sinning if you hold grudges and do not take issues to each other. Go to one another. If the sin is repented of, then the issue is resolved. It is done. It is not to be talked about. It is over. All is forgiven.

If the party in sin refuses to repent, take one or two witnesses.

Take One or Two Witnesses.

This is clear. If the party refuses to repent at one person, take one or two others to plead with the party in sin. If they repent, then the issue is resolved. It does not need to be discussed gossiped about. They are forgiven and it is washed clean by the blood of Christ.

If they still refuse to repent, bring it before the church.

Bring it Before the Church.

This is clear. If the party in sin still repents after the taking of one or two other witnesses, the sin is to be brought before the church. We as the church will pray for them and we will call them to repent. If we must, we will excommunicate them with the hope that they will repent.

And at any stage, if there is repentance, we will be ready to forgive.

Be Ready To Forgive.

There is no place for unforgiveness in the church. We who have been forgiven much will be eager to forgive. We will forgive those who repent of their sins as God has forgiven them. We will not hold it against them. We will be eager to forgive if it is in the first stage of church discipline or if it is ten years of excommunication. We will be ready to forgive.

And the final application of this text is that we must abhor gossip.

Abhor Gossip.

I have hinted at this several times in this sermon, but there is no place for gossip in the church. If there is sin, you go in private to the sinner and confront it. You do not bring it up with anyone else. When there is restoration, the issue is done. It must not be gossiped about.

Within the church, gossip runs rampant. It is so commonly known that it has become a joke. Prayer requests are seen as the church version of gossip. It is true. “Oh let’s pray for so and so. I heard this was happening.” This is not a prayer request. This is gossip. I have no tolerance for this. This is sin. We talk about other people’s sins to everyone except the person we should be talking to. If you know someone in sin, do not gossip about it. Go to that person and enact church discipline. This is loving. It is loving to enact church discipline. It is hateful to gossip.

John MacArthur puts it this way. “The church, however, is not nearly so careful not to gossip about someone’s sinning as it is not to confront it and call for it to stop.” If you cared about your brother’s soul, you would go and confront him in private, then take two or three witnesses, then bring it to the church. You would not gossip. In short, many Christians need to shut their mouths and be obedient.

Closing:

I hope that through this sermon you have seen that church discipline is not a mean or malicious act. It is very loving. I hope you have seen that it is not merely a suggestion but a command from our Lord. Finally, I hope you have seen that we must be eager and ready to forgive all who repent. Let’s pray.

Prayer:

Doxology:

Benediction:

Leviticus 19:17-18 17 “You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him. 18 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.