In Matthew, we've been looking
at how Peter is being taught by the Lord Jesus Christ. We're
in a series of studies that will take quite some time before we
get to the letters from Peter, the epistles that Peter wrote,
1 Peter and 2 Peter. We're looking at how Peter is
being taught by the Lord Jesus until he gets to that point.
So we're kind of following along Peter's life. In Matthew 18, started a new series of kind
of lessons, lessons of five. We looked at three lessons last
time in verses 1 through 14 of chapter 18. And you'll recall
in those verses, we saw the brethren. I'm in the wrong chapter there.
That's right. We saw the brethren. Well, they were being exactly
what the brethren of Christ are. Sinners, saved by grace. They
were acting foolishly. They thought that the Lord Jesus
Christ was still going to come to this earth and build up a
kingdom right here on earth. They didn't understand that the
kingdom of God is spiritual, not earthly, not carnal. And
so they were like, Lord, who's going to sit where? Who's going
to be your right hand? Am I going to be this? Can I
be your captain of this? Can I do this? And they were
doing what we do in the flesh. What are our natural abilities?
What is in it for me? Where am I going to sit, Lord?
And then our Lord, in verse 3, He said, Verily I say unto you,
except ye be converted and become as little children, ye shall
not enter into the kingdom of heaven. As children, we are dependent
upon our fathers and mothers to guide us, to protect us, to
feed us. And as children of God, we seek His will in everything
that we do. Lord, what shall I do here today?
What shall I do in this situation? How would you have me do this? Father, guide me. All the way
my Savior leads me is what we sing, isn't it? We seek the protection
of our parents. We seek the provisions of our
parents. How many of us as children really worried about where our
next meal was coming from? I don't know about you folks,
but my parents weren't that rich. My parents were pretty poor at
one time. We all lived, five of us and
my mom and dad, in a little small trailer. And there were times
where we ate beans and liver quite often. They say if some guy on the radio who's teaching
people how to get out of debt Beans and liver. Beans and liver.
Don't be going out to McDonald's. Beans and liver. Six months of
beans and liver. Get out of debt. Well, mom and
dad didn't have to do that to get out of debt. They didn't
have any money to get in debt for. Back in those days, they didn't
have much borrowing going on. But my brothers and sisters and
I never worried. I can never remember a single
time when I was a child when I didn't think that dinner would
be on the table. My parents took care of me. They provided for
me. That's how we look to our Lord
and Savior. We look to Him for the same thing. He takes care
of us. He gave His only begotten Son for our sakes. How shall
He not give us everything else? How often in the past recent
weeks have we looked at Scriptures and we thought to ourselves,
our Lord gave us a country. Think about that. He raised up
the United States so that you and I would be born right here
and enjoy the showers that we have every morning, which have
been kind of infrequent lately. You're not laughing because you
weren't out of power. But you understand what I'm trying
to say, though? We have to be as children. Children
look at things in the most simplest way. It's so simple to see, Dad! I'm not talking about the Lord,
I'm talking about my father, my dad. Dad, you're going to
take care of me. I've got nothing to worry about
that. I'm going to go outside and play. We see our Lord the same way.
Lord, you're going to take care of me no matter what is going
on in this world around us. And the best way to take care
of me, Father, is to take me out of that world and take me
home to be next to You. Isn't that right? We also looked
at how we who are children of the Most High are to treat other
children of the Most High, in verses 5 and 6, where it reads,
and whoso shall receive one such child in my name receiveth me.
But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe
in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged
about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.
And then thirdly, we looked at the way God's sheep are to be
cared for. It says in verse 11, For the Son of Man has come to
save that which was lost. How think ye, if a man have a
hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave
the ninety-nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that
which gone astray? And if so be that he find it,
verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep than the ninety-nine
which were not astray. Even so, it is not the will of
your Father which is in heaven that one of these little ones
should perish. How should the sheep of God be
taken care of? Fully. Fully. Nothing lacking. Oh, we may think
we're lacking some things of this world, but man, we have
everything in our Lord and Savior. And we're going to have it for
eternity. For our Lord says He shall lose nothing. Oh, what
it is to be cared for by our Great Shepherd. Today we take
a look at the fourth of the five lessons that we see in Matthew
18. And this instructional message
our Lord is giving to His disciples is in verses 15 through 20. Matthew
chapter 18, verses 15 through 20. Moreover, if thy brother
shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between
thee and him alone. if he shall hear thee that thou
hast gained thy brother. But if he will not hear thee,
then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two
or three witnesses every word may be established. And if he
shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church. But if he
neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen
man and a publican. Verily, I say unto you, whatsoever
you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever
you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again, I
say unto you, that if two of you shall agree on earth as touching
anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them as
my Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered
in my name, there I am in the midst of them." Now, I'm going
to be upfront and honest with you folks. This is some pretty
deep instructions that our Lord has given here. I'm going to
read for you what our pastor and dear friend Don Fortner has
written about this because I can't find any better way of saying
it. One of the things we want to keep in mind as we go through
and look at God's instructions on godly living We must remember that we too
are in the flesh. And there's no way that we're
going to be able to do what the Lord wants us to do in these
instructions perfectly, but we have one who has done it perfectly
for us. Our Lord has never missed an
eye, the dot of an eye. He never missed the cross of
a T. Everything was done perfectly
for us. When we stand before God, we're
not going to stand in what we are in the flesh. God help us
to do the right things. God help us to walk the right
walk. Lord, all the way, my Savior leads me. But never, ever, ever start looking
at that flesh and thinking, oh, look at me now, I'm getting a
little better than I was before. Because we'll never be any better
than we are right now. And that's in our Lord and Savior,
Jesus Christ. So as we go into this fourth
lesson, I begin by reading what Don Fortner wrote. In this passage,
he says, our Lord and Savior anticipates two things. First,
he anticipates the fact that differences will arise among
his disciples, causing a fence between them. I can picture it. I can picture the men sitting
around going, I should be on the right seat. Look what I did
for the Lord back there. I should be the one who sits
on the right seat. You shouldn't be there. You forgot the money. I can see
the men doing these very things causing offenses. One of our biggest weaknesses in the
flesh is that we tend to put people up on a pedestal. And some of you know what I'm
talking about. Men and women of this own congregation put
Pastor Gene on a pedestal of perfection and totally forget
that he was nothing more than a man who was saved by the grace
of God. And therefore, they took offenses
to certain things. That was the first big split
of the church. And it wasn't even Gene who did anything. It
was his son. Over 100 people left the church that day. Because they thought this man
who stood before them should be more than what he was, but
a man. It's a sad fact, but a fact nonetheless
that God's people in this world are sinners still. We love one
another, but those who are object of our most ardent love are the
very people that we are most apt to offend. The offenses are excuseless,
and we ought to exercise great care not to offend, but we do. Offense, we do. What husband,
what wife, what son or daughter has not wept bitterly after needlessly
offending one of the family that they dearly love? Paul and Barnabas
are examples of that. They were both brethren, very
faithful servants of God, but they had a falling out over John
Mark. Yes, God's people, true believers, often trespass one
against the other. Secondly, our Lord is pointing
out, the Savior anticipates a gathering of his saints at local congregations.
And at the present time, they are assembled in synagogues and
in the temple. But that would soon cease to
be. Shortly after the resurrection, local churches were formed in
visible societies of baptized believers. Our Savior had already
spoken of a building his church in his commendation of the Peter's
Confession in Matthew 16, 18. So the disciples were already
familiar with the term. The things our Lord teaches in
this passage are not instructions about Jewish synagogues, but
instructions about local churches. Particularly, he is giving us
instruction about the matter of church discipline. John Gill
asserts it this way correctly, that these words are spoken not
to the apostles as such as, but as believers in Christ. And they
concern everyone that stands in the relation of a brother
or a church member to each other. In the passage of scripture,
our Savior gives us a direct command for the discipline of
his house, and he lays down a general guidelines that are to be followed. Now, Faulkner stops for a moment
from the scripture, and he gives us a caution. He says, men are
very prone to the extremes. Boy, is that the truth. Look
at our government, and that'll tell you, won't it? So a word
of caution he gives us is in order. Church discipline is not
a prominent issue in the New Testament. In fact, it's rarely
mentioned. And the only place in the New
Testament in which fairly fully instructions about it are given
is right here in Matthew 18. Yet men commonly run to one of
two extremes regarding this matter. Some ignore the matter altogether,
and others go to great lengths to write out rules and regulations
of discipline that far exceed the teachings of the New Testament.
And then they go about enforcing them rigorously. Fortner says,
personally, I am far more concerned about getting sinners converted
into the kingdom of God than I am about getting sinners out
of it. Throughout this chapter, our
Savior tells us to love one another. He tells us that we must always
deal with our brethren in kindness. showing tenderness and affection.
That's what our Lord did to the apostles. He didn't beat them
over the head for what they were doing. No. He took them with love and began
to instruct them, because that's what He does. He loves us. All believers are members of
Christ's body. brothers and sisters of Jesus and of one another in
Christ. In Christ we are all one, as
it says in 1 Corinthians. Robert Hawker wrote this. He
said, to the little infirmities, which from the remains of indwelling
corruption may and will occasionally break out, how precious is the
direction of Jesus. Oh, that it were more generally
adopted in the church of Christ. And what an unanswerable argument
doth the Lord here leave upon record for the constant meeting
together of this whole body, both in private and in public
ordinances. So let's look at what our Lord
gives us as guidelines, shall we? First, our Savior gives us
a word of instruction about the church discipline, and then He
lays down specific guidelines that are followed in Matthew
15-18. Read that once again with me.
Moreover, if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and
tell him his fault between thee and him alone. If he shall hear
thee, thou hast gained thy brother. But if he will not hear thee,
then take with thee one or two more. that in the mouth of two
or three witnesses every word may be established. And if he
shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church. But
if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as a heathen
man and a publican. Verily I say unto you, whatsoever
you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever
you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Now, Fortner
writes with that, without question, there are many difficulties surrounding
the whole issue of church discipline. He says, I know that I'm not
going to settle these difficulties in one study. In fact, that is
not my intention at all. I only want to show you which
is obvious in this passage. And that's what pastors do. What
are the obvious things that the Lord is showing us in this very
passage right here? I will say no more, he says,
than the text says, and no less. But I must show you what is taught
in this passage of Scripture. In these verses, our Lord Jesus
gives us three admirable, simple rules for the healing of differences
between brethren. And the rules are accompanied
with a blessed promise. Sinners in this world, though
washed in the blood of Christ and sanctified by his spirit,
are sure to offend one another time to time. And the offenses
spoken of in our text are not petty gripes. They're not personality
clashes and silly spats about which it is utterly ridiculous
and totally unchristian for grown men and women to be divided by.
No, these offenses spoken here are radical. And if they are
left unsettled, they can be destructive. All matters of insignificance
are to be treated as such, as insignificant. Why bother with
it? It's just a petty little thing.
Let's walk away and leave it alone. But because our Lord does
not name the offenses, we must look elsewhere in the New Testament
where discipline was practiced or exercised to see what disciplinary
offenses are. The disciplinary offenses set
forth in the New Testament may be summarized in four groups.
Financial and business offenses, 1 Corinthians 6, 1 through 8. If you'd like that list afterwards,
I'll be happy to give that to you. Secondly, divisive, in other
words, bickering type offenses. You can read about those in 1
Corinthians 3, Ephesians 4, and Ephesians 5. Thirdly, clearly
established, publicly known moral offenses. The incestuous man,
we can read about in 1 Corinthians 5, 1 through 5. And then lastly,
the heretical doctrine offenses, those that are heretical towards
the doctrine of Jesus Christ and Him crucified. We can read
about those in 1 Timothy 1, 2 Timothy 2, and Titus 3. Fortner goes on, he says, these
are issues that must be dealt with because they are things
that endanger the welfare of the church, the whole church.
Things that harm the family of God and they bring reproach upon
the cause of Christ. Sometimes in our household, a
father who loves his family is forced by a rebel son to put
the son out of the house. A loving father would never do
so because he is embarrassed by his son's behavior or personally
shamed by it. But when the rebel son's behavior
endangers the welfare of the family, a loving father is forced
to put him out of the house. I understand those words very,
very well. In the transition between what
I call my father, the man who gave seed to bring me into this
world, and my dad, I was a very rebellious man, young man, in
my teens. And my parents had to put me
out of the house. And they did so because it was endangering
the whole family. I understand what Fortner is
writing here about that. Many a times, my dad was ashamed
of me. But there came a point when John
had to be put out. That's what Fortner is talking
about here. He does not disown his son. Dad
didn't disown me. or cease to love his son, and
he will receive his son back into his home with open arms
and joyful heart at any time if the son's behavior changes. But he cannot allow one child
that he dearly loves to endanger the well-being of the whole family,
and so it is with the family of God. The steps to be taken in discipline
are clearly established that those who have offended may be
most easily won with the least public scandal. The object is
to win your brother, not to punish him. To reproach him, not to
destroy him. Therefore, every effort must
be made to correct the erring brother. All matters of offense
are to be handled as privately as possible, making every effort
to avoid humiliation and embarrassment. Not my humiliation, but a humiliation
of the one who's doing the offense. We want our brothers and sisters
to come back. That's how people who love each
other act. How many of us that have been
married have been offended in whatever small way by those that
we love. Did we put them out over that,
into little things? No. Learn this well, young couple. Young married couple, seven days
now. Learn this well. We love each other as Christ
loved us. Have you ever stopped to think how
much He forgives us? Oh, folks, I'm telling you every
day, I have to think about that every moment. I have to think
about how much my Lord forgives me. And when I put that before
me, it makes it so much easier to
turn towards those that I love and say, I forgive you, brethren.
Come home. Come be with me. As a last resort, our Lord says,
tell it unto the church, and that does not necessitate a public
hearing. Faulkner says, I cannot imagine
anything more contrary to the whole New Testament than having
a public trial, parading an offensiary member around in front of the
rest. He says, and these words, tell it unto the church, forbid
discipline by a church council. It says, tell it unto the church,
not hang them. Discipline is a matter of a local
church, and it is to be handled by the appointed pastors and
elders of that local assembly. The reason I stand before you
today is because Action was taken against people
of our own congregation that should not have been taken without
counsel. God helped me to have men like
my dear brother Mike Loveless as an elder, my dear brother
Bill Silva, and the deacons of this church to guide me in any
kind of steps that I might have to take in those things. But
I guarantee you, I won't do anything until I've talked to these men
first. That's why we come one or two or more together. Making
decisions like that of one's own, you're making decisions
outside of the will of God, outside of what God has instructed us
to do. What a blessing, Brother Mike, that you accepted the position
as elder of this congregation. What wisdom our Lord has put
in the men that run this church, that lead the decisions of this
church. Discipline is a matter of each
local church. We're not going to go to Marysville
and say, you guys have to do this because something's going
on in your church. That's not our business. That's their business. The promise of Matthew 8.18 must
be understood properly, where it says, Verily I say unto you,
whatsoever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven,
and whatsoever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
Fortner points out that this does not mean that men can bend
the will of God to their own will, but that God has clearly
revealed principle to which the church must conform to. The text would actually be better
translated this way, it says, whatsoever you shall bind on
earth shall have been bound in heaven, etc., etc. Or in other
words, when the Church of God follows Christ's instructions
in these matters, it conforms in its decision to that God which
has already done it. This kind of discipline may be
laughed at or ignored by the men of this world. But it is
done with God's authority and God's approval, as we see in
His words. I remind us once again. We're
going to make mistakes. These men who advise me are just
men, as I am just a man. And even the best that we can
do comes up short. But that's all right. We're going
to do it the best we can, the way the Lord has led us to do
it. And if it be His will for us
to step on our own stuff for a moment or two, then it be His
will. And it'll be for our good. Because as we read in Romans
8.28, all things, all things are for our good. And that means
all things. There's no some of all that and
some of all that. It's all things. All things are
for our good. Would you stand with me, please?