Christ In the Midst

Q: What does the Bible say about resolving conflicts in the church?

The Bible teaches to confront someone privately first, and if unresolved, to involve one or two witnesses, emphasizing unity and peace within the church. The process of resolving conflicts in the church, as outlined in Matthew 18:15-20, begins with a private conversation. If the individual does not respond, the next step is to take one or two unbiased witnesses to establish the matter. This approach ensures that every detail is considered, fostering transparency and unity within the Christian community. The goal is to restore fellowship, for maintaining the unity of the Spirit is vital for effective worship as a body of Christ. The church must seek peace and reconciliation, adhering to the principle that if conflict persists, it must be addressed seriously to prevent misunderstandings and divisiveness.

Q: Why is forgiveness important for Christians?

Forgiveness reflects God's character and is essential for maintaining relationships within the church. Forgiveness is crucial for Christians as it mirrors the mercy that God extends to us. In Matthew 18:21-35, Jesus emphasizes that forgiveness should have no limits, just as our Lord forgives us innumerable times. The act of forgiving is not merely a legal requirement; it reveals the transformative work of Christ in our hearts. A Christian who has experienced God's boundless grace is compelled to extend that grace to others. This mirrors the reality that our own forgiveness hinges on our ability to grant forgiveness, highlighting the spiritual interconnectedness of believers. The message is clear: to nurture healthy relationships and preserve church unity, Christians must wholeheartedly practice forgiveness.

Q: How do we know that God's mercy has no limits?

Scripture confirms God's mercy is infinite, as He extends grace freely to all who come to Him. The concept that God's mercy knows no bounds is a foundational principle in Reformed theology. In Romans 5:8, we see that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us, demonstrating the depth of His mercy. God's willingness to forgive is further illustrated through parables such as the unforgiving servant in Matthew 18:21-35, where the vast debt forgiven serves as a reminder of our own debts and our call to emulate that mercy. This boundless mercy reflects the nature of God, who loves unconditionally and desires all to come to repentance. When we acknowledge the extent of our own sinfulness, we recognize the gift of His grace, understanding that our forgiveness is a reflection of His limitless mercy.

Q: Why should Christians strive for unity in the church?

Unity in the church enhances worship and reflects the body of Christ’s identity. Striving for unity within the church is of paramount importance as it directly influences worship and the testimony of the body of Christ. Ephesians 4:3 instructs believers to endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. This unity is essential for effective worship, as discord can hinder collective worship and create misunderstandings about the integrity of the church. When believers work toward unity, they reflect the relational aspect of God, who desires His people to live in harmony. Through acts of love, forgiveness, and reconciliation, Christians fortify their witness to the world, demonstrating the transformative power of Christ within their communal life.

Back in chapter 18, verses 15 through 20, let's look particularly at verse 16. 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. Now, that's a principle taught throughout Scripture. that there be two or three witnesses. And this is, according to the teaching of Scripture elsewhere and in the context, this is two or three other brothers and sisters in Christ.

No one else would really have any say in this matter. But if you confront somebody, and really confront is not a good word, just go to them, it says, go to them. and talk about it. If it makes them mad or if they're unapologetic about it or they just flat out disagree that it's a problem at all, for whatever reason they will not hear you, then it's time to bring in some witnesses. And again, there's a right way and a wrong way to do this.

They should be unbiased witnesses. They shouldn't be just your buddies. Don't bring a couple of your buddies to gang up on them. They just have to agree with you just because it's you. That's just common sense, but that's clearly intimated here. Don't set up an ambush. That's not what it's talking about.

Get somebody whose opinion and point of view will be or should be respected by that person that you're confronting. Try that. Let every word be established, not just my side of the story, not just their side of the story. Every word be established with two or three witnesses, not just your side, not just their side, but every detail. And that'll help now. It's, we have not only ways of interpreting things, but we have our own interests that influence our way of seeing things.

And those two may, may conflict. If it wasn't just the way that you perceived the matter, but in reality, a problem. then it should be made evident when there are you, him, her, and two or three witnesses involved. And that still may not work. That still may not work. But usually, it won't even get that far. If you speak to your brother, just you and him, you and her, about something, And remember, it doesn't even get to the point of speaking to them about it, unless you're going to lose them over it.

Now, the next step is to let everybody know about it so that there can be no misunderstanding. At that point, everybody knows something about it anyway, right? Anybody doubt that for a second? You're probably going to have a misunderstanding about it by then. You're going to know something about it, and it ain't going to be accurate. So it kind of just makes sense to do that regardless of the fact that it's effective to do it. And it's clear it shouldn't be done unless it's absolutely necessary. Two other attempts are made first.

And if it's still an ongoing problem that's affecting the worship, we worship as a family. We worship as the body of Christ. And if fellowship is lost, then worship is affected. If it's important enough that the assembly needs to know about it, as it's said here, then, as I said, likely many of them will already know something's going on. And you'll be mostly just clearing up rumors at that point, as well as just making the clear situation known.

But notice the purpose is that the church might convince him of the problem. It says, if he neglect to hear the church, in other words, if he neglect to hear you, then you bring witnesses that are also aware of the problem, but aren't just agreeing with you because you're you. And if he won't hear them, because maybe it's just a personal, he may think, well, he's just doing, he's just confronting me because he doesn't like me. Well, that's why you bring the two or three. And then if he still won't hear it, then.

And the lesson in all of this is that fellowship in the church unity. You know, Paul taught endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, endeavor. Make that a matter of something that you work on, something that you're determined to accomplish. The unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, that's a precious thing. And that's what this whole text is about.

You're wanting to gain, you're wanting them to hear you and repent of it But let me point out something here next that's important to this too. In verse 21, Peter asked the Lord, how oft shall I forgive my brother? That question clearly is related to the, if they do hear you or seem to And they do repent, and they do ask for forgiveness, but it just keeps happening. And they're constantly having to ask for forgiveness. They're constantly repenting over and over and over again. How long do we put up with that?

Our Lord's answer makes it clear that forgiveness has no bounds. His forgiveness has no bounds, and neither should ours. We make a lot of mistakes. Our Lord's answer here makes that clear, and His character is magnified here in this, isn't it? Because how many sins has the Lord forgiven you of?

Do you think it's even possible to figure that one out? No way. No way could you ever calculate it. So why would you sit there and put a limit on your brother or sister, when thinking, boy, I'm getting tired of forgiving this person. They're just a walking mistake. There's a time for cutting off, and there's a time for forgiveness.

And the Lord gives us clear direction again in this now, and there'll just have to be the Spirit of Christ in us in order to operate correctly in these different situations, because every possible situation can't be recorded here. These principles that our Lord taught are to be applied to every situation. And maybe you're thinking, maybe this is another question that comes to mind. If we're just to forgive without limitation, then when would we ever cut anybody off? When would we ever treat someone as a publican, as an enemy?

In other words, what's the difference in the scenario in verses 15 through 17, and the parable that our Lord told Peter to answer Peter's question, which we'll read in a moment. Well, let's read that parable again. Let's read it now. Let's see, where are we at? We're in verse 21. Then came Peter to him and said, Lord, how off shall my brother sin against me?

And I forgive him till seven times. Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee until seven times, but until 70 times seven. And of course that doesn't mean that, was that 490 times? That doesn't mean the 491st time. He's clearly just saying there's no limit to it. There's no limit to it. Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened to a certain king which would take account of his servants. Now you think about how this parable, this is a a living example of what our Lord is teaching here.

Now, not a true story necessarily, although this story plays out, doesn't it? This story plays out in many, many different life experiences of many different people. Everybody wants forgiveness, and everybody loves the idea of forgiveness, until there's actually something to forgive. And then it's real tough, isn't it? It's real tough.

And the Lord reaches into the heart in this parable here, which would take account of his servants like into a certain king, which would take account of his servants. And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought into him, which owed him 10,000 talents. But for as much as he had not to pay, his Lord commanded him to be sold and his wife and children. and all that he had in payment to be made. The servant therefore fell down and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. Now notice something about this. Does it sound harsh that he would be sold, and his wife and his children, and this man paid back for the revenue gained in that sale?

He's already a slave, what the scriptures call a slave, a servant. He's already a servant. He just go to be somebody else's servant. So what's clearly implied here? He don't want to be somebody else's servant. You remember the story of the bond servant? When they were by law, the servants were supposed to be set free, and this servant says, I don't want to be free. I love my master. and I love my family." Well, that's clearly the same story here, the same situation.

Lord, Lord, have patience with me. Have patience. You see the difference in somebody that refuses to even accept the idea that maybe when you two or three other brethren, and then the whole church is saying, this is a problem. This has got to be dealt with. And they still won't hear. You see the difference between that and somebody saying, Lord, have patience with me. I'll make it right. I'll make it right. That's a big difference.

See, we're talking about the heart of the one who is offended and the heart of the one who has offended. The only way this works out good is if they both have the heart of Christ. If the servant that offended has the heart of Christ, but the offended one doesn't, he's just going to say, give it, or I'm going to get it another way. Give it up. And we see that later in this parable. But he doesn't have that heart. Look at it.

Lord have patience with me and I will pay thee all. Then the Lord of that servant was moved with compassion. It wasn't just about the money to him. He cared about the man. He loved the man. And clearly the servant loved his Lord. I don't want to be a servant to somebody else. Be patient with me. and loosed him and forgave him the debt. Now listen to that. He didn't just give him more time. The man asked, Lord, be patient. I'll try to make it up.

The Lord knows we can't pay anything. We never have been able to do anything for the Lord. We can't do anything for the Lord now, and we ain't fixing to do something for the Lord. He don't need us. He don't need us. What are we going to do for Him? He does everything for us. He's the great giver. He's the merciful one. And the man asked for more time, and the Lord of the master said, don't worry about it. You don't owe me anything. Is that how you were saved? Lord, you're working under the bondage of the idea that, boy, I can do better. I can do better. My good will outweigh my bad. I'll be a good Christian."

No, you won't. There's no such thing as a good Christian. Christians in the true sense of the word are not good people. There are no good Christians. They're Christians because they're bad. They've flown to Christ, they've fled to Christ, they've ran to Christ for forgiveness and mercy and for righteousness because they're evil. A good Christian is a contradiction of terms.

But that's where we start, Lord, I'll be good. I'll make it up. How are you going to make up murdering God's son? What are you going to do to make up for that? Your only hope is if your master loves you enough to say, your debt is gone. Slate is wiped clean. That's what he said. That's what he said. But this man here, let's read on.

But for as much as he had not to pay, and let's see, the Lord, yeah, told him to be so. The servant therefore fell down and worshiped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me and I will pay thee all. Then the Lord of that servant was moved with compassion and loosed him and forgave him the debt, but the same servant went out. This is in the case of the Lord's mercy is extended to an unbeliever.

And look, we know that God is sovereign. We know that he's God. We know that he saved his people from the beginning. His mercy has no beginning or end. He loved us in Christ before the foundation of the world. It's just the clear doctrine of scripture. But the mercy of God is extended to all men. It's extended. He gave even the whore of Babylon space to repent. The problem is not that the mercy of God is limited with us. The problem is we don't give a hoot about the mercy of God. We got no use for Him or His mercy. The only thing we hate worse than God's law by nature is His grace. We got no use for it.

In that case, look what happened. But the same servant went out and found one of his fellow servants which owed him an hundred pence, and he laid hands on him, owed him much less, he owed him hardly nothing, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou ow'st. A much different heart than his master had, a much different heart.

And his fellow servant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. And he would not, but went and cast him into prison, until he should pay the debt. So when his fellow servants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done. Then his lord, after that he had called him, and he said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desirest me. Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellow servant, even as I have pity on thee? You see what the Lord's teaching Simon Peter here?

How many times are you going to forgive somebody? That says, have mercy on me. Forgive me. Forgive me. Have patience with me. belong suffering with me. Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellow servant, even as I had pity on thee? And his Lord was wroth and delivered him to the tormentors, so he should pay all that was due unto him. So likewise shall my Heavenly Father do also unto you, if you from your hearts.

See what the issue is? It's not a question of the law. It's a question of the heart. Those who have been forgiven by the Son of God, all of their sins, and stand before the holy God of heaven and earth, righteous in the Lord Jesus Christ. You know what he also did for them? He gave them a heart of compassion. He gave them a tender heart.

The fruit of the Spirit is long-suffering. It's long-suffering. And if that's not there, if you don't from your hearts, if that's not your heart, if the Lord didn't give you a new heart, if you forgive not everyone, his brother, their trespasses, there's no limit to it. There's no limit to it.

It's pretty clear message, isn't it? You think Simon understood that? I guarantee you, eventually he did. We don't ever understand anything right when we hear it, do we? We're like, what? It's good. I think I understand that. But when you're really going to understand it is when you experience it.

Again, it's all nice and warm and fuzzy to talk about forgiveness. Oh, we ought to be forgiving. Wait till you have something. that really, really needs to be forgiven. It's a different story then, unless God's given you a new heart of compassion and longsuffering and mercy. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. May God give us that heart more and more. Maybe we're already believers.

But may we bear that fruit of the Spirit to His glory all the time without limit. When there's a problem that's going to affect the worship of God, it's got to be dealt with. It's got to be dealt with in the right way. It's got to be dealt with with the purpose of gaining your brother. When it comes time to show mercy, there's no limit to that. Because there's no limit to the mercy of God. The psalmist said, thy mercies are new every morning. And we've found it to be so, have we not? Amen.

Christ In the Midst

Key Quotes

What does the Bible say about resolving conflicts in the church?

Why is forgiveness important for Christians?

How do we know that God's mercy has no limits?

Why should Christians strive for unity in the church?

Sermon Transcript

About Chris Cunningham

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Christ In the Midst

Key Quotes

What does the Bible say about resolving conflicts in the church?

Why is forgiveness important for Christians?

How do we know that God's mercy has no limits?

Why should Christians strive for unity in the church?

Sermon Transcript

About Chris Cunningham

Comments

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