There is a tremendous lack of integrity in the church today, regardless of the denomination, pastor after pastor, is being brought up on accusations of sexual misconduct and charged with immoral behavior. Somehow, preaching became separated from living, I find it to be a devastating disgrace. Sin within the church must be denounced. I recall a conversation with one pastor who said, "You can't do that in our society, going around telling people they are sinning. You'll empty the pews and the collection plate!" Another pastor said to me, "I do not know of one single church that does that. You just can’t go around sticking your nose in everybody’s business, they won't stand for it!" How can any pastor say that when the Bible speaks so clearly about sin? We cannot be indifferent to what God says in His Word.
I believe it was Jonathan Edwards who said, "If you tolerate visible wickedness in your members, you will greatly dishonor God, our Lord Jesus Christ, the religion which you profess, the church in general, and yourselves in particular. As those members of the church who practice wickedness bring dishonor upon the whole body, so do those who tolerate them in it."
Look at the story about Ananias and Sapphira in Acts chapter 5. Their sin had nothing to do with giving, their sin was lying to the Holy Spirit. God killed them on the spot, they dropped dead in front of the whole church. I'm sure nobody wanted to join the church after that! If God were to do that today, that would sure shape a congregation up fast, wouldn't it? God hasn’t changed His attitude toward sin, He takes sin very seriously. He has put the authority of church discipline in the hands of godly men who lead the church. Therefore, we must confront sin.
We know that no one who is born of God sins; but He who was born of God keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him. We know that we are of God, and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one." God, through Christ, calls His people to purity.
As I read much of the headlines in the news reported today, I can't help feeling that much of it is being taken out of context. It is not uncommon in our society to take things out of context and share them as facts. I have to believe that most people, being gullible, do this unintentionally. As a pastor, I often hear even the most faithful Christians, quote the Bible out of context. If we are to correctly interpret and apply Scripture to our lives, it's important to understand what Scripture actually says, not what we think it says.
In a recent conversation with a pastor, wanting to justify his loose interpretation of the Word of God, said he believed that Paul engaged in homosexual pagan orgies, quoting Paul in 1 Corinthians 9 out of context, "For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I may win more. To the Jews I became as a Jew, so that I might win Jews; to those who are under the Law, as under the Law though not being myself under the Law, so that I might win those who are under the Law; to those who are without law, as without law, though not being without the law of God but under the law of Christ, so that I might win those who are without law. To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak; I have become all things to all men, so that I may by all means save some. I do all things for the sake of the gospel, so that I may become a fellow partaker of it."
This passage where he says "I have become all things to all men, so that I may by all means save some," is misinterpreted more often than not, which I believe leads to some unintended consequences. Therefore, confusion persists! Paul is speaking about becoming part of the communities that he is serving. Paul knew their cultures and their needs and their way of life. He did this in order that he might have a bridge to preach the gospel to them. To suggest that he engaged in sinful practices as he ministered to them in order to bring them to Christ is absurd. This is where we must make every effort to know and understand what Scripture is saying, rather than taking something out of context and make wise decisions as to how we ought to behave.
One of the objectives of the church is to be committed to holiness, righteousness and purity. The loose interpretation of Scripture by well-meaning pastors is what has turned our society on its head. To affirm sin in the name of loving, accepting, and embracing people and abandon our commitment to holiness is the absolute antithesis of everything that Scripture teaches. To manipulate and distort the Word of God to say something it clearly does not say in order to bring more people into the church, to advance the gospel, the kingdom of God under false pretenses is to fail the Lord Jesus Christ! Dealing with sin within the church is monumental, God has called me to be an instrument by which He can do His work, I am far more concerned about offending God than offending anyone in the church. My calling is not to make people feel better about their sin, but to honor the Lord Jesus Christ by teaching the Truth. If there is anything that I've learned to be true, is that there is just no place for sin in the church. My undying commitment is to the Truth of Scripture. I believe that’s the only way for a true Christian to live.
In Colossians 3 Paul says, "Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory."
The way we learn to obey God is to experience the consequences of disobedience. Sinning Christians need to be confronted and corrected and restored. So it is the work of the Word of God to purify the church by confronting sin and leading them to the path to restoration. As under-shepherds of the Great Shepherd, as leaders of Christ's Church, this has to be our work. To preach anything other than the Truth, is destructive to the church and damning to the people of God.
"Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven. For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst."
Let me begin by saying, we need to stop being so easily offended. This passage is not talking about someone who was rude to you when you said hello to them, sat in your favorite seat in the pew or took your parking space at church. If I spent my time confronting and correcting every minor offense ever committed against me, I would never have any time to study the Word or write a sermon. One of the issues in the church, is we want talk to everyone else in the world what someone has done to offend us except the person whom we feel committed the offense. I believe that if we handled this correctly, most of these issues in the church would be alleviated. Many times, this simple act of love and care will bring someone to repentance. That said, genuine acts of sin must be confronted and dealt with, this is necessary for the glory of God.
I've learned that many church leaders aren’t committed to everything the Word of God says, in fact, some even deny it's validity. I believe the Word of God must not be tampered with or restrained, it must be preached with the power and authority of Scripture, in accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus.
Let's look at verse 15, "If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother." It is implied that Christians are not to go around talking about it to other people, even those within the church. I've often heard people say "Did you hear what so and so did?" Allow me to point out, that in itself is a sin! That's is not in accordance with Scripture. All sin is a defilement, by personally involving yourself, you defile your relationship with other believers, because we are one in the body of Christ. You can’t win someone back if you're going around talking about them behind their back to others, which is the purpose of this confrontation, to gain your brother. Church discipline is not to just throw people out of the church, that's not the purpose, it's to keep the church pure. Ideally, this is dealt with one-on-one, but if that doesn’t work, you have to move on to step two, widening the circle.
Verse 16, "But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every fact may be confirmed." This should done with love, care, and humility. The idea here, is not to intimidate or interrogate someone, again, the purpose is to confront them in order to restore them, to gain back one who is lost. That’s what you’re looking for. The idea here is that a sinning brother being a loss to the fellowship, and when they are restored, it is like wealth regained. Because each member in the fellowship is valuable to the body of Christ as a whole, we don't just abandon them. We go after them.
I've actually had someone say to me, "How can you say that? Do you even know what they did to me?" No, I do not, but I do know they have value because the Holy Spirit dwells in them. That's why if a sinning brother doesn't come back after being confronted one-on-one, you take two or three with you to try to get him back, because he's that valuable. Every believer has a gift, and is an instrument by which God can do His work in the church. Sometimes, we are challenged to set our personal feelings aside in a situation and do what's best for the church. It is a great tragedy when individual believers set themselves up as being more important than the church. If you are not willing to confront someone’s sin, obviously you don't see them as God sees them, as having value to the church. You should value them just as you value your own children. I should hope that none of you would abandon your children when they fall into sin!
In John 13 and 1 John chapters 2, 3, 4 and 5, believers are referred to as "little children." Children need guidance and protection and sometimes, they need correction, that's not too difficult for us to grasp. Discipline must be driven by love. Church discipline can wake someone up and drive them to repentance.
If you are a genuine believer in Jesus Christ, the Word of God lights our path from out of the darkness. Psalms 119:105 says "Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path."
However, sometimes a person who is in sin is unwilling to repent, clinging to their sin, at this point we must seek to restore them by whatever means necessary, and make them feel the pain of their own sinfulness. That brings us to the third step in the discipline process.
Verse 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." This is so that the person will know that sin is serious. We must let them know it's because they’re so priceless, so valuable to God. To let them know that they are so loved by Christ, He is concerned that they have drifted into sin. This should not be seen as a bad thing, it's a very good thing. The goal is to restore him. What a beautiful picture of love because they have so much value. The word restore, is the Greek verb "katartízō," which means to bring into its proper condition, to repair. It’s actually a medical term used of resetting fractures.
Listen, every one of us understands what it is to be tempted, to fall into sin. Therefore, this must be dome with the same love and compassion, gentleness and tenderness, patience and understanding, and mercy that we have ourselves received from Jesus Christ. He is our model for this, that is the pattern of restoration we are to follow. We're doing God’s work, that's why this is so important.
If the person doesn’t respond to you, even after you get a couple of church members to go back and confront again, even after you tell the whole church this person is following in a pattern of sin, if you really care about this person, you will want to do everything you possibly can to restore them. We’re called to love one another without any restraint or boundary. You have to go to the extreme, treat them like total unbeliever, an outcast. No longer accepting them into the fellowship, because the church has to protect its holiness.
In Matthew 16, Jesus warns three times to "Watch out and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees."
And Paul tells us in Galatians 5, "A little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough." Because sin will leaven the whole church, you can’t allow sinful influence to settle in comfortably in the church. They have to leave the church, even if might be the end of a relationship. They have to come to a decision about their sin, sin or the fellowship of the church. Hopefully, they will make the right decision and repent. When Paul confronted Peter, in Galatians 2, he did what was right for the sake of the church, and it didn't end their relationship.
If someone is going to live in such a way that shows they have not been changed by Jesus, we must treat them as someone who has not been changed by Jesus. Jesus calls us to this process in order to maintain a holy church. Never is the church more out of the will of God than when it affirms and tolerates sin in the church! You have to hold people responsible for their and rejoice with them when they repent.
Verse 18, "Truly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven." Binding and loosing, has to do with sin. When someone repents of their sin, their sin was loosed. If they refuse, they’re bound in their sins. In other words, we’re only saying on earth what heaven has already said. That's why we pray "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven."
That brings us to verses 19 and 20, "Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven. For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst." I often hear well meaning Christians quote this verse at prayer meetings, this has nothing to do with that, it has to do with church discipline. By the way, it only takes one for God to show up in prayer, not two or three. Jesus is saying He is with us in calling each other to holiness and repentance.
In Closing..
I know some of you don't really like this, but this is Jesus' teaching, not mine. I didn't just make this up, this is God's Word. If you've never read this, perhaps you didn’t know enough about the Word of God teaches. When you don't know God's Word, you are also in danger of sinning. Beloved, we must be concerned about restoring our brothers and sisters, we can't just let them go. If we love them, it should never be a question.
May it be so..
And now may the Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen