The Childlikeness of Believers: Confronting Sin

Some people have the idea of the church discipline is to throw people out of the church is not. It is to keep people in the church, pure.

This is our large priority concern for the church that the church dealing with sin within its own member are gathered together in my name, I am there in their midst.

Would it surprise you if I said when Jesus said that he wasn't talking about your church's prayer meetings or your small group Bible study. So then what is that first talking about can you even know for sure stay here with John MacArthur as he unpacks the profound and often missed meaning of that passage from Matthew 18.

John is continuing his study here on grace to you, titled, mishandled, setting the record straight on frequently abused versus as you'll see, getting to the accurate meaning of Scripture is within your reach. And with today's lesson. Here's John MacArthur. Matthew 18 beginning at verse 15 and if your brother sins, go and reprove him in private if he listens to you, you have won your brother, 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 and 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 gatherer. Truly I say to you whatever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. 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, there I am in the midst I had great difficulty with that passage of Scripture because I in my entire life had never experienced a church heard of the church that did that no church that I had ever been. Did that people confronting people about their sin. People taking two or three witnesses.

People telling the whole church about an impenitent sinning member. The only part of that scripture I ever heard quoted was the part about two or three being gathered together in my name and there my in the midst, and that was almost like a popular axiom to remind folks that when only a couple people showed up for prayer meeting God showed up to that was the universal exegesis of that verse. I didn't know any church that did this. I never heard of any church that did this and it consumed me in my thinking.

I read extensively on that subject, and I could find commentators and theologians who explained the text but I couldn't find anybody who actually applied it. So, in my naïveté in those days I I asked some pastors about that passage and if they ever applied it or ever implemented it or knew anybody that did to which I received universal no.

No one did it. No one knew anyone who did it, but I said this is the initial instruction to the church. This is where the word church shows up in Matthew 18. This is our large priority concern for the church that the church be dealing with sin within its own members.

If it is the first word of the Lord of the church to the church, then it is not something at the end of the list. It is at the beginning of the list with which makes it top priority. How is it that you can read it, understand it and not implemented.

I was told by men much older than myself and much wiser than myself that if I tried to do this at Grace Church if I tried to lead a church to do what it says in this passage I would empty the place.

I would empty place people wouldn't stand for that.

I was told.

Do you think you can have people in your church walk up to other people in your church and confront their sin without driving them away. You think you could possibly get a little group of people to go after a sinning believer without frightening everybody out and you certainly don't believe that you could announce someone and their sin to the whole congregation and anybody would show up the next week just can't do it and if you're concerned about church growth and if you're concerned about adding people to the church forget that, but I was reminded of the fifth chapter of acts and I want you look at the fifth chapter of acts. For a moment and it's a story about a man named Ananias and his wife's if Ira famous names.

They were in the church and they sold a piece of property, and kept back verse to some of the price.

Ananias did for himself with his wife's full knowledge. I didn't have to sell property body of the freedom to decide to sell the property so we decided to sell the property.

He had every right to keep whatever he wanted for himself that there is no mandate from God to sell your property, nor is there a mandate from God to give all of what you get for your property to the church so he was making choices but verse two says bringing a portion of it, he laid it at the apostles feet and Peter said Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back some of the price of the land while it remained unsold did not remain your own after it was sold, was it not under your control. Why is it that you have conceived this deed in your heart you have not lied to men but to God. What was the lie. Obviously this man had said, I am giving everything the Lord I'm giving everything I received out of this transaction to the church.

I'm bringing everything and laying it at the apostles feet for the work of of the gospel in the beginning of the church. He didn't have to sell it. Peter says and you didn't have to give it all and you didn't have to lie either you haven't lied to men you've lied to God and as he heard these words, Ananias fell down and breathed his last. Wow Rob Denton for the whole church who killed him godchildren and great fear came upon all who heard of it. Of course, that is a great way to keep people out of the church, don't go there. People die. You don't want to have anything to do with that organization.

People die in their research says the young men arose and covered them up after carrying amount they buried him Jews didn't embalm you died.

They buried now their lapsed an interval of about three hours and his wife came in, several things interesting about that church went on well over three hours.

This is a wondrous thing I'm living in the wrong era.

Second thing is why shows up three hours late and she's walking in their care, and her husband out.

Peter responded to her, and now we find out what they did tell me whether you sold the land for such a such a price. She said yes that was the price price was far more than that, of course, and they had kept a portion. Peter said to her, why is it that you have agreed together to put the spirit of the Lord to the test. Behold, the feet of those who have carried your husband are at the door, and they shall carry you out as well and she fell immediately at his feet and breathed her last in the young men came in and found her dead and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband, and great fear came upon the whole church and upon all who heard of these things was the Lord trying to do is he trying to prevent the church from growing. Why in the world with the first instruction given to the church. In Matthew 18 not be some kind of instruction that makes it a warm and fuzzy environment that people might like to come to. Why is it that at the very outset in the very first church in Jerusalem, the Lord does such a dramatic thing is execute two people who lied to him right if the church so that everybody knows you can die in that place that is not exactly putting out the welcome mat was grappling with these passages, but there is a very important verse that follows in chapter 5, verse 13. None of the rest dared to associate with them. However, the people held them in high esteem. One of the objectives of the church is to make the church's commitment to holiness so crystal clear that on their own people don't join. This is been turned on its head in our society and our brand of evangelicalism. One of the objectives of the church is to be so committed to holiness so committed to purity so committed the virtue so committed to righteousness, and that that is so clear and so obvious and so open that people who are not interested in that won't show up. This is the absolute opposite of the contemporary approach to hide our commitment to righteousness hide our commitment to holiness hide our commitment to virtue so that nobody will at all think we are the most loving and accepting open embracing people on the planet is the absolute opposite. So half how the world is a churchgoing row verse 14 and all the more believers in the Lord, multitudes of men and women were constantly added to their number so you want to church. Christie is the strategy. Here's the plan you would like a church when you like. Verse 14 would not be would not be the model church for the modern evangelical movement to be there. Verse all the more believers in the Lord, multitudes of men and women were constantly added to their number, how do you make that happen all have God kill a few people at the offering become vocally, verbally, visibly concerned about holiness be so righteous and so committed to obedience to the word of God that no one on his own will join and then will happen is Lord will add to the church and that's the way the church grows legitimately. The Lord adds to the church back to chapter 2 in verse 47 in the verse and the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved. The church is a group of people who have been what saved it is not a place that accommodates the unsaved is the place that looks like the most to be avoided. If you are unsaved. It is not place designed to make the un-saved feel welcome and feel comfortable. I had been in lots of churches and seeing lots of churches where they preached against sin and never seen one where the did anything about sin, it just seemed to me that you are undermining everything you said.

If people got the idea that you were good at preaching against sin, but in different to dealing with it. I was a very serious lack of integrity. The end result of that, we have to understand this passage. So let's take a look at chapter 18 in verse 15.

What's the context here what the context is the childlikeness of the believer. Remember were very likely we are in the city of Capernaum. In this particular section in the ministry of Jesus.

We well could be in the very home of Peter, Jesus has on his lap. A little child as an illustration he's talking about the childlikeness of the believer. The child is an illustration of childlikeness and he begins this wonderful wonderful presentation by saying will enter the kingdom like children, we all come in as children.

If you don't become a child can even enter the kingdom would come in humble and dependent, and without accomplishment and without achievement, etc. now that were in the kingdom. We remain as children, we need to be cared for as children we need to be protected as children with we need to be respected as children, all of that is in the opening 14 versus and now he turns to say and we need to be disciplined like children. That's not a stretch.

We all understand that Lord deliver me from a home with undisciplined children right wow got a lot of them these days and this is obvious. Children need to be disciplined when they do what is wrong. They need to be confronted and corrected and restored the word of God itself does that it is profitable for correction and instruction. Second Timothy 317 is profitable for a 1674 correction and instruction, for reproof. It is seven the word Jesus says the cuts, cleanses, purges, it is the word that washes so does the work of the word to purify the church by confronting sin and dealing with sin and showing the path of obedience and restoration is the work of the spirit spirit is none other than the spirit of holiness, who desires his church to be holy. That's why does his sanctifying work in us. This is the work of the word. This is the work of the Spirit of God.

And so it has to be our work. Paul says he desires to present to Christ. The church like a chaste virgin is not a surprise to us then that our Lord starts out by saying my concern in the church is the holiness and righteousness and purity and obedience of my people think this is the maybe the greatest grief that I haven't had a lot of briefs about the state of the church today but maybe the greatest grief is the on holiness of the church and its accommodation to the unsaved. In that situation. If you ever brought any of this into such churches. It would be destructive of that system, I might add to its ultimate benefit, but not likely to happen when spiritual leaders aren't committed to everything in the word of God. We have no choice.

This is the Lord's will for his church. And even if people started dropping dead in front of this pulpit on Sunday for lying to the Holy Spirit which was unique to the apostolic era.

But even if it happened, the Lord would not be restrained in his divine purpose and power to add to his church because that's his work see the illusion is that you and I can grow the church that we have the power to grow the church by our cleverness by our ingenuity by our style by our winsome this by our words but this is the plan simple. Let's see how it unfolds. By the way, just a footnote before we start, there is no higher court than the church and what we mean by the church is any duly constituted body of redeemed people.

The actual churches is not born until the day of Pentecost. Acts chapter 2. This is preliminary technically to the church but it is still in Iglesia, it is still called out ones assembled together under God as redeemed people in the instruction here is for any assembly of those people and looks forward.

Of course, to the church that this particular point, there were assembled believers together in Capernaum who would constitute the body of redeemed people with this kind of responsibility. Not long after this, of course, the church is born and this becomes the mandate for the churches life there is no higher court. There is no higher court. I say that because through history, there have been all kinds of authorities developed. The New Testament knows nothing of that. All it knows is a local church and assembly of believers who have been at Clay Sia Calero called out a saving efficacious salvation call they constitute a body of people who are responsible to pursue their own holiness. There may be times when a collection of ministers has to move in to a church and deal with it because that church has so defiled itself or so drifted into error, but the church locally remains the highest court.

Here's the plan. Verse 15 if your brother sins go and reprove him in private. Anybody have a hard time understanding it.

If your brother sins apply implied your sisters well.

People say what sin, to what degree will whole point here is, he doesn't tell us what sin and it doesn't tell us to what degree because any sin to any degree is a defilement is your brother sins, go and reprove him in private talk about it to other people, which is the tendency isn't it hello did you hear about what she did.

That is not according to Scripture that is in itself a sin if your brother sins any sin is a defilement any sin not only defiles his life, not only because it may involve you personally defiled your relationship, but any defilement of any believer becomes a defilement of the whole.

Because we are one body, so you go in private and then verse 15. If he listens to you, which would mean I understand that I regret that I want to turn from that.

That's what you're looking for. I love this. You have one, or gained your brother. Do you know that inside the very church you can lose people that's implied here. Is it you can't win them back if you haven't lost them, can't gain him if he wasn't a loss this word by the way, one or gained as a commercial word.

It's a were taken out of the marketplace and it tells us right at the very beginning what the purpose of this confrontation is it is to win the brother to gain the brother some people have the idea the church discipline is to throw people out of the church is not. It is to keep people in the church. Sure, that's John MacArthur, Chancellor of the Masters University in seminary continuing his series on grace to you titled mishandled. It's a look at some of the most misinterpreted and misapplied passages of God's word John with the subject of correcting false interpretations of Scripture in mind, I'm wondering, you preach with conviction and confidence and boldness, maybe more than any other preacher I've ever heard. But you have you ever thought that you understood a biblical passage correctly and then discovered later, no that's wrong and you need to go back and change it well. Of course, in this sense, I don't think I've ever caught something that's heretical. I don't think I've ever had to go back and say that that was heresy. So I I have to get rid of that but there are times when I have missed the true intention of a passage of Scripture because I didn't look deeply enough into it but a misinterpretation and heresy are two different things.

In other words, you can make a passage say something that is true, but it's not what it says it's not the intent of the passage, and I think what guards me from the heresy is is the theology that I have the theater your theology what you understand about the doctrines of the Scripture collectively becomes the wall in which you you can find so you don't run amok.

You don't go out of the zone of biblical fidelity into some heretical teaching the systematic theology locks you into sound doctrine, but that doesn't mean that you're not going to get a verse wrong and make it say something it doesn't say not something that's that's untrue or unorthodox, but just not what the text to say that sure through the years there've been times when I've come back and said you know I I didn't understand that accurately enough or I didn't understand it deeply enough that that's probably more common that I go back and I did have that's a sort of superficial understanding of it, but nowhere near the depth of the passage that I needed to have so yeah I think the thing is most common for me in all these years is every time I go back to passages of taught in the past I find a depth that's fresh and new. It's it's not that it's different.

It's just that it's so much deeper yeah thanks John and print thinking about what John was saying about handling God's word accurately and knowing biblical truth in depth.

Let me recommend a resource that can help you do just that.

The MacArthur study Bible with 25,000 study notes written by John that explained virtually every passage, the MacArthur study Bible makes a big difference in your understanding of Scripture to get the study Bible. Contact us today. Call toll-free 855 grace or visit our website TTY.org the MacArthur study Bible is available in the English standard new King James and new American Standard versions of the biblical text and with our reasonable prices were sure to have an option right for you. It also comes in many non-English translation again to order the MacArthur study Bible, call 855 grace or visit tty.and@tty.org.

You'll find thousands of Bible study tools available free of charge.

That includes previous broadcasts of this program. Video clips of John's various conference and television appearances, and more than 3500 of John's sermons all free to download MP3 or transcript format. Our web address one more time. TTY.org and thanks for remembering, it's the supportive friends like you that allows us to connect people in your community and the world with verse by verse, Bible teaching now for John MacArthur and the entire grace to you.

Staff I'm Phil Johnson look for Grace to you television this Sunday on DirecTV channel 378 and then be here next week for another 30 minutes of unleashing God's truth one verse at a time on grace to you