Life of Christ 95
Jesus and His Apostles,
after spending a week north of Galilee in the mountains, return to Capernaum.
Immediately upon their return they are confronted by a Temple taxman, and Jesus
ends up paying a tax He doesn't owe because He doesn't want to unnecessarily
offend. Following that, Jesus confronts the Apostles about their argument in
relation to who is the greatest in the Kingdom, and teaches them, through a
little child, the importance of humility. The conversation then flows around
John's question about other Christian groups, and Jesus teaches them to focus
on keeping themselves holy, and to live at peace with other genuine Christian
churches.
In each of these three
aspects, taking place basically in one extended conversation, we see Jesus
emphasizing to the Apostles how to build good relationships with other people.
Most of this has a direct application to the infant Church, and we are going to
see, in the last part of the conversation, that Jesus makes that even more
explicit (Matthew 18.15-35).
We are to seek not to
cause offense. Living in humility, we will find that ambition doesn't breed arguments
between us. Focusing on ourselves, primarily, we seek to live at peace with one
another. All of these are focused on me, on keeping me right and sweet, but
what happens if the other guy isn't? What happens if the other guy in our
Christian relationship does something to injure me, or to injure our
relationship? How do I handle that?
situation, I
am to explain it to the entire church, and let the church formally ask the
brother to resolve the situation. If the brother still, in spite of all of
this, refuses to resolve the situation then the entire church must at this
point stop treating him like a brother (Matthew 18.17).
We can see, from the
intended context that this deals with relationships, not between churches, but
inside a church. As Baptists we believe in the local church, and since our
church cannot discipline a member of another church we must conclude that this
passage is pointed at how we are to get along with each other in our own
church.
Then, following another
emphasis on the importance of prayer in the Church yet again, He closes off
this entire conversation by emphasizing forgiveness. 'Then Peter came to him,
and said, Lord, how oft 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 seventy times seven' (Matthew 18.21-22). He illustrates that with
the wonderful story of a man forgiven and yet unforgiving. What is the
conclusion of the entire conversation? We are to forgive one another (Matthew
18.35).
In this story I see
three lessons. First, let us be patient in resolving trespasses with each
other. The major point, as I understand, in church discipline, is restoration
of the erring brother (Galatians 6.1). This is why we are to give them repeated
chances. This is why we are to give them time. The scriptural word for this
patience and time is 'space', as in, 'I gave her space to repent of her
fornication' (Revelation 2.21). When my brother trespasses against me my
initial response is not to hit him upside the head with my spiritual 2x4,
rather it is to give him space to repent.
Secondly, and probably
more controversially, egregious offenses that refuse to be resolved must not be
allowed to fester. Paul condemned the Corinthian church for refusing to deal with
a man who was having a sexual relationship with his own step-mother (I
Corinthians 5). John condemned the church at Thyatira because it allowed a
woman prophetess to continue to seduce men in the church unchecked (Revelation
2.20).
When a church member is
being stubbornly rebellious about widely known sexual sin the only solution is
to cast them out. Even this casting out is designed to bring them to the place
of restoration by allowing the devil to wreak havoc in their lives, and force
them back to Christ (I Corinthians 5.5).
Both of these scriptural
cases I've used for illustration, in Corinth and in Thyatira, are similar in
structure to the church discipline process discussed in Matthew 18. Both
involve known sexual immorality, refusal to repent, and a congregation that was
instructed to cast them out. This is because there are some wounds that are so
deep and so infected that the only possible way to prevent the entire body from
being consumed is to amputate the afflicted member.
You can see aspects of
this in Proverbs in relation to someone who is soundly committed to their wrong
course of action, and who refuses to be dealt with. 'Cast out the scorner, and
contention shall go out; yea, strife and reproach shall cease' (Proverbs
22.10). 'Where no wood is, there the fire goeth out: so where there is no
talebearer, the strife ceaseth' (Proverbs 26.20).
You cannot allow these
kinds of people, committed and firm in their rebellion, to remain in your
church. They will corrupt it and damage it badly. 'Know ye not that a little
leaven leaveneth the whole lump?' (I Corinthians 5.6). 'Therefore put away from
among yourselves that wicked person' (I Corinthians 5.13).
One of the harder
lessons I've had to learn as a pastor is that I must, occasionally, make a
judgment call that a particular person is a wolf in sheep's clothing, or,
alternatively, that they are a member living in open and rebellious sin. If I
allow them to remain in our church they will damage, not only its external
reputation and thus God's name, but the very spiritual health and condition of
our church. I do not make that decision quickly, lightly, or easily. Indeed, in
seventeen years in the pastorate I've made it only three times, but I must make
it, and the church must, then, if it agrees, send them packing.
Martin Luther, that most
feisty of saints, was reported to have said once that since he couldn't reason
with a rebel he punched him in the nose until his face bled. When you try to
reason with a rebel you waste your breath. They cannot be reasoned with. They
must be expelled. For their sake, and for the church's sake.
Thirdly, and most
importantly, Jesus' big emphasis here was not on kicking people out of the
church, but rather in simply forgiving each other when trespasses occur. The
vast majority of sins, mistakes, errors, and trespasses that church people do,
even toward one another, do not rise close to the level of meriting the church
discipline process. They can and should simply be forgiven.
I believe Jesus started
the first church (see Life of Christ 82). As a member of that first church was
He ever trespassed against? Absolutely. Yet how many did He kick out, for lack
of a better term. Only one , Judas Iscariot.
The devil is always
after the genuine church, but thankfully, the genuine church has God's divine
protection and promise of preservation (Matthew 16.18). We see this
illustrated, time and time again in Church history, by the spiritual results
when external persecution is brought to bear. Tertullian well said that the
blood of the martyrs is the seed, not the death, of the Church. Persecution
purges a church, blowing away the chaff, and leaving behind the dedicated and
committed genuine believers. This, in turn, promotes holiness, draws the power
of God, and impacts the world around that church. (There are so many parallels
here to the condition of the current American Church that it isn't even funny,
but I do not have space to draw them.)
Well, if this is true,
that God has given the genuine church a writ of protection then why is it that
genuine churches die? Two Baptist churches within a mile of our church, here in
Chicago, have closed their doors in the last ten years. How does this happen if
we have this guarantee of protection from the devil's attack?
Churches die for a
variety of reasons, in my opinion. They die due to doctrinal impurity, and though the
congregation may continue to meet the actual truth is that they have had their
charter or their franchise agreement removed. This is what John is speaking
about in Revelation 2 and 3 when he alludes to a candlestick being removed.
Churches also die from lack of evangelism. A church that gives up going after
people with gospel invariably becomes way too inwardly focused, and navel
gazing and a long, slow, agonizing decline eventually follows. Churches also
die as an indirect result of rampant sexual immorality. This hypocrisy breeds,
in the younger generation of members, distrust and deceit, and the result,
again, is often a long, slow, agonizing death. But the biggest reason churches
die, at least as I see it, is this matter of trespasses. A brother offends
another brother, and fuss develops. It morphs into a feud, people take sides,
the church splits, and a long, slow, agonizing decline ends in a whimpering
death.
This last one could be
prevented if we would just forgive one another, as Jesus so clearly called for
here in Matthew 18. You can see now, can't you, how important it is to Jesus
that His children get along with each other, and live in peace? This is the major
thrust of this entire day's worth of conversation between Jesus and His
Apostles.
Give up your rights so
as not to offend. Be humble, not ambitious. Have salt in yourselves. Be at
peace one with another. Clean house, if you must. And, above all, forgive one
another.
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