Do open your Bible to Matthew chapter 16, which is on page 823.
!
And verses 15 to 20, but the whole chapter in lots of ways.
There's no introduction, I've got three points.
And my two points are, we need to love the church as Jesus does.
We need to see the church as Jesus does.
And number three, we need to treat the church as Jesus does.
So first of all, we need to love the church as Jesus does.
Look at verse 15.
That's the kind of language it uses.
How does it begin?
It begins, if your brother.
If we translated if your brother or sister in that way.
If your brother, so that church is a family.
It is a family of believers, of brothers and sisters, and mothers and fathers, who are brought together in this great assembly.
In other words, what Jesus is saying is, if you want to live as a Christian, that the business of the Christian life is not isolated individualism.
It's not about doing church on your own.
It's not about you being able to listen to a sermon online so you can save a bit of time on Sundays.
It's about people.
It's about knowing God with others.
It's not about you getting along in your Christian life on your own.
It's about a community.
And you can see, and I want to try and show you, that this is the big idea of the chapter.
So look at verse 2.
Jesus calls him to bring a little child and put him in the middle of them.
And he speaks about the presence of God and the community life of the people of God.
He says these people, they belong here.
They have relationships within the church.
And he illustrates that.
He illustrates from this child what it means to be inside the kingdom of God
but what it means to be outside the kingdom of God, the church.
And so he puts this child in the middle of his disciples.
And it's one of the number of occasions when Jesus did this in his day.
And it well indicates the culture.
And so at that point, in this point of history, children had no status, no rank, no rights.
They were to be seen and not heard.
Or maybe even not seen and not heard.
They didn't factor in.
Children were disposable.
Children were even dispensable.
You can read horrific accounts in Roman history.
And so here is Jesus teaching his name.
That children are not dispensable to Christ's church.
Children are part of the fellowship of the people of God.
That's why we love them being in here.
Even when there's a little bit of background noise.
Occasionally.
Children are part of the fellowship of God.
And this little one, he represents, doesn't he?
Actually, all Christians.
In fact, he says, adult believers, grown-ups,
so-called men and women are to become like this little child.
They're to become like this little child,
both in their utter dependence upon the Lord Jesus,
and I think what Jesus is teaching here
is exactly what Peter is teaching at Pentecost.
That the membership of his church is made up of believers and their children.
And the presence of children in the fellowship of the church
is to be a constant reminder of what Jesus is doing.
A constant reminder to us, in a sense,
that spiritually we should never grow up.
We should never grow up beyond that state.
We never get beyond the status of a child.
We should all be as unselfconscious and trusting as little children.
As absolutely dependent on God and his grace.
You see, there is no place in the church
for people asserting their rights.
For people pushing others around.
Always rubbishing others.
For people claiming priority.
We are to be humble like little children.
Unselfconscious.
Standing there in the midst of the disciples.
And so let the children, as we gather Sunday by Sunday,
be a constant reminder of Jesus' words.
And this childlike faith is to be a feature of the whole life of the believer.
It's not just you've got to humble yourself in order to get into the Christian life.
No.
The whole of the Christian life is about humbling yourself before,
under the mighty hand of God.
And if it's a Samsonite, there is nothing more terrifying
than to cause one of these little ones to sin.
There's no doubt, is there, that people will sin.
Temptations will come upon everybody, whatever age you are,
or whatever stage you're at in your life.
But what Jesus says is,
Woe to the one by whom the temptation comes.
And you make sure that though people are being tempted and falling into sin,
you're not the cause of that.
You're not the one who's tripping them out.
You're not the one who is leading them into sinful behaviour,
because that is a terrifying thing to do.
And then in verses 10 to 14,
he says,
Don't despise the little children,
both physically and spiritually.
Verse 10,
See that you don't despise one of these little ones.
Jesus is teaching us to need to follow people.
Whatever their age, he illustrates it.
He illustrates it from what the Father does.
What does the Father do?
Well, when one of these little ones goes astray,
one of his believing ones goes astray,
the Father leaves everything,
and he goes out to look for his lost sheep.
Because he is the shepherd,
and he cares for,
and he loves his people,
his sheep,
his church.
And Jesus is saying to us,
You and I should love the church
the way the Father does.
And the way that the Son does.
And again, this picks up, doesn't it,
a language or a thread
that runs right the way through the Bible?
That God is the shepherd of his people.
And to Psalm 100,
We are the sheep of his pasture.
Psalm 23,
The Lord is my shepherd.
Psalm 40,
Tends his flock like a shepherd.
He gathers the lambs to his heart,
and he carries them close.
So whether you're a young lamb,
or an old sheep,
the Lord is the shepherd of Israel.
Matthew 2,
you see it.
He will shepherd his people Israel.
The Lord Jesus says,
I am the good shepherd
who lays down his life for the sheep.
And all this language
is pointing you and I
to value Jesus' people.
So I ask you,
do you love the church?
Do you love Jesus' people?
How do I love them?
Not by setting myself over them
as if I'm superior.
Not by comparing myself to others
as if they were kind of my Lord.
Or they were the ones
that I was meant to be following.
I love others not by injuring
or abusing
or leading them into sin.
Whether that's theological error
or morally wrong.
I love others not by ignoring them
or showing a blind eye
to those who've gone astray.
But rather,
like the good shepherd,
I do what he does.
And so I have to love the church
and I have to give myself for it.
And that takes commitment,
doesn't it?
And that takes effort.
And that takes making it a priority.
Secondly,
I need to see the church
the way that Jesus
sees the church.
Can we come again to verse 15?
If your brother
sins against you.
So if your brother or sister
and that is somebody
who goes to the same church family
as you do,
if they sin against you,
Jesus is presuming,
isn't he,
that in his church
it will be marked
this side of heaven,
this side of glory
by sin and by weakness.
And so Jesus does not expect
the perfect church
to those who do.
Martin Luther had a saying,
he said,
the face of the church
is the face of a sinner.
The Western Confession of Faith
and our Confession of Faith
says the purest of churches,
the best of churches
under heaven
are subject to both
mixture and error.
And some are so degenerated
to become as no churches
of Christ
but synagogues of Satan.
Churches are not perfect.
And again,
that's been a theme
in Matthew's Gospel.
There are weeds
as well as wheat.
There are goats
as well as sheep.
There are some
in the church
who are wolves
in sheep's clothing.
The church is not perfect.
And some of the problems
that we have
with churches
and some of the problems
we have
with other Christians
is that we are
practical perfectionists.
And sometimes
it's just that
we've not looked in the mirror
and see how imperfect we are.
We see the imperfections
of everyone else,
don't we?
And so you go to Revelation
and the last book
of the Bible,
chapter 2 and chapter 3
and we are given
an overview of the church.
A perfect picture
of the church.
It's a complete picture
of the church.
It's a seven-fold picture.
It's a picture
of completeness
of what Jesus sees
in his church.
And there it is.
And you read
those seven churches
and you find out
that the five
of the seven churches
were seriously
screwed up.
And two of the seven
are going right down
the road
where Jesus said
I'm tempted
just to extinguish
the light of you,
the stuff you want.
Altogether,
you've got so bad.
And we need to see
the church
the way that Jesus does
a sinful congregation.
There is coming
a day,
and it's going to be
a wonderful day
when the Lord Jesus Christ
comes again
and he will present
his church
without spot
or wrinkle
or any such thing.
But today,
as I look around,
there are a fair few
wrinkles out there
and a fair few spots.
And IPC is an
ace and imperfect church.
And so is every true church.
And so the first thing
that strikes you
in verse 15
is if your brother
sins.
He's not suggesting
that that is impossible.
He's suggesting
that this will happen.
It will happen.
There's two ways
of reading this verse.
Whether he's speaking
generally,
whether he's saying
if your brother sins
in his tenth period,
or if your brother
sins in his tenth period,
it means you.
And we need to know
what's going to happen.
So it's illustrated
in this chapter.
Again, look at
verse 1.
The chapter has got
two questions.
And this illustration
of a kind of
simple message.
There's a verse 1.
The disciples ask,
who is the greatest
in the kingdom of heaven?
And that is not
a statement about
Christology.
That is not a statement
where they're expecting
Jesus to speak
about himself.
They are expecting
him to say,
well,
of course,
you are John
or you are Jesus.
And the disciples,
they are the ones
that are jockeying
for position
and place
and prestige.
In other words,
that's what church
is like.
Sinful people,
fallen people.
And these are the
apostles.
Top guys.
And that's the way
they were in that
stage of their lives.
And so often
in the church,
you'll find people
that have not been
able to make much
of an impression
in their day-to-day
vocation,
in their work,
but in church,
they throw their
weight about.
And they've got
power in their hands
and it goes to
their heads
and they become
insufferable.
And they become
overbearing.
Or there are other
people and they're
influential in their
day-jobs and they
walk in and they
think they can be
influential in the
church as well.
But that's not the
way it's meant to be,
is it?
In other words,
it doesn't really
matter if you're
doing well or not
doing so well in
your day-job.
That's not what
makes for status
or position.
position in the
church.
Jesus is at
pains to point
that out,
doesn't he?
That in his
kingdom,
the usual values
of the world
don't apply in
the church.
And so nobody
acts as if they
own the place.
We're all to be
humble children.
Look at the
second question,
verse 21.
Peter has a
question,
he comes up and
he says to him,
Lord, how often
should my brother
sin against me
and I forgive him
as many as
seven times?
And I think
Peter is feeling
pretty good about
himself in
verse 21.
He's feeling
pretty spiritual.
And the religious
teachers of the
day, the Pharisees
and the teachers
of the law,
lay in rules about
how often you
were to forgive.
And they
talk that if
somebody sinned
against you,
just to be
gracious and
merciful, you
could forgive
them after three
times.
Three strikes
and you're out.
Which is Peter.
And Peter says
what the Pharisees
say three times,
but I guess,
Jesus, you like
the number seven,
it's a perfect
number, a complete
number.
But Peter isn't
getting it, is he?
Because he doesn't
understand the grace
of the Lord Jesus
yet.
There are different
values.
No, Jesus says,
you keep going.
Can you see verse 22?
I do not say to you
seven times, but
77 times.
Seven times seven.
To infinity and
beyond you forgive.
There's no end
to forgiveness that
you want to show
one another.
Within the body
of Christ.
And so, within
the body of Christ,
within the church,
be sure of this.
Your brother or
your sister will
sin against you.
Let me say what
that sinning against
you is.
It is minor
irritation.
Or annoying
behaviour.
Or petty
complaints.
sinning against you
is not things that
you just don't
like.
I've gone to write
a list at this
point.
Of the various
things that I think
folk get upset
about.
That aren't
sinful and then I
realised I'd
probably get fired
for it.
He's not thinking
about things that
we elevate to
really, really
important, but the
Bible doesn't
elevate them.
The Bible tells
you what sin is,
doesn't it?
We don't make
up what sins
are.
And lots and
lots of things
that people get
upset about in
church are like,
are not sinful.
But note the
realism of Jesus.
Can you see it?
He says your
brother will
sin against you.
That is, he'll
actually do
something, whether
that is he'll
teach you something
wrong, or teach
you a wrong
practice, or he'll
do something to
injure you in
some way, or
despise you in
some way.
Love the church
as Jesus does.
See the church
as Jesus does,
and thirdly, treat
the church as
Jesus does.
What does God
do when his
followers go
astray?
Look at the
context.
The whole chapter
hangs together.
The previous
parable is so
important.
What does God
do?
He goes out
looking for
his children.
There's a really
deliberate
connection
between each
of the stories
in this chapter.
And how does
God go out
looking for
lost sheep?
The Father
goes out
looking for
them.
Your Father
in heaven, he
doesn't will
that any of
these little
ones should
perish.
If your
brother sins
against you,
see the
connection?
How does
the Father
go looking for
the sinning
one?
How does
the Father
find lost
sheep?
When in
this context,
it is the
family.
Jesus uses
the power
of the
lost sheep
in two
different ways.
I think he
uses it
differently in
Luke 15
than he does
in Matthew
18.
In Luke 15,
it's about
reaching the
outsider.
But here,
it is most
definitely about
reaching the
insider.
Note the
use of little
ones in
verse 10.
How does
he find the
little one
that is lost?
how does
God go
after his
wayward
children?
Can you
see it?
Verse 15,
you go.
You go,
sir.
That's a
very, very
important thing
to understand.
That God
uses us as
his people to
reach out to
offenders.
God
exercises the
rule of
the church
and the
care of
his church
through his
people.
So the
people he
has sent
into your
life, you
are responsible
for.
People you
know you
are responsible
for in the
body of
Christ.
And so in
Galatians,
it says if
someone is
caught in a
sin, you
are spiritual
should restore
him gently.
In 5,
if one of
you should
wander from
the truth,
someone should
bring him
back from
remember this,
whoever should
turn a
sinner from
the errors
of his
ways will
save him
from death
and cover
up a
multitude of
sins.
So you
go, you.
How am I
to go?
I'm not
going to go
heresy
hunting.
I'm not
going to go
prying into
people's
lives.
I'm not
going to
setting them
up for a
fall.
people.
But I
am to
deal with
what comes
up in
my
relationships
with
them.
And if
my brother
sins against
me, I
am to
go.
I am
not to
sit down
and
sulk.
I am
not to
look the
other way.
I'm not
to become
passive-aggressive.
I'm not to
take four
months off
church.
Or four
weeks.
I'm not to
go home and
complain.
I'm not to
speak to my
friends and give
off about it.
I'm not to
bury my
head in
sand.
I'm not to
say someone
should be
doing something
about this.
Where are the
elders in
this place?
No, if
your brother
sins against
you, you
go and
tell them.
You don't
send them a
letter.
You don't
send them an
email.
You don't
send them a
text.
You go to
them, person
to person.
You are
to go in
a childlike,
humble,
believing,
Christian
way.
And you
have to
go with
what?
You have
to go with
the heart
of God
looking for
the restoration
of the
lost.
Restoring
them.
And you
have to
go to
them willing
to forgive
to infinity.
A forgiving
heart.
That's how
you're wanting
to go.
Taking the
initiative to
tell him or
her a
fault and
remembering
that you
are a
sinner and
you tell
them very
gently your
fault.
That by the
way is
fulfilling,
isn't it?
Leviticus 17
verse 19.
That verse
says, do not
hate your
brother in
your heart.
Repeat your
brother frankly
so that you
will not share
in his guilt.
how do I
hate my
brother or
sister?
I hate my
brother or
sister if I
see him or
her in sin
and I do
nothing.
I hate my
brother or
sister if I
don't take
responsibility
for them.
Well I can
help them by
speaking to
them.
So I go to
them one to
one in one
in a private
conversation and
I allow real
dialogue.
In terms of
normal life,
private sin is
dealt with
privately between
people.
And what is
the goal?
The goal is
there in
verse 15,
is that he
listens to
you.
If he
listens to
you, you
gave your
brother, you
want him to
hear.
And that
may well mean
you've got to
listen as well.
But listening
is what you
want.
So that you
can restore
him or her
again.
And supposing
you go
gently and
you get
round to
the subject.
And supposing
they don't
listen.
Well the
next step
kicks in.
You take
two or
three witnesses.
And so
witnesses are
taken at one
level to
avoid false
accusations and
frivolous
allegations.
And there
are two or
three because
the law of
Moses tells
us that
that's what
makes a
thing official
or formal.
And the
point of two
or three
witnesses is
in verse
16 is that
every charge
may be
established
literally
made to
stand.
And so
you go
with your
witnesses
unless
suppose they
refuse to
be reconciled.
When you're
taken to the
church,
particularly
the elders,
the judges
of the
congregation
were appointed
to act
as judge
in these
matters.
Peter is
speaking to
the disciples
and he
says if
they don't
listen to
the
church,
we'll
treat
them like
a
gentile
or a
tax
collector.
Here's the
ultimate
sacrifice,
which is not
to neek
at them,
not to
destroy their
reputation
publicly,
but it is
to treat
them as
their
behavior,
not as
a brother
or sister.
It is to
exclude them
from communion
and if there's
still no
repentance,
it is to
say we have
to treat you
as somebody
who is not
following the
Lord Jesus.
We have
to treat
you like
you're
acting.
You're
treating them
as their
behavior.
It's the
ultimate
sanction of
the church.
And some
of you hear
this and you
think,
good grief,
this is
terrifying.
What on
earth is
going on?
My faith
is my
business.
Isn't it
all about
Jesus and
me?
What has
the church
got to do
with me
and my
Christian
behavior?
And the
answer,
of course,
is the
church has
got everything
to do with
it.
Because you
are brought
into the
church and
you are
part of
it and
you are
one of
the people
of God.
And you
are a
man,
just like
that child
is among
the disciples,
you belong
there.
And it's
because Jesus
has given
authority to
the church.
Notice the
language in
verse 18.
I say to
you,
whatever you
bind on
earth shall
be bound
in heaven,
and whatever
you loose
on earth shall
be loosed
in heaven.
The binding
and the
loosing,
we've seen
it before,
it was given
to Peter,
wasn't it,
chapter 16.
And Peter
was given
the authority
to say who
was in and
wasn't in
the church.
And you
see him
exercising that
responsibility on
the day of
Pentecost when
he gets up and
he preaches
the gospel.
And he
said,
Jesus Christ
is the
only way of
salvation,
and so if
you believe in
him you will
be saved,
and if you
don't believe
in him you
will be
excreted and
damned.
And he
sets out
who is
in and
who isn't.
And the
promise he
says is for
you and
your children
and for
all who
are far
off.
And so
here Jesus
repeats it
to the
apostles.
Whatever you
bind on
earth will
be found
in heaven.
And later
on in
John's
gospel he
repeats it
again.
He says you
have the
authority to
forgive sins.
What is this
teaching us?
It's teaching you
and I that
the church
is the
earthly
instrument for
Christ's
heavenly
rule.
That Christ
has appointed
his church
on earth,
especially the
officers of
his church,
to be the
shepherds of
his people.
To administer
his rule in
the hearts of
his people.
And believers
when they
join the
church they
take vows
together to
submit to
his authority.
The authority
of the church.
And to those
who have been
committed to
exercise authority
within it,
the church
has the
authority to
bind and
to loose.
So whenever
we preach
the gospel,
whenever we
say believe
on the
Lord Jesus
and you
will be
saved,
we are
echoing
Jesus'
words.
We are
re-echoing
them.
Re-speaking
them.
And whenever
the church
is sitting
judicially
and it has
to deal
with a
case of
discipline,
it is
acting on
Jesus'
behalf.
And if
you are a
humble,
believing
Christian,
like this
little child
of Matthew
18,
you will
submit to
your brothers
and sisters.
The promise
of Sarah
in verses
19 and 20
is that again
I say to
you,
if two of
you agree
on earth
about anything
they ask,
it will be
done for
them by
my Father
in heaven.
For where
two or
three are
gathered in
my name,
there I
am among
them.
It's not a
general principle.
We love to
quote that
in general,
don't we?
The Bible
is a lot
of general
promises,
but this
isn't one,
it's not
actually about
prayer at
all.
The phrase
of agreeing
is actually
a legal
term.
It's in
the context
of if you
agree on
a judicial
matter,
any matter
of this
importance,
if you
agree as
the church
of God
like this,
you can
be sure
that you're
agreeing with
my Father
who is in
heaven.
Whenever
you gather
like this
as a church
to deal
with these
kind of
difficulties,
whenever
you're
together
in this
way,
seeking
the unity
of the
church,
and trying
to restore
a brother
or sister,
be sure
of this
from the
end of
the age,
that whenever
you gather
in my
name,
there I'll
be.
Let me
sum up,
and then I'm
going to
sum up
again.
We all
sin as
people of
God.
And we
must know
that our
sin is
going to
impact
people's
lives to
a greater
or less
a degree.
And so
you and
I must
keep short
accounts
to people.
We must
remember how
our actions
and our
choices
and our
words
impact
other
people.
They do.
And ask
yourself the
question,
will my
actions,
will my
words,
will I
air what
I think
of that
person,
or the
leadership
of the
church,
what
effect
will that
have on
the men
and the
women,
and particularly
the boys
and girls
that are
hearing it
in the
family of
God,
because we
are all
responsible
for one
another.
We prepare
to serve
the church
in this
way.
There's
nothing here
about saving
yourself,
is there?
It is all
about being
like your
father who
is in
heaven,
and like
the Lord
Jesus who
goes out
looking for
lost ones
so that
they may
be restored.
And that
is the
goal in
all of
this,
that we
would live
happily
together in
the fellowship
of God's
church.
You might
have been a
Christian a
long time,
you might
have been
in church
here for
a long
time.
Some of
us have
been in
church
leadership
for a
long
time.
And I
think you
will be
aware,
if you
have been
in
leadership
for any
length of
time,
that this
instruction of
the Lord
Jesus is
more complicated
than at
first it
appears.
And I
want to
finish here.
What sins
is the
Lord talking
about?
What sins
are we to
confront our
brother and
sister about?
After all,
you and I
are sinning
all the time.
We sin by
things we
do,
don't we?
And we
sin by
things that
we shouldn't
do.
There's a
world of
sinning in
the Christian
life.
And so
in the
Christian
church,
there are
times when
the New
Testament
tells us
to patiently
endure and
not to
confront.
Paul tells
us that
there were
sins of
thought and
of life
in his
churches that
he closed
his eyes
to and
he patiently
with reflective
attention
all with
them.
He was
patient.
There was
a good
bit of
his own
sinning that
as far
as we
know was
never made
a point of
confronting
with
believers.
When does
the sin
reach the
point that
we need
to confront
it?
And there
are judgments
that are to
be made
with the
Christian
conscience.
And then
the question
comes this,
are all
situations
meant to be
handled like
this?
if you
are to
read
accounts of
church
discipline
and church
courts
or in
cases of
church
discipline
as I
have to
sometimes
this is
what I
found
that over
and over
again
the
offender
uses this
line,
uses this
excuse.
It's almost
a mantra.
I was with
someone this
week that
said to me
they didn't
follow Matthew
18.
And Matthew
18 is
often a
technicality
and a
loophole.
And many
through the
years have
used,
they didn't
follow Matthew
18 as
a mantra
to escape
punishment.
They get
off on a
technicality.
You didn't
use Matthew
18.
And I
think we
have to admit
this,
but it's
seen that
this isn't
as straightforward
as sometimes
it's
played out.
If you
just applied
Matthew
18 it would
all be
okay.
It's more
complicated
than that.
But the
fact is
this,
I think
by understanding
the context
of the
chapter we
see that
Jesus is
not dealing
here with
case law.
He's not
giving up an
ABC setup.
He is
talking about
helping his
little ones.
He's talking
about recovering
those of his
sheep who've
gone astray,
like one sheep
in the flock of
hundreds.
He's not
a lawyer
here laying
down procedures
so that
everyone gets
the same
treatment.
He's certainly
not enlisting
you as a
disciple to
become an
informer on
your other
disciples.
He is a
shepherd wanting
to make sure
that his
sheep learn
to care for
one another,
like he cares
for them.
Sheep go
astray,
and what is
the best way
to find them
and bring them
back to safety?
That's Jesus'
concern here.
And the best
way is
the gentlest
way,
the least
embarrassing
way,
the way
most considerate
of another
person's
feelings,
the way
that makes
it easiest
for a
Christian
who's
stumbled
to get
back on
his feet.
And so
if your
brother or
sister sins
against you,
go.
Go and
tell them
their fault,
but do it
with the
heart of
the Father.
On the
heart of
the Son,
let's pray.
Amen.