The Sacred Body of Christ
...Don't Mess With It
“If your brother sins against you, go and
show him his fault, just between the two of you.
If he listens to you, you have won your brother over.... “I tell you
the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven,
and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."
Matthew 18: 15, 18
There is a true story which I have repeated in small groups, but which
I don't think I have told in a sermon-- so here goes.
Our Wednesday prayer group has from
time to time prayed for specific protection of the church fellowship
from any influence, individual or group which might threaten us with
division. A small group such as ours would not survive a major
division, so we need protection. On one occasion when we were praying,
I know that I asked God to put an angel at the door or at the head of
the driveway to invite in those who needed us but also to keep out any
dangerous influence.
Some time later my eldest daughter was talking to me. She said there
was something I would find interesting. Her son, my grandson, Micah was
three or four at the time and was coloring by himself in the house and
"just out of the blue" said to his mother, "angels don't have wings,
mom."
She replied, "are you sure? Remember the snow angel we made the other
day. It had wings."
He replied again seriously, "No, people angels don't have wings."
Christine said at that point she figured out he was trying to say
something and rather than ask leading questions just said, "what do you
mean?"
Again he said, "people angels don't have wings."
She asked, "how do you know?"
He replied, "Like the people angel at grandpa's church"
She asked, "You saw an angel at grandpa's church?"
He said in a matter of fact voice, implying that anyone would see them,
" yes, you know...like the one at the door."
What did Micah see? I choose to believe the Lord gave him spiritual
eyes to see what God had done in response to our prayer.
We asked for something we needed. God replied.
I think one of the greatest prizes God has on this earth is its
churches. The Church of course, but also the many congregations big and
small which carry the Lord's name and worship to his glory.
His Bride.
His Body.
God has a special place for his church and a special favor for those
who tend and nourish it, as well as a special poke in the eye for those
who mess with it.
You don't want to mess with the integrity of Christ's church. Really,
you don't want to do that.
On the other hand, a good thing to do is to be a blessing to the Bride
of Christ. This will be a welcome thing on your part.
Which brings me to the passage in Matthew 18 this morning.
Jesus has just taught about the shepherd who leaves 99 sheep in safety
to go out and look for one that is lost.
Jesus puts a priority on finding lost sheep.
Now he teaches about sheep in the flock who start going astray again.
He says, if someone sins against you, go and point out the error and in
love restore him.
In other words if we are offended by someone's obviously sinful
behavior; we are to go, and in humility, do what we can to lead the
person back to proper behavior. The purpose is not to censure or
to put the other person down.
The purpose is to restore the person to ethical Christian living, a
good conscience and proper relationship with the church.
But it is the person who has been offended or hurt who is to do the
confronting. Don't find someone else to do it for you.
The first step is for you to speak to the person.
If that fails, take someone with you.
Taking someone, or even two with you is to ensure that the person is
not being judged unfairly. You may have an opinion or may be
misunderstanding the situation. Or the offending brother may just be
stubborn, but if its beyond your ability, after attempting, then take
someone with you who is knowledgeable and fair minded.
If that fails then bring it to the church. In our case, the session of
the church, who then has responsibility to do the same--that is to
bring the person back to their good senses and then restore them.
If that fails, Jesus says you remove fellowship from the offender.
At this point many people get very nervous because we all have heard or
or experienced harshness in a church body which has injured another
person, often grievously. I have seen it happen too.
But Jesus is saying, we must also exercise care over the body. Its fine
to pray for angels, and God I believe, honors that prayer. But what if
we see something that is a danger? We must act.
Now what Jesus is talking about is something that is clearly sinful.
In my early years of ministry I joined a service club in the town where
I was living.
A couple of the brothers came and took me out for coffee one day. I
thought this was great.
But then they began, very kindly I must say, to admonish me for
belonging to this group.
One of the brothers knew some of the members of my service club and did
not approve of me keeping company with such fellows. I have to tell you
what I did.
I refused to quit the club.
And in fact a few years later after I was in another church, I met the
fellow who was most outspoken and he casually was telling me about his
Rotary club. I stopped him and asked about his conversion. He
sheepishly confessed he had been wrong on the first occasion.
What Jesus is saying is when you encounter something that rises to the
Biblical standards of sin--think the ten commandments--then go and
restore the person.
This is not a license to get bent out of shape over something that
offends our sensibilities but is not sin.
When we took our girls to Holland for
the first time we went to church in their Oma's hometown.
After church, everyone recessed to the fellowship hall for coffee--and
big Dutch cigars!
Our girls who were nine and thirteen were scandalized!
Dad! Look! They're smoking in church!
This became a good teaching opportunity for the difference between sin
and sensibility--maybe even between sin and good health.
But it is sin only that Jesus tells us to confront this way.
Now we would appreciate no smoking in worship or the coffee hour, but
if you do it is not sin, even though you would be in violation of the
local health code and we would have to douse your cigar.
The Bride of Christ is to be kept free from behavior that brings it
down or brings scandal to its name.
And the object is two-fold:
1. Maintaining the integrity of the church
2. Restoration of the person who is going astray.
Church discipline is one of the signs of the body.
I once had someone come to me and say, "pastor I wonder why this
congregation doesn't practice church discipline."
I asked, "and what makes you think we don't?" I tried not to be
too defensive.
The person said, " in the years I have been here there has not been one
instance of anyone being brought before the church."
My reply was "hallelujah! But that does not mean there has been none.
It only means that which has been done one on one in private has been
successful."
Church discipline is not for the humiliation of offenders. It is for
their restoration and we know it is successful when the person is
restored as simply and privately as possible.
But make no mistake. Jesus commands us to make sure the whole group is
heading down the right path.
But doesn't Jesus say, "judge not lest you be judged?"
Yes, but the kind of judging He is warning against is not restorative
discipline.
It is the kind of judging that just puts another person down from an
attitude of superiority, and does nothing to help the person.
A coach who does not correct players who miss assignments is a bad
coach and does no one a favor.
A conductor who won't tell the trombones they are too loud is no
conductor.
I think there is something else implied, and that is a relationship of
trust.
Where there is no relationship of trust and of mutual respect,
discipline is bound to be difficult to get right.
When you know someone truly cares about you, its a lot easier to listen
to correction.
Notice what Jesus says to follow up.
Something I think we misunderstand often.
He says, "those things you loose on earth are loosed in heaven and
those things you bind on earth are bound in heaven."
Heavy!
What does He mean?
He means, among other things that when we have truly followed a
restorative path, when we tell someone the words,
"you are forgiven", then they are truly forgiven. Heaven backs us up.
And when we bind a sin that is unrepented and the person with it, God
in heaven backs us up.
Does that mean we can pronounce who is or is not going to heaven?
No.
It does mean that when a person sins grievously and rejects all
attempts to restore them, we can and need to say,
"then you are out of fellowship with us."
And when we do, heaven's authority backs us up.
What will God do? That's up to God, but we know in our own lives
that what God often does is let us become very miserable and experience
the unpleasantness of our behavior until we come to our senses and
repent.
I think we should pronouncing forgiveness a minimum of ten to one over
words of binding.
But there can come occasions, for example if someone or some group
practicing evil exploitation and will not stop, that the church can and
should say, "then we bind you in the name of Jesus and hand you over to
God for disciplining."
That would be a rarity, but God has told us we have the authority. Not
to abuse, but to act like the Old Testament prophets when evil was
evident.
But we do pronounce the words of freedom that Jesus gives us the power
to pronounce.
Every Sunday after our prayer of confession, there is the word of
assurance of pardon.
That is not just a quaint practice.
That is the word of God to you that you ARE forgiven when you come to
God.
And at the Lord's table, there is complete absolution of sin in the cup
and the bread. The blood and body of Christ are the keys to your
freedom.
When you come in repentance and worship, God meets you there and you
leave clean.
And God is pleased when we mortals speak on his behalf to remind you of
the fact.
And so let me conclude by doing so once more before we dismiss:
Brothers and sisters, it is human and normal that we sin and fall short.
God calls you to turn away from all sinful practices, even things that
are in the gray zone. Don't go there.
But when you turn to God, you are completely forgiven.
So if anyone here is carrying a burden of guilt and sin you cannot seem
to be rid of,
I am going to give you a moment to pray about it to God.
Then I will pronounce the word of freedom for you.
Let's each one make our confession before God...
Lord, you hear the prayer of your servant today. You have forgiven in
the blood of Jesus.
And now in the authority of Jesus, if you have asked for forgiveness, I
now now pronounce you free and forgiven
in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Preached September 7, 2008
Dr. Harold McNabb
West Shore Presbyterian
Church
Victoria, British Columbia
Resources Consulted
Myron Augsburger, Matthew:
"The Communicator's Commentary". Word 1982
Frederick Dale Bruner, The Churchbook,
"Matthew a Commentary", Vol. 2, Eerdman's 2007 edition
Online Resources Consulted
http://www.preachingtoday.com/
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