Sermon Tone Analysis

Guarding the Holiness of Christ’s Church

Matt.

18:15–20.

The passage that we are looking at this morning has to do with Christian discipline.

It is, of course, not the only passage in Scripture that deals with this subject.

The passages that catch your attention on a daily basis are those that speak about self-discipline.

Every time we read the Word of God for ourselves or hear it read and preached church, we are reminded of the need to apply it to ourselves first.

David wrote, /Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee/ (Ps.

119:11).

The Bible also teaches us to pray that God will make his Word effective in overcoming sin in our daily lives.

When individual members of the church practice regular self-discipline, the instances in which formal discipline is necessary will be significantly reduced.

Unfortunately, no amount of self-discipline will remove the need to use Matthew 18 altogether.

For one thing, there are occasions when we cause offense to others without realizing that we have done so.

Matthew 18 gives us a process by which to address such grievances.

But, sadly, there will also be times when members of the church, having refused to practice self-discipline, will also reject the discipline of others.

Since the Lord Jesus requires his church to be holy, it is occasionally necessary to remove those who are stubbornly unholy either in doctrine or in life.

Again, Matthew 18 tells us how to do this.

The basic principles of formal discipline, as outlined in our text, are no doubt familiar to us all.

We know about private admonition, the use of witnesses, and taking the matter to the church as a last resort.

But what I hope to show you is that each of the steps outlined here involves a lot more than what you might think.

And that, beloved, is the beauty of this passage.

In a mere five verses, the Lord Jesus Christ said more than fifteen hundred pages of federal legislation, and it’s more useful because it’s so simple and easy to follow.

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Private Admonition

In the verses immediately preceding our text, Jesus spoke about offenses and their inevitability in this world.

Remember that the church is made up of sinners.

We may be saved by grace, but we are sinners nonetheless.

Because sin is unavoidable, Jesus instructed us in our text to deal with it head-on.

The procedure that he outlined assures fair treatment both to the person who feels aggrieved (his case is heard by impartial parties) and to the offender (who is given adequate opportunity to explain his behavior and, if necessary, repent of it).

The purpose of going to one’s brother is not to vent anger or seek revenge, but to deal with the matter openly and honestly in an effort to find a Biblical resolution.

The first stage of formal discipline is outlined in verse 15.

Jesus said, /Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother/.

The principle here is private admonition.

Now, what exactly does this mean?

If we pay attention to what Jesus actually said, it will become perfectly clear.

First, look at the word /trespass/.

When I was a child, every Sunday afternoon my family would visit my grandparents on a farm in Pennsylvania.

Directly across the street from their house was a wooded area, and along the road in front of the woods was a sign that said “No Trespassing.”

We trespassed anyway.

We weren’t trying to hurt anybody or get into mischief.

We just wanted to play cowboys and Indians in the woods.

Trespassing just didn’t seem to be that big of a deal.

However, the word translated /trespass/ (ἁμαρτήσῃ) in our text makes it a huge deal.

It is the same word is translated elsewhere as sin.

So, we’re not talking about minor issues like who parks where in the church parking lot or what color the preacher’s shirt should be.

We are talking about matters of sin that are clearly defined by the Word of God and are an insult to God himself.

If your grievance against your brother is not a matter of sin, then drop it.

You have no right to hold your own preferences and opinions over your brother in the Lord.

And if you are not willing to follow steps of discipline all the way through verse 17, then don’t even start.

If your grievance is important enough to confront your brother in the first place, then it should be important enough to take before the church, if necessary.

The point here is that you have no right to hold your brother in suspension regarding a matter that may affect his everlasting soul.

Second, the only people at this stage of discipline who should know about the offense are you and the brother who offended you.

There is no provision here for talking to a third party.

This principle is stated in Proverbs 25:9–10, which says, /Debate thy cause with thy neighbour himself; and discover not a secret to another: lest he that heareth it put thee to shame, and thine infamy turn not away/.

Involving others at this point is simply gossip.

Even if you believe that your brother has sinned against you and you have plenty of evidence to support your belief, the ninth commandment still requires you to defend and promote his good name.

When you do not do this, you give him a just complaint against you.

And that does nothing except make the situation harder to deal with.

Now, let’s suppose that you are a third-party who happens to hear about an alleged offense between two other persons.

What is your responsibility?

To put it simply, you are not to know about it.

As soon as you realize that are hearing something that is not your business, you should ask the person telling you to say no more.

By letting him continue, you are conspiring with him to sin against others in the church.

And if by God’s providence you learn about private matter, then keep it to yourself.

Do not tell your husband.

Do not tell your wife.

Do not tell your children.

Do not tell your best friend.

Do not tell anyone.

Private matters must be kept private.

The only exception to this that the Word of God seems to allow is asking someone for advice.

Proverbs 15:22 says, /Without counsel purposes are disappointed: but in the multitude of counsellors they are established/.

But even when seeking advice, it is wise not to mention any more details than are absolutely necessary to obtain the advice.

Third, going to an offending brother and telling him his fault is not an option.

The verbs /go/ (ὕπαγε) and /tell/ (ἔλεγξον) are commands.

The latter verb means to convince.

Thus, you have a duty before God to do everything within your power to help your brother understand what he has done and why it is so grievous.

If you really love your brother, you will do precisely that.

The temptation that we all struggle with is to think that we are mature enough in the faith to overlook an offense or wise enough to handle it in some other way.

But what makes us think that we know better than God what is good for us and good for our brother?

When we do not follow the procedures that the Lord so carefully and lovingly gave to us, it can only result in the festering of our own bitterness and the continued sin of one who calls himself by the precious name of our dear Savior.

Such things only bring the gospel into further disrepute.

My fourth observation, though based more on other passages than are present text, is nonetheless extremely important.

It is this: whenever you go to an offending brother in obedience to Matthew 18, do so in the spirit of humility.

Galatians 6:1 says, /Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted/.

It’s possible that your brother does not even realize that he has offended you in some way.

Even David asked God to cleanse him of his /secret faults/, i.e., sins that he was not yet aware of because of his imperfect sanctification (Ps.

19:12).

If David had /secret faults/, then surely we do.

Humility would dictate that we acknowledge that our brother may have them, too.

And even if your brother is aware of his offense, your attitude of humility toward him will help him repent and seek the forgiveness of our merciful God.

Remember that the goal of discipline is to win an erring brother back to the Lord.

It is not to win an argument.

Before we get on to the next stage of formal discipline, note the end of this verse.

If our brother hears our complaint, i.e., if he repents and turns to the Lord, then there is no need to go any further with discipline.

Both parties should put the matter behind them and rejoice together in God’s mercy.

From that point on, it should be as if nothing had ever happened.

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Witnesses

There will, of course, be occasions when you go to your brother to inform him of his fault and he will not hear you.

When this happens and only when this happens, do we proceed to the next step.

The second step of discipline is given in verse 16.

Jesus said, /But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established/.

This expands on the principle laid down in the previous verse, viz., that private matters must be kept private.

But, since the offending brother has rejected the first attempt at reconciliation, it is necessary to bring in at most one or two others as witnesses.