Church Discipline

MATTHEW 18:10-18
10 Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.

Take heed that ye - The first person you have to take heed to is yourself. Watch your attitude towards one person.

These little ones - your status makes no difference. You might be a Jew, he might be Greek; you might be male, she might be female; you might be a Pastor, he might not be; you might be older, he might be a child. It matters not. You still have to deal with it the right way.

Every individual person is registered in heaven; and the way you treat every individual person is being subjected to heaven's scrutiny.

What is heaven's attitude? The next verse shows us.

11 For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost.

The Son of man is come - He came, heaven took the initiative. Heaven's attitude is one of initiative-taking. Don't wait for the brother who has sinned against you to come to you. You go to him.

To save that which was lost - Heaven's objective is never to reject, but always to restore. Not just to accurately point-out a person's sin, but to take all the initiative to see the person successfully restored.

12 How think ye? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray?

The importance of one.

Like a shepherd who does not passively and carelessly wait for the lost sheep to return - you ought to display an attitude of deliberately taking the initiative in order to procure reconciliation with your brother.

13 And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray.

The true joy of personal relationships and church-life is not just about who stays with you, although that's great - it's more about who was lost, and who have you gone and looked for, and who have you successfully brought back into the church or into your life - that's the greater joy! That's part of what shepherding is all about. In fact, it's the priority of true shepherding.

14 Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.

Heaven's attitude is that not one relationship be broken and not one member be lost from the church. Express the Father's heart, not only for those who have stayed with you in the church or in your life, but more importantly for those who have left.

15 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.

Go - you take the initiative: don't wait for him to come to you.

Between thee and him alone - deal with it privately: don't discuss his sin with others. Don't do it. Not even as an object lesson for others. Privately.

Gained thy brother - that is the objective: to gain your brother. That ought to be your heart too.

16 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.

Take with thee - notice it is still you who is to take the initiative - don't wait for your brother to take the initiative, even after he has not responded to your initial attempt at initiating reconciliation. Take one or two other eyewitnesses with you, and go to him again.

One or two more - not the whole church but just one or two more. The matter is still to be dealt with as privately as possible.

Two or three witnesses - the one or two people you take with you are to be eyewitnesses of your brother's sin - not people who didn't know about his sin until you gossiped to them about him.

17 And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.

Only after two private attempts at reconciliation by eyewitnesses must the matter be told publicly to the church.

Then the church in agreement must corporately speak to the brother.

A brother should not be excluded from fellowship or from attendance at meetings unless, with an attitude of initiative-taking and with the objective of reconcilation:

* the brother was first approached privately; and
* two or three eyewitnesses went with you and approached the person privately; and
* the whole church is in agreement and has officially spoken to the person together about his sin.

If you deal with it any other way, then you yourself have sinned against your brother.

Wrong ways of dealing with a brother's sin include:

* Discussing his sin with someone else before discussing it with your brother privately first;
* Failing to take the initiative at reconciliation but waiting for your brother to come to you; and
* Excluding your brother from fellowship or from attendance at meetings before the whole church agrees with the action and has officially spoken together to the brother about it first.

If you remember that you have sinned against your brother in one or more of those ways, then you ought to first go to your brother and be reconciled with him, before dealing with the issue of his sin against you. Deal with your own sin first, even if you are a leader and he is not; even if you are older than him; even if your sin is not as bad as his.

18 Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

When church-discipline is approached in the above manner, it will bear heaven's stamp of approval.

Whatever you do will be watched by heaven.

Anyone can easily point-out a brother's sins, and think he is wise for doing so - but true, heavenly wisdom has the skill of seeing a brother actually restored - restored to you and to the church.

In conclusion, if we feel someone has sinned against us, we are to take the initiative in approaching him; and if we become aware that we have sinned against someone else, we are to take the initiative in approaching him. So there is no excuse for inaction. No matter what the case is, the responsibility for taking the initiative rests with us - at least until the third attempt done in a Biblical manner.