Respecting Authority? Part 3

Thank you for listening to this message from the ministry of Morse Corner Church in Leverett, Massachusetts. Morse Corner is a non-denominational church that is committed to the preaching and teaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Our church was founded in 1896 by two students of the famous evangelist D .L. Moody. We seek to encourage and edify the body of Christ through the proclamation of God's word through the ministries of the local church.

If you'd like more information, visit our website, morsecornerchurch .com. We hope you enjoy the message. But here's the situation we're in today, and you know this is true. People lack respect for authority because they themselves view themselves as the final arbiter of truth.

And this is how it plays out. Well, I would respect the president, but I don't feel he's worthy of my respect. I would submit to my husband, but I don't feel he's worthy of respect. How would you like it if a man says, you know, I would love my wife, but I don't feel she's worthy of that love.

Or if somebody said, I would respect the police, but I don't feel they're worthy of my respect. Do you really honestly think that Jesus is in heaven saying, oh, you don't feel that there were, oh, never mind.

Everything I said, the word of God, the commandments, just scrap all of those because you don't feel. Do you really think that's the way it works? And listen, we all struggle with this. There's people who have done us wrong, things that we see going on that are unjust.

We all struggle with this temptation, but it doesn't work like that. And if you get enough people thinking that way, what do you see? You see chaos. That's exactly what is going on now. So where does this lack of respect begin?

Well, God has put certain things in place to restrain evil, to restrain sin. And one of those things that he has put in place is the conscience. We all have a conscience that tells us the difference between right and wrong.

We have the 10 commandments. We have the law of God written on our heart. And yet what do people do? They ignore it or they just willfully turn away from God. And then the other restraint is the family.

But sin, infidelity, and an unjust court system has so broken down the family, all of these restraints that God has put in place are starting to disappear. And now we're seeing a breakdown of civil authority with defunding the police, undermining elected leaders.

So when this starts to break down, there's only one restraint left. And you know what that restraint is? It is the church of Jesus Christ. If the rapture were to happen tomorrow and all the Christians were gone, what do you think would happen to this country?

You think things are bad now. It would go over the cliff in a day. So with the remaining time we have left, we're going to talk about the church and the authority that Christ has given the church. It's probably some, the church?

What authority does the church have? Well, believe it or not, the church has authority. So turn to Matthew 18. Now let me say this, to be clear, the church's authority is in spiritual matters. The pastor, or depending on how a church is structured, the board of elders, they have authority in spiritual matters.

They do not have authority, the church does not have authority in your home. The pastor can't tell you what color to paint your house. The elders or the deacons can't tell you what car to buy. The church can't tell you when to be in bed and when to wake up.

If you find yourself in a situation like that, you're probably in a cult. You're definitely in a cult, how about that? Now it's true, Hebrews 13, 17, this is part of the scripture reading. What does it say?

Obey those who rule over you and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls as to those who must give an account. And that means God holds the leadership more responsible than the people. And let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you.

So there is a legitimate ecclesiastical authority, and that just means the church has authority. And the way that this is traditionally played out is with church membership, where the fact that someone belongs to a local church.

Now you're not saved because of that, but saved people are part of the church. And the church has authority. Here's the ecclesiastical authority. The church has authority to discipline the membership.

So if someone is living in open rebellion to God, the church has the authority to admonish that person, and the goal is always correction, and to restore that person to fellowship. So how does this play out?

Most of you already know this. If you see something that's totally wrong, it's out in the open, somebody does something to offend you, does something sinful towards you, you go to that person and you say, Brother, you know, Sister, this wasn't right, and you try to resolve it one-on-one.

If they won't have any of that, you take two or three with you. Look at verse 17 of Matthew 18. And if he refuses to hear them, that is the two or three, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector.

Church Discipline and Ecclesiastical Authority

And what is this? This is excommunication or church discipline. So the person you notice is now, this is according to Christ, he says that person is now to be regarded as a heathen or an unbeliever. And you know what this amounted to, and you can read this in 1 Corinthians 5 where Paul spoke of it, basically amounted to shunning that person.

Now, how many churches practice shunning these days? Like .01%. So they were to go through this process so that they would feel that, wow, I did something wrong, and I can feel that. Because when someone's disciplined and you say, hi, hi, and you pretend like nothing happened, they must feel like a big deal.

And then people, what do they do? Well, I'll just go two towns over to the next church, and they'll embrace me with open arms. And let me just say this. This is usually what happens. If a man was disciplined in a local church because he cheated on his wife and he brought his mistress to say, well, the church is open to everybody, that's true, that's true.

But if we knew a man was disciplined and he brought his mistress to attend one of our services, not welcome here until you get that right. This is the ecclesiastical authority of the church. Not real popular, but you know what?

If churches upheld the standard, maybe there would be less sin. So this is what is done until that individual, and this is always the goal, until that individual is restored to fellowship. Sometimes that happens, sometimes it doesn't.

But being out of fellowship with the local church is a pretty good indicator that you are not part of the true church of Jesus Christ. So church doesn't always work like that, but generally speaking. So that is church discipline.

Matthew 18 and the Authority Christ Gives the Church

And the authority that Christ gave to the church, let's continue reading in Matthew 18. He said, well, I'm not sure about this. Should I take it seriously? Concerning church discipline, Jesus says, Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.

Again, I say to you that if two or three of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. And where two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am, Jesus said, there I am in the midst.

And you know what Jesus is saying here? I am in agreement with this. And yet very few churches are upholding the biblical standard, and some flat out refuse to practice church discipline. The reformers back in the 1600, the Protestant reformers said there are three marks of a local church.

So how do I know if a church is a true church? This is what they came up with. I agree with this. Number one, the gospel must be preached. Everyone would agree with that. If you're not preaching the gospel, you're not a true church.

Number two, the ordinances or the sacraments must be administered. So baptism in the Lord's Supper. And then number three, church discipline is practiced. They believe that was a test whether or not a church was a true New Testament church.

Otherwise, you have a mixture of wheat and tares. And you don't know, and it doesn't matter.

It's not biblical.

So if someone is disciplined at one church, again, what happens? Well, I'll just go somewhere else. And it's a sad state of affairs. Why? Because people are not upholding the standard. There's a lack of respect for authority.

So that's the problem. What's the solution? We're all about solutions, right? We want the solution. What's the solution? Simple. Obey Christ. Obey the Word of God. Even when it's not popular. So Christians should be in a church where Jesus is the head, where the Word is preached, where the ordinances are administered, where church discipline is practiced, and standards are upheld.

But just like in society, you say, Yeah, but one of the problems is people don't want to be admonished. Nobody likes to be corrected. I don't like to be corrected. You don't like to be corrected. But when we are corrected, just like honoring father and mother, if we are a person of respect, when someone corrects us because we legitimately did something we shouldn't have done, we accept it.

That's how to show you're a person of respect, that you're willing to accept correction. Because you're not perfect. I'm not perfect.

We need that.

The Church Needs Mutual Submission and Christlike Leadership

And in closing, talking about the church, we need each other. You know, the word submission has come up several times. You know what Ephesians 5, we didn't read that part. You know what Ephesians 5 also says?

Submit yourself one to another. Listen, we need each other. And the church is what? The church is the assembly. We're not just off on our own. And this is the attitude that some will have. All I need is Jesus.

It's just me and Jesus. Have you ever heard someone say that? It sounds spiritual, just not biblical. The church is the assembly. In 1 Corinthians 11, 1. So I don't follow man, I follow Christ. You've heard this.

I don't follow any man. What did Paul say? Imitate me as I also imitate Christ. Follow me as I follow Christ. So in so much as someone is a leader and they're following Christ, follow them. Follow someone.

Listen, we all follow someone. There's men that I know that are leaders among leaders. And I look up to them and I respect them because they're worthy of respect. One final illustration and we'll close.

Imagine if this kind of thing went on in the military. If each soldier said, you know what, I'm an army of one. Oh, wait a minute, wasn't that the slogan for a while? I don't know who came up with that.

But imagine if somebody said, a soldier said, I don't follow anyone. I just follow God or something. I refuse to accept any correction. I refuse to follow orders.

How would that go? It doesn't go, yeah.

And it would be complete disorder and chaos. That's what we're seeing in society. And anything that happens in society, it's only a matter of time before it trickles down into the church. So in conclusion, let's do our best to uphold godly standards.

Let's do our best to be a people of respect. Who respect those who are in authority. Let's close in prayer. Father, I pray that you would use this message to your honor and glory and for our good. And it's a challenging message because we're all sons of Adam.

We all struggle with the flesh. And we can all be tempted by this. You sent your son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross and to rise again. That we would be indwelt by the Holy Spirit. That we would have the power in the Spirit to overcome the flesh.

And I pray that if someone has never trusted in Jesus as their Lord and Savior, they would do that. And then walk in the Spirit to live out this standard. Because you've given us the power. We have the ability through the Spirit to do this.

To show respect for our parents, for our elders, for those who are in authority. That we may live a quiet and peaceable life. In all godliness and all reverence. For this is good in the sight of Christ our Savior.

We pray it in His name. Amen. Thanks for listening. I'm Pastor Michael Grant from Morris Coronet Church. If you'd like to listen to the complete message or if you'd like more information about the ministry, visit our website, morriscoronetchurch .com.

We'd love to have you join us some Sunday morning here in Leverett. Until next time, with the grace of God, be with you.