Should We Practice Church Discipline?

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Hey everybody, I'm Pastor Jeff Durbin with Apologia Church. I want to thank you all so much for watching the content right here on Apologia Studios channel

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What you're about to watch is a sermon, a message from Apologia Church's worship service

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Word of God So we thank you so much for partnering with us to send this out across the world I just wanted to say something before you actually watch this and that is that I'm not your pastor

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Though I'd love to be I am NOT your pastor and it's very important as you're watching this

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Local body of believers in your area. So thank you again so much for watching these and sharing them.

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God bless you gospel according to Matthew chapter 18 gospel according to Matthew chapter 18 that is

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The first gospel we have lined up in the new testament So if you're new to the bible, uh, not quite halfway through but right after that white page in the middle gospel according to Matthew Chapter 18 now.

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We've actually come pretty far. I told you over the next couple of months You're going to see this hitting its climax the peak

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Where you're going to start to see all of the early promises of the lord. Jesus of judgment impending judgment

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Actually escalating now promises made direct promises made to that generation About what was about to befall them as the people of god as the covenant people of god

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We chose the gospel according to matthew as you get there because we wanted to do a gospel that would give you

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The greatest connection to the old testament So if you look at your gospels, you have the synoptics matthew mark and luke that means seeing together

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You can line them up side by side Sometimes luke will use more gentile terminologies for those who aren't familiar with the old testament scriptures

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Sometimes mark will shorten an account or give a little more detail And of course you look at john and john is completely unique And not in the line of the synoptic

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So they all have their all their all they all have their purposes and their audience And they're all a little bit different and they give us this beautiful complex amazing picture of jesus

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Truly is amazing multifaceted But matthew in particular is the gospel primarily written towards the jews in a jewish context

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So matthew uses the most old testament connection. He'll quote directly from the old testament.

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He uses old testament symbolism And imagery so if you want to get the old testament connection to the lord jesus in a gospel

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Gospel according to matthew, but what's interesting is that as you get into matthew chapter 18 It's um, it might seem kind of hodgepodge, but it's not it's all very much connected

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We're in matthew chapter 18 now starting in verse 15 And as we are opening your bibles and getting there

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I want you to know as I said ahead of time that this is a highly Controversial section of scripture not because it ought to be not because it's difficult to understand what's happening in this passage

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It's controversial in the light of the current context that we live in today in terms of evangelical churches professing christian churches who actually don't practice this regularly on a large scale so matthew gospel according to matthew chapter 18 verse 15 hear now the words of the living and the true god

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If your brother sins against you go and tell him his fault between you and him alone

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If he listens to you you have gained your brother But if he does not listen take one or two others along with you that every charge

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May be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses If he refuses to listen to them

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Tell it to the church And if he refuses to listen even to the church Let him be to you as a gentile and a tax collector truly verily

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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

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Again, I say to you If two of you agree on earth about anything they ask

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It will be done for them by my father in heaven for where two or three are gathered in my name

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There am I among them as far as the reading of god's holy word, let's pray together as a church father

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Will we all come before you right now lord with fear and trembling Lord we know that your word is a gift.

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It's from your mouth We thank you that we are holding it that we have access to it. We know that Just our having your word is a gift from you and we know lord

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With your presence within us we have the ability to understand your word to be taught by you Spirit of god, you are the teacher

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You guide us into all Righteousness, and we just pray god you teach us now convict us

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Lord challenge us Reveal a wrong way in us each of us lord

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If it's a lack of desire for holiness and sanctification lord, I pray that you change us there if it's an obsessive obsession with Uh nitpicking other people's sins in the body.

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I pray that you fix that Let love cover a multitude of sins in us and I pray lord You'd help us to be a church that loves you first and foremost and loves one another the way that you love us

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Help me to teach now lord as a pastor of this church. I pray that you get me out of the way I pray that lord people would leave here remembering your word

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And lord not anything in me guard my lips from error We pray that you bless us and teach us now by your spirit in jesus name.

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Amen So this is interesting. I remember a story of something that happened really only a couple of years ago

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It was a woman who was a professing believer in a local christian church She was a member of that church and she ended up in an adulterous

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Relationship while in that body The church tried to win her back the church followed matthew chapter 18.

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They went to her patiently They went to her with wisdom. They went to her And took time and they they actually were pleading with her

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To turn away from this lifestyle and to come to christ and to be healed. They were trying to win her Back, they were not heavy -handed.

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They were gracious and they were patient with her and when she would not turn and Heed the counsel of her local body many believers within that body when she wouldn't turn the church decided

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It was now time to obey jesus And to bring her before the church and to put her out of the church to exercise church discipline

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As commanded here in matthew chapter 18 Well so upset was this woman this adulterous woman

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With what the church was going to do by bringing it before the entire church to expose it And to actually tell her she could no longer fellowship in the church until she repented

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She was so upset that the word was going to get out about what she did that. She went to the media

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To tell them how upset she was about the church exposing her before the church

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Think about that one So now instead of just being exposed in her local christian body

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She went to the national media to complain that this church was going to out her in public And she told the media that so now more people knew about it

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But that goes to tell you sort of the the problem that we have today in christian culture in the west

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Another example, how many you guys saw recently that church? Where was it? Was it? Uh, was it kentucky?

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Was it tennessee? It was was it kentucky. Yeah, it was the church in kentucky That um recently sent out letters to I think 60 maybe more

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Uh members who hadn't shown up to church, uh for over a year They hadn't shown up for church.

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They're members of the church hadn't shown up for worship services They weren't participating in the body and the church finally actually sent letters to everyone saying how much they cared about them

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And they loved him But they were officially removing them from the membership role because they had been not been there for over a year

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They weren't worshiping. They weren't on the lord's day receiving sacrament. They weren't participating at all

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And so the church said well, we love you and you're welcome back at any time but we're going to remove your name from membership and the fallout from that was

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Fantastic. It was amazing. How dare you as a local church tell somebody that they're no longer in your membership role

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Because they haven't shown up for a year I mean, come on I mean, shouldn't you just be gracious?

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Shouldn't you just leave it open to whoever to whatever they want to do we live in that kind of era right now?

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We don't quite understand the meaning and the purpose of the church I'm going to talk about that Just at the beginning of this.

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I want to let the text speak for itself, but I want to lay down some Foundations if you look in your bibles,

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I want you to see hebrews chapter 12 verse 14 go to the book of hebrews Chapter 12 verse 14

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Hebrews 12 14 I know that um I've always encouraged my family to give you more time to get there.

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So I want to do that right now Uh, if you haven't read the book of hebrews encourage you to to do so as soon as possible very very important work and in hebrews chapter 12 verse 14 it says something powerful here to the church

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I want you to see it for yourself in terms of what the bible says about our Sanctification our life of holiness as those who have turned to christ in faith and are being transformed by god.

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It says this strive for peace with everyone Strive for peace with everyone and for the holiness without which no one will see

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The lord and for the holiness without which no one will see the lord it's Compelling really to see where we are now

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On a popular level with the gospel. We understand the gospel In this way,

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I think primarily today in the west We understand the gospel to mean that there's someone named jesus who claimed to be god

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He lived of course a perfect life. He was righteous and blameless. He died for sins and he rose from the dead

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He was a sweet man. He never really judged or condemned anybody. He was all about love and He never really would have said anything harsh or difficult

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And this is the message of the gospel if you want to go to a place called heaven one day And not a place called hell then this is this is what you do

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You just say this prayer read the prayer On the back of this book or on this paper read this prayer

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And if you have said that prayer at some time in your life That means that your ticket has been punched for heaven one day

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You will go to heaven one day and not to hell why because you've prayed that prayer

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You read that tract you prayed that prayer you you had and you acquiesced to the facts of jesus

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That's all that's necessary you acquiesce and you say all that's true and because of that Acquiescence because you've said that that means now you are going to heaven one day and not to hell

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That's on a popular level what we understand the gospel to be of course That's not how you will find the gospel enunciated or proclaimed in the new testament record

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You will never find the apostles proclaiming the gospel in the sort of way. I just described to you

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You actually have the gospel being talked about as the gospel of the kingdom the good news of the kingdom you hear the good news being proclaimed as Repent and believe the gospel turn from your sin to the living god be reconciled to god

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Jesus talks to massive crowds of people He turns and says to them things that talk them out of coming to him and following him

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He says if anyone comes to me and does not hate and he names the most popular people in your life

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The closest people to you and he says in even your own life. You're not worthy to be my disciple

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He says count the cost to come to me He says you must come to take up your cross and follow me which in that day

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Meant come and do the death march. You are letting go of your life You are denying yourself.

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You are coming to jesus in faith in him to receive the Gift of eternal life and righteousness and here's what's distinct very important It wasn't a message proclaimed like someday.

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Do you want to go to heaven pray this prayer? The message was do you want heaven now?

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And by heaven, I mean god Christ him his righteousness forgiveness eternal life salvation the spirit of god

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Do you want to be born again? Do you want to be made alive and the gospel was proclaimed turn from sin be reconciled to god be saved today

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Today is the day of salvation Salvation the gospel was about peace with god today

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It was about eternal life righteousness of god Credited to me through faith in jesus through his work alone

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Not my righteousness. All those are filthy rags Not my works of obedience not in the past not present not ever

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It was about jesus work and righteousness and you receive him through faith But the call of the gospel make no mistake about it was to deny yourself

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To come and die to put your faith in christ to be made New to be made alive

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Paul describes it in romans chapter 6. He says this what should we say then after he just Explains the gospel as a gospel of grace and faith apart from any works

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All through christ's work alone him being the propitiation The diversion of wrath in our place the full absorption of wrath jesus

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Displayed publicly so that god may remain just And the justifier the one who has faith in jesus and it's all by god's grace

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It's all faith It's all a promise through abraham and his descendants and it's all god credited me righteousness apart from works of law

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And not counting my sins against me and it's all jesus. No works circumcision works of law

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Nothing. It's jesus alone and romans 6 comes paul anticipates

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He anticipates the objection of the cults when they hear about the grace of god and faith alone in jesus

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No works of law all jesus all to his glory all to his name They say so what you can just continue in sin because you believe in jesus because you say you trust in jesus

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Now you can do whatever you want paul anticipates The imaginary objector and he says this what shall we say then shall we continue in sin?

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So that grace may abound he says what? God forbid may it never be he says how shall we who died to sin?

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Continue to live in it and he says I want you to count yourselves dead to sin and alive to god

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That's how the gospel Interacts with the believer when they turn to christ in faith and make no mistake about it

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This needs to be said hebrews 12 14 says what it says

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It says very clearly strive for peace with everyone and for the holiness without which no one will see the lord

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Make it very very clear with the scriptures. The bible teaches that if somebody has been born again

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Born from above if they've been indwelled by the spirit of god if they've been made alive and renewed in jesus if god

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Indwells that person Then that means listen closely Here's the hope that he who began a good work in you will complete it until the day of jesus christ

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It means that you've been made alive You're no longer the same thing if any man is in christ.

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He is a what? new creation The old things have passed away new things have come and the call to the church

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Is strive for peace with everybody and for the holiness without which

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Nobody will see god nobody Knows god who is not striving for holiness

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Let me say it again if you are not striving If you are not i'm not saying perfection.

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I'm not saying falling into sin I'm saying if you are not the kind of person who's living in constant repentance

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And pursual of the glory of god and his name Being magnified if you're not pursuing holiness and righteousness, then here's here's what needs to be said

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I want to say it with love and compassion because i'm a wretch. I am a wretch. I am no good in myself

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I am not righteous. I want to say it if you are not pursuing holiness. You are not a believer

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You are not a christian Just because a person has affections

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For the word of god and christian culture and what it means to be in the church just because you like to listen to sermons

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Just because you appreciate bible studies just because you like christian fellowship It does not mean that you know god because you're comfortable with the christian culture

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The bible teaches that if a person is in christ, they are new they are seated with christ at the right hand of god

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They are raised up with him Their life is hidden with god in christ and they have now a new nature born from above and now

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Their heart has gone ezekiel 36 from a heart of stone to a heart of what everybody

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Flesh a heart that was once hard towards god is now malleable. It's soft

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It actually is workable in god's hands and I want to say if that hasn't happened to us

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Fundamentally changed from the bottom up i'm not talking about perfection I'm not talking about you're now no longer struggling with sin

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If it hasn't happened though to where there is now a struggle with sin. I have no basis to say that I know god

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Hebrews says Strive for holiness without which

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No one will see god Those who know christ who have been truly redeemed Through faith alone by grace alone are people that pursue holiness

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That's foundational. Okay now go back to matthew chapter 18 With all that said in terms of foundations, what does the bible say?

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I want to remind you as you enter this text to some things we've already read in in matthew I just want to point you back to it because it's really important and I love this text not just because It gives us a strong position to as a church grow together and to love one another and a properly actually

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Be sanctified together as a body, but I love this because there's something that happens in this text That's compelling in terms of jesus relationship to the law

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Of god very important text here You'll remember that we actually spent a lot of time in matthew chapter 5 verses 17 through 19

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I want you to keep a finger here And I want you to see how jesus relates to the law of god which shows

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That he is the suffering servant. He is the anointed one the messiah the promised one the deliverer because how he uses the law of god

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You need to see it. So keep your finger here and go to matthew chapter 5 just briefly. I want you to see it

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Matthew 5 17 Matthew 5 17

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Jesus says this Do not think That I have come to abolish the law of the prophets.

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I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them For truly I say to you until heaven and earth pass away

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Not an iota not a dot will pass from the law until all is accomplished therefore watch this whoever

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Relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven but whoever does them and Teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

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That's the kingdom of god. That's christ's rule For I tell you unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and pharisees

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You will never enter the kingdom of heaven. They had a righteousness. There was a self -centered righteousness. It was a man -centered righteousness

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It wasn't god's righteousness. You need christ's righteousness or you don't enter the rule of god

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But note what jesus says here the words in the greek if you want to write it down Do not think that I have come to abolish the law of the prophets

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I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them the wording there in the beginning is this may namasete and in the greek language may

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Namasete actually is a way to express in the strongest possible terms.

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Listen watch. It's not this Stop thinking. Hey guys Stop thinking that i've come to abolish the law or the prophets.

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He actually says this may namasete means this Don't even begin Don't let it enter into your mind

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Don't let the seed start to grow in your mind that i've come to abolish the law of the prophets

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I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them may namasete don't even begin to think don't even start

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Don't even think about this in your mind. I have not come to do that Now you see jesus in matthew 15 10 chapters away

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In a conflict with the jews of his day who had erected a tradition

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Alongside scripture and they said watch this watch they said this scripture is god's word It's his divine word and rule and law.

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We we observe torah. We observe the tanakh We have all of that we respect it, but we have this divine tradition here that you must follow god gave that to We got to follow that Now in matthew 15 go there matthew 15

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Chapter 1 you see jesus appealing to god's law over against their tradition

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Notice jesus says don't think i've come to destroy the law of the prophets I haven't come to destroy them but to fulfill them and in matthew 15 jesus now confronts them

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When they say this the pharisee scribes came to jesus from jerusalem and said

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Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders for they do not eat They do not wash their hands when they eat he answered them and why do you break the commandment of god?

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for the sake of your tradition For god commanded honor your father and your mother and whoever reviles father or mother must surely die

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But you say If anyone tells his father or his mother what you would have gained from me is given to god

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He need not honor his father So for the sake of your tradition you have made void the word of god.

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Follow me on this. Follow me Jesus says don't even begin to think that i've come to abolish the law of the prophets.

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I have not Come to abolish but to fulfill And then there's an instance where jesus actually has the law of god lined up against their tradition and he says

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Woe to your tradition Woe to your tradition you've called this divinely inspired tradition

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Essentially, he says you've voided the word of god because the law of god says this But you say this and you've voided god's law.

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Woe to you There's jesus upholding law of god and now Matthew chapter 18 before you again

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Jesus says if your brother sins against you go and tell him his fault between you and him alone

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If he listens to you, you've gained your brother But if he does not listen take one or two others along with you that here it is

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Every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses Here's jesus now

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Taking the law of god It's actually a law of justice

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This is in the law of god in terms of how are you to receive accusations? against anybody

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In a court of law, how do you actually charge somebody as guilty? And the law of god condemns outright condemns the practice of Indicting somebody or condemning somebody

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On the basis of one witness There needed to be two or three independent lines of witness and testimony

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And so what god does here jesus does here is he actually goes back to the old testament law of god

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Not to the ten commandments He goes to actually god's judicial law You have moral law in god's law.

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You have ceremonial law You have civil law in god's law and in this case jesus appeals to a standard in god's civil code

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Which is not to receive an accusation Unless it's on the basis of two to three

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Witnesses two to three independent lines of witness notice what jesus does here very important.

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Follow me on this This is critical today when so many try to deny that the word of god the law of god has abiding relevance today

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Jesus does not say. Oh, well guys, you know that we're in the new covenant new covenant's coming

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You know that things are going to change and I just want you to pull this one law over Make sure that you have two or three witnesses

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He just assumes the continuity of god's standards of justice

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Into the new covenant. He just assumes the continuity now get me on this. This is really important Are there things in god's law in the old testament that we are not to observe today?

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Yes If you are erecting the dietary restrictions of the old testament law you are in big h heresy big h if you are erecting

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Symbols and pictures and anything in the old testament that was pointing to jesus that was meant to fade away

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Dietary restriction dress code all those things if you are erecting that that is dangerous however

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The law of god is assumed throughout the new covenant and in this instance

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Jesus tells us through the life of the church. How are you supposed to actually? Employ This issue of sanctification and working together to grow and to heal and church discipline.

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What does he do? He assumes god's judicial standards of this you don't accept a charge against anybody

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Unless it's on the basis of two to three witnesses Can I ask you a question?

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This is just we pull out for a second and just get like personal Do you as believers today?

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Do you hold to that In your own personal lives What I mean by that is this say for parents parents now say you have small kids

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And let's say you have small kids who get into a fight with each other, right? I know it's unusual, but let's pretend it happens

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Um, you have children they get in a fight with each other and then they come running into the room and making accusations To one another let me ask you a question.

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Do you pick right there? The the the issue of justice do you pick say the younger child?

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Because they're just so sweet and they couldn't possibly be doing what this person is saying Or do you pick the older child because well,

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I know them and they wouldn't usually lie Or do you actually try to observe god's judicial standards of receiving accusations?

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Do you just make a decision willy -nilly based upon gut as a parent or do you do what jesus does here?

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And actually appeal to the law of god in terms of there must be two to three independent lines of witness and testimony proof

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Of something are you being just in your personal relationships? Lord, how about this ladies?

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If you're in a group with some women From church and you guys are you guys are talking and then somebody

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Actually enters into the conversation and talks about a sister in christ and Starts making accusations or they claim things about this woman something she's done or something

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She said do you receive that just instantly because you like this sister you trust her

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Because she's your close close friend Or as a believer, do you actually do what jesus does here?

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And appeal to the law of god as the standard in terms of how we receive accusations

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Or actually confront sin or crimes Have have we held to that as a church?

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And you might be saying Well, jeff, that's a that's a heck of a lot to pull off of one passage I want to just suggest to you that it's not one passage

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It's throughout the entire bible both old and new a couple examples ready to write just a couple examples

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I'll try to go through this quickly because there is so many. Um, move with me faster. Forgive me if I go real fast

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I just want you to see them keep a finger in matthew, of course 18, and I want you to move here to deuteronomy chapter 19 numbers deuteronomy

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First five books of the bible are known as the torah the law And Deuteronomy 19

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Is a deuteros means second namas means law So deuteronomy means the second giving of the law deuteros

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Namas deuteronomy second giving of the law. It's a restatement in many ways of the law of god itself

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It's an unpacking of the law. So deuteronomy chapter 19 verse 15.

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I want you to see it with your own eyes It says a single witness shall not suffice

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Against a person for any crime or for any wrong in connection with any offense that he has committed only on the evidence of two witnesses or three witnesses shall a charge be

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Established so in god's judicial law notice here. We are not in the ten commandments

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We're not in the ten commandments. We are in god's Judicial law here. How are you to receive charges against anybody?

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How are you to make your mind up about whether a crime or a sin has been done? But can

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I show you something else? That's powerful um Boy we live in a time that is so sad

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You know, it's interesting so many times We've been asked as a church. Why do you guys why are you like the puritans?

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Why do you care so much? About the law of god and culture and society. Why why do you care?

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Why don't you just want to preach the gospel and we say well we're doing that and When people love jesus their hearts are changed and god's law is put within them

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So that ought to matter to us as well. What does god's law actually say? But you know One of the things that has settled my heart and my soul on the law of god and its importance its abiding relevance today

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Is the times that I have seen? People that I love Destroyed in our corrupt courts today i've seen lives literally destroyed

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Because our judicial system does not hold to god's standards About what is just about receiving accusations?

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there are people who are Brought before the court who are condemned and sentenced listen on the basis of zero witnesses in our culture and zero evidence

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You have people in our nation Whose lives are permanently destroyed by the magistrates?

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With no witnesses No evidence based upon purely circumstantial Evidence and hearsay

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Lives utterly destroyed And god says this receive no accusation unless it's on the basis of two to three witnesses, but watch what else happens here.

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This is Powerful You've heard about perjury in court.

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That's where somebody lies in court God had a protection in his judicial law even about The false witness in court and here's what it is.

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I want you to see it because it is powerful It says this in the same text. You got to have two or three witnesses.

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Look at verse 16 if a malicious witness Arises to accuse a person of wrongdoing

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Then both parties to the dispute shall appear before the lord Before the priests and the judges who are in office in those days

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The judges shall inquire diligently And if the witness is a false witness and has accused his brother falsely

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Then you shall do to him as he had meant to do to his brother

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So you shall listen to it. Here it is So you shall purge the evil

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From your midst underline highlight get that passage because that relates directly to church discipline

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You want to see this as a restatement of what's throughout scripture purge the evildoer from among you from your midst

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Listen to what that says. Did you catch it? If somebody goes to court And they give false testimony in court.

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What does the law of god say happens to that false witness? Whatever punishment was going to be meted out for the defendant

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Is now going to be given to the person who bore false witness in court They get what would have been coming to them just consider how that would actually preserve

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The civil magistrate today if we in america said god's law is just god's law is true

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It is righteous if you come into a court and give false testimony Whatever was going to happen to the defendant will now be given to you

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Just consider it if a person bears false testimony in court about rape about Murder, then the judge would give to the person who bore false testimony

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The actual sentence that would have been given to the defendant just imagine how that would preserve The civil magistrate in terms of people not wanting to give false testimony

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You've got to have two to three eyewitnesses two to three independent lines of testimony and no false witnesses

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Or what would have happened to the defendant happens to the false witness. These are god's standards

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This is what jesus held to now back to matthew chapter 18. Jesus Tells the church if your brother sins against you go and tell him his fault between you and him alone

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Can I just point this to something really really important here? If you've checked out at all, I need you to come back for a second.

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That's important You'll notice two things At least two things about what jesus says about church discipline very important one

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It's slow It's slow It's patient It's wise slow

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Church discipline is not quick It's not with your gut It's not with your emotions

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You're not trying to win something other than your brother or your sister church discipline is slow

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Number two church discipline is about winning Your brother or sister back to god

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It's not about you And your personal likes and dislikes It's not about you and I and what makes us comfortable in terms of who's around us

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It's about winning a person back to god So it's slow And it's about winning your brother and not

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Arguments notice what it says if your brother sins against you go and tell him his fault between you and him alone

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If he listens to you, you've gained your brother So you'll notice that it's completely private

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If there's an issue of sin in the body and we're talking about sin, that's destructive Sin that is defined by scripture not by you

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This is something that is totally private What i'm not called to do by the lord. Jesus Is actually go and talk to six other people in a bible study

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About this person's sin before I go and approach them, you know what that's called tell me gossip gossip

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What I do first is I go completely privately to this person to try to win that person back to god

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So that's what you need to recognize what I need to recognize about church discipline Is this is not something that is done willy -nilly notice also in the spirit that it's done.

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It's done very cautiously I'm trying to win this person back I go to them first to try to call them back and how is the spirit?

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Well, I want to point you to a text just go ahead and just write it down first peter chapter 4

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Verse 8 just write it down first peter 4 8 it says Peter says above all love one another get it ready get it into you

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Let's get it into us right now got this ready the apostle peter through inspiration says this above all above Everything above everything else i've written to you ready love one another

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You can talk about your theology. You can talk about eschatology. You can talk about mercy and sacrifice

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You can talk about the spiritual house of god being built up peter says this ready above Everything love one another everything else

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And then he says this Love covers a multitude of sins

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Love covers a multitude of sins get this ready We are all sinners in this room.

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You got the everyone good with that. Yes You're all sinners. I'm a sinner your leadership.

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We're sinners. We're all sinners in this room Captured by the love of god and jesus god chose before the world began to save us in jesus

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And to call us together in this body and I want to warn you about the future. Are you ready? Somebody in this body is going to sin against you

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You guys got that you ready? So then when it comes you don't think it's strange when it does ready

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Somebody in this body is going to rub you the wrong way You guys are already thinking about that person right now in your minds

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Right somebody in this body is going to tick you off somebody in this body is going to be so different from you

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You're going to struggle you're going to strive and maybe you even see each other in the hallway at church

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And you know and they know that there's something between us, right? And we're going to keep it cool and chill because we love jesus and all but just so you know

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I don't like you and I don't like you that's there Let's get it out on the table.

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You got that Are you ready for this ready love one another above everything else love covers a multitude of sins

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There are sins here that happen in the body. It's gonna happen Jesus saves a bunch of sinful people and then they start hanging out with each other

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What do you think happens when sinful people hang out with each other all day every day all week bible study advanced theological training?

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Missions work. What do you think happens studio? All what do you think happens when sinners hang out what happens? sin

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Sin and you know what you remember above everything else is love covers a multitude of sins

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Most of the stuff that happens in terms of sin between one another in this body Little failings here and there little differences in personality all these things.

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You know what most of that has to be Let love cover it Let love cover it above all love each other let love just cover that someone gave you a little side eye

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Someone talked to you the wrong way. Someone said something that gnawed at you

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Love covers a multitude of sins. Let love cover However However Sometimes there are sins defined by scripture that happen within the body that jesus says when they happen

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Go win your brother Go win your sister It's thoughtful it's prayerful.

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It's patient. It's slow And you go to that person it's quiet So, you know what the first rule is

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When you see a brother or sister falling slipping Check your heart Check your heart

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Why do I feel like I need to talk to this person about something? They need to be sanctified and why? Is it because they're really going to destroy themselves?

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Is this an issue? I do see god sanctifying in them in I just feel like I need to say something I just got to get one in So I feel like i'm spiritual above them and I need to help guide them and lead them in the righteousness

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And so it's up to me to sort of confront Or or do I see this person with the eyes of jesus?

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Am I walking to them with humility and truly desiring to see them one back to god?

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Do I see them going on a course and a life that will destroy them and maybe even other believers within the body of jesus?

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What's your motivation? What is the motivation jesus says go to write it down matthew 7 3 through 5 it's the favorite passage of unbelievers atheists

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Agnostics everywhere. What does it say? Why are you trying to take out the speck in your brother's eye when you got a what?

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Log coming out of your own. We love that passage when we're unbelievers, don't we? But you notice the point of that passage is not to never bring righteous judgment

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It's not never confront because jesus says here in matthew 18 you confront it The point is is if you're dealing with that sin

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If you're struggling with outward overt sin in that area Then don't you go swinging your log around to pick the speck out of theirs?

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First deal with the log that's in your own eye So when i'm ever going to go talk to somebody about personal sin

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I need to check my own heart and my life and ask this question. What's my motivation right now for doing this?

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Am I trying to love this person? Am I humble before god desiring god's glory and their good?

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Do I want to see them one to god or do I in some perverse kind of way? Want this conflict to happen?

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I want them to get in trouble. I want them to be hurt in some way What's your motivation for confronting sin in someone's life?

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And are you quiet about it? You know one of the first ways you can discover whether or not your motivations are pure In this issue of church discipline is this ready?

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Have you told anybody else except that person? Because if you've talked about it with somebody else

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Then your motivations are off because you're not discovering what's best for that person and their relationship with god

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You've told other people before you've actually talked to them, but jesus says this he says

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You've gained your brother if If he has does not listen take one or two others along with you that every charge may be established by the evidence of two

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Or three witnesses jesus now is going back to the law of god you use god's judicial standards you bring

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People as witnesses to this person and whether they're in a repentant state of mind

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Whether there is actual evidence that they've done This is there a confession you bring witnesses to get testimony that yes, this person is in this lifestyle

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Yes, they're doing this. Yes. They're unrepentant. You bring witnesses and what's the purpose of the witnesses?

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The first time was to win the brother or sister. What's the purpose of the witnesses? What is it? to win the brother or the sister

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So jesus appeals to the law of god again. I pointed you to deuteronomy 1915

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Two to three independent lines of witness and testimony. I want to give to you as a church a couple more examples If you want to take notes take notes

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I'm, not going to go to all these flipping. I'm just going to read them to you write them down so that was

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Deuteronomy chapter 1915 another one is numbers 35 30 numbers 35 30

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If anyone kills a person the murderer shall be put to death on the evidence of witnesses No person shall be put to death on the testimony of one witness

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That's an example from numbers 35 30 This standard now also runs to the new testament.

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You have matthew 18 2 to 3 witnesses Another example is second corinthians 13 1

47:19

Paul says this this is the third time i'm coming to you Every charge must be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses

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I want you to notice in a timeline where paul said that when he said it jesus comes dies rises ascends dies rises

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Ascends he's seated on his throne now and years later the apostle paul says in second corinthians 3 13 1 he says every charge must be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses question

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Is paul now telling us we all know the law is gone We all know that is now defunct and over with But i'm going to go ahead and pull this one verse over from the old testament.

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No. No, what does he do? He assumes god's judicial standards in the new covenant time period another example

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John 8 17 in your law. It is written that the testimony of two people is true 1st timothy 5 19 new covenant now death resurrection ascension of jesus after that Do not admit a charge against an elder

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Except on the evidence of two or three Witnesses notice even in the book of revelation the highly symbolic book of revelation revelation 11 11 3 god says and I will grant authority to my

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Two witnesses and they will prophesy for twelve hundred and sixty days clothed in sackcloth

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Another example in hebrews 10 28 Anyone who has set aside the law of moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses

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We could go on but I wanted to point you to this standard being a standard in both old and new testament back to the text matthew chapter 18 patient when your brother

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Quietly go to them if they listen you gain them If they won't listen take one or two others along with you that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses

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Matthew 18 17 if you refuse it to listen to them tell it to the church And if you refuse it to listen even to the church

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Let him be to you as a gentile and a tax collector notice

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If he refuses to listen to the church Let him be as a gentile and tax collector.

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Can I ask you guys a question? um The gentiles were seen as unbelievers

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They don't know god tax collectors were seen to be swindlers people who were corrupt people who abused their own people

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They were abusing them. They were seen as people who were not consistent with god's word his law.

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They were seen as Unbelievers so when jesus tells the church In this sanctifying work of church discipline

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He says you go Quietly yourself then with two to three witnesses Then you bring them before the church if if they won't listen then

50:30

Then you have to treat them like a gentile or tax collector. Can I ask you a question? Do you abuse?

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Unbelievers in your life Can I ask you this this premier question? How do you and I treat?

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Unbelievers in our lives What's your what's your first passion?

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And goal with the unbeliever in your life. Is it to abuse them? Is it to condemn them?

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Is it to make them feel low and hurt? How do you view the unbeliever next to you say at work or in your family?

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How do you view them? You view them as an object of mission

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You view them as a person who needs the word of god in the gospel You view them as somebody to proclaim the good news to the call to repentance and faith

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So what jesus is not saying here is that what you do to the person that's under church discipline

51:28

Is you now become abusive to them? Now you put the hand up Now you don't try to reach into their life with love

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He's saying that you have to at this point now no longer affirm Their salvation you can't affirm the salvation of a person who was walking an outright blatant unrepentant sin

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It means that you treat them as a person that you don't know If they know god or not, all you can say is that now you're an object of my love and evangelism

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I want you to turn to god in faith. I want you to know jesus. I want you to come back to god It's assuming at that point as a church that this person we don't know where their heart is with god

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We don't know I'm going to treat them like they're an object of my evangelism now and the call to come to jesus in faith

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Now I want to show you this. It's really important. Remember in deuteronomy chapter 19 just a bit ago I pointed you to the passage where it says in the law of god that you are to cast out the evildoer from among you

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That's from the law of god Then jesus says here in matthew 18 you bring it before the church and then you treat them like a gentile and tax collector

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They are now put out of the fellowship and an object of your evangelism I'm going to give you another passage

52:43

From the new testament after the cross and resurrection and ascension go there quickly and we're going to wrap up here soon in first corinthians chapter 5 first corinthians chapter 5

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That's to the right You're going to pass romans you're going to pass

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Romans there and then you're going to go to first corinthians chapter 5 Can I show you just an instance of this happening in the early church

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Here's an instance in the early church where the apostle paul has to deal with an issue of sin

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Within a body in corinth and he's now speaking to the church with apostolic authority about how to handle this

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Here it is. I can't unpack the whole thing today, but I want you to see it after the resurrection and ascension

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We're still maintaining this Standard from the law of god. Here's what it says verse one

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It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you And of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans

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Paul's saying this stuff happening even the pagans They don't put up with this

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For a man has his father's wife And you are arrogant

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Ought you not to rather mourn? Let him who has done this be removed from among you notice what paul is saying there in terms of church discipline

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He's saying you're arrogant What's it mean? You're boasting. What do you think? They're boasting and they got a guy who is sleeping with his father's wife

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And these christians in corinth Are so next level right so gracious that they're arrogant.

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They're boasting in their grace We know this is happening among us. We know this guy's sleeping with his father's wife.

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We know that it's happening But we're a community of grace We're a community of love and paul actually confronts that he says

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Ought you not rather to mourn? Let him who has done this be removed from among you.

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He says for though absent in body I'm present in spirit and if present I have already pronounced judgment on the one who did such a thing

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When you are assembled in the name of the lord jesus and my spirit is present with the power of our lord

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Jesus you are to deliver this man to satan for the destruction of the flesh So that his spirit may be saved in the day of the lord.

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Your boasting is not good Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?

55:14

That's a little bit of a little bit of yeast will make its way throughout the entirety of the dough He says cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump as you

55:25

As you really are unleavened for christ our passover lamb has been sacrificed

55:30

Let us therefore celebrate the festival not with the old leaven the leaven of malice and evil with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth

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I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people Not at all meaning the sexually immoral of this world or the greedy and swindlers or idolaters since then you would need

55:50

Uh, you would need to go out of the world, but now i'm writing to you Not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he's guilty of sexual immorality

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Or greed or as an idolater reviler drunkard or swindler not even to eat with such a one for what?

56:10

Have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge god judges those outside here it is

56:20

Here's the quotation from the law of god Purge the evil person

56:28

From among you That's the apostle paul dealing with an instance of sexual immorality within the church

56:35

And he says You're to purge the evildoer From among you, but of course it has to come with witnesses

56:41

Of course this process of church discipline has to be worked through but can I ask this question? Have we understood the meaning of church discipline?

56:51

It's for that person to be one to god I have good news. By the way, that was first corinthians chapter five in second corinthians

57:01

The guy comes back And paul's answer is he's already taken enough.

57:07

You're just a love this guy. It's really a beautiful ending to that story But the point of church discipline is sanctification the point of church discipline in the local body of the church

57:16

Is to love one another and to be conformed to the image of christ together Can I say what church discipline is not about?

57:24

Just quickly. It's not about nitpicking over your personal likes and dislikes Church discipline is not enacted because somebody is different than you

57:39

Because somebody rubs you the wrong way church discipline happens over defined biblically defined issues of sin

57:48

An example is like that there This man is living in an unrepentant sexual relationship with his own father's wife

57:55

And he refuses to repent of it in that case Unrepentant sin like that you cast that person from among you and you pray ultimately

58:06

For their salvation that their spirit might be saved So, uh, let's finish the text here

58:12

Truly I say to you verse 18 Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven

58:20

What's that about? Well, jesus already said it Who did he say it to recently? We just read about he said it to peter

58:26

Whatever you bind on earth bound in heaven loose on earth loose in heaven It's also said to all the apostles right here to the followers of jesus

58:36

What is it referring to ready the declarative power of the church meaning?

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As a church comes together and declares things based upon god's word They can make declarations about god's truth and his promises

58:49

For example, if you're in here right now and you've repented and trusted in jesus

58:55

Listen closely if you are in christ right now. I say before god bound in heaven right now

59:01

You have eternal life in jesus christ You are forgiven you belong to god.

59:07

You have the gift of christ's righteousness God will never hold your sins against you. That's the declarative power of the church based upon god's word

59:16

In this case of church discipline the church also has declarative power

59:21

To remove a person from fellowship who's living in open Unrepentant rebellion

59:29

Jesus says this again. I say to you here it is. Listen to one of the most Misinterpreted passages

59:36

Here again, I say to you if two of you Agree on earth about anything you ask

59:42

It'll be done for you them by my father in heaven for where two or three are gathered in my name

59:48

There am I among them? How many of you have heard that passage quoted about christians getting together for bible studies

59:58

Right. We say hey guys, there's two or three of us here. That means jesus is right now with us

01:00:05

I got news for us as a church good news Jesus is the omnipresent god

01:00:11

He is always present with you always when you're hiding alone in your closet with your face on the ground in tears

01:00:19

Jesus is right there with you in that moment. You don't need to call your two friends over to make sure he shows up He's there.

01:00:27

I promise you he's omnipresent Watch what's powerful when jesus says where two or three are gathered in my name

01:00:34

There am I with you check it out. That's jesus as the covenant lord over his body promising that when you go through this very difficult task of Sanctification and church discipline.

01:00:48

He says this i'll be there with you I'll be there with you. That's specifically about the issue of church discipline as hard as it is

01:00:58

As soul -wrenching As it is as heart Breaking as it is.

01:01:05

Jesus says I will be there in your midst That's why

01:01:12

When we've had church discipline and apology of church I'm telling you there is something that happens in those moments that you cannot describe with words

01:01:23

There is a fear that comes over me Has come over your pastors as we have done church discipline and apology of church over the years

01:01:33

That I honestly I can't describe the feeling Because there is a promise of a special covenant presence of the lord.

01:01:41

Jesus in those moments of church discipline Jesus says I am there with you in your midst when you do this

01:01:50

I'm going to just tell you an encouraging story about it so when Pastor luke and I planted apology of church about a decade ago.

01:02:00

Um, we had this amazing church that was We never planned it.

01:02:06

We didn't know this was going to happen We had a whole different thing in our mind about where we were going and god just called together this church in this ministry and we're like Okay, god, we'll be faithful to it and we will serve you with this and we'll give our whole lives to it and we're in And so we were in and we had these amazing moments where it was just awe inspiring

01:02:26

I mean you saw people that were new believers in jesus covered in tattoos and gauges on their faces they used to have like, um like Two weeks before they were out shooting heroin and out like having sex at raves and clubs and their lives were a mess and then two weeks they're in christ and now they're at These weird all night prayer things

01:02:52

That these people used to call together. It was crazy You got people all tatted up and in love with jesus torn pants on their knees and faces before god

01:03:02

All friday night not going out getting high not going out and partying now for them

01:03:08

The most amazing thing to do on a friday night was to stay up all night and worship god and fellowship

01:03:14

And I'd get up in the morning and i'd i'd turn my social media on and i'd see pictures

01:03:19

Of the sun just coming up and all these brand new baby believers like with their arms around each other or on their faces

01:03:25

Reading their bibles. That's what they were doing all friday night I mean glorious we would have no air conditioning in this family building

01:03:33

You have people on their knees on their knees worshiping god to a projection screen because we had no band

01:03:41

And they're just in love with jesus and lives being transformed You just see it happening over and over and over and it was moments of just awesome.

01:03:50

It just blew us away and yet These were new believers almost all of them new to jesus new to the church

01:04:01

And there were people that went back to their lives of sin and rebellion There were people who were married

01:04:08

And left their wives to go live in a sexual relationship with another woman These things started happening as the church started to grow

01:04:17

And pastor luke and I had to make decisions early on Are we going to be faithful to god and his command to us as shepherds?

01:04:26

To live in accordance with jesus commands us in matthew 18 So in the first three years of church

01:04:34

I think we had somewhere around eight instances of church discipline each one of them So painful

01:04:41

Each one of them we went through with patience We went through with wisdom. We went through trying to put away our emotions

01:04:49

We went through with faithfulness to god trying to call that person back to jesus Do you know what what we actually did?

01:04:56

Was when we knew we had an issue of church discipline say on one example We had a man who had left his wife who was now living in an adulterous relationship with another woman we offered to actually

01:05:06

Get him out of the apartment that he was in because he was making excuses saying now he had no choice because he's now living

01:05:11

With this woman. We said we'll pay we had no money We said we'll pay we will pull together money to get you out of that apartment in your own place

01:05:19

Please repent, please turn away from this relationship and he refused We were in tears

01:05:25

Pleading with this man, please turn away from this relationship Come back to christ come back to the body.

01:05:31

We will love you. We will serve you Please turn away from this god calls this sin. It's going to destroy you and he refused

01:05:38

Up until four o 'clock. We've always had evening services Up until four o 'clock before we started service.

01:05:45

I was calling him pleading with him on the phone. Please don't make us do this Please come back to christ.

01:05:51

Please turn away from this. We will be here for you and he refused It was always so heartbreaking

01:06:00

One night baby church there's probably

01:06:07

Somewhere between 30 or 50 people at apologia church at this point. All of them come out of addiction to drugs and alcohol

01:06:14

And one night after fighting for people's souls for weeks Pastor luke and I had to bring three

01:06:22

Three people up for church discipline And I gotta tell you what our experience was

01:06:30

Before we did that we had fought for their souls for weeks begged them Pleaded with them called them to christ

01:06:40

And pastor luke and I had this conversation before church service that day We thought that was it.

01:06:45

We thought apology at church was over. It would not survive this We're going to bring three people before this small baby

01:06:53

Growing church and do church discipline on three separate people who were like pillars in the church

01:07:01

And we made a decision before a church that day If god only had us plant this church

01:07:07

For what we had done thus far Then that's what god did And that's what we were called to do

01:07:15

But we must be faithful to god now And being faithful to what he calls us to in matthew 18

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And so we went before this small church and we came before the church crying

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Telling them about the first person They didn't know it was coming and so the whole church is in tears everybody's crying

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I'm crying we're broken pleading for this person's soul And then as soon as this was over I said

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Now everybody I have to tell you about something else and then I brought the next one the church is just crying and broken because now we've

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Taken in the second person and as soon as that was over. I said and now I have to tell you another one

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And the church by the end of this we thought there was no way we're going to recover from this No way we're going to cover from this pain and I got to tell you brothers and sisters the next week our church

01:08:07

Was deeper in love with jesus than we had ever been before and more closely connected and more pursuing holiness than we had ever before People had an understanding of what it meant to follow jesus and to be sanctified and to be here for one another it

01:08:22

Transformed us as a church and I have good news I have good news Because of the discipline that god brought through apologia church

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People's lives were literally saved And those people many of them came

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Back and stood before this body and praised god for pastors and a church that loved them enough

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To say something And to try to reach them and win them There are people at apologia church today

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That will tell you that it's because of god's Discipline in his church that they are here in christ today.

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They were won back because of the process of church discipline It's a powerful thing

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But it's also a thing we have to enter into with fear And with trembling because god commands us to do it with the aim to win that person.

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So can I ask you this? As you think about church discipline last questions as you think about church discipline

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Are you? Are you challenging yourself or allowing yourself to be challenged right now?

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In terms of how you view your brothers and sisters in christ Do you feel challenged about the idea that you should let love cover a multitude of sins

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Do you need to repent of being nitpicky with brothers and sisters in christ

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And condemning them for things maybe you ought not to condemn them for you just need to let love cover it

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Are you convicted at all today? Did it stick? That there are times when you've seen a brother or sister doing something

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Maybe you thought it was happening and you talked about it with somebody else before you talked to them. Has that ever happened to you?

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Let us let's let this change us as a church So we become the kind of church that says we take this seriously and we love one another with depth a divine love

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That seeks to restore and not to hurt But there's another aspect of this. Here's the final one.

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This is the final one and I want to challenge myself on this as well Have we lived in as a church in a state of mind

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Where we haven't taken holiness and sanctification seriously Where we have people in our midst who are living in flagrant biblically defined unrepentant sin and we have been so timid

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So cautious that we're afraid to confront sin even when it's in our midst Would the apostle paul say to apologia church?

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Why are you boasting? in your grace You ought to be mourning

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Do we live the kind of lives where we love god and love people enough to actually say the truth? And do we do it with motivations that are pure that aim to glorify god?

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That's my hope Brothers and sisters we are a church That I would consider as a sanctified sanctifying

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Growing church. We are a church that's committed to biblical church discipline

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I pray with all my heart for the future If there's ever an instance Where god calls us to exercise church discipline that we would experience the power and the sweetness of his covenant presence

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When we gather together to do it and I pray that all of us would be transformed By these truths in scripture that this is how you're supposed to manage it

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This is the motivation you're supposed to have and this is the end goal of church discipline

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Let's pray as a church father. I pray that you'd bless us now as we finish this message on church discipline

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That you would sear it to our minds and our hearts I do pray

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God for two things now as a pastor. I pray that you purge us as a church purge us now of our nitpicking

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And our backbiting and our gossip Please purge us of this false piety

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That acts like I care for a brother or sister when I talk about their sins

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In front of other people before i've ever tried to win them Please forgive us god

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If that is in us if we've ever had the kind of false piety that looks like that purge us

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And god also I pray that you give us the strength as a church to have pure motivations

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To love a person enough To point out sin that is destructive

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And I do pray lord if we ever have to do this If we ever have to confront sin as a body like this

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I pray that you would give us unity and strength and courage and peace in jesus name.