Christ’s Plan for Protection and Restoration - Matthew 18:15-20

The previous passage emphasized the importance of protecting the members of the body of Christ from sin. He taught that we must be careful about not causing others to sin, and careful to not participate in sin ourselves. It is a matter He takes very seriously, whether dealing with sin in the lives of the lost or in the lives of believers, as we saw Matthew 18:6-9. Of His particular concern is how corrosive sin can be within His church, so what Jesus teaches His disciples in the passage is something He intends both as protection for the church as well as restoration for the sinning believer. The world we live in is exceedingly evil; it is a world under Satan’s influence, as Colossians 1:13 and I John 5:19 tell us. Part of His plan for protecting us from sin involves our learning how to practice forgiveness with one another within the church so that restoration of fellowship between believers can be possible after one believer sins against another—so that His assembly may flourish.

 How do we then deal with sin within the membership? By following the scriptural steps of what we commonly call “church discipline.” It’s a term that brings to mind different things to different people. For some, perhaps many, it evokes very negative feelings because of the harmful ways some churches have put it into practice historically, but God did not intend this process to be a negative thing—far from it. It is intended to be a corrective healing process, not a weapon—not ever. Let’s look at the subject of church discipline in the way the Scripture presents it.

(Incidentally, this passage presupposes the existence of formal membership within the early church. Numerous passages in the New Testament demonstrate this—passages such as Acts 2:40-47, and Acts 18:27 where one local church is seen to be commending certain of their members to another local church. Hebrews 13:17 outlines the responsibility of elders and pastors toward the members of their congregations and indicates that the members are to submit to the authority of their leadership. This would have been difficult to achieve apart from there being a formal membership structure within those local New Testament churches. You cannot put into practice the steps outlined here very well at all outside that context.)

 As members of Christ’s body, we have a responsibility to look out for one another, because sin is dangerous and we are all prone to having blind spots in our lives. In fact, there is special commendation for those who seek to restore to fellowship another brother (James 5:19). Those who argue for their own personal independence are missing the point that to keep on the right path they need input from fellow believers. Numerous passages in the New Testament teach us we are not to isolate ourselves from the influence of other believers but are instead to be connected and accountable to one another. We find this principle in the Old Testament, too, in places such as Proverbs 15:32; 27:6; 27:17. A “Lone Ranger” mentality may well be very American, but it is not very biblical. At heart it is just another manifestation of pride.  

CHRIST’S METHOD FOR PROTECTION AND RESTORATION OF A BELIEVER

—in five (not-so-easy) steps

1. Individual Confrontation (v. 15)

"Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother” (Matthew 18:15). When we do this, we are to go in a spirit of humility (something we know Christ highly values, thinking back on the Matthew passage just prior to this one), and love. In fact, at very heart of all the law is this essential teaching: that we are to love the Lord with all our heart and love our neighbor as ourselves.

So, under what circumstances would one believer go to another to point out a sin in his life? It would be because the one brother has sinned (committed a personal trespass), perhaps repeatedly, against the other, or because one brother sees something in his friend’s life that is leading him in the wrong direction. One way or the other, before someone takes this first step he must be sure that he is dealing with an objectively identifiable sin, that he is acting in love, that he has first taken time for careful self-examination (See Matthew 7:5 and Galatians 6:1), and that the relationship between the two of them is a genuine, loving friendship. Private sin should be addressed privately, and if at all possible, it should remain private. So, the expectation is that we first approach the offending brother alone, as in unaccompanied, and with specifics regarding the wrong before any thought of escalating the matter beyond that.

(By the way, this process is not for dealing with a “general concern” related to matters of personal wisdom. There are other approaches for dealing with those issues. Nor is it our place to examine “perceived motives.” I Cor 4:5 tells us, “Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts…” This is the Lord’s responsibility, not ours.)

This process can be a two-way street, by the way. If you know someone has something against you, reconciliation may also begin with you. Matthew 5:23, 24 says, “Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.” Jesus makes it plain that relationships within the body of Christ are important, that we should have a clear accounting of sin with each other, and in particular, that we should seek restoration with each other. In candor, this type of thing should be taking place regularly within a church—a making sure that people are rightly related to one another on a private, personal level. The Law itself establishes the precedent. Leviticus 19:17, 18 expresses it in imperatives, “You shall not hate your brother in your heart. You shall surely rebuke your neighbor, and not bear sin because of him. You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD.” Relational restoration, then, is always the point of the exercise. If you find that you cannot let go of an offense, then you need to take the offending brother through this process with you.

The two big questions are: Do we love our fellow church members enough to confront them when necessary? And, are we humble enough to receive correction with a proper spirit when it comes from another believer? 

2. Group Intervention (v. 16)

When someone is unrepentant after having been approached privately, then group intervention is the next step. The offended brother takes with him one or two fellow believers of a particular kind and again approaches the unrepentant brother. “Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted” (Galatians 6:1). The people involved in the intervention do not need to have been witnesses to the sin. They are there to establish, or provide confirmation that the issue in question is objectively, verifiably sin according to Scripture. Their evaluation of the situation will be what determines if the confrontation is legitimate and should go forward, or if there is no biblical issue and should be dropped (See Deuteronomy 19:15).

3. Congregational Involvement (v. 17a)

If the person confronted refuses to hear them out and resolve the matter, it is then that the matter is brought before the whole assembly.

4. Appropriate Treatment (v. 17b)

The person who caused the offense needs to hear from the assembly. This is something not often practiced in today’s churches. Today, when an issue of this nature is brought before a congregation it is treated as something no more than to deliberate and render a decision on. However, the church needs to not just hear the matter, but to also admonish the individual.

There are three possible ways to handle this:

·       With the offending brother present in the congregational meeting to hear from the group and be admonished in person about the harms his actions are causing. This is an uncommon scenario, but should it come about, the congregation must approach the matter in gentleness and love.

·       More commonly, with individuals from the congregation reaching out to the offending brother personally. There is no time limit attached to this process in Scripture. In fact, since the goal is reconciliation, there needs to be a concerted effort over time to pray for, seek out, and try to help restore the erring believer to right relationship with the Lord and with the assembly.

·       With the church leadership approaching the offending member on behalf of the congregation.

If none of these things achieve restoration, the assembly must then resort to the final step, which is to treat him as they would a heathen or a tax collector. What does this mean? It means treating that person as an unbeliever, since the word heathen means unbeliever. The common point of confusion is whether to treat the unrepentant brother the way the Jews treated heathens and tax collectors, which was to separate from them entirely (See Exodus 12:15), or to follow Jesus’ model. Jesus rubbed shoulders with them and reached out to them. So, following His example, the teaching here does not seem to be describing a removal of this person so as to cut off contact altogether. If the entire point of these teachings is centered around restoration, and it is, then we must not lose sight of this hope for the brother whose life is not right with the Lord. Even if you have found it necessary to view that one as an unbeliever, you continue to pray for him to either be saved or be reconciled to God.

In I Corinthians 5 the apostle Paul provides us with a model for handling an unrepentant believer. In this case, the church at Corinth had been ignoring an egregious sin involving what Jewish law viewed as an incestuous relationship between two members of the fellowship, something that Paul seeks to correct in his letter to them. But even in such an extreme situation as this, the ultimate goal is restoration. Although he admonishes them to deliver this person up to the Lord’s judgment or chastening, it is so he may be brought to repentance. In a separate situation described in I Timothy 1:20, Paul instructs this young pastor to take a similar hands-off approach, again with the implied hope of future restoration. “This charge I commit to you, son Timothy that you may wage the good warfare, having faith and a good conscience, which some having rejected, concerning the faith have suffered shipwreck, of whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I delivered to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme.”

Is there ever a time when total excommunication, or disassociation is appropriate? Yes, when the person is contentious and causing disruptive problems within the congregation (See Romans 16, II Thessalonians 3, Romans 16:17, Titus 3:10, John 10:11, and II Thessalonians 3:6). However, we are instructed to not treat them as enemies, but admonish them as brethren.

5. Gospel Restoration (vv. 18-20)

Finally, Matthew 18:18-20 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 of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”

The difficulty in understanding this passage lies in how to translate the verb tenses. Different English language translations attempt to clarify it in different ways. Literally, the phrase in the Greek says, “whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven,” and “whatever you loose…shall have been loosed in heaven.” The second verb of each phrase is in a tense called the future perfect, and its usage in both phrases indicates it to be referring to an event prior to the time of the verb just preceding it. It is a verb tense we seldom use, and one that someone who is not a grammar buff may find difficult to wrap his head around. But understanding the verb sequence adds clarity, even if it requires extra thought.

The phrase “if two of you agree on earth…” is ambiguous enough to have prompted a number of interpretations. Perhaps the one that most easily harmonizes with the whole idea of reconciliation is the one put forward by theologian James Garrett—that the two people referred to here are the one offended and the one who caused the offense. So, we can settle on that one while keeping an open mind to other options.

The conclusion of the matter is this: As difficult as it may be to act on these steps, we do not know how the Lord will use properly carried out church discipline in a person’s life. The case Paul initially addressed in I Corinthians had this resolution:

“… This punishment which was inflicted by the majority is sufficient for such a man, so that, on the contrary, you ought rather to forgive and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one be swallowed up with too much sorrow. Therefore I urge you to reaffirm your love to him… lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices” (II Corinthians 2:6-11).

May that be an encouragement to us all.

Concluding Questions

·       Do we realize the deception and danger of sin?

·       Do we understand the value of church membership and church discipline as loving protection?

·       Do you love people enough to go to them when there is sin and are you humble enough to receive correction?