Understanding An Important Passage

1. Understanding An Important Passage Matthew 18:15-17

2. Matthew 18:15-17 “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. 16 But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses.

3. Matthew 18:15-17 17 If he refuses to listen to them, 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.”

4. Good Intentions • This Lesson Is For Preventive Reasons Only, So It Will Help Us In The Future Not To Make The Mistakes That Many Have Made In The Past • Also, In The Recent Past Some Of My Close Associates (In Another Congregation) Had Problems With A Misapplication OF This Passage.

5. This May Surprise You • But This Is A Very Misunderstood Passage Of Scripture By Some Brethren. • If It Is Misunderstood By Christians, It Can Cause Untold Damage To A Congregation. • When It Is Misapplied, It Creates Confusion And Sometimes Division

6. Private Sins Versus Public Sins

7. Matthew 18:15-17 • The Aforementioned Verses State How The Offended Is To Deal With The Offender In Private Trespasses. • The Passage Is Not Giving A Procedure For Handling Public Sins.

8. Public Sins—Bible Examples • Public Sins Are To Be Dealt With Publicly. Matthew 23:1–3 (ESV) Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, 2 “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat, 3 so practice and observe whatever they tell you—but not what they do. For they preach, but do not practice. JESUS

9. Public Sins—Bible Examples • Public Sins Are To Be Dealt With Publicly. 1 Timothy 5:20-21 Those who continue in sin, rebuke in the presence of all, so that the rest also will be fearful of sinning. 21 I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of His chosen angels, to maintain these principles without bias, doing nothing in a spirit of partiality. ELDERS

10. David Lipscomb “When we cover up sins in the church, we corrupt the morality and virtue of the church and destroy its efficacy to honor God or to save men. Evil teachers and evil men must be exposed and purged out of the church, or the church becomes corrupt and becomes a synagogue of Satan instead of a church of Jesus Christ.”

11. This Verse Has Reference To Elders Who Sin, But Another Application Would Be To Any Brother.

12. When Peter Acted The Hypocrite To Set Himself Against, To Resist Galatians 2:11-14 But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. 12 For before certain men came from James, he was eating with the Gentiles; but when they came he drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party. PAUL

13. When Peter Acted The Hypocrite Galatians 2:11-14 And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy. 14 But when I saw that their conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all, …” Matt. 18:15-17 Doesn’t Apply PAUL Reproved Him Before All

14. The Specified Sin Of Incest Among The Corinthians By Whom? 1 Corinthians 5:1, 4 It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans, for a man has his father’s wife. 4When you are assembled in the name of the Lord Jesus and my spirit is present, with the power of our Lord Jesus, PAUL

15. Specified The Sin Of Incest Among The Corinthians 1 Corinthians 5:5 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. PAUL Handed Over CORINTHIAN CONGREGATION SATAN’S DOMAIN Evil Doer Fellowship Broken

16. Specified The Sin Of Incest Among The Corinthians LOVE 1 Corinthians 5:5 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. PAUL Handed Over CORINTHIAN CONGREGATION SATAN’S DOMAIN Evil Doer Fellowship Broken

17. Private Sins—Bible Examples • Let’s Go Back To Matthew 18:15-17 “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. JESUS Brother A Brother B Is Sinned Against By

18. Private Sins—Bible Examples • Let’s Go Back To Matthew 18:15-17 “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. JESUS Brother B Brother A tell him his fault (Sin)

19. Private Sins—Bible Examples “the only entity in a class—‘only one, alone.” • Let’s Go Back To Matthew 18:15-17 “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. JESUS Brother B Brother A PRIVATE YOU HIM Alone

20. Comments On Matt. 18:15-17 “There is an unnecessary amount of ignorance regarding this matter of discipline. It is astonishing that some will argue that Matt. 18:15-17 is a model for all manner of discipline, whereas the Lord was there telling how to settle personal differences” [Reflections, p. 283). BARNES

21. Comments On Matt. 18:15-17 Commenting on “trespass against thee,” he wrote, “That is, injure thee in any way, by words or conduct. The original word means sin against thee. This may be done by injuring the character, person, or property” (Barnes on the New Testament, Matt—Mark, p. 187). BARNES

22. Comments On Matt. 18:15-17 “The phrase (against thee) indicates what sins are here considered; those of a general nature are treated in vv. 10-14, here the sin is specified as being committed against a brother. It is necessary, however, to note that only a real sin is referred to, one that is apparent as such …This excludes what a sensitive brother may deem a sin without due warrant that it is such” (Matthew’s Gospel, p. 698). LENSKI

23. Comments On Matt. 18:15-17 “It is not every kind of sin that is here under consideration, but the personal wrong done by one brother to another” (Gospel According to Matthew, p. 177). TASKER

24. Comments On Matt. 18:15-17 “The truth is that Matt. 18:15-17 is addressing itself to a private, personal offense and has nothing to do whatsoever with public sins or preliminary steps to take in church disciplinary action in general. Let’s not be guilty of wresting and perverting Matt. 18:15-17 in applying it to a situation wherein a brother is being publicly exposed for teaching and disseminating false doctrine or openly practicing sin… WARNOCK

25. Comments On Matt. 18:15-17 We need to be upholding the hands of the faithful Christian instead of reprimanding him for reproving error and rebuking sin.” WARNOCK

26. Private Sins—Bible Examples • Galatian’s 6 Is Individual In Application Galatians 6:1 Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. PAUL

27. Private Sins—Bible Examples • Another Private Action James 5:19-20 My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, 20 let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins. JAMES

28. Application, You Decide Public Private

29. Scenario 1

30. A family decides to leave a faithful congregation, and join themselves to a church whose practices are unscriptural. Before leaving, the man of this family asks to speak to the entire congregation. Since the elders had no idea that this man and his family were removing their membership, they gave him permission to speak.

31. He tells the congregation that he and his family are leaving, and that they were planning to become members of another church (one the elders deem unscriptural). Since the man made this statement before the congregation, should the elders use the pattern of Matthew 18:15-17 to deal with the man and his family?

32. The elders decided to deal with it publicly because the man dealt with it publicly. Shouldn’t a gentle reproving public statement be made, so that other families in the congregation will not follow this family to a church that has drifted away from the Lord?

33. Scenario 2

34. A member sins against another member of the congregation at the church building in the presence of others who witness this incident. Does Matthew 18:15 apply? Is this public or private? Is it necessary for the offended to go to the man alone to tell him of his sin? Or could the offended and the witnesses go to the elders and have them deal with the man?

35. The man cries foul because he’s claiming the offended should have dealt with him privately. Wrong!

36. Scenario 3

37. You’re in a Bible class and the Bible class teacher is the preacher, and somehow the discussion gets on the subject of psychologists and the Bible. And someone in the class says, “I don’t know how someone can be a psychologist and go to heaven.” There was someone in that class who was faithful to the Lord and who was getting his degree in psychology, and making such an erroneous statement was sinning against this brother. Does Matthew 18:15 apply?

38. How should this situation have been handled? • Could the preacher have rebuked the offender immediately in presence of the class? • Could the preacher or someone else in the class ask the elders to correct the offender? • The preacher decided to take it to the elders since they were the overseers of the church. Yes.

39. The elders met with the offender and what do you think he said to the elders? “The brother should have come to me privately about it.” • At the time the offender thought it was very unfair that the elders were involved with this situation. • But of his own free will, he apologized to the offended brother and to the Bible class.

40. 2 Timothy 2:15 (NKJV) Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.