God's Love through Discipline -- 3/9/08

Sunday, March 9, 2008

GOD’S LOVE THROUGH DISCIPLINE
Matt. 16:13-19; 18:15-20

Do we have a loving God? That is not a trick question, though I hope that we have learned that we must define our terms. I’m not talking about a Santa Claus God. I’m not talking about a God who will overlook sin and pretend it doesn’t exist. I’m talking about the loving God who is described in I John 4:8-10…

He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. 9. In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. 10. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

Is that the God we serve, the God who loved us enough to send His Son to take the divine wrath upon Himself, to be the substitute for us? Yes, we serve a loving God, for God is love!

Those of us who know this God through faith in Jesus Christ will spend eternity exploring the depths of His love. But in the present, what do you appreciate about His love? Have you ever thought about that? It might be a great question to meditate on, don’t you think? What do you appreciate about God’s love?

I. God Demonstrates His Love through Discipline

This morning I want to explore one way in which our God demonstrates His love. Yes, He sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins, but His love didn’t stop there? As Paul puts it in Rom. 5:10, "For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life." It’s even clearer in Rom. 8:32, "He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?" How great is His love to those who are now His sons and daughters?

Did you grow up with loving parents? I did. When I say that I had loving parents, I could tell you about all the ways my parents loved me. So what will I tell you? Will I tell you that they bought me more presents than the parents of other kids? Will I tell you that we lived in the finest house in the neighborhood? Or that we drove the most expensive car on the block? Will I tell you that my parents allowed me to go wherever I wanted? No, I wouldn’t tell you any of those things, because that wouldn’t be true. I suppose the first thing I would tell you is that my parents loved me enough to discipline me. And I must tell you that this is a very biblical answer, for we read in Prov. 13:24, "He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes." Translators differ on the way they render the word translated “betimes” by the King James…
… Amplified: “punishes him early”
… NASV: “disciplines him diligently”
… NIV: “is careful to discipline him”
… NKJV: “disciplines him promptly”
My parents must have read it, “whips him early and often.” I don’t know where they got the concept, but they must have received a heavy dose of teaching along these lines.

Don’t feel sorry for me. My parents proved their love for me by disciplining me. They not only gave me the positive discipline of teaching, but they blessed me with corrective discipline. We read in Prov 23:13-14, "Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die. 14. Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell." I don’t know that my dad knew that scripture, but he certainly understood the concept, and he did indeed prepare me for heaven!

Now you understand that I am being a bit facetious. On the other hand, I am speaking with a certain seriousness. It is certainly true that we need to understand that the rod of the Proverbs is a tool that must be used wisely and skillfully. The Proverbs do not excuse a parent who inflicts physical injury upon his child. Such a practice is wicked and is not endorsed by the scripture. Nevertheless, a lack of true discipline in the home indicates a lack of love. Though my parents weren’t perfect in their practice of discipline, they were effective in that their discipline proved to me that they loved me.

Now with that in mind let me read you one of the greatest love passages in all the Bible. It is found in Heb. 12:5-11…
And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: 6. For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. 7. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? 8. But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. 9. Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? 10. For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. 11. Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.

Many of you will recognize that the writer of Hebrews quotes from that same book of Proverbs. Let’s read it in Prov. 3:11-12, "My son, despise not the chastening of the LORD; neither be weary of his correction: 12. For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth." Isn’t that beautiful? If that is true of an earthly father who always falls short in his administration of discipline, how much more can we see the love of our Heavenly Father, who disciplines us for our profit and for His glory! On the other hand, if you are not disciplined/corrected/chastened by God, you can rest assured that you are not His child.

II. Jesus, Peter, and the Keys to the Kingdom

Now let’s change gears and read from Matt. 16:13-19…
When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? 14. And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. 15. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? 16. And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. 17. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. 18. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 19. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

Focus on verses 18-19, “And I say unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Notice that Jesus told Peter He would give unto him the keys of the kingdom of heaven. That sounds like a very significant promise, and indeed it is. But what does it mean? A key opens the door. It unlocks something so that we may enter in. So what was it that Peter would be able to unlock?

Let’s turn to Luke 11 and notice one specific way that Jesus speaks of a key. This is one of those times when Jesus was pronouncing a series of “woes” upon the scribes and Pharisees (vss. 42-47, 53). Then in verse 52 (as in 46) Jesus refers to them as lawyers. He is calling attention to the fact that they were the recognized experts in understanding, interpreting, and teaching the law of God. Listen to what He says to them in verse 52, "Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered." Jesus accused them of taking away the key of knowledge. Through the knowledge of the scriptures, they should have entered into God’s truth and ultimately into His kingdom. But because of their impure motives and misinterpretation of God’s Word, not only were they not entering into truth and into the kingdom, but they were also hindering others. They had taken away the key of understanding. They had clouded the truth of God’s Word, and that was a serious thing.

Now come back to what Jesus said to Peter: “I will give unto you the keys of the kingdom of heaven.” Peter would not be like those law experts who took away the key of knowledge. Rather, because Jesus had opened the scriptures to Peter and would empower Him with the Holy Spirit, Peter would use the key of knowledge to open the door to the kingdom. We see the fulfillment of this promise especially in Acts 2, when Peter stood before thousands and proclaimed the good news of the kingdom. As a result of Peter’s preaching, we read in Acts 2:41, "Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls." Yes, Peter faithfully used the key that Jesus gave to him.

But come back again to Matt. 16:19 and notice that Jesus didn’t promise to give Peter the key to the kingdom of heaven, but the “keys.” It is plural. Jesus speaks of more than one key. In order to explore this more fully, let’s ask this question: “Is there any other place where Jesus speaks of giving the keys of the kingdom?” Not specifically, though Jesus does say in Rev. 1:18 that He has the keys of hell and death. But notice again the context in Matt. 16:19, "And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." Jesus associates the giving of the keys very closely with this binding loosing. While in no other place does Jesus say, “I will give you the keys of the kingdom,” He does speak of this same binding and loosing in Matthew 18. Let’s read it in Matt. 18:18, "Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."

So we see that Jesus repeats these words. Here is the question: In chapter 18, to whom is Jesus speaking? This is where the old English of the King James is very helpful. In 16:19, it is “I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom, and whatsoever thou shalt bind…” But in 18:18, it is “Verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind…” In chapter 16, Jesus is speaking to one individual, and that individual is Peter, but here in chapter 18 Jesus is speaking to a group of individuals, as He uses the plural. A look at the context makes it clear that Jesus is now speaking to His disciples (it would seem to the Twelve). So what Jesus said to Peter about binding and loosing He now says to His disciples, to the Twelve. And while He does not repeat the words about giving the keys, I want to suggest to you that the keys and the binding and loosing are tied closely together.

III. The Disciplinary Process of Matthew 18

In order to get an idea of what Jesus is here saying to His apostles, we need to go back to verse 15. Let’s read Matt. 18:15-20…
Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. 16. But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. 17. And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as a heathen man and a publican. 18. Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. 19. Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. 20. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

If your brother (or sister) sins against you, here is what you are to do. You must go and speak to him privately, even as we are told in Prov. 25:9, “Debate thy cause with thy neighbor himself; and discover not a secret to another.” Of course, we have to be careful that we not wear our feelings on our sleeve and begin to think that we are constantly being sinned against, for we read in Ps. 119:165, “Great peace have they that love thy law, and nothing shall offend them.” If you discover that you are easily offended, get in the Word of God and stay there. But if there is genuine offense, if someone does wrong you and you can’t get by it, then go to him and speak to him privately about the matter. Notice that we are not told to discuss it with someone else, not even with a pastor. Jesus does not say, “Just give it some time and you will get over it.” He says to go directly to the brother or sister and deal with it privately. If we took this more seriously, not only would we avoid many misunderstandings, but we would find our relationships strengthened.

If your brother refuses to hear you, if you don’t get anywhere, then take one or two people with you to talk to this one who has sinned against you. Since you and this Christian brother or sister cannot solve things by yourself, get another person or two to help you out. And if the process has to be taken further, they will serve as witnesses. Again, this concept comes straight out of the Old Testament, for we read in Deut. 19:15, "One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sinneth: at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established" (also in Dt. 17:6).

If the offender still can’t be swayed and the differences can’t be resolved, then tell it to the church. We will talk more about the details of this at a later time, but make no mistake that Jesus says we are to tell it to the church. If it is found that this offending brother is indeed in the wrong and he will not listen, then the church is to treat him as a heathen and a tax collector. He is not to be included in the fellowship of the church until the time when he is willing to repent.

Much more could be said about these verses, but this is enough to set the context for verse 18. It is after these instructions that Jesus now says, “Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” What is Jesus saying here? Has He suddenly switched to a different subject? No, He certainly has not. Verse 18 is tied closely to what He has just said about dealing lovingly but firmly with the stubborn brother who refuses to repent.

Think about it for a moment. This stubborn brother has been warned by the church, but he refuses to hear. So the church, under the direction of its spiritual leaders, has expelled him from the fellowship (see I Cor. 5 for a concrete example). This is a very serious thing. How could a church ever do such a thing? Did Jesus not say, “Judge not, that ye be not judged?” We have been over that text a number of times and we won’t go back there this morning, but I will remind you of what Paul said when he was dealing with a concrete case. 1 Cor. 5:12-13, "For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within? 13. But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person." But still, this is strong medicine. How can we take upon ourselves this kind of responsibility and authority? Jesus gives us the answer here in verse 18, “Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

In order to explain how these words were intended to be encouragement, I must first deal with the terms “binding” and “loosing.” I hear people talk about binding Satan. You might get that from other passages, but certainly not from this passage. That is not what Jesus is talking about. These were common terms used by the rabbis of that day. To bind something was to forbid it; to loose something was to allow it. To bind was to restrict; to loose was to permit. Here Jesus applies these terms to binding the unrepentant brother. They were to bind him in that they were not to allow him to be a part of the fellowship. If he were loosed, he would be allowed to participate. And that was the goal, that he might ultimately be restored to fellowship, at which time he would be “loosed” to participate fully.

The next thing we have to deal with in verse 18 is the translation of the verb tenses. The King James and most of your translations will read something like this: “And whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven.” It is sometimes difficult to know if the English of today and the English of 1611 say the same thing. For example, the KJV says in John 14:2, “In my Father’s house are many mansions…” Jesus was not talking about a huge, sprawling house with 42 rooms, but that’s what we think about today. The problem is not that the King James translators missed Jesus’ meaning; the problem is that “mansion” doesn’t mean the same thing today as it did in 1611. That may be the case with our current text. The force of the Greek text (over which there is absolutely no dispute) is best brought out by the New American Standard Version: “Truly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.” In other words, the action taken in heaven comes before the action taken on earth. By the way, the translation is 16:19 is exactly the same, with the action in heaven coming first.

So now let’s come back to our context again. How can the church even think of treating one of its own as a pagan and a tax collector? Surely that is a heavy responsibility. Is that not why Jesus gives us the words of verse 18? Let me paraphrase the idea something like this: “Though this is a heavy responsibility, and granted that it is not a light thing to exclude someone from the fellowship of the church, rest assured that the decision you render has already been made in heaven. You are simply agreeing with the Father.”

Let’s look at it practically. From the outside, the situation appears like this. Don did not like the fact that the church appointed Lester to a certain position. Don had wanted that position for years. He expressed his displeasure by spreading rumors about Lester. When Lester became aware of it, he wasn’t sure what to do. He prayed about it. If rumors were being spread by an outsider who didn’t know Christ, he felt he should do nothing, but this was a brother. So Lester went to Don and talked to him privately. At least, he tried to talk to him, but Don wasn’t in the mood to talk. Don simply said to Lester, “I don’t want to hear anything you have to say.” In obedience to the scripture, Don asked another brother to go with him to talk to Don. The two of them received the same response. A short time later, they tried again, but nothing changed. Lester and this other brother then approached the elders of the church. The elders investigated the matter carefully and found that Don was indeed spreading rumors about Lester. When they approached Don about the matter, he said something like this: “I am a member of the church. I do my part. I attend and I support the church financially, but what I do in my private life is my own business.” Finally, after exhausting all other avenues, the elders scheduled an official meeting of the church , inviting Don to come and speak on his own behalf. When Don didn’t come, the elders explained the situation and recommended that he be expelled from the fellowship.

Who cut off Don from the fellowship? Was it Lester, the one who started the whole thing? Or was it the brother who went with Lester? Or, was it the elders? After all, they could have shut the whole process down? Or, was it the church? None of the above; it was Don. When he hardened his heart and began to deliberately spread rumors about Lester, he cut himself off from fellowship with Christ. And when man doesn’t have fellowship with Christ, he can’t have true fellowship with the body of Christ. As Lester and the church acted in obedience to the commands of Jesus, they simply acknowledged what Don had already done. Heaven had already determined that Don was out of fellowship with the body of Christ. The church simply agreed with the decree of the Lord Himself.

But what if the church doesn’t make the right decision? What if the church becomes vindictive and removes one of its members for non-biblical reasons? Surely heaven hasn’t bound that, hasn’t made that decree. That question brings us to verses 19-20…
Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. 20. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

We take these words of Jesus and apply them to all kinds of situations. While there may not be anything wrong with that, the context of His words is this situation that deals with church discipline. When the church is dealing with such difficult issues, rest assured that as its people come together in Jesus’ name, seeking His glory and honor, Jesus is right there in the midst of them. Even if it is only two (Lester and the brother who go to talk to Don), they can trust that the Father will honor their desire to honor Him. These wonderful promises are made for us to claim in these very difficult circumstances.

Conclusion

Now let’s come back to where we started. Do we have a loving God? Indeed, we do, for whom the Lord loves He corrects. And that correction extends even into the life of the church. This is one of the ways that the Lord chooses to exercise His discipline. As the Lord brings correction to children through their parents, so He brings discipline to His own spiritual children through the church. That is His design. Church discipline is a powerful expression of God’s love. If we aren’t able to see that, it is likely because we have taken our cues from experience rather than from the Word of God.

Now comes the big question: Where is the church today with regard to church discipline? In 21st century America church discipline is almost non-existent. It is considered outdated and ineffective. Some would even say that is barbaric. Over 20 years ago I heard a group of seasoned pastors say that a person should never be expelled from a church. Many would say that church discipline was practiced by a generation that had not been enlightened. That is not what the Word of God says.

And now the bigger question: Where is this church with regard to church discipline? Let me answer concisely and bluntly. Most of us believe in it, but we have not practiced it consistently through the years. We have made some faltering attempts, but for the most part, we have not been true to the Lord in this area. And as a result, we have failed to demonstrate the love of God in and through His church.

You ask, “So why is that, Ron?” It is primarily because your pastor of 27 ½ years has not led you to consistently practice church discipline. Over 20 years ago I preached a message on this very passage, emphasizing the importance of church discipline. Somewhere along the way, I forgot. I didn’t practice what I preached. As a result of my failure, we have not been the loving church that God would have us be.

In the last couple of years the Lord has convicted us of the importance of proclaiming the gospel, even as Peter did on the day of Pentecost. May He continue to do so. But that is only one of the keys given to the church through Peter and the apostles. The other key is the binding and loosing Jesus spoke of in Matthew 18, the corrective church disciple we have talked about this morning. The Lord’s church must make use of both keys.

As your pastor for all these years, I ask you to forgive me. There are some of you here this morning that should have received the loving discipline of the church, but you did not. I take the responsibility for that failure. I have repented before the Lord, and now I ask your forgiveness. I praise God that there is forgiveness with Him. I can’t go back and change the past, but now I, working together with my brother Norman, desire to lead this church to take the steps necessary to implement loving church discipline. Just as parents lay a foundation for corrective discipline through careful instruction, so we must lay a foundation through scriptural teaching and practice. That is the desire of my heart.