How To Deal With Sin In The Church
Our Next All-Church Bible Study Will Be All About Sex, Marriage, Divorce, etc.
Our final All-Church Bible Study for 2023 is THIS WEDNESDAY (11/8), 6:30-8:00 PM, and it will be all about sex, marriage, divorce, remarriage, same-sex attraction, etc.
We’ll be looking at what Jesus has to say about these topics in Matthew 19.
Bring a friend! Going to be a great night.
Matthew 18:15-20
15 “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. 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. 18 Truly, 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. 19 Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”
Imagine if, with regard to sex abuse in the church, that Pope Francis came out and said, "Stop being so judgmental: sex abuse is not that big of a deal." Can you imagine the furor that would justifiably result? Why? Because we know that sin actually hurts people. Imagine if I, as a pastor, continued to employ someone who was stealing from the offering plate. Our church members would be justifiably angry with me.
The most frequent complaint outsiders make against the church is that it is filled with hypocrites; in other words, the problem outsiders see in the church is that Christians are not holy enough. Sin is a problem.
Today's passage shows Jesus takes sin in his church seriously and gives practical steps we can follow to confront sin in our midst for the good of the sinners themselves. Of course, it is the case that we ourselves are sinners, but that doesn't absolve us of the responsibility to lovingly confront active sin. The goal is to “gain your brother” [v. 15], that is to have reconciliation between people. But, if someone persists in unrepentant sin, then you may have to cut off relations with that person. Such decisions are serious and God has given his church great responsibility. Note the emphasis of Jesus here on what we today call due process: he instructs his disciples to proceed with evidence when he says. “take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses” [18:16]. But, in the hard work of confronting sin, the church should take comfort that Jesus will be with them and will guide them.
To whom can you seek reconciliation today? With whom do you need to have an honest conversation?
