Church Discipline

Matthew 18:15-20

Church discipline is important.

It is essential for the sinning believer.

It is essential for the church itself.

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Church discipline is a collective decision.

It involves the initiative of those who want to put things right for the good of the church.

It involves the collective decision of all the church members.

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Church discipline must be done with discretion.

It must be done with great wisdom; eternal issues are at stake.

We must pray to God to help us at such a time.

It must be exercised in love, with the intense desire to restore the offender.

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Church discipline must be done according to the book.

There can be no forgiveness for the offender until he repents of his sin.

Reconciliation between the aggrieved parties must be done upon forgiveness.

Restoration of fellowship must be followed upon reconciliation.

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Church discipline must be done with proper guidelines.

We must go and tell the offender privately and seek to win him over by his repentance and reconciliation to us.

If he refuses to listen to us, we must then take with us one or two witnesses. We must make sure that the witnesses are godly and not seen as our closest friends.

If he still refuses to listen to us, the matter must be taken to the church. The witnesses are then to confirm our complaint.

If he refuses to listen to the church and fails to repent, he must be excommunicated from the church and be considered as someone who is not Christian.

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It is never easy to carry out church discipline.

But it must be done for the sake of the purity and prosperity of the church.

Guardian Angels

Matthew 18:10-14

The Lord Jesus warned, “Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones”.

‘These little ones’ are believers.

We must not despise any of God’s children.

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The sin of pride often raises its ugly head among us.

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Let us not despise another believer because he is not of our social class, intellectual ability, or race.

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Let us take the warning of the Lord Jesus to heart!

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It is no small matter to despise those who have the guardian angels as their friends!

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The Lord Jesus said that “in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven.”

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Angels do watch over us and minister to us.

God uses His mighty angels to protect us!

Angels will deliver us in times of need.

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We see many examples of this truth in the Bible.

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An angel fed and encouraged the prophet Elijah when he fled from wicked Jezebel.

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Daniel was protected from the lions surrounding him in the den.

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Peter was protected from prison by an angel.

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Let us think about the ministry of angels who work silently and invisibly on our behalf.

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The parable of the lost sheep illustrates God’s concern for His people when they go astray.

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“It is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish”.

Oh! What an encouragement this is for the weak and despairing believers!

Oh! What an encouragement this is for those to persevere in prayer for the backslider!

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Have we been straying from the Lord?

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The Good Shepherd loves His sheep.

Let us call upon Him and ask Him to restore our soul.

He will then rejoice over us.

He will then restore to us the joy of our salvation.

Who Is The Greatest

Matthew 18:1-9

The disciples asked, “Who then is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”

The Lord Jesus called a little child to Himself.

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He told the disciples that no one entered the kingdom of heaven without childlike trust and humility.

True greatest lies in humility.

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The Lord Jesus went on to give some stern warnings.

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Woe to those who causes a Christian to sin.

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Those who would seek to entice us into sin will face a dreadful judgment.

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We must be prepared to give up anything that stands between us and the salvation of our souls.

Things that are dear to us like our hands, feet, or eyes must be given up if they cause us to sin.

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This does not mean that we literally cut them off.

But we must put fleshly passions to death.

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It is better to put sin to death now, than to suffer eternal pains of hell.

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The Greek word used here for ‘hell fire’ is ‘Gehenna.’

It was also the name of a valley to the south of Jerusalem which became known as ‘the place of fire’.

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During the reigns of the wicked kings, Ahaz and Manasseh, children were roasted to death as sacrifices to the god Molech.

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‘Gehenna’ became the word used to describe hell where the fire is eternal.

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The truth about hell should cause us to be urgent in making the gospel known to sinners.

Lest We Offend Them

Matthew 17:22-27

The Lord Jesus again taught the disciples that He would be killed and that he would rise again the third day.

But they just could not take it all in and were bewildered and exceedingly sorrowful.

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The Lord Jesus and the disciples had been absent from Capernaum for some time.

On their return, Peter had a tax demand.

The collectors of the temple tax asked Peter if the Lord Jesus paid the temple tax.

This was the ransom price of a half-shekel paid by every Jew of 20 years and above for the maintenance of the sanctuary.

Peter answered, “Yes.”

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Peter was amazed to find the Lord Jesus opened a conversation on this subject as soon as he returned to the house.

Through His question to Peter, the Lord Jesus showed that just as king’s sons are exempt from paying taxes, so He was also exempt from paying the double-drachma (half-shekel) temple tax.

He is the Lord who is greater than the temple, which is His Father’s house.

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The Lord Jesus told Peter that the tax should be paid, “Lest we offend them”.

Peter was told to cast a line and hook into the sea.

The first fish to be taken would have in its mouth a piece of money.

It was a coin sufficient to pay exactly the temple tax for two.

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This miracle and His knowledge of the incident in which Peter was questioned about the temple tax, again demonstrates that the Lord Jesus is the almighty Son of God.

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The Lord Jesus was careful not to give offence by asserting His rights over a trivial matter.

The message of the gospel offends many but we must be careful not to give offence by our attitude to those who are not believers.

Let us seek to be sensitive to others.

Let us also be encouraged that the Lord knows all of our needs and is able to meet them.

Faith As Small As A Mustard Seed

Matthew 17:14-21

When the Lord Jesus Christ came down from the mountain with Peter, James and John, He found the other disciples surrounded by a crowd.

They were disputing with the scribes after failing to exorcise a demon from a boy.

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This failure brought much scorn from the enemies of the Lord Jesus Christ.

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The distraught father of the boy pleaded with the Lord Jesus Christ to deliver his son from the demon which had rendered him deaf and dumb and caused him to throw fits.

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The Lord Jesus Christ rebuked those around Him, “You unbelieving and perverse generation”.

The disciples and the boy’s father were lacking in faith.

The perverse scribes were gloating at the failure of the disciples to help the man and his son.

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The Lord Jesus Christ graciously answered the man’s prayer.

The boy was delivered from the demon that had so tormented him.

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The disciples had known success on other occasions.

They were very concerned at their failure to help the boy.

The Lord Jesus Christ told them that they were lacking in prayer, in fasting, and in faith.

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We cannot live on past successes.

If we neglect our communion with God, we will become weak and impotent in our work for God.

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The Lord Jesus Christ promised, “if you have faith as small as a mustard seed …. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

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A mustard seed was very small and yet grew into a tree which was large enough to shelter birds.

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“Faith as small as a mustard seed” is a trust in God which does not give way to despair when prayer is not immediately answered.

It continues to maintain fellowship with God and to pray fervently.

It is not motivated by sinful desires when it prays.

It expects great things from God and attempts great things for God.

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Is our faith very small, just like a mustard seed?

Do not be discouraged.

Exercise that faith and discover what God is able to do!