SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 1/2/2023 10:29 AM
My Worship Time Focus: PT-2 “The
Person Who Initiates Discipline”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Matthew
18:15b
Message of the verse: “go and reprove him in private;”
We want to begin with an example of this kind of
discipline that is found in the NT letter to the Galatians. This has to do with the Apostle’s Peter and
Paul. Peter came to Galatia and was
having a great time fellowshipping with the Gentile believers that is until
some Jewish believers came around and then Peter stayed away from the
Gentiles. “But
when Peter came to Antioch, I had to oppose him to his face, for what he did
was very wrong” (Gal. 2:11 NLT). Peter
later admitted his sin and repented, and years later he wrote of his “beloved
brother Paul” in 2 Peter 3:15. MacArthur
adds “Their deepened friendship no doubt was due in no small measure to Paul’s
caring enough to rebuke his fellow apostle and turn him back to the purity of
the gospel of grace.”
I remember a former Pastor that we
had in a church we used to go to and it seemed that he was waiting for certain
people to do something that he thought was wrong, and this happened one day and
his response to them was “I am going to take you to the board.” He was talking about the deacon board. This is the opposite thing that he should
have done and not only that it was not in the right order of what we have been
looking at in Matthew 18. The reason to
be talking to a wayward believer is restoration.
John MacArthur writes “At least
three things are necessary for effectively undertaking the private first step
of confronting a fellow Christian about sin.
First is the obvious requirement of willingness to go and reprove the
sinning brother in private. If he does
not listen we must then be willing to take one or two more believers with us
and confront him again (v. 16). And if
he still refuses to listen, we must be willing to report his impenitence to the
whole church (v. 17).
“God does not mock His children by
demanding of them anything which, by His power, He does not enable them to
do. No Christian, therefore, has an
excuse for not initiating church discipline when it is necessary, because God
will provide the necessary wisdom, insight, and boldness when a sincere desire
is present.” There is no need for a “mood
squad” from the church to be looking out for unrepentant sinful believers to
pounce on them. As we look at the gifts
that are given to believers we know that not all are called to preach or to
teach, but as our verse tells us we are all to go and reprove, and do it in
private, and do it with a loving attitude that can only come from the Lord. All believers are called in this way to be
ministers of holiness, helping guard the purity and integrity of Christ’s
Body. When they minister in a spirit of
love, gentleness, and humility, they can be effective weapons in God’s hands
for purifying the church and restoring His fallen children. This is part of a healthy church.
Let
us now look at another example, and this one comes from the OT book of
Leviticus. “16 ‘You shall not go about
as a slanderer among your people, and you are not to act against the life of
your neighbor; I am the LORD. 17 ‘You
shall not hate your fellow countryman in your heart; you may surely reprove your neighbor, but
shall not incur sin because of him” (Lev. 19:16-17). MacArthur writes “Unwillingness to reprove a
sinning believer is a form of hatred of him, not loving him enough to warn him
of his spiritual danger. Not to reprove
a sinning brother can do him more harm than slandering him. Terrible as it is, slander affects primarily
the other person’s reputation and his feelings.
Failing to help him confront and confess his sin, however contributes to
his spiritual downfall. The person who
claims to be too loving to rebuke his brother or sister in Christ is simply deceived. He is not too loving but too uncaring. The loving Christian, like the loving heavenly
Father and loving earthly fathers, desires the proper discipline of those he
loves (see Heb. 12:5-11).”
We
will stop here, but I have to say that it will take us a while to get through
this section, but I believe we will all learn something that will help us in
our walk with the Lord.
1/2/2023 11:06 AM
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