In Matthew 18:15-20, Jesus teaches on the principles of church discipline. Unfortunately, the concept of discipline is sorely lacking in today’s churches. Recently, there have been grant and hurtful scenes unfolding in our churches were discipline could have prevented significant damage to the church. However, that’s not the topic of this devotional. Instead, we will focus on the teaching of discipline as well as verses 21-35, which create a seeming contrast.
In the entire Bible, Matthew 18:18 stands out as one of the most difficult verses for me to understand. For many years, this verse gave me trouble in trying to understand its meaning. Once I started studying the surrounding verses, however, the meaning of verse 18 became clear.
Jesus opens this teaching by granting us authority. Jesus specifically grants us the authority to reprove another person who sins. We are not told here what sins are included in the authority, but we are given a blueprint for confronting someone who is engaging in sin. If the individual confronted does not change course, we are given the authority to take several people with us and try again. From there, the whole church may hear the matter.
This brings us to an important point. Jesus is speaking to His followers and giving us the blueprint for church discipline. This is not going to work outside the context of a church or community of believers. For that, we would be covered under Matthew 7, which I wrote on previously.
If the individual will not hear the whole church, Jesus says “let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax gatherer.” For the Jews at that time, a Gentile and tax gatherer would have been the lowest of the low, and they believed such individuals were to be shunned and had no hope of salvation.
But then, we come to verse 18. Jesus says that whatever we bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever we loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. This teaching is specifically tied to the previous three verses. If the church passes discipline upon an unrepentant individual, Jesus says heaven will back up the church and record the same in heaven. However, if the church finds no fault in an individual, so it will also be in heaven. Taking this one step further, if a person repents and is restored to fellowship by a church, it would seem that heaven backs this up as well.
And then, we come to verses 21-35. Before we go further, we should note an important distinction. In verse 15, Jesus speaks generally about a brother who sins. In verse 21, Peter asks about a brother who “sins against me.” So the first teaching from Jesus is a general application, and the second teaching is made personal for sins against us by someone else.
The lesson Jesus drives home is that of mercy. We are to show mercy as we have been shown mercy by Christ. This is the meaning of the parable Jesus uses to illustrate the teaching. Our failure to show forgiveness will condemn us before Christ, while acts of mercy and forgiveness model the heart of Christ who showed us mercy when we did not deserve it.
These two teachings seem to be opposed to each other, much like what we covered in Matthew 7 on “do not judge.” In one instance, we are called to reprove a brother even to the point of excommunication, and in another instance, we are called to forgive a brother an infinite number of times.
So how should we conclude? Church discipline and discipline in the community of believers is essential to maintaining unity and preserving holiness. Without discipline, we risk devolving into false teaching, distorting the message of Christ, and treating each other poorly. We also bring shame on the name of Christ. However, in our discipline there is to be a measure of mercy. That is to say, we are to be quick to forgive and show abundant mercy.
That said, an unrepentant individual does not have a place before the altar of Christ, and Jesus grants us the authority to limit such individual’s access to the altar. In so doing, we must remember that you and I were once unrepentant and were shown mercy by Christ in forgiving our sins against Him. Sin is not the end of the story. Mercy, not heavy-handedness, is to reign supreme. But in mercy, do not forget the discipline. There must be balance to maintain unity.
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