If Your Brother Sins (Matt. 18:15-18)

Wayne Galloway
10/04/12 - N/A

Series: Additional Studies

Introduction:

1.  It seems that I have no end of brothers (and sisters) who sin.  And the ones that have contact with me sin against me.   But I am just as quick to say that they think I sin against them. 2.  Just as in our relationship with God, sin between brothers and sisters results in broken relationships, separation, anger, enmity and sometimes resentment and hatred. 3.  Forgiveness is the most difficult aspect of human relationships. 4.  Jesus died to make peace between sinners and their God.   Peace among men is to result from our peace with God. 5.  But it is not easy!  What is one to do? 6.  In this text Jesus gives us explicit instruction.

Discussion:

I.  First I would make this observation:  the ultimate objective is the winning of the one who has sinned against you.

A.   It is not that you get even with him by confronting him, taking one or two with you so that they are convinced that you are right and that your brother is wrong, and then that you get to take him before the church to embarrass him and hurt him publically.

1.  Such an interpretation misses the whole point.

2.  It is inconsistent with the context, which is about forgiveness not condemnation (cf. vs. 11, 21ff).

3.  “It is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones perish” (v. 14).  God is not willing that any perish but that all come to repentance (2 Pet. 3:9).

4.  So this passage is not about us getting our pound of flesh and using Jesus’ prescription to do it.

B.  The ultimate objective is winning the one who has sinned.

1.  This means that we must put aside our hurts and the pain that the sinner has caused us, even though these are severe.  And “yes” the sinner is deserving of death (Rom. 6:23). They deserve “fiery hell” (Matt. 18:9) and to “perish” (Matt. 18:14).

2.  But this is not the will of your Father.

3.  The situation is more severe than my pain!  I have not yet comprehended the severity of the situation if that is where I concentrate my attention.

4.  When I witness an automobile accident and people are wounded and dying this is not the time for me to address how I have been traumatized by witnessing the accident, to explain that I am not at fault, and point the finger of blame.  The first priority is to care for the perishing.   It is not that our feelings are unimportant.  It is just that saving the perishing is more important.

II.  Second I want to consider v. 18 and the theological foundation of the instruction given here.

A.  Already we have identified something of the theological foundation, that is, that God is not willing that any should perish.  Thus, God’s unwillingness that any should perish prompts us to act under His guidance to win the sinner.  Winning sinners is God’s number one objective and by necessary implication ours.

B.  Verse 18 confirms this.

1.  A Greek tense is used here that is not used very often in the N.T.  It is a future perfect passive.

2.  The NASB tries to capture it:  “Whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.”

3.  The implication is that God binds and looses sin and you bind and loose what He has already bound or loosed.

4.  The same tense is used in Matt. 16:19 and Jn. 20:23.

5.  We have no binding and loosing authority within ourselves.  Our authority to bind and loose is only that we carry out what God has bound and loosed.

C.  In our study last week we learned that Jonah was not content with God’s willingness to forgive.  Instead he wanted Nineveh condemned.  And so it is with us.  We want the person who has sinned against us to experience what they deserve.  But we must discipline ourselves by what has been bound and loosed in heaven.  God’s will and authority must prevail.  This is the kingdom of peace that God has established (Cf. Isa. 2:3-4; 11:6-9).

III.  The procedure for winning my brother who sins.  Note that it is a matter of sin.  It is not merely a matter of personal dissatisfaction.   The focus is the brother’s spiritual condition, not my personal dissatisfaction.

A.  “Go and show him his fault in private.”

1.  Why not go public from the beginning?

2.  The objective is to win the brother.  If we go public first our motive might be misinterpreted.  Are we seeking to hurt, to embarrass or to win our brother? We are more likely to win a brother by showing respect, love and graciousness rather than crushing power.

3.  When Joseph found Mary pregnant Matthew says, “being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly” (Matt. 1:19).

4.  Unnecessary publicity of sin leads to disgrace.

5.  Not necessarily limited to one visit.

6.  Is this sin committed privately?  Probably.  The phrase “against you” is omitted from some ancient manuscripts.  But it is probably implied (cf. Matt. 18:21; Lk. 17:3-4).

B.  “If he does not listen, take one or two more with you, so that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every fact may be confirmed.”

1.  This is not to establish who is right and who is wrong in a disagreement.  These people are not judges, but witnesses.

2.  They are not there to take sides, but to aid in the winning of a brother.

3.  Often when there is a broken relationship we try to gather allies to our position and then take these allies with us as we oppose our adversary.  Relationship experts call this “triangulation.”  It is done when we triangle someone else in to side with us against our brother.  Sometimes this is done as the first step.   It is done in the church, in families, in work relationships, etc.  The adversary is the devil, not our brother.  He is the one we are trying to win from the devil.

4.  Do not let people triangle you in to taking sides one against another.   We are all on the same side.  We are trying to win a brother. We are not trying to prove our point.

C.  “If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church.”  That the church may bring its influence upon this brother in order to win him.

D.  “If he refused to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.”

1.  Perhaps Jonah would say, “That’s what I wanted all along.  Finally they get what’s coming to them!”

2.  But is this the attitude consistent with our theology of a God who is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance?   I think not!

3.  This individual is no longer recognized as part of the church, but is like any other unbeliever.  He is not treated with hatred, nor disgust, but recognized as no long a part of those seeking the way of the Lord.

Conclusion:

1.  When sin has been committed faith, allegiance to God, submission to His will is all tested. 2.  As citizens in God’s kingdom we are controlled by His instruction. 3.  It is this instruction that results in peace among us. 4.  It is hard, but that is the nature of forgiveness.  If it cost the life of God’s only son how can we expect it to be easy? 5.  We have our own feelings of hurt and anguish to negotiate, but the matter of primary importance is the winning of our brother because the consequence of his being lost is devastating.