2009 Issue 2 - If Your Brother Sins - Counsel of Chalcedon

8/12/2019 2009 Issue 2 - If Your Brother Sins - Counsel of Chalcedon

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A DESPERATE SITUATION1

M

ark sat in his office with hishead in his hands. How

had Mary found out? Tatwas the question plaguing his mindthat afternoon. It started out innocent

enough, but somehow the relationship

with his attractive secretary, Susan,had gotten out of control, and now his

wife had found out! What if the kids

have found out? Or the Pastor and thepeople at church! Mark felt trapped.

He felt like he was drowning; what was

he going to do?

Te telephone rang. Hello, this isMark. Mark swallowed hard when he

heard Pastor Bobs voice on the other

1. Tis article was inspired and is based on a

booklet by David V. Edling, Gods Search

and Rescue PlanChurch Discipline,

published by Peacemaker Ministries. I

have retained some of his wording.

end of the line. He couldnt believe it!

Mary had called their pastor asking

what she should do if she knew a pro-

fessing Christian was caught in sin.

Now the pastor was calling to ask if hecould meet with the two of them to dis-

cuss Marys question!

What was going on? Mark thought.

Pastor Bob hadnt said anything specific.

How much had Mary told him? Well,

sure...ah....Okay, tonight at 7:30 would be

fine. We will be expecting you.

THE RESCUE MISSION

Even if Mary hadnt told Pastor Bob

anything specific, she must have said

enough to make him suspect some-

thing was going on. And he felt certain

that it would all come out tonightall

the details of his adultery. Whats the

pastor going to do? Hes probably going

to kick me out of the church and Ill be

publicly humiliated. Mary will prob-

ably want a divorce, and Ill hardly ever

see the kids again. He felt helpless. He

didnt want a divorce, he still loved his

wife, but he had fallen into sin. What a

mess hed created.

SAVED BY FAITHFUL

SHEPHERDING!

Tat evening, Pastor Bob sat across from

Mark and Mary in their living room. He

said that he had wanted to come and

visit with them because he sensed from

IfYour Brother Sins

Wayne Rogers

A Fictional Pastoral Account

IfYour Brother Sins


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Councel of Chalcedon Issue 2 200926

his conversation with Mary that some-

thing serious was going on.

After beginning with a shortprayer, he opened his Bible and read

from Ezekiel 34:16 in order to explain

his responsibility to faithfully shep-

herd them. I will search for the lostand bring back the straying ones....

Mark was listening, but his mind

was in a fog. What does this have todo with Marys question, or with him?

Pastor Bob explained, Mary, the

question you asked is very important.

When someone becomes a Christianthey become part of Gods flock,

Gods family, the church. When they

make a public profession of their faith

and join the church a special rela-tionship is formeda bond with His

people, and they have a responsibil-ity to each other, especially when one

member has sinned.

Mary, why did you ask me aboutthis? Mary couldnt hold it back any

longer. She broke down and poured

out that she had discovered that Mark

was having an affair with his sec-retary. Mark didnt try to deny it. He

looked down as he admitted it wastrue. ears began to flow. What would

happen next?

MATTHEW 18

After a few minutes had passed and ev-

eryone had composed themselves, Pas-tor Bob handed Mark a Bible and asked

him to flip over to Matthew Chapter 18.

Te Pastor turned there in his Bible aswell. Mark prepared himself for what

he figured was coming next. Pastor

Bob is going to read all that stuff aboutexcommunication and hes going to

kick me out of the church.

Pastor Bob said, Mark, you prob-ably think Im going to read this passage

and kick you out of the church. Nothingcould be further from the truth. MostChristians think this passage is about

a search and destroy mission. Pastor

Bob knew that Mark had been an ArmyRanger in Afghanistan. Its not about

that at all; Its about a seek and save

mission,a rescue mission, Mark.

Mark knew the difference between

a search and destroy mission and a res-cue mission; its one thing to be sent

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27Councel of Chalcedon Issue 2 2009

out to seek and kill the enemy and an-other to be sent out to rescue a downed

pilot or a wounded brother. He relaxed

just a little bit and wondered what wascoming next.

Pastor Bob read Matthew 18:10-14

aloud, then said, Mark, the first thingI want you to understand is that Jesus

came to seek and save the lost. Tose

who believe in Him are His sheep. Ear-lier in this chapter, however, Jesus said

that his disciples should not sin. Sin is

so serious, Jesus said, that it would bebetter to cut off your hand or foot, or to

put out your eye, than to sin and to becast into everlasting fire. So, when Jesus

saves lost sheep, Mark, He saves them to

follow Him in holiness and obedience.What did Jesus say to the woman who

had been caught in adultery in John 8?

He told her to go and sin no more. So,while a person who truly believes in Je-

sus is one of His sheep, His sheep are

not to go on sinning.Having said that, though, we know that

sheep can and do still go astray, they

still fall into sin. So, in verse 15 Jesusbegins to address that. He says, If your

brother sins. We might as well read

those words as WHEN your brother

sins because they will sin. So, we arenot saying that if you ever sin again you

are not a Christian. But, what are we

to do when a brother does sin? Tatswhat Matthew 18:15-20 is all about. Je-

sus instructs Christians on what to do if

a brother sins.Mark nodded his head in agree-

ment, but he still wasnt sure where this

was leading. Mark still believed in Jesusbut he knew he had sinned. So what

happens now, he wondered. I guess this

is when I get kicked out of the church!he thought to himself.

Now, you maybe thinking, thisis when people get kicked out of the

church. No, Mark. Tat really sur-

prised him. Tis passage is not aboutkicking people out of the church. Mat-

thew 18:15-20 is about a rescue mission.

If we can ever grasp that, it should bea great comfort to us. Jesus is saying

that when a beloved brother in the

church falls into sin, extraordinary ef-forts should be made to bring him back

into fellowship, to restore him to the

Lord and the church. Tat, Mary, goesdirectly to the point of your question.

Mary nodded in agreement. While

I see that its Gods motive to seek and



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not be consequences for our sin; often

times there are.

Tat makes sense, Mark said.

Christians shouldnt sin, but Chris-

tians still do sin. And when they do

sin they should confess it and repent of

it, and if they do they will be forgiven.

Tats the same way it is when we come

to Christ, isnt it?

Its amazing, Mark, that so many

Christians who love the Parables of the

Lost Sheep and the Unforgiving Servant

in Matthew 18, cant grasp that going to

your brother who has sinned, which is

sandwiched in between them, is one ofthe greatest demonstrations of love and

care that we can ever express.

FROM BROTHER TO

TAX COLLECTOR

But, Pastor Bob, I thought we get ex-

communicated when we sin.Tats a common misunderstand-

ing, Mark. Christians arent excommu-

nicated for sinning. Tey are excommu-

nicated for not repenting of their sin. Do

you see the difference?

I think so, said Mark.

Jesus started out referring to a

brother who sins. In verse 17 He saysthere is a point at which a brother may

no longer be called a brother. Jesus says

he must be called a Gentile and ax

Collector. Gentiles and ax Collectorswhere people who were lost, outside the

kingdom. Te people of God didnt as-

sociate with them because of their sin-ful lifestyle. When does this happen?

When a brother will not listen to the

church. Ten he is no longer called abrother but a Gentile or ax Collector.

Its like this, Mark. Jesus came tosave sheep. In John chapter 10 Jesus said

in verse 11 that He lays down His life

for the sheep. But Jesus also went on to

say in verse 27, My sheep hear My voiceand follow Me. Jesus sheep believe in

Him, but they also listen to Him andthey seek to obey Him. So, let me ask

you, Mark; do you think a person who

wont listen to Jesus Word and doesntobey Him can really be considered one

of His sheep?

I guess not; I see what you mean,Mark acknowledged.

So, a person may profess faith in

Christ and be a member of the church,but if they will not repent of their sin,

then they can no longer be considered

one of Jesus sheep, a brother, theymust be treated like those who are lost,


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Councel of Chalcedon Issue 2 200930

outside the kingdom of heaven, like aGentile and ax Collector.

Why should I care what the

church says? Doesnt the Bible say we

shouldnt judge? Mark protested.

Mark, the Bible does say that we

shouldnt judge unjust judgment. But,

now, I want you to listen carefully as I

read Matthew Chapter 18 verses 18-20:

Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you

bind on earth will be bound in heaven,

and whatever you loose on earth will

be loosed in heaven. Again I say to

you that if two of you agree on earth

concerning anything that they ask, it

will be done for them by My Father

in heaven. For where two or three are

gathered together in My name, I am

there in the midst of them.

Mark, did you catch that? Jesus

said that if the sinning brother re-

fuses to listen to the church they are

refusing to listen to Him! When the

church comes together and prays and

agrees about this sinning brother, Je-

sus says He Himself is in their midst!

What the church says after careful,

prayerful, biblical consideration is to

be taken as Gods judgment. You must

not take their word lightly. You must

consider their words to be My words,Jesus said. If a brother continues in sin

and rejects the authority of the church

they may no longer be considered a

brother in Christ, they may have no

assurance that they truly are one of

Jesus sheep. But, Mark, I want you to

understand, that even this is still part

of Gods rescue mission! Te purposeis to get that person to see the spiritual

danger they are in, their need to repent

of their sin. So, even excommunica-

tion is really a last ditch effort to res-

cue someone from their sin and restore

them to Christ and His church.

So, what youre saying, Pastor

Bob, is that a person may be a Chris-

tian and fall into sin, but if someone

says they are a Christian and they are

unwilling to confess and repent of it

when they are confronted by a brother,

they have no assurance that they really

have been saved at all?

Tats right, Mark. Remember,

Jesus said, I lay down my life for the

sheep My sheep hear my voice and

they follow me! But, Im here to tell

you that if you confess and repent of

your sin, there is forgiveness!

Mark, Im not here to punish you;

Im on a rescue mission. You have made

a profession of faith in Jesus Christ and

are a member of the church. Im here

tonight to call you to repent of your

sin, to ask for forgiveness, and I want

to assure you that if you do you will

be forgiven. Tis matter wont have to

go any further than to those who al-

ready know about your sin and those to

whom you must go and confess and re-

pent. If you wont, however, I also want

you to know that were so committed

to win you back that we will follow the

process Jesus established in Matthew

18 to the end. Because we love you, if

you wont listen to Jesus speaking toyou through His Word and church we

will treat you like a Gentile and a ax

Collector. We can no longer eat with

you and have Christian fellowship with

you. What are you going to do, Mark?

I feel like David in Psalm 51, I

know my transgressions, and my sin is

ever before me, Mark cried. I do con-fess and repent of my sin against my

wife and children, against Susan and

her family, and even my sin against my

profession of faith as a Christian and

church member.



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You know, Pastor Bob, there are

some non-Christians at work who also

know what Ive done. I have really giventhem reason to reject Christianity and

mock Christians, havent I? Im goingto go to them and let them know I have

repented of my sin. I hope one day soon

they will let me talk to them about theirrelationship with the Lord.

Praise God, Mark, said Pastor

Bob. We probably still need to talkfurther about some of these things, the

fruit of true repentance, what forgive-

ness entails for Mary, and how to bestkeep this from happening again, but I

believe the Lord has blessed you to be-

gin the path of reconciliation and res-toration tonight. Lets pray, Brother!

Dear Brother

Are you playing the hypocrite right

now, professing faith in Christ, yetswimming in the polluted waters of un-

repentant sin? I call upon you to repent

right now. And know that the church,your pastors, and brothers are here to

rescue you as well. Te biblical processof loving confrontation and the involve-ment of others to help you to recognize

your sin and repent is Gods plan for

your eternal good, now and forever!If a brother comes to you in your sin,

as Jesus said to do, that it is not a search

and destroy mission, it is a recue mission.

I want you to understand that churchdiscipline is a seek and save mission. It

is an act of caring love. And if you will

not listen to your brothers, it is a lovingthing for them to say to you, We must

treat you as a Gentile and a ax collector

so that you will realize that you are notacting like one who is truly a Christian

and that you may have no assurance that

you are saved or one of Jesus sheep untilyou do repent.

If you believe in Jesus and truly are

one of His sheep, you should seek outa church that lovingly practices church

discipline for the sake of your soul, sub-mit to their authority by becoming amember, and enjoy and appreciate the

spiritual blessings God established for

you and that you need.Lastly, if you are already a mem-

ber of a church but dont know if it

practices church discipline, go to your

church leaders and ask them. Churchdiscipline, rightly practiced, is one of

the marks of a true Biblical church.Without that, you may not have anyone

to rescue you if you fall into sin!

Documents

2009 Issue 2 - If Your Brother Sins - Counsel of Chalcedon