JESUS' AUTHORITY UPON THE CHURCH

Thursday August 30 2001
MF BLUME

Matthew 18:1-5  At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me.

These verses speak of "little children" coming in the kingdom.

Verse 6 begins to speak about offending one of the little children of God. Recently I was asked by email my thoughts on the issue of confession to the church and ministers of sins committed by saints. What about confession to a preacher? These words of Jesus that follow are connected with what Jesus was saying in Matthew 18. We are given authority to remit or retain sins. After we read the above we read a word in verse 8 that connects the information of the verse to that of verse 7.
Matthew 18:8  Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire.
"WHEREFORE."

"Wherefore" means "And so, for that reason..."

It might sound severe to cut off a member of the church from the church, but it is required if the offending member is genuinely offending God's little children and there is no remorse or repentance in doing it.

The words concerning cutting off the offensive hand or foot are used as a principle in the Bible.

In fact, Matthew 18:7 and Matthew 18:10 both refer to the Church body members. God loves each member of the Body and takes great cares for the little children so much so that He is extremely sensitive over one being offended and lost.
Matthew 18:10-14  Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven. For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost. How think ye? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray? And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray. Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.
And this brings us to verse 15 and onward where Jesus takes the issue further.
Matthew 18:15  Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.
Here is where the remitting of sins and the retaining of sins in John 20 comes into play. When a brother has offended you, you are told by Christ to approach that offending brother and wisely and kindly demand repentance and request for forgiveness. On the other hand, if the brother is stubborn and refuses to repent, take one or two more brothers with you and approach the man again.
Matthew 18:17  And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.
If the one still resists, take the issue before the church, and upon further resistance cut that member of the body off from the body. And then Jesus speaks more words that many people have unknowingly severed from the context of the discourse in that chapter up to the point of verse 18. Again He uses a principle that can be applied to many circumstances if the conditions are right. The binding on Earth refers to the "retaining" of sins so as to bind the believer in prison to his guilt and condemnation, so to speak, due to lack of repentance on he believer's part. Jesus then repeats the same thought using another principle.
Matthew 18:19  Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.
Notice the reference to "two of you." And yet another verse is taken by many and never applied to this issue at hand, but is still dealing with that issue.
Matthew 18:20  For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.
This once again stresses the point of counting our decision, upon following Jesus' directive, as His decision. These verses are all dealing with remitting or retaining sins.

Matthew 18:20 refers to declaring a brother either gained to the church, having repented, or cutting the soul off due to refusal to repent.

Paul used this very directive in dealing with an offending brother in the Corinthian church.

1 Corinthians 5:1-5  It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father's wife. And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you. For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, concerning him that hath so done this deed,  In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.
Notice verses 4 and 5.

The reference to "In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ" is a note based upon Matthew 18:20.

Matthew 18:20  For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.
Verse 4 also notes "when ye are gathered together." Verse 4 also notes "with the power of our Lord Jesus." The note of verse 5 in saying one would be delivered unto Satan, refers to the fact that upon being cut off from the Church Body, one is outside the protection of the "hedge" that keeps a child of God safe. Satan is free to attack such a brother who is outside the protective covering of the church.

Paul sought to see the soul repent after being cut off and attacked freely by Satan, so that he might get right once again in the eyes of God.

1 Corinthians 5:7  Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:

1 Corinthians 5:9-11  I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators: Yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world. But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat.

He tells the church that when a brother is fornicating we must cut off fellowship with such a person, because such a sin will spread throughout the body into others' lives like leaven in dough. We later read that Paul noted the person's repentance and the church's need to accept him back into the Body and bind him once again to the Church.
2 Corinthians 2:6-11  Sufficient to such a man is this punishment, which was inflicted of many.  So that contrariwise ye ought rather to forgive him, and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one should be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow. Wherefore I beseech you that ye would confirm your love toward him. For to this end also did I write, that I might know the proof of you, whether ye be obedient in all things. To whom ye forgive any thing, I forgive also: for if I forgave any thing, to whom I forgave it, for your sakes forgave I it in the person of Christ;  Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.
Note verse 11. In this discussion, I am not referring to any old cult who may take you to task for not chewing purple bubble gum, and disfellowship you if you continue to refuse to chew it! Now, let me come to a major point. If not, and you cannot truly believe that the advice is godly, and you feel it is not based upon scriptures, then you have no pastor. You need to find a pastor whom you can trust, and not merely one who will agree with your every carnal desire and make you feel you are alright when in fact you may not be alright at all. If Jesus gave enough authority to the church to count their decisions of a soul's condition before God as God's own decision, having carefully followed Christ's directive in Matthew 18, then you need to be ready to take advice from a pastor.

That is not saying that the pastor is always right in everything the pastor recommends to you.

Some people will never have a pastor. But the Bible does say:
Hebrews 13:17  Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.
You must trust a pastor to be able to hear from God and direct you. Some consider the youth of some pastors and reason that lack of experience gives one a right to not take advice.
1 Samuel 3:11-14  And the LORD said to Samuel, Behold, I will do a thing in Israel, at which both the ears of every one that heareth it shall tingle. In that day I will perform against Eli all things which I have spoken concerning his house: when I begin, I will also make an end.  For I have told him that I will judge his house for ever for the iniquity which he knoweth; because his sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not.  And therefore I have sworn unto the house of Eli, that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be purged with sacrifice nor offering for ever.

1 Samuel 3:17  And he said, What is the thing that the LORD hath said unto thee? I pray thee hide it not from me: God do so to thee, and more also, if thou hide any thing from me of all the things that he said unto thee.  And Samuel told him every whit, and hid nothing from him. And he said, It is the LORD: let him do what seemeth him good.

Eli was much older and experienced than Samuel. No matter how aged and experienced a minister may be, there will be times that minister must simply hear from God, not knowing the answer. And God often directs us through pastors and other ministries.

Recognize God's authority in the Church.

We know Jesus' reference to BINDING and LOOSING refers to the aspect of loosing them from guilt or binding them to condemnation, as we compare these verses in the same chapter.

Matthew 18:18  Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
LOOSING:
Matthew 18:26-27  The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.
BINDING:
Matthew 18:29-30  And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt.