Let’s Talk about Jesus :: Part Sixty-Two :: Jesus’ Priority for the Church?

Text: Matthew 18:15-20

Matthew 18:1, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 18:2,I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. (NIV)

Proverbs 13:24, He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is careful to discipline him. (NIV)

Proverbs 22:15, Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline will drive it far from him. (NIV)

And whatever the “rod” is for you, you have to be willing to use it because when our children disobey, they need to be confronted, corrected and restored.

1.The Prerequisite

Matthew 18:15, If your brother sins against you… (NIV)

Galatians 6:1, Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. (NIV)

spiritual - pneumatikos -the primary meaning is “Someone who is filled with and led by the Holy Spirit.”

2. The Process.

Step One: One on One.
Matthew 18:15, If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. (NIV)

Step Two: Take someone with you.
Matthew 18:16, But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ (NIV)

Step Three: Take it to the church.
Matthew 18:17a, If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. (NIV)

The word for church in the original language is ekklesia which means “a gathering, an assembly, called out ones.”

Step Four: Treat him as a pagan or tax collector.
Matthew 18:17b says, …and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector. (NIV)

3.The Purpose.

Matthew 18:17, If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector. (NIV)

How significant is it, then, that the first time Jesus mentions the church, he mentions it in relation to dealing with the sin of its own members?

Strengths – Weaknesses – Opportunities – Threats (SWOT).

Acts 5:1-11

Acts 5:3, Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heat that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land?”

It’s clear that God is so committed to holiness and righteousness that one of His priorities for His church is the recognition and confrontation of sin among its members.

“I have a lot of griefs about the state of the church today, but maybe the greatest grief is the unholiness of the church and its accommodation to the unsaved.”

1. We remain committed to preaching the whole counsel of God’s Word. 2 Timothy 3:16-17, All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. (NIV)

2. We will continue to embrace the importance of relational discipleship.

3. We make it our goal to pursue holiness.Psalm 139:23-24, Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. (NIV)

"Jesus' Priority for the Church" Pastor Chris Philbeck

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