Dealing with Strayed Christians - by Rev Gilbert Wong

Texts: Ezekiel 33:7-11; Matthew 18:15-20

5 September 2005

Correcting one another within the body of Christ is very important.  As a body, each member is accountable to each other for our behaviour.  It is so serious that God judges us if we do not correct our fellow brother or sister who sins.  Jeremiah tells us that God has set each one of us as watchman and watchwoman so that we may warn each other, so that we grow away from the world and to grow unto holiness. 

Jeremiah puts it this way.  If a wicked man sinned and we do not correct him, his guilt is on our heads.  It is a double tragedy.  The wicked man will die and so will the one who did not warn this wicked man.  Jeremiah 33:8: ‘O wicked man, you will surely die,’ and you do not speak out to dissuade him from his ways, that wicked man will die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood.”

Even though this is a double tragedy, God would rather not have that happened.  God says in Jeremiah 33:11, “As surely as I live, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live.  Turn! Turn from your evil ways!  Why will you die, O house of Israel?”  It is clear that God refuses to destroy his own creation out of his deep love for his own.

We too should be like God.  And that we rebuke our brother or sister as recorded for us in Leviticus 19:17-18 that: ¹⁷ " 'Do not hate your brother in your heart. Rebuke your neighbor frankly so you will not share in his guilt.  ¹⁸ " 'Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.

Israel in the Old Testament refers to the Hebrew people but in Christ Israel now takes on a whole new meaning.  Israel now means the church which is the people of God.  And Matthew’s Gospel teaches us how to deal with our fellow Christians who have strayed away from the way.

Firstly, sin must be confronted with increasing intensity (Matthew 18:15-17)

We need to be clear about the nature of sin mentioned in Matthew 18:15.  Verse 15 is not referring to some personal attacks against you then something corrective is to be done.  It also refers to public sin not committed against you personally but against the church or society as a whole.  In fact, most reliable manuscripts do not have the phrase “against you”.  It simply reads “If your brother sins go and show him his fault, just between both of you.”

Once a Christian has committed a sin, the first step is to approach him privately.  A private and personal approach wants to protect the offending Christian.  Once listened to, the Christian would be restored without any need for further action. 

Only when godly counsels are rejected that one or two more witnesses are needed to establish that the offending Christian did sin and is unrepentant.  You have just upped the embarrassment factor.  It is now no longer just between two individuals.  At the second step it is taking along other godly Christians to witness that this offending brother could perhaps be convicted by the increased number of witnesses. 

Failing the first step of confronting him privately, and failing again the second step of confronting him with one or two more witnesses, then the third step is to announce it to the entire body of Christ.  This entire body of Christ is referring to a local church.  That is the ultimatum.  After three rounds of increasing intensity of confrontation, the offending Christian would be asked to leave or if he or she comes church would be treated as though he or she is a non-Christian – a pagan in other words. 

Paul makes a similar demand in 1 Corinthians 5:1-3: ¹It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that does not occur even among pagans: A man has his father's wife. ²And you are proud! Shouldn't you rather have been filled with grief and have put out of your fellowship the man who did this? ³Even though I am not physically present, I am with you in spirit. And I have already passed judgment on the one who did this, just as if I were present.

Secondly, God accepts the godly decision against the sinful Christian (Matthew 18:18-20)

In other words, if we exercise discipline in a biblical way, we are only doing on earth what God has already done in heaven!  This is a very important principle for us to understand in light of this.  Unless the offending Christian has clearly violated the Scripture, we have no right to exercise church discipline! 

This verse is not proof for ‘name-it-and claim-it’ prayers.  We are speaking here in the context of church discipline.  When we exercise discipline according to God’s Word, he recognises with us repentance or rebellion.  Church discipline requires much prayer for we MUST seek God’s face in the matter.  Yet he promises that as we seek him in prayer and the Word, he is in agreement with our decision concerning church discipline.

Especially in the context of ‘shopping mentality’ of Singapore Christians, it saddens me when pastors do not properly interview prospective church members.  I have known of instances where an individual was removed from one church, and another church accepted that individual into membership without calling the previous church to find out why he was removed.  In such cases, it is only a matter of time before that individual causes same problems in his new church.  Before our church embraces anyone into membership, we want to know where they are coming from, and why they have left their previous church.  We respect the authority of the local church too much to take this glibly, for if a local church has properly exercise church discipline on an erring member, they have done so under authority of Jesus Christ.

Finally there is the presence that allows us to exercise church discipline.  This verse has often been used in small-group prayer meeting or Bible studies.  “There are only  a few of us here, but God is in the midst of us!”  Whilst that is certainly true, this verse cannot be used to support that.  Again, I must remind you that we are in the context of church discipline.  Where two or three witnesses spoken of throughout this passage are gathered in the authority of God to exercise church discipline, his presence is right here with them.  When we obey the Lord’s precepts, we have his presence, and thus we are assured of his power and his peace.

This ought to again cautious us to ensure that we are acting biblically, for since he is present, we must be on guard against grieving him.  Let us be sure that we act according to God’s Word, for only then can we carry out his will without grieving him.

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