Guarding the Unity

Well, if you are a guest with us this morning, welcome.

Full disclosure, this might be a weird sermon for you.

And even if you have been coming for a while, if you've been attending church for many years,

this might in fact be a weird sermon for you.

Our typical practice is to preach straight through books of the Bible.

You open it up, chapter 1, verse 1, and you work your way all the way through to the end.

And what this does is it helps us to get the big picture of what's going on in the book.

It helps us to understand exactly what God is saying here in each book of the Bible.

But also what it does, what it means for me, is that I am not able to skip over difficult passages.

Uncomfortable passages.

You know, you may not know this, but some passages of Scripture are less popular than others.

Did you know that?

Some passages are harder to swallow than others.

And I don't have the luxury, you would notice, if I just happen to skip over a section of Scripture.

And I don't want to do that anyways.

Okay, we are here to submit ourselves to the Word of God.

Amen?

Beginning to end.

We want to receive what God has written in its entirety.

So, let's open our Bibles to the book of Titus.

Once more, the book of Titus.

We're going to be in chapter 3, verses 9 through 11 this morning.

We're concluding the body of Paul's letter to Titus this morning.

Next week, Lord willing, we'll conclude with the conclusion of Paul's letter.

But this morning, Paul is making one final appeal to Titus to defend the unity that the church was given in the gospel.

To defend the unity.

This precious unity that Christ purchased for the church in the gospel.

It was under attack by false teachers who had come to these young churches there in Crete.

And so, mentor Paul writes to co-worker Titus and says,

You must protect it.

You must defend it.

You must guard the unity of the church at all costs.

Keep the gospel and the glory of God at the center.

Let's read it together now.

Titus 3, verses 9 through 11.

Titus 3:9–11

Paul says,

Father God, you know the weight of a text like this.

So give me strength, Lord.

And would you lead us through a difficult text even?

Father, to worship.

And to praise you for your goodness.

We ask this in Jesus' name.

Amen.

All of us know someone who we would describe as a health nut.

Someone who counts every calorie, measures every heartbeat, tracks every step,

does everything that they can possibly do to ensure that so far as it depends upon them,

that their body is healthy.

I am not one of those people.

I do care about my health.

I try to exercise.

I try to eat right.

But I'm not obsessive in that way.

Not entirely.

The other day, Amanda, we had a birthday party for Cobb.

Amanda made two cakes.

I had three pieces that night and one piece the next morning for breakfast.

So I'm not entirely health obsessed like that.

But I do know that a basic part of taking care of your body is that you should, in general,

avoid intaking what is bad for your health.

And if there is something in you that is dangerous to your body, you should remove it.

Avoid intaking what is bad.

Avoid intaking what is bad.

And remove what is dangerous.

So, for example, Halloween is coming up.

My children will probably, likely collect a lot of junk.

And we're not that mean.

We're going to let them eat some junk.

We'll let them eat some candy.

But only a little.

They don't get to have candy for dinner.

Okay?

They get to have a piece here, a piece there.

It'll probably last us a few years that way.

We try to avoid overindulging on empty calories.

Eat what is good for you and avoid what is bad.

And likewise, we know that if something is in you, in your body, that is dangerous to you,

it needs to come out.

It needs to be removed.

We visited my grandmother last week.

We loaded up the van once again and made the trip down to Athens, Georgia, where she lives,

to go celebrate her 90th birthday party.

And we got there before the rest of the crowd got there.

And so we got to sit and to talk with her.

And I got to ask her about her health.

And my grandmother has cancer.

She's 90 years old.

And she's been undergoing treatments for several years.

And so just recently, the doctors found a spot on her skin.

It's something new that developed.

They took a look at it under the microscope and found out, sure enough, it was melanoma.

It's dangerous.

It's cancerous.

It's aggressive.

It's destructive to the health of her body.

And so like any good doctor would do, he put forward a process, a plan of action, something

to take care of the issue.

He said, we're going to examine the problem.

We're going to identify it.

And then we're going to cut it out.

And we're going to monitor it.

We're going to make sure that it heals as it should.

We're going to make sure it hasn't spread any further.

No good doctor would ever look at that spot and say, you know what?

Let's leave it.

See what it does.

Let it remain.

No doctor, knowing how destructive that cancer is, would let it be.

Just hope it goes away.

For the good of the body, it must be removed.

Well, we're coming to the end of the book of Titus.

And throughout this letter, Paul could be described as a health nut.

He is obsessed with the health, not of his body, but of the body of Christ, with the

health of the church.

His concern has been throughout the letter with the soundness or the health of the body.

The church is the body of Christ.

We are members of one another.

The local church makes that invisible body visible.

And churches, just like physical bodies, we can be healthy or we can be sickly.

We can intake what is good and what's healthy and nutritious and beneficial and we can grow

strong or we can feast on empty calories.

We can have candy for dinner and grow weak.

And even in healthy churches, from time to time, issues can crop up that are dangerous for the health of the body.

And so like a good doctor, Paul tells Titus, we're going to have to do something here, Titus.

We're going to have to remove something here, Titus.

Don't leave it unaddressed.

Don't let it spread.

Do everything you can to remedy this situation.

And if you cannot remedy the situation, it must be removed.

So Paul here, he gives us two keys to protecting the health of the body.

Two keys to protecting the health of the body.

This is going to be our outline this morning.

If you'd like to take notes, two keys to protecting the health of the body.

Avoid foolish controversy and remove divisive people.

The two parts that we see here in Titus 3, 9 through 11.

Number one, avoid foolish controversy.

And number two, remove divisive people.

First, he says one key to protecting the health of the body is to avoid foolish controversy.

Look here to verse 9 with me.

Eyes on verse 9, please.

He says, but avoid foolish controversies.

Proversies, genealogies, dissensions, and quarrels about the law.

For they are unprofitable and worthless.

So avoid them.

Don't pay them any mind.

Paul says to Titus, stop entertaining.

Stop listening to.

Stop arguing over.

Stop focusing on.

Stop obsessing over little things.

Not everything is worth the time.

Stay the course.

In fact, that word avoid here, it literally means turn your face.

In the other direction.

Pay it no mind.

Do not give it the time of day.

It's not exactly clear what the issue was specifically that Titus was dealing with here.

That has Paul all riled up here in the book of Titus.

But it seems to be tied to some obscure interpretation and application of the law.

And so Paul, he calls them in chapter 1.

He says these are Jewish myths.

And here, he says that these are discussions of genealogies.

They're questions about the law.

It's likely similar to what Timothy was dealing with in Ephesus.

If you make note of 1 Timothy chapter 1 verses 3 through 4.

1 Timothy 1:3–4

Paul says to Timothy there, he says,

Remain at Ephesus so that you may charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine,

nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies.

Sound familiar?

Which promote speculations rather than stewardship from God that is by faith.

And again, in 2 Timothy chapter 2, he says,

2 Timothy 2 · chapter mention

Avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness.

That's the unprofitability that he's talking about.

It's unprofitable and worthless.

It's not producing the fruit of godliness that Paul wants to see from sound doctrine.

And then here is a good reminder for Christians about to get on social media.

Okay?

He says,

Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies.

You know that they breed quarrels.

So we may not know exactly what teaching was going on here specifically,

but we do know how Paul feels about it.

Right?

They are unprofitable.

They are worthless.

They're not worth discussing.

Avoid it.

Turn your face the other direction.

Now, I wonder if you have the same question that I do when I read this.

What's interesting to me is that these were not discussions about some outside source.

Okay?

This was not some obscure teacher with his own writings that was distracting the church.

No.

What does it say?

These were discussions about the law.

The word of God.

And I thought, Paul, that all scripture was God-breathed and is useful for teaching, correcting, rebuking, and training in righteousness.

All scripture is useful.

So how can you now say that these discussions about the law, the word of God, are useless, worthless, unprofitable?

What's going on here?

Shouldn't this matter to you, Paul?

I'm glad you asked.

I think what he's saying here is we need to major on the majors and minor on the minors.

We need to major on the majors and minor on the minors.

All scripture is God-breathed.

All scripture is useful.

But not everything in the Bible carries equal weight.

Did I just say that?

Yes, I did.

Let me say it again.

All scripture is useful.

But not everything in the Bible carries equal weight.

Does it not matter more whether Christ was born of a virgin than what colors were on Joseph's robe and what they may or may not represent?

Does it not matter more that Christ actually died for our sin in our place?

That he physically, actually rose up from the grave to conquer death?

Then what type of fruit did Adam or Eve eat?

Was it an apple or was it a pomegranate?

Was it a big fish?

Was it a whale that swallowed up Jonah?

What type of furniture did Jesus make in his carpentry shop?

How many angels can dance on the head of a pin?

Was Goliath seven feet tall or nine feet tall or eleven feet tall?

Do you get my picture?

The issue here, it wasn't theological curiosity.

I want to be clear.

We should be curious about God's word.

We should investigate it.

Ask questions of it.

I went to seminary.

I wrote a paper on genealogies.

Comparing the genealogies of Christ.

Paul is not against theological curiosity.

But not everything is of equal importance.

Be curious.

Ask questions.

Seek answers.

But church, do not get distracted.

Do not get distracted.

Eat a little bit of candy, but do not eat it for dinner.

Feast on what's good.

Feast on what's nutritious for you.

All doctrine, properly weighed, properly studied, should lead to devotion.

But wrongly weighed, wrongly applied, leads to distraction.

And at worst, leads to division.

Everything in scripture is worthy of our devotion.

It's worthy of our discussion, but not equally worthy of obsession.

And not everything is worthy of division.

The early church had a saying.

They used to say, in essentials, unity.

In non-essentials, diversity.

In all things, charity.

I think we'd be wise to recover that sort of sentiment in Christianity today.

In essentials, unity.

In non-essentials, diversity.

In all things, charity.

We have to major on the majors and minor on the minors.

Be convinced.

Be convinced.

But do not enter foolish controversy over the minors.

Major on the majors.

And be convinced.

But do not create unnecessary division and tension over the minors.

Not every issue is worth fighting over.

And not every hill is worth dying on.

Not every theological difference between you and another brother and sister in Christ

makes them a heretic or a false teacher.

You know, I just, I grieve over the ways that I hear some Christians speaking about other Christians

that just don't belong to their camp.

And so they must be the enemy.

They must be wrong.

They must be heretical.

Must be false teacher.

Just because we divide or disagree on minor issues.

Not every hill is a hill to die on, church.

There's always room for charity in all things.

We harm the body when we treat every issue with equal weight.

And when we're quick to enter into foolish controversy.

So, how do we rightly weigh the scriptures?

That's the question, right?

How do we rightly weigh the scriptures?

Well, you may be familiar with a concept called theological triage.

Theological triage.

I believe Al Mohler was the first to actually coin that term.

And I'll paraphrase here from an article that he wrote in 2005.

He takes that from the medical world.

So, maybe you're not familiar with theological triage.

You're probably familiar with triage.

Medical triage.

And he says,

And so, they have to sort these issues out.

They've got to figure out which is most important.

So, that they can treat them with the proper treatment.

And so, what they do is they use a color-coded system of tags.

Colored tags.

Black tag.

That's bad news.

That's untreatable.

The person is either dead or they're in such a condition that it can't be treated.

It's uncurable, untreatable.

Red tag is the most urgent.

There's a chance.

It's life-threatening.

There's a chance that with the right treatment quickly applied,

we can bring this person back to life.

Yellow tag.

They're in stable condition.

Not likely to die.

They still need serious treatment.

On and on and on.

So, he gets a white tag,

which means they're just people that wanted to pay for an ambulance ride for some reason.

Not sure why they're there.

And so, Mohler and others,

I'd recommend a guy named Gavin Ortland to you.

They take that idea of medical triage and apply it to the Bible.

And to our conversations about the Word.

I think it's a helpful way for us to think about it.

So, first-tier issues.

First-tier issues.

These are issues of the most importance.

Highest importance.

The Trinity.

The divinity of Christ.

Salvation by grace through faith in Christ alone.

These are worth dying for.

You cannot be a Christian if you don't hold to these beliefs.

The resurrection of Christ.

The second coming of Christ.

These are of utmost first-tier importance.

Then you have second-tier issues.

Baptism, for example.

Is it important?

Yes.

Does the Bible speak to it?

Yes.

Friend, you ought to be convinced about your position on baptism.

The Bible speaks on it.

We believe we're a Baptist church.

We believe baptism is for believers.

Our Presbyterian brothers and sisters believe that baptism is for believers and their children.

We take a difference of interpretation here, but they are not heretics.

They are our brothers and sisters in Christ.

So, we divide into separate churches.

But we, as Mark Dever says, we build low fences and we shake hands often.

They're our friends.

We don't divide over such things.

We disagree in love.

And then you have third-tier issues.

Down here at the bottom.

Now, these are issues that we can be a part of the same church family and we can disagree.

We don't have to argue.

We don't have to divide.

We don't have to throw stones at one another.

We can be a part of one big happy family and take positions that are different.

Maybe Scripture speaks to it, but it's a little less clear.

It's a little less easily discerned.

The details surrounding the second coming of Christ, for example.

We've been studying Revelation.

Is He coming?

First tier.

Yes, you better believe it.

Will He judge the living and the dead?

You better believe it.

First tier.

He's coming.

Will the new heavens and the new earth be glorious when He comes to reign?

Yes, first tier.

You better believe it.

When and how and where and what will be the signs when He comes?

And how do we interpret literal millennium, figurative millennium?

How do we understand Revelation?

We can disagree here.

And that's okay.

And essentials unity and non-essentials diversity and all things charity.

And way down the list here, way down the list, are the issues that Titus is dealing with here in Crete.

Arguments over genealogies?

Are you kidding me?

A list of names?

We're going to divide over that?

These names that promote speculation rather than stewardship?

We're going to spend our time obsessing over that?

See, the problem here was an over-fascination with minor points of the law in a way that distracted them and everyone around them from the main point of the law,

the main point of the Bible, namely the glory of God and the gospel of Jesus Christ.

That demands our full devotion.

That is what demands our full attention.

Isn't that what Paul has just said in chapter 3, verses 3 through 8?

This is what we saw last week.

The gospel.

Make a big deal of the gospel church.

Make a big deal of our sinful past.

Look here.

Chapter 3, verses 3 through 8.

He says,

We ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures,

passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others, hating one another.

We're no better than anyone else.

We're no more worthy of salvation than anyone else.

Make a big deal of our need for redemption.

And then make a big deal of God's saving grace in the gospel.

But when the goodness and loving kindness of God, our Savior, appeared, He saved us.

He saved us.

He saved us.

His work, His power, His mercy, His plan, His steadfast love.

He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to His great mercy.

Make a big deal of His mercy, church.

Make a big deal of regeneration, our new life in Christ, new birth.

You've been born again.

Do you want to talk about that?

Do you want to make a big deal about that?

You've been reborn by the power of His Holy Spirit, the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit.

Call attention to that.

Rejoice in that.

Make a big deal of Jesus, Christ our Savior.

We worship a risen King.

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Lamb of God, slain for us, risen from the grave, coming again to judge the world.

Isn't that worthy of our minds?

Isn't that worthy of our discussion?

Isn't that worthy of our emphasis as we gather, as we discuss, as we study?

Isn't that worthy of our lives?

Is that of first-tier importance for you as you study the Word?

As you talk with other believers?

Is that what comes through as the emphasis of your life?

Make much of our status in Him, church.

Justified.

Forgiven.

Declared innocent in the sight of God.

Anyone who trusts in Christ.

Anyone.

Your long record of sin that spills over the judge's table, out the front door of the courtroom,

is nailed to the cross.

You are declared righteous.

You are forgiven and received and adopted as a son or a daughter of the King.

Is that not worthy of our attention?

The hope that we have of eternal life free from sin forever with God.

Eternal life in the new heavens and the new earth.

Is that not worthy of our attention?

Don't get distracted.

And don't divide over worthless things.

A healthy church feasts on the good news of the gospel.

Amen?

Amen?

That's why he says in verse 8,

I want you, Titus, to insist on these things.

Insist on these things, church.

Don't get distracted.

These things are excellent and profitable for people.

These things are what leads to godliness in the church.

But avoid all this other foolish talk.

Unprofitable.

Worthless.

But sadly,

even in a healthy church,

issues can crop up

from time to time

that are dangerous for the health of the body.

Everything is going well

and then one day,

cancer.

Dangerous.

Destructive.

So Paul says,

we must be ready to remove it.

Avoid foolish controversy

and second,

remove divisive people.

This is admittedly much harder to swallow.

It's one thing to talk about ideas.

Avoid foolish conversations,

ideas,

topics.

It's another thing entirely

to do what Paul says here in verses 10 and 11.

For the sake of the health of the body,

avoid foolish controversies

and remove divisive people.

Look there to verse 10 and 11 with me.

He says,

as for a person who stirs up division,

after warning him once and then twice,

have nothing more to do with him.

Knowing that such a person is warped and sinful,

he is self-condemned.

Remove divisive people.

This is not a small matter.

And we should grieve to think about the potential

of removing someone from our body.

But Paul is clear here

that if there is unrepentant divisiveness,

unrepentant,

let me say it again,

unrepentant divisiveness,

after many heartfelt attempts

to bring them back,

call them to repentance,

draw them back to seek reconciliation,

if they are persistent

in their attempt to divide the church,

Paul says they prove themselves

to be warped and sinful.

And they must be removed

for the health of the body.

I pray we never have to apply this scripture here.

But the time may come.

In my years of ministry,

I've seen this happen once,

where I sat in a room

with other elders and deacons

and ministry leaders

and read this passage

to an individual

who had been stirring division

in the church.

Pleas for repentance

had been made

and made

and made

and made

over the course of weeks

and months

of warning

and calling to repentance.

And I remember very clearly

calling him

to stop spreading division,

opening this passage to him

and calling him

to stop spreading lies.

And he said with hate in his voice,

this will get worse.

And he was right.

I was thankful

that this passage

had been taught

and understood

by the church

well before it needed

to be applied.

That they got it.

So I want to ask

four questions here.

We're going to jump around

to a few different places

of scripture,

so please have your Bibles open.

I want to ask

four questions here

that I think

will help us understand

what's going on

and what he's saying here.

First question,

what gift was given

to the church

in the gospel?

What gift

was given

to the church

in the gospel?

There are many gifts

given to the church

in the gospel,

but the one

that was under attack

here in Crete

is the gift

of unity.

The gift

of unity.

Ephesians chapter 4

Ephesians 4:1–3

verses 1 through 3.

Paul says,

I therefore,

a prisoner

for the Lord,

urge you

to walk

in a manner

worthy

of the calling

to which you

have been called

with all humility

and gentleness,

with patience,

bearing with one another

eager to maintain

the unity

of the Spirit

in the bond

of peace.

In the gospel,

Christ Jesus,

he created

spiritual unity.

The sinners

who were once

divided from God

are now united

through faith

in Christ,

reunited

to the Heavenly Father,

and sinners

who were once

divided from one another

are now through Christ

in one body

united to one another.

Now,

we don't create

spiritual unity.

We don't have the task

to create unity

in the church.

We're given the task

to maintain

what we have been given

in the gospel.

Now,

Paul says,

be eager

to maintain

the unity

of the Spirit

in the bond

of peace.

We have to be

reminded of this.

Now,

Paul has to tell us

to do this

because otherwise

we slip into

our own opinions,

our own preferences,

our own world.

We want everybody

to bend to our will

and our way,

get on board with us,

and our desires

is about us.

And so,

Paul tells us,

he calls us

in the power

of the Spirit

to bear

with one another

in love,

with humility,

with patience,

with gentleness.

Be eager

to maintain

the unity.

Are we pursuing it?

Church,

are we eager

to maintain

the unity?

Not do we want

a unified church?

Everybody wants

a unified church.

Uh-oh.

Better speak right.

Everybody wants

a unified church.

Are we pursuing it

with eagerness?

Are we praying for it,

laying our preferences

aside for the sake

of unity?

Keeping these

first-tier issues

at first importance

for the sake of unity.

We're probably

not united

in many things.

Musical preferences,

background,

income level,

upbringing,

hair color.

But we're united

in the gospel.

Keep that first.

Second question.

What authority

was given

to the church?

what authority

was given

to the church?

In short,

the church

is given

authority

to recognize

that unity.

The church

is given

authority

to recognize

that spiritual

unity.

Matthew chapter 18.

Matthew 18 · chapter mention

If you would

turn there for me,

because I want you

to lay eyes

on this passage.

This is the passage

that Pete read

for us earlier.

Matthew chapter 18

Matthew 18:15–20

verses 15

through 20.

Jesus says,

if your brother

sins against you,

go and tell him

his fault

between you

and him alone.

Don't hold a grudge.

Don't keep

your offense silent.

Don't harbor it

inside of yourself.

Talk to your brother

between you

and him alone.

If he listens

to you,

you've gained

your brother.

Praise God.

But if he does

not listen,

take one or two

others along

with you

that every charge

may be established

by the evidence

of two or three

witnesses.

If he refuses

to listen to them,

tell it to

the church.

Here's the authority.

And if he refuses

to listen

even to the church,

let him be to you

as a Gentile

and a tax collector.

Truly I say to you,

whatever you bind

on earth

shall be bound

in heaven.

Whatever you loose

on earth

shall be loosed

in heaven.

Again I say to you,

if two of you

agree on earth

about anything

they ask,

it will be done

for them

by my Father

in heaven.

For where two

or three

are gathered

in my name,

there am I

among them.

you see the church

is a community

of the redeemed.

We have been

by the grace of God

plucked out

of belonging

to the world.

We now belong

to the kingdom

of God

and the church

is given

incredible authority

by God

to recognize

and to declare

in the name of Christ

who's in

and who's out.

that's what

church membership

is.

It's a recognition

by the church

that each

individual member

is a member

of the invisible church,

is a member

of the kingdom

of God,

that they are

in fact saved

by the grace

of God.

They have a credible

profession of

saving faith

in Christ Jesus

and so when the church

adds a new member,

what we're saying

is we affirm

your salvation.

We believe

as far as we can tell,

we're not infallible,

but as far as we can tell

that you have been

genuinely born again.

We believe you are

united to God

and we are

committing

to walk

alongside you.

We're committing

to help you

live a life

that is

pleasing to God,

honoring to Him,

to disciple you

and to serve you

and to love you

as a brother

or sister

in Christ.

You are

united to

us.

And when a church

removes

a member

from among them,

what they're saying

is we can no longer

in good conscience

affirm

your salvation.

We can't say

you're saved

or not saved.

We're not infallible.

God alone knows that,

but something

is happening here.

There's sufficient evidence,

this posture

of unrepentive

divisiveness,

of wanting to work

against,

destroy the church,

that's not consistent

with a profession

of faith.

And so,

we release you

back into

the world.

Church membership

does not save anyone.

Church discipline

does not condemn

anyone.

Rather,

the church,

again,

is given

authority to

recognize

on behalf

of Christ

and to

declare

those who

give evidence

of regeneration

or evidence

not of us

condemning,

but of self-condemnation.

So,

third,

what command

was given

for the divisive

person?

What command

was given

for the divisive

person?

First,

is to seek

reconciliation.

First command

is to seek

restoration.

The removal

is not

punitive,

it is with

tears,

it is

patient,

it is

slow,

painful,

it is

painful.

You know,

this passage

in Matthew

18,

if your

Bibles are

still open

there to

Matthew 18,

he says,

if your

brother sins

against you,

tell him,

go bring

others,

bring the

church,

let him

be to you

as a

Gentile

and a

tax collector.

That passage

is sandwiched

there in

between two

parables.

Do you see

that there,

Matthew 18?

Two parables,

parable of

the lost

sheep,

we won't

read them

for the sake

of time,

and the

parable of

the unforgiving

servant.

Two slices

of bread

right there,

the meat

in the

middle,

this section

on church

discipline

in Matthew

Matthew 18 · chapter mention

chapter 18.

The parable

of the

lost sheep,

you know

it,

it says

there was

a shepherd

had a hundred

sheep,

he kept

ninety-nine,

the one

went off,

and what

happens?

He stays

with the

ninety-nine

and bid

good riddance?

No,

he pursues

the one

that went

away.

And it

concludes

here with

the heart

of God,

it says,

so it

is not

the will

of my

father who

is in

heaven that

one of

these little

ones should

perish.

And then

the parable

of the

unforgiving

servant,

there beneath

it begins

with Peter's

question,

Lord,

how often

will my

brother sin

against me

and I

forgive him?

Seven times?

the Lord

said to

him,

not seven

Peter,

but

seventy-seven.

I think

this should

tell us,

church,

that the

removal of

a member

from among

us should

never be

because of

our unwillingness

to forgive.

It should

never be

because of

the church's

hardened

posture.

the first

command in

any case

of church

discipline

is to

seek

reconciliation.

It's to

seek to

demonstrate

the heart

of God

to sinners,

to call

them to

repent,

to open

up your

arms,

to be

willing to

forgive,

not seven,

but 77

times if

they would

but repent.

But if

they will

not,

if this

is not

possible,

then with

tears,

with tears,

they must

be removed.

Surgery

is painful.

I've never

met anybody

who enjoyed

it.

But sometimes

for the sake

of the health

of the body,

it is

necessary.

So Paul

says,

have nothing

more to

do with

him.

If that

sounds

weighty,

if that

sounds

serious

to you,

it is.

And this

is not

a popular

section of

scripture.

And for

good reason,

this isn't

pleasant,

but sadly,

it is on

sad occasion

necessary.

When someone

has so

hardened

themselves in

sin,

this warped

and self-condemning

state that

will not

accept

reconciliation,

we don't

condemn them,

we recognize

that they

are self-

condemned.

Isn't that

judging?

Maybe you're

wondering that.

It is.

As we

were commanded

to do.

1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 5 · chapter mention

chapter 5,

Paul says,

I'm writing

to you not

to associate

with anyone

who bears

the name

of brother.

Let me say

that again.

who bears

the name

of brother.

If he is

guilty of

sexual

immorality

or greed,

or is an

idolater,

reviler,

drunkard,

or swindler,

not even to

eat with

such a one,

for what

have I to

do with

judging

outsiders?

Is it

not those

inside the

church whom

you are

to judge?

God judges

those outside.

Purge the

evil person

from among

you.

Fourth

question.

what is

the goal

of removal?

What's

the point?

Couldn't

we just

leave it

alone?

Well,

there are

many goals.

Obedience

for one,

as I hope

we've seen,

this clear

command of

scripture,

our witness

for another.

What does

the outside

world say

when we

let a

divisiveness,

a spirit

of division

exist in

the church?

a warning

for other

believers,

the purity

of the

church,

the glory

of God,

but another

goal of

removal,

I want us

to see this,

is love.

It's love.

Our hope

and our prayer

in removing

anyone is

that by the

grace of

God,

they be

awakened to

the depth

of their

sin,

that they

see it

for what

it is,

and that

they be

restored in

full,

both to

the Lord

and to

the church.

The first

Corinthians 5,

again,

he says,

when you

are assembled,

church,

in the name

of the Lord

Jesus,

and my

spirit is

present with

the power

of the Lord

Jesus,

you are to

deliver this

man to

Satan for

the destruction

of the flesh.

He says,

send him out

of the church

and into

the world.

Treat him,

as Matthew 18

says,

as a Gentile

or a tax

collector.

But look

here,

here's the

goal,

so that

his spirit

may be

saved

in the

day of

the Lord.

The goal

is salvation,

is redemption,

is restored

unity.

So church,

we close

here with

hope.

This is the

hope of the

gospel.

No sinner

is too

far gone.

No sinner

is too

far

gone.

So long

as there

is breath

in our

lungs,

there is

opportunity,

there is

invitation

to repent

of our

sin,

to cast

ourselves

and to

trust in

Christ,

there is

hope for

the worst,

most hardened,

most difficult,

most divisive,

most ruined

sinner in

the world.

Like the

prodigal son,

if they would

only recognize

their state

and come

back home,

they would

with open

arms be

received by

their father.

Paul knew

this,

didn't he?

Murderer

of the

church,

persecutor

of Christ,

the chief

of sinners,

rescued

from his

sin by

the grace

of God,

restored to

fellowship with

Christ and

his people,

the church.

The saying

is trustworthy

and deserving

of full

acceptance that

Christ Jesus

came into

the world

to save

sinners of

whom I

am the

foremost,

but I

received mercy

for this

reason,

Paul says,

that in me

as the

foremost

sinner,

Jesus Christ

might display

his perfect

patience as

an example

to those

who were

to believe

in him

for eternal

life.

Do you

believe that

gospel?

Rejoice

that your

sins have

been forgiven.

Rejoice

that you

as an

undeserving

sinner have

been reconciled

to God

by the blood

of Christ

and rejoice

that by grace

through faith

you have

been brought

into one

big,

messy,

happy family

called the

church.

Do you

love that

mess?

Do you

love the

church?

God does.

Those who

came through

last week's

membership class,

they read

through our

church covenant

line by line,

that's a list

of our

commitments that

we plan to

make to

one another

and the

very first

one on

the list,

you know

what it is?

We will

pursue

unity,

working and

praying for

the unity

of the

spirit in

the bond

of peace,

working and

praying for

the unity.

Are you?

Are you

committed

to pursue

unity?

Would you

commit now

not to make

mountains out

of mole

hills here?

Church,

would you

commit now

to not

divide over

little things,

to not

fight or

fuss over

minor things,

to not

obsess over

minor things?

Would you

commit now

to make

Christ in

the glory

of God

the center

of our

attention

together

as a

church?

Would you

just commit

to do

that?

Would you

make that

the priority

of your

heart as

an individual

as you

soak in

the word

of God

this week?

Would you

seek the

main things?

devote your

life to

Christ in

the gospel?

And would

we commit

as a church

family to

obey the

word of

God?

There's

parts that

are easy,

there's maybe

a few of

those,

and those

that are

harder to

swallow.

Would we

submit

ourselves to

his word

for the

sake of

his glory

and the

good of

the church?

Our

great physician

heals the

sick,

church,

and the

body of

Christ,

despite our

flaws,

despite our

weakness,

will one

day be

radiant.

Let's pursue

that with

eagerness.

Amen?

Let's pray.

Father God,

we thank you

for your

word,

and we

pray that

what was

good and

true and

helpful of

any that I

just said

would stick

and if

there was

any untruth,

anything

unhelpful,

would it

fall out

of our

ears and

hit the

ground and

be forgotten?

Lord,

we ask that

you would be

made much

of here

among us.

Lord,

we ask that

we would be

a unified

body,

unified in

the gospel

of Christ.

Keep that

at the center

of our hearts

and of our

lives.

We love you.

We pray this

in Jesus'

name.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Absolutely.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.