Authority: Congregation

I would love yet to say good morning to you. Good morning. Please take your copy of God's Word and join me in Ephesians chapter 4.

Ephesians 4 · chapter mention

We're going to continue this morning, week three of four, on a series on authority.

And as I've done the last two weeks, and probably will do every time we teach something topical, I just want to warn you to be extra discerning as we open up the Bible in this way.

It's good. It's really valuable for us to take up topics from time to time and think about broadly what the Bible has to say about a particular thing.

But we must be cautious as we do it. We want to be so careful that we don't read into the text what we want it to say, but rather that the Bible itself communicates to us about a topic.

So, we've been working on this issue of authority, and I told you before that we're doing this largely because the congregation, a number of you were asking for us to teach more about congregationalism.

For us to help you wrap your minds around what the Bible has to say about such a thing.

I worry about sermons like this. I've been thankful that some of you have expressed encouragement across the past two weeks.

But it can feel a little bit just like the mechanics of things.

Like, why does this matter for us?

But this one perhaps matters most readily as we think about the responsibility of the church, the authority the church has, and more specifically, the congregation.

So, what does it mean to be a congregationalist?

We are a congregationalist congregation.

What are the responsibilities held by the congregation, and therefore, what authority does the congregation have?

These are important questions for us to ask and answer if we're going to be a healthy church.

So, I hope that our time together this morning will help us all have clear answers to those questions in our minds.

Now, before we delve into congregationalism and look at Ephesians chapter 4,

Ephesians 4 · chapter mention

I need to remind you that I have made eight overarching biblical assertions in our study so far.

And so, you'll do well to listen to the previous recordings of the sermons if you weren't with us.

But I quickly want to give them to you because they're important as framework, especially if you haven't been with us so far.

So, number one, God's authority is innate.

That means it belongs to him, and nobody gave it to him, right?

He is the ultimate authority figure because he is God.

And that authority is final because he is God.

He is the highest of authority.

And if he wasn't, he wouldn't be God.

Secondly, God's authority is necessarily good, whether we recognize it or experience it to be good.

It's necessarily good because he is good, right?

He's 100% good all the time.

And so, his authority is necessarily good.

Thirdly, humankind has an authority problem.

We just generally don't seem to like it.

We've experienced a lot of misplaced and misspent authority.

We have good reason to be suspect of authority.

But at our very core, our sinful nature wants to reject authority, authority of God's making.

So, humankind has an authority problem, and we do well to remember that as we come to the issue and think about authority.

Number four, we are delegated authority.

Part of the way God works his authority in the world is through delegated authority.

And that delegated authority always has limits and is always subservient to the one who delegated it.

It's been given parameters, that authority, and therefore, it is subservient to the higher authority of the one who granted it, which is God.

Number five, when a person or institution takes up a responsibility not granted to them,

or exercise an authority granted to them in a way not granted to them,

it is, at best, ineffective.

It is, at worst, abusive.

Right?

So, we want to be clear on our categories.

What authorities have been given to whom, and how should that authority be exercised?

Sixth, the aim of exercising authority, and this is, I stole this from Jonathan Lehman's book on authority.

This is his subtitle.

In submission to God's good authority, it's for the sake of protecting the vulnerable,

strengthening our communities, and promoting human flourishing.

Right?

So, it has good purpose in mind.

Godly authority exercised properly is for the good of people.

Number seven, God delegates his authority through three institutions and six positions.

Because I've talked about these now for two weeks, I'm going to breeze through them fairly quickly.

But we see in the Bible three institutions.

We see the family, we see the church, and we see the government.

Okay?

The family, the church, and the government.

And within those institutions, there are positions.

So, in the family, we have the role of husband and the role of parent.

So, both have granted authority.

In the church, we see the role of elder, the position of elder, and the position of congregation.

So, all of us as a whole, together, has an authority.

In the government, we have various offices, kings, governors, judges, citizens, etc.

And then an extra institutional, unless you are employed by the church or government, we have the position of employer, boss, manager, etc.

There are commands and authorities given there as well.

Within, number eight, within these three institutions and six positions, there is granted two types of authority.

Number one, there is the authority of command or coercion, which is the power to make someone do something by force.

It possesses the right of corrective discipline.

And I have spoken to you about how those institutions we see in the Scripture, a tool is given to each one of them.

For the family, it is the rod.

For the church, it is the keys.

And for the government, it is the sword.

And that's this authority of command or coercion.

And so we want to think about that authority and how it applies to each of those institutions.

Today, to the church and the congregation.

Secondly, we see the authority of counsel or persuasion.

The power to convince someone to do something.

Now, we can only call this authority or power if it has some measure of bearing on you.

Unlike the advice you might receive from a friend, the authority of counsel has weight.

There's actually an authority behind it.

And an example which we considered at length last week is the authority of counsel that an elder holds.

We argue that an elder does not have the power of coercion or command, but rather the authority of counsel or persuasion.

But there is an authority there because the author of Hebrews, in Hebrews chapter 13 and verse 17,

Hebrews 13 · chapter mention

this is just the beginning of that verse, says,

Obey your leaders and submit to them.

For they are keeping watch over your souls as those who have to give an account.

And so, last week I asked the question,

To what extent is the author of Hebrews expecting his hearers to obey and submit to their leaders?

Certainly not outside the bounds of the Bible, but if he only intends to have them obey and submit to the Bible,

why not just say that?

As they exercise this authority of counsel,

why not just say,

When they teach you the Bible, in the way you want the Bible taught, then you should listen to them.

He doesn't say that.

He says you should obey and submit to them.

And the reason I presented to you is because there are matters of application of the Bible,

gray areas that require careful navigation and decisions that must be made.

So, I suggested to you that elders of a church possess authority in matters of prudence,

careful, wise application of the Bible in a particular circumstance,

and in matters of preference.

All the particulars, the so many things that need to be decided in the life of a church.

And my example was what time a meeting begins.

While we might care, we do, about your input and want to receive feedback,

we still just have to make a decision at some point about what we think is the best time.

Beloved, you don't want pure democracy in the life of our church.

There is not enough time in your day for us to have the number of meetings we would have to have.

You likely have no idea all of the details that have to be decided

and all of the counsel that needs to be given.

And you may think, well, I don't want to help decide everything.

I just want to help decide the significant things.

But what constitutes significant?

And who decides what or when something is significant?

If we were to operate this way, the whole matter would be just a mess.

Recall the assertion I made previously,

when a person or institution takes up a responsibility not granted to them

or exercise an authority granted to them in a way not granted to them,

it is at best ineffective.

It is at worst abusive.

And I know that none of us want to be abusive.

Certainly we don't want to be ineffective.

But I think that's where we find ourselves

if we're not clear about how the church should function.

So, our church believes that the most biblically faithful form of polity or governance

is what is often called elder-led congregationalism.

That's the term that we pick up and use.

Elder-led congregationalism.

And we can see both of these authoritative roles

in our starting text for today's study.

So join me in Ephesians chapter 4.

Ephesians 4 · chapter mention

And we'll begin in verse 11 and read through verse 16.

And he, being Christ, gave the apostles, the prophets,

the evangelists, the shepherds, and teachers

to equip the saints for the work of ministry,

for building up the body of Christ,

until we all attain to the unity of the faith

and of the knowledge of the Son of God,

to mature manhood,

to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,

so that we may no longer be children tossed to and fro by the waves

and carried about by every wind of doctrine,

by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.

Rather, speaking the truth in love,

we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head,

into Christ,

from whom the whole body,

joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped,

when each part is working properly,

makes the body grow

so that it builds itself up

in love.

This is a really important text.

It's a paramount text

for us to understand

how it is that the church

is meant to function.

In fact, I just wanted to show you,

you may note that in my Bible,

if you can see this,

this is the page that is most likely to fall out first

in this particular copy

because I go to this text quite often.

This text begins with Jesus Christ

giving gifts to the church.

You see this in verse 11.

We see the apostles,

the prophets,

the evangelists,

the shepherds,

and teachers.

Now, first I want to say,

there's a lot of debate

about what these gifts are

and how they functioned

and or function now.

So I just want to give you a brief aside

as I don't intend for this

to be an exhaustive exposition

of this passage.

Remember, we're really talking about

elder-led congregationalism.

That's the focus.

But I think it's helpful for us

to see this just for a moment.

I believe that the apostles and prophets

that Paul is referring to

were modern apostles and prophets

of his day,

not today,

but of his day,

who were in the process

of writing the New Testament

and the Old Testament prophets

as the books of the Old Testament

were often referred to

as the prophets.

Additionally,

if you look back a bit

at Ephesians chapter 2,

Ephesians 2:19

verse 19 and 20,

there Paul says this,

So then you are no longer

strangers and aliens,

but you are fellow citizens

with the saints

and members

of the household of God,

built on the foundation

of the apostles and prophets,

Christ Jesus himself

being the cornerstone.

So, in their day,

he's writing to the Ephesian Christians.

I think he's saying,

he's referring back to the prophets,

the books you already have,

as well as this new teaching

that's being brought to you

by the apostles, right?

So, we have today

the very same foundation

for the church,

the apostles and the prophets.

I think what he's referring to

in chapter 4 and verse 11,

for us,

are the Old and New Testaments.

I think that's what he's talking about

when he says the apostles

and the prophets.

We have the scripture.

And we should not belittle that, right?

That's not a light thing to have, right?

But as I believe Paul is doing,

we should magnify it

as a gift to the church.

So, Christ gave to us

the scriptures

and the evangelists

and the shepherds and teachers.

Many of you are using

the same translation that I do

to preach from the ESV.

And you may note

that each of these roles

are separated

by a comma.

But not shepherds

or you could think

pastors here

and teachers.

Not pastors

or shepherds and teachers.

We know that ancient Greek

did not have equivalent punctuation

to our English,

so this was a

translative decision.

The translators decided

where they wanted

to place those commas.

And I am happy to say

that the ESV translators

are not anti-Oxford comma.

If you are anti-Oxford comma,

I would like to have

a conversation with you later.

I think they liked

the Oxford comma

and they left it out

intentionally

because the Greek word

translated and

can also be translated

that is

or in particular.

So it could read

shepherds,

that is teachers,

or shepherds

in particular teachers,

which is a little clunky

in the English,

but does give us

a better idea

of who these men are.

So they merely

leave it out.

Shepherds

and teachers.

Many simply say

that this could

have been translated

shepherd teachers

or pastor teachers

and we also understand

these men

to be elders.

We have further evidence

that this is Paul's meaning

when he writes to Timothy

in 1 Timothy chapter 5

1 Timothy 5 · chapter mention

and verse 17.

There he says,

let the elders

who rule well

be considered worthy

of double honor,

especially those

who labor

in preaching

and teaching.

He ties those activities

together

to the elder,

the overseer.

So evangelists

and elders

are gifts given

to the church.

They employ the Bible,

but for what reason?

And verse 12 tells us

to equip the saints

for the work of ministry,

for building up

the body of Christ.

Now, once again,

we have a translative

decision being made

because there are

some commas

placed in verse 12.

In the translation

I'm using,

there's a comma

right after the word

ministry

and there's a comma

right after Christ.

Some, though,

have translated this

and put a comma

after the word

saints.

So,

to equip the saints,

comma,

for the work of ministry,

comma,

for building up

the body of Christ.

And if you could just think,

put on some grammar minds

for just a moment

and think behind saints.

who is doing

the work of ministry

if we put a comma

behind saints?

It's evangelists

and shepherd teachers.

However,

if you exclude it,

the job of those evangelists

and shepherd teachers

is to equip the saints

for the work of ministry

and what follows

at the end of the verse

for building up

the body of Christ

is the point

of that very ministry.

It's modifying

that idea.

What is the work of ministry?

It is the building up

of the body

of Christ.

And so you would think,

well then,

how do we know?

How are we to know?

Well, the text gives us

some really great clues.

I think contextually,

it's responsible

to leave out

that comma

after saints.

So let me read it again

quickly to you

and just point those things

out to you.

How do we know

that the evangelist

and the shepherd teacher

employing the scripture

is meant

to train the church

for the work of ministry,

for this building up.

Right?

We see it starting

in verse 13.

Until,

we're being built up,

until we all attain

to the unity of the faith

and of the knowledge

of the Son of God

to mature manhood

to the measure

of the stature

of the fullness

of Christ

so that we may

no longer be children

tossed to and fro

by the waves

and carried about

by every wind of doctrine,

by human cunning,

by craftiness

and deceitful schemes.

Okay?

So we don't want

to be these

immature Christians.

We want to be

mature Christians

able to stand up

to the counter-truth.

Rather,

speaking the truth

in love,

we are to grow up

in every way

into Him

who is the head,

into Christ.

All of us

speaking the truth

in love,

all of us

growing.

And if you're not

with me yet,

verse 16 says,

from whom

the whole body,

Christ being the head,

joined and held together

by every joint

with which it is equipped,

when each part

is working properly,

makes the body grow

so that it builds

itself up

in love.

Right?

That's the work

of ministry

that all of us

together

are ministering

the gospel

to all of us

together

so that all of us

together

grow into this maturity.

I hope you can

see that.

Right?

To equip the saints

for the work

of ministry,

for building up

the body

of Christ.

So as a

member of this church,

you have a role

in this church.

You're not

a consumer.

You don't just come

and get served.

You are meant

to also

serve others

to this

great end.

So elders

lead by

teaching

in word

and in deed,

giving theological

foundation

and exampled

application

so that the church

as a whole

does this

work of ministry,

this building up

of the body

of Christ.

It also bears

saying that the

evangelists

share the gospel,

that the church

would increase

through conversions,

and that the church

as a whole

would share the gospel

for that same

end.

Now I said,

we can see both

of these authoritative

roles in our

starting text

for today's study.

I hope that I've

sufficiently shown you

the authority

of counsel

that an elder holds

in such a way

that you can see

the same authority

here,

this persuasive

authority.

But what about

the congregation?

What about the congregation?

The congregation

or the church

as a whole

is doing

two things

in this text.

We see them

firstly,

teaching the truth.

They're teaching.

They're teaching

one another

the truth.

Verse 13 and 14,

until we all

attain the unity

of the faith

and the knowledge

of the Son of God

to mature manhood

to the measure

of the stature

of the fullness

of Christ

so that we're

no longer children

tossed to and fro

by the waves

and carried about

by every wind

of doctrine,

by human cunning,

by craftiness

and deceitful schemes.

And beloved,

there is so much

out there

pressing at our

thinking from

every single direction,

maybe more

than in any other

generation

because we have

the internet.

If you ask me

if there's one thing

I could do

to bring about

maturity in my church,

I think I would say

let's destroy

the internet.

I don't think

it's been a net

positive for

the life of the church.

And you perhaps

yourself have felt that

and maybe you've seen

others tossed around.

They hear a thing

and it sounds good

until they hear

another thing

that sounds good

and those two things

may run in direct

contradiction

to each other

and we should be people

who are so founded

in God's word

that we can discern

all of that stuff

that comes at us

in the world around us.

The enemy

is seeking

to erode

the foundation

of our faith.

Human cunning,

craftiness

in deceitful schemes.

And so

we have to speak

the truth

to one another.

And while

the preaching

of God's word

on the Lord's day

is extremely important

to the life

of a church,

it's of major importance.

It is the broadest

discipling

that we can do

as a church.

All of the little

day-to-day stuff

also matters.

It all needs

to be happening

all the time

if we're to stand

against these waves

that will come

our way.

So we see

the congregation

having been equipped

to do it,

turning around

and doing

that very same thing,

teaching the truth.

We also see

them applying

the truth.

Verse 15 to 16,

speaking the truth

in love.

We're to grow up

in every way

into him

who is the head.

We're to learn

what it means

to be a follower

of Jesus Christ.

Right?

Not just in the gray matter

between our ears,

but in everything

that we do.

From whom

the whole body

joined and held together

by every joint

with which

it is equipped.

He's talking about

you and me there.

Every joint

with which

it is equipped.

The whole body

held together

when each part

is working

properly

makes the body

grow

so it builds

itself up

in love.

I mean,

there's just

limitless activity

packed within

verse 16.

All of the varied

ways that God

calls us

to love

and serve

one another.

So there's a teaching

of the truth

and there is

an implying

of the truth.

the congregation,

the church

as a whole,

is responsible

for discipling

and they are

responsible

for doctrine.

This is that

work of ministry,

building up

the body of Christ.

I have told you

that the congregation

has the authority

of command

or coercion

and I have told you

that God delegates

authority

and that it always

has limits

and is always

subservient

to the one

who delegated it.

So I want to

take you

to some other

text to show

you that the

two areas

that the congregation

holds authority

in are discipline

and doctrine.

Let's think a bit

together about

those two

and specifically

how we're meant

to carry them

out.

Now,

if you've ever

heard me talk

about ecclesiology

at all,

you've heard me

say this stuff,

but nonetheless,

let's be reminded

together.

So that first

responsibility

of discipling,

turn with me

to the book

of Matthew.

Let's start

in chapter 28

and verse 18.

Three verses

you may be

familiar with.

Make the point

clear for us.

And Jesus came

and said to them,

and I like that

the word authority

is here,

all authority

in heaven and on earth

has been given

to me.

Go therefore,

and he doesn't say

I'm granting you

authority to go,

but he is in fact

sending us

and we find

elsewhere that

there's an authority

that goes with us.

Go therefore

and make disciples

of all nations.

In all of your going,

be about this work

of teaching people

how they're to

follow me.

Baptizing them,

there we see the church

at work in the ordinance

of baptism in the name

of the Father

and of the Son

and of the Holy Spirit.

Teaching them

to observe

all that I have

commanded you,

to know it

and to live it

and behold,

I'm with you

always

to the end

of the age.

So at the very outset

we can see

that the authority

that we have

has been granted

to us

and it

accompanies

us.

Jesus' power

goes with

us

when we go about

this work

of discipling.

But there's a way

that we are to go

about this

work.

There's a process

by which we are

to teach people

how to follow

Christ.

And I will say

to you

that this happens

most readily

in the life

of a local

congregation.

I got in a

friendly conversation

with one of our

campus ministry

directors

and what I was

trying to say

to him

was he was

stepping out of bounds

for what a campus

minister can really

accomplish.

And I was saying

this as a kindness

to him.

He was overwhelmed

with the work

that he had

on his plate.

He had way

too much

going on.

So I was trying

to get him

to dial back

how much

he felt like

he needed

to disciple

college students.

And I was making

the case to him

you need to help

them be involved

in a local church.

This would be

the best thing

for those young

people.

And he just

didn't seem

to quite get it.

And so I made

the case to him

I said I'm not

saying that I

personally

can be a more

effective minister

of the gospel

than you can be

a minister

of the gospel.

In fact this

man had much

more training

than I do.

But I said

there's no

authority given

to the campus

ministry

to disciple

young people.

The church

has that

authority

to correct

the sin

in young people's

lives.

and his

response to me

which was

just heartbreaking

a Southern

Baptist

Seminary

educated

young man

said well

you're going

to tend

to disciple

with discipline.

Yep

those words

are the same.

He said

we're going

to tend

to disciple

with grace.

And it was

such a shocking

statement to me

that I just

kind of crumbled

inside.

I didn't even

know really

how to unpack

such a

statement.

And it was

just so clear

that he

misunderstood

who has

been granted

the authority

to teach

all that I've

commanded.

To help

these people

to observe

all of those

things.

So let me

show you this

further.

Back up a few

pages to

Matthew chapter

Matthew 16 · chapter mention

16.

I'll begin

reading in

verse 13.

Here we see

Jesus ask

a question.

Verse 13

says when

Jesus came

into the

district of

Caesarea

Philippi he

asked his

disciples who

do people

say that

the son of

man is?

And they

said some

say John

the Baptist

others say

Elijah and

others Jeremiah

or one of

the prophets.

He said to

them but who

do you say

that I am?

Simon Peter

replied you

are the

Christ the

son of the

living God.

Jesus answered

him blessed

are you Simon

Barjona for

flesh and

blood has

not revealed

this to

you but

my father

who is in

heaven.

And I tell

you you are

Peter and

on this rock

he's playing

with the

meaning of

the word

Peter but

I think he's

referring to

the thing

that Peter

has proclaimed

that he's

the Christ.

I will

build my

church and

the gates

of hell

shall not

prevail against

it.

You're probably

familiar with

that text but

what does

verse 19

say?

Something

curious.

He says I

will give

you the keys

of the kingdom

of heaven

and whatever

you bind on

earth shall

be bound

in heaven

and whatever

you loose

on earth

shall be

loosed in

heaven.

So there's

that tool

that I

mentioned

previously

that's given

to the

church and

I'm arguing

that that's

the church

as a whole

as a

congregation

is given

these keys

and we're

meant to be

doing a

work of

binding and

a work of

loosing.

But it

doesn't seem

to explain

what that is

in Matthew

Matthew 16 · chapter mention

chapter 16.

And because

we often

read the

Bible far

too piecemeal

we are just

left shrugging

our shoulders.

What in the

world is he

talking about?

Keys?

Binding?

Loosing?

What?

Well, a few

short chapters

later in

Matthew

Matthew 18 · chapter mention

chapter 18

we learn

exactly what

he's talking

about.

So turn

there.

Matthew

18.

I'll begin

reading in

verse 15.

Before I

read this I

want to say

this is a

picture of

discipling work

in the

church.

I sometimes

get tired of

people using

this just to

refer to what

they would say

church discipline

and that is to

put somebody out

of the church.

This is more

than that.

So hear it

with me.

Beginning

verse 15.

If your

brother sins

against you

go and tell

him it's

fault between

you and him

alone.

If he

listens to

you you have

gained your

brother.

He's saying

if somebody

who professes

to be a

Christian is

acting in a

way that is

contrary to

that confession

go and tell

them.

Help them to

see it.

And if he

hears you if

he heeds what

you're saying

which would

lead to

repentance and

faith you

have gained

your brother.

We have seen

that his

confession is

true.

That kind

of discipling

work happens

all the

time in

the life

of a

healthy

church.

It's

happening

constantly.

Verse 16.

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.

You're taking

some further

opinion along.

We all see

this the very

same way.

Look at the

text.

It's very

clear that

you're living

in contradiction

to this

command.

You pile up

on him for

his good.

Verse 17.

If he refuses

to listen to

them tell it

to the church.

Here it is.

The congregation.

Those gathered.

And if he

refuses to

listen even

to the

church let

him be to

you as a

Gentile and

a tax collector.

an outsider.

So there's

four steps

going on here.

Repentance and

faith.

A possibility

at every step.

And cut up the

final one where

you say we

once thought you

were in Christ

but now as

far as we can

tell you no

longer are.

Your life does

not line up to

the profession

that you

make.

Now.

Verse 18.

Look at the

phrasing.

Truly I say

to you

whatever you

bind on earth

shall be bound

in heaven.

And whatever

you loose

on earth

shall be

loosed

in heaven.

So the

keys

to the

kingdom

are this

very careful

work we

do of

bringing people

into the

life of the

church.

The ordinance

that accompanies

that is

baptism.

Doing the

work of

correcting sin

in their

life that

their confession

and their

life lines

up together

in ever

increasing

ways.

things.

And in

some

tragic

cases

for the

good of

that

person

and the

witness

of the

church

seeing

them

out

of the

life

of the

church.

That

is the

keys

to the

kingdom.

This is the

discipling

work that

belongs to

the congregation

as a whole.

thing.

So when

somebody asks

me what I

say when

I mean

I'm a

congregationalist

pure

democracy

is not

what pops

into my

head.

Voting

on every

single

thing that

we are

going to

do as

a church.

This is

what I'm

thinking

about.

This

really

important

work of

helping

people

mature

in

Christ.

Making

sure that

their

confession

is a

true

confession.

That

they

would

be

preserved

to

the

end.

What

a

task.

I

began

talking

about

this

with

the

great

commission

because

I

wanted

you

to

be

reminded

that

Jesus

says

that

all

authority

belongs

to

him

and

he

is

with

us

because

this

is

a

big

task.

Join

me if

they're

like

I'm

going to

move

really

fast

so you

may

not

care

to

but

he

says

there

and

there's

been

some

rather

horrific

sexual

things

going

on

in

the

life

of

this

church

and

there

he

says

beginning

in

verse

three

for

though

absent

in

body

I

am

present

in

spirit

and

as

if

present

I

have

already

pronounced

judgment

on the

one

who

did

such

a

thing

when

you

are

assembled

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

so

that

his

spirit

may

be

saved

in

the

day

of

the

Lord

what

he's

communicating

is

that

you're

supposed

to

take

sin

so

seriously

that

when

a

person

lives

in

contradiction

to

their

confession

you

put

them

out

of

the

church

that

they

would

see

the

seriousness

of

their

sin

there's

the

hope

that

they

see

!

I

I

think

was

a

familial

thing

so

perhaps

you're

not

even

going

to

have

a

meal

with

this

person

because

you

want

to

be

so

clear

about

their

status

with

the

Lord

he

says

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

so

this

work

is

an

incredibly

important

work

for the

good

of the

individual

for the

witness

of the

church

and it

is a

responsibility

and an

authority

that belongs

to the

entire

congregation

so

what

happens

in my

previous

example

of a

college

student

who's

only

getting

any

spiritual

direction

from a

college

ministry

which

college

ministries

have

their

place

don't

hear me

say

they

don't

but

if

that's

the

only

place

it's

coming

from

everything

is

great

until

he

doesn't

like

something

that

he's

told

hey

man

you

can't

be

doing

that

with

your

girlfriend

and he

goes

I'll do

what I

want

there's

no

authority

granted

to

that

organization

to do

anything

to follow

up

but the

church

has

a response

to

unrepentant

sin

and this

is very

very good

for people

if

you

are

a

Christ

follower

you

ought

to

want

to

submit

yourself

to

that

kind

of

authority

I

need

it

in

my

life

I

am

blind

to

my

sin

sometimes

and I

need

to be

shown

it

and

I

hope

that I'm

a

first

step

discipline

kind

of

guy

I

want

to

just

live

in

verse

15

I

don't

want

to

go

any

place

else

beyond

that

when

I'm

the

person

being

corrected

I

in

the

life

of

our

church

but

if

I'm

not

willing

to

repent

oh

I

hope

because

sin

is

serious

and

I

want

to

persevere

to

the

end

I

want

this

good

authority

of the

congregation

for

me

so

back

in our

text

draw

your

mind

to

it

Ephesians

4

all

of

this

language

about

us

attaining

the

unity

of

the

faith

the

knowledge

of

the

mature

manhood

the

measure

of

the

stature

of

the

fullness

of

Christ

so

we're

no

longer

children

tossed

to

and

fro

by

every

wind

of

doctrine

by

every

human

cunning

and

deceitful

scheme

all of

this

stuff

this

is

that

careful

work

that

we're

doing

in

the

life

of

the

church