It is with great fear and trepidation that I have been preaching on Matthew 18 and related passages for the last three weeks. This concludes a four-part series on the subject of accountability in the church. I say "fear and trepidation" because in the name of Matthew 18 people often go to others and abuse them. Matthew 18 is a two-edged sword. Those who would go to others and ostracize them because of differences that are not biblical misuse and abuse this passage. Sometimes even well-meaning people can carry out the mechanics of Matt 18 but without the spirit it is a more damaging instrument than a healing one.

What attitudes totally ruin this?

If you come to me to tell me how wrong I am and are not looking to get me help, but to get rid of me, I will not be interested in what you have to say. But there are correctives built into this whole scheme that will take care of this. Let's say I go to you , and even though I am correct about something you have done or are doing wrong, my attitude is horrible. I claim to be seeking your best good, but I'm really out on a personal vendetta. Under such circumstances, how likely are you to listen to me? Not very likely. So let's say I go home and realize that you didn't listen to me, and I have not gained my brother. What's the next step? I go get one or two others to come back again. When I involve them, if they are honest with me, they will tell me to repent of my attitude and seek your forgiveness before we go on any further in this matter.

If I'm in the wrong, they'll stop me in my tracks. If I'm right, they'll share my concern and helping me correct my attitude, and then they'll come with me to address the situation.

Say I pick out two or three people who have the same bad attitude I do, and we all come and gang up on you. How likely are you to listen? Not very. So when we get home and realize that you have not listened to us, where do we go next? To the church. Now the church should correct our attitudes, and if we are off base, the church will reprove us, but if we are in the right, the church will join us in seeking to help even if it means removing a person's membership in the church.

What is this not designed to do?

Two things Matthew 18 will not do.

1.	It will not make anyone behave

2.	It will not make anyone admit that they are wrong.

What things prevent this from working?

Two reasons, 1 to save a soul, 2 to come to agreement.

Last time we dealt with "Why do we skip steps?" and made a commitment not to skip steps. Now, we are going to look at what this would look like if we actually follow through.

Two attitudes necessary, compassion for straying person and reluctance to cut anyone off. But a willingness to pursue the issue to resolution, and an unwillingness to let it slide without agreement. As we noted, these are God's attitudes toward us. Unbounded mercy and complete justice. Grace and truth. Foundation and Fire.

If you go halfway what are you saying? I care enough to confront

If you go with the wrong attitude, you only get half the purpose: i.e.

I.	Do you have sin (perhaps even a similar sin) in your life?

A.	For instance, did you see your brother talking behind someone else's back? Do you have the same problem? Have you offended this brother by doing the same thing?

1.	If yes, then we need to look at another scripture passage: "Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift." Matt 5:23-24 (NIV)

2.	What good does it do for you to go point out your brother's fault if you have not first repented of your own? You may be correct in recognizing the brother's fault and pointing it out, but your brother cannot turn around and agree with you, because you don't even agree with yourself!

B.	Are you going to try to make someone apologize?

1.	Here's the problem. If they apologize outwardly but it is against their will, then you have succeeded in getting them to "agree" on the outside, but not in the heart. Now you've not only got a sinner on your hands, but a lying sinner, and it's partly your fault! The point is not to get someone to conform outwardly, but to agree at heart, and you can't force that. All you can do is invite it.

2.	After you invite it, however, what if the person refuses to agree at heart with you and the Word of God? Do you just let it go, saying, "I tried, but he wouldn't listen, and it's not my job to force him to listen, so there's nothing I can do. That's where C and D come in.

a.	What is C supposed to do?

(1)	Who is C? Another church member.

(2)	Why involve C? Perhaps two or three together can persuade when one met resistance.

(3)	Also, perhaps A is not the best person to go. Maybe C can soften the conflict? come and watch you argue?

What attitude is necessary for this to be biblical?

be as reluctant to carry out step 4 as to cut off part of your own body, but as determined to do it, as if part of your body was dead and trying to kill you with it.

Before you go:

It's interesting that this section starts with contention regarding who is the greatest. If there's one thing that absolutely renders the process described in Matt 18:15-20 useless and downright dangerous it is an attitude that says, "Who is the greatest? Tell me, Jesus, am I right or is he? Let's have this thing out once and for all. Right here, right now. Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." As long as we are seeking supremacy in the kingdom, we don't have to worry about achieving it, we will not even enter it! We are literally headed in the wrong direction!

Matthew 18 is not about achieving supremacy in the church. Some see this plan for correcting others as a way to establish themselves in the top positions. Nothing could be farther from the intent of this passage. First of all, you are responsible to your brother, even if you aren't a "leader." Second, these steps

Some people continually seem to think that if only we had the right people in charge of this church everything would be wonderful. They'd tell us what to do, and we'd do it without complaining. Is that Biblical? Did God have the right man in charge of the children of Israel during the Exodus? Yes! Did the people get along w/out complaints? No! They complained about food, water, worship, leadership. You name it, they complained about it.

If having the right people in charge is supposed to make everything smooth, then we have a serious problem with God! Isn't He the right person? Isn't He in charge? Why all these problems? –Pastor's daughter abuse story!! God said, "Am I a bad Father?"

No, having the right people in command does not make everything smooth. Supremacy is not the answer. Agreement is. Jesus couldn't save us by being supreme, even though He is. He had to save us by becoming weak. It wasn't enough for Him to be right and us to be wrong. He had to get us to see our situation and agree that we need help!

Some people use these guidelines to show how holy they are and to put down other people, but that is not what these guidelines are about. These are supposed to bring us into agreement. Who is the greatest? Jesus, because of the greatness of His humility, in becoming a child and dying for us.

Whoever wants to be great at the correcting part of Matthew 18:15-20 must be willing to die for the person they are trying to correct. Would you be willing to be eternally lost if it would mean the salvation of one straying one? Paul was willing to be lost for His people. Moses was willing to be lost for His people. Christ was willing to be eternally lost for you! Where do you get that kind of love? "Freely you have received, freely give." Matt 10:8 Freely you have received forgiveness, right here in Matt 18 (parable of unforgiving servant) freely forgive.

They tried at Golgotha, but , they could not kill that kind of love. And just as Jesus rose from the dead, likewise those who let Him live out His love in them cannot be killed. They have the very life of Jesus in them.

Does anyone remember the two basic reasons for going through this process? To save a soul and to come to agreement. We are not trying to put down those who don't agree, we are trying to

At the beginning of Matthew 18 Jesus' top leaders come to him asking, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" Jesus has to point out to them that with that attitude, they won't even be in the kingdom of heaven, let alone be leaders in it, a leader in the kingdom of heaven must be humble, not seeking superiority. Then He gives three illustrations of this attitude of humility that makes a great leaders in the kingdom. In the middle of these illustrations we find the section of Matthew 18 on "if your brother sins."

If we are to be successful with the correcting principles of Matthew 18 on what to do if your brother sins, we must have the humility Jesus goes illustrates in three different ways. If we go without the right attitudes, we are not following Matthew 18. Some take this as an excuse to not go. Does my attitude problem excuse me from going? No, rather, if I find myself confronted with a problem and knowing you don't have the right attitude, that is a time for some serious soul-searching and prayer, perhaps even fasting to seek God's will and be able to go in the right attitude.

I.	First illustration: I am not the greatest body part. I need you. I will be hurt if you are missing. unwillingness to cut off person as much as unwilling to cut of a limb

A.	this is not a tool for getting rid of people you don't like

B.	If you are in the right spirit, you will find it painful, and it will cause you to feel great loss, second only to the loss of being cast into eternal fire with that person.

II.	I am not the greatest sheep. If you are straying, you are more on God's mind than me. Because He is not willing for you to be lost. I need a sense of the value God places on you–lost sheep

A.

B.

III.	I am not the greatest servant. Sense of one's own forgiveness before God–the only way to be able to forgive others.

A.

B.

When you get there, have a plan. It's easy for many to talk to a person and say, "I'll pray for you and go away, but if you are actually going to meet your purpose and help this person you can't just stop at that. You should be prepared as Peter was for conviction to take hold and the person, having been cut to the heart to say, "What shall [I] do?"

If they have hurt someone, they should make amends. If they've become estranged from someone they should seek reconciliation.

Is it possible that some people have no business going to point out the faults of others?

1.	Those with a plank in their own eye.

2.	Those who have offended the offender

3.	Those who do not have the attitudes we've talked about.

Does Jesus actually want us to cut ourselves up? No, do you know how I know? Because a blind man can lust after a woman without looking at her. A thief can steal without fingers. Which is Jesus more interested in, the outside or the inside? Inside, because if a man cuts off his hand, but is still a thief at heart, when it came time to be in heaven and God restores his body, he'll go back to stealing. God's got to have changed hearts, not just changed behavior. (Notice I didn't say He doesn't need changed behavior, He does, but it doesn't do any good unless it's coming from changed hearts. It can't last unless it's coming from changed hearts.)

So what's Jesus' point? Well, what would you think if you went to a doctor complaining about a finger that hurt and he said, "Hey, if it hurts that much, let's cut it off and throw it away!" Would you do it? Would you take him seriously? Why not? I want all my fingers! You're beginning to understand Jesus' point here. How ready would you be to cut off a part of your body that was hurting you? What would it take for you to be willing to cut off an appendage? It would have to be life or death. Life is a bigger issue than having a whole body. We understand that, but the problem is that Jesus isn't just talking about this life, and this body. He's talking about eternal life! How does cutting off parts of my physical body help me toward eternal life? It can't! So let's see if we can grasp this.

We've already seen that Jesus isn't using literal language here, so what do the renegade body parts represent? Let me ask it this way. In the context, what else is described as causing someone to stumble? There's only one other thing, people.

Why would Jesus say, "If a person makes you stumble, cut them off and throw them away?" Does that help? Does that make sense? Only if it's life or death. Now here's the big issue. What do most of us do when someone offends us? We're A, they're B. First of all, we don't go to B and show them their fault and seek to come to agreement. Many of us will go talk to others (C) about B's behavior, the church (D) is helpless because we ignore it, and instead we go straight to E, "treat them as a Gentile or a tax-collector."

Don't believe me? Husbands and wives do this all the time. "Well, if you're going to be that way, I just won't talk to you anymore! I'll cut you off! I may continue living under the same roof with you, but I'll never trust you again."

Jesus is trying to say to us, "If you think I'm crazy for suggesting you cut off a part of your body to save the whole, you should think it's just as crazy to cut off another person to save the church. I want you to fight tooth and nail for that person like you would if it was a foot or a hand and the doctor wants to amputate! Anyone here ever had to face amputation of a part of your body? Were you at all interested in losing pieces of yourself? No. So why are we so willing by contrast to lose pieces of the church, pieces of humanity that God is trying to save? We're cutting pieces off and throwing them out, and he's out looking for them like the hundredth sheep! We are ready to amputate a finger because it hurts, and God is saying, "No! It must be life and death!" Is it true that even if you amputate a finger that hurts you can still feel it, only now you can't put ice on it to soothe the pain. We must realize that if we cut off parts of the body, we will never grow new ones, and we will feel the pain of the old ones long after their gone.