01. Qué es la Disciplina y su Proceso (Mateo 18:15-17)

Bien, acompáñenme hermanos a Mateo capítulo 18, Mateo capítulo 18, del verso 15 al 20. Para los que nos escuchan y nos ven en otros países, queremos comentarles que creemos necesario hacer un paréntesis en la enseñanza de Santiago. Así es que vamos a tener la bendición de ser educados en este aspecto de la disciplina eclesiástica. Así es que vamos a tener cinco enseñanzas a partir de hoy.

Y ya en un mes, un mes y medio, vamos a retomar las enseñanzas del libro de Santiago. ¿Qué dice la Biblia en Mateo 18, del 15 al 20? Dice así,

If you do not hear them, tell the church, and if you do not hear the church, tell it in a gentle and public way. I say to you, that all that you do in the earth will be done in heaven, and all that you do in the earth will be done in heaven.

I want to clarify that from verse 18 to 20,

I will resume it at the end of this series, that is, in the fifth teaching of this series of teachings. That is, today we are going to concentrate only from 15 to 17, and from 18 to 20 I will use it as a seal of all the teaching that we are going to give on the next weekends. Therefore, the series is titled, so simply, The Discipline in the Church.

I must assume, brothers, the same words that practically all pastors, the elders of a church, assume when they deal with this type of questions in the church. Not only in terms of theory, because theory is not as complicated as practice, as carrying out the discipline in the church. All pastors, without exception, agree that it is something difficult to

I would dare to say that it is one of the most difficult actions that pastors have to carry out in the congregation. Because apart from being painful, we do not know how people react when we approach them to be able to admonish them, to redarguir them, so that they finally resemble the Lord. And if someone is giving a bad testimony, we can call it to reflection and correction.

So I assume, like many pastors, as I say, of healthy doctrine, that they assume this reality. It's like that, brothers. It's as difficult as a father in the house when he has to discipline his children. Our hearts hurt.

It's the same feeling. Those who are not parents now cannot understand it. But when they are parents in the future and have to discipline, punish physically their children, as the Bible commands, there they will understand what it means also for a leader, for a pastor in a church, to have to discipline their sheep. As I said before, we are going to share five teachings of this. Today we are going to focus on these verses.

The next three teachings will be examples of practical discipline in the church. What do I mean? We are going to address the example of the person from 1 Corinthians 5 who had sexual relations with his stepmother in the church. We are going to study that practical example. The next Saturday or the next weekend we are going to address

the case of Ananias and Sapphira when God kills them both for doing something in the church too. And we are going to see a third case, a practical example of discipline in the church in Thessalonica. That will be the fourth teaching of brothers who did not want to work and Paul disciplines them too. Why is that example going to be interesting in particular?

Because the case of the young man who had sexual relations with his stepmother, the case of Ananias and Sapphira who lied to the Holy Spirit, someone could say, those two examples are worthy of strong discipline in the church. But these brothers who did not want to work and take bread to their homes, it is not so serious, pastor. And we are going to discover and we are going to understand that any sin in the church is worthy of discipline. Any sin.

And when I say "any brother", I'm not making distinctions between venial sins and mortal sins. We are talking about any sin in the church that demands an exhortation. And if the brother persists in sin, he is worthy of discipline. That is the point. And that fourth teaching will serve for that. They didn't want to work. One of the reasons is that they say, "Because Christ comes soon." So, since the Lord comes soon, why go to work?

What did they do? They walked house by house, in a greedy way, getting involved, receiving the benefit of the brothers, but they were idle. Paul says, they are worthy of discipline and punishment, and to be apart from them. How tremendous, brothers, how tremendous. We will see that when it corresponds. And in the end, as the fifth teaching, Hebrews chapter 12, so that we can see the purpose of all discipline in the church, so that we can participate in its holiness.

There are several purposes, as I am going to mention now, that we are going to see in this series, brothers. Four great purposes of the discipline in the church. First of all, to maintain holiness and order in the church. Because it is our duty, brothers, as a church, to maintain purity, so that the purity of the church is preserved.

That is one of the great purposes. Second, to know the spiritual reality of the sinner brother. That is, if he is a true believer or not. What mechanism does God establish? Discipline, the process that we are going to see next. Another great purpose, to help, to collaborate with the restoration of the brother who is in sin. And finally, this is also interesting,

provocar temor en ustedes y en mí de que así como fulano de tal fue disciplinado en algún momento si yo persisto en el pecado también voy a ser llamado a corrección por el liderazgo de la iglesia y eso produce temor en los demás esos son los grandes propósitos hay más propósitos desde luego pero yo me voy a enfocar en esos cuatro en el lapso en el desarrollo de todas estas cinco enseñanzas

In today's teaching, in particular, we are going to answer two key questions. What are those questions? What is discipline? And secondly, what are the steps of discipline in the church? Or the process of discipline in the church? What is discipline? Listen, brothers. Discipline in the church is the act of

or process through which God deals with each one of us to conform to the image of his son, Jesus Christ. What does God have to do when we manifest a sin? He has to clean us, he has to purify us, he has to treat us. And one of the mechanisms that God uses is the church.

In other words, God is going to use the church, brother, to form in you the necessary character, as similar as possible to our Lord now. Not when we are glorified, because there we will be like him. But here on earth, here in the church, the Lord is going to use this context of the church to form in us the character of his son, Jesus Christ.

As his son, Jesus Christ, is without sin, and if a brother begins to persist in a sin, what does God have to do? Clean it, treat it. Who is he going to use? Among other means, the church, the brothers, the leadership, so that the definition of the biblical discipline can be fulfilled, which is to conform to his character.

What are the steps of the discipline according to Matthew 18? A private appointment. Number two, a company appointment. Three, report to the church. Four, have as a gentile to that supposed brother and publican to that person, object of discipline. Have him as a gentile and publican. Of course, we are going to explain it.

I quote the words of Edith Carvalhosa in her commentary to Matthew. He says the following, "...the principle of discipline is universally recognized. Its practice is important for the survival of all human society and for the different institutions that exist within any society."

The discipline is important in the political, social, family, religious, work, educational. Where there is no discipline, anarchy is born. The Bible, more than any other book, teaches the need and importance of a congruent discipline, says Evis Carvalhosa. End of quote. Everything we will study, brothers, from today on,

Listen very well because I want this to be very clear to all of you and to those who also see us, members of the local churches. What we are going to study, brothers, actively involves each one of you. We are going to learn today that discipline should not necessarily be initiated by the pastor of the church.

We are going to learn today that discipline in the church should not necessarily begin with the elders of the church, but by that brother who observed another brother in a sin. And if you don't do it, you are in sin, because we are a body.

Muchas veces se cree equivocadamente. A mí me ha pasado un montón de veces. Un llamado por teléfono. Pastor, quiero comentarle algo. Observé a tal hermano en esta actitud. Dijo esto, esto otro. Lo primero que les digo, ¿hablaste con él? No. Y en el buen sentido, lo mando inmediatamente, habla con él. Porque es pecado lo que estás haciendo. La primera actitud de un creyente es, como lo vamos a comprobar, es ir donde el hermano.

So I want to get out of your mind, brother, that the leadership of the church has to do it. Of course, what is in our way, we have to do it. We are not evading our responsibility. But everything has a starting point. Everything has a biblical order. This is like considering, brother, if in your house you are a father of a family and a child gets sick. You would never say, I have nothing to do with my son. So fix it yourself, son. Can you imagine how ridiculous that would be?

Why? Because undoubtedly and inevitably it affects the functioning of the whole household, even if you don't want it. Because it's a member of the family. Doesn't the Bible call us, the local church, the family of faith? Therefore, if a member becomes an adult, you can't say that it's not your incumbency. That's an egoistic attitude. That's an indifference attitude. That's an attitude of lack of love, a lot of love.

No puede decir eso, por lo que vamos a confirmar ahora. Es lo mismo que decir si pierdes un brazo.

He can't say, it won't affect the rest of my body. Impossible. If you lose an arm, if you lose a leg, inevitably it will affect you, brother, and it will never come out of your lips. I don't care if I have a total arm, I'm going to function as normal as possible. It's not like that. Because inevitably, a member of the body affects everything else. And free us, Lord. Free us, Lord. Go back quickly, please, to Genesis 4.

Let us be free from the Lord to have this attitude that Cain had in Genesis 4.9. Once you know the story, Cain killed Abel, his brother, and it says in Genesis 4.9, And Jehová said to Cain, Where is Abel, your brother? And notice how Cain answered, I don't know. Am I the guard of my brother? Don't even think about saying that in the church. Why? Because you are the guard of your brother? You are the guard of your brother? Yes.

Why yes? Because it's your brother. So the first thing I want to leave in your mind, brother, I'm not yet in the content of Matthew 18. The first thing I want to leave in your mind is that you don't have this attitude. This guy is disciplined, this guy is going through this sin. I don't care. Because learn it now. It's an attitude of your selfishness, of lack of love. Impressive. For that reason, now in 1 Corinthians 12, please, quickly, brothers,

I want to read 1 Corinthians 12, from verse 12 onwards. Here the Apostle Paul makes a masterful presentation of what the church means, the body of Christ. And he says in 1 Corinthians 12, verse 12 onwards, Because just as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of the body, being many, are one body, so also Christ is one.

Because by one single spirit we were all baptized in one body. Notice the emphasis. In one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and to all we were given to drink from one single spirit. Also, the body is not a single member, but many. If I say the foot, because I am not a hand, I am not of the body, that is why it will not be of the body.

Verse 2.

But now there are many members, but the body is one. Neither the eye can say to the hand...

No te necesito, ni tampoco la cabeza, los pies. No tengo necesidad de vosotros. Antes bien, los miembros del cuerpo que parecen más débiles son los más necesarios. Y aquellos del cuerpo que nos parecen menos dignos, a estos vestimos más dignamente. Y los que nosotros son menos decorosos, se tra...

Verse 2.

De manera que, si un miembro padece, por la razón que sea, en este tema, por la disciplina, todos los miembros se duelen con él. Y si un miembro recibe honra, todos los miembros con él se gozan. Vosotros, pues, sois el cuerpo de Cristo y miembros cada uno en particular.

I previously highlighted that Cain said, "Am I the one who keeps my brother? What interests my brother?" Unfortunately, there are people like that in the churches. Paul quotes the biblical principle of unity in diversity. We are different, yes. We have different gifts, yes. But we are a body. We return to Matthew. I want to make another reach, brothers, before entering the subject as such.

When we talk about discipline, we are not referring to any fault or error of a brother, but we are referring, brothers, to sins or brothers who, calling themselves brothers, persist in their sins openly, without genuine repentance. They are worthy of the discipline and the process here quoted in Matthew.

Peter said, repeating what the Leviticus says, be holy because I am holy. If we assume it as a church, church, be holy because I am holy, says the Lord. We should not only preach against sin or denounce it, but also implement the mechanism to give a solution when these sins are being committed within the church. It's curious.

In some churches, it is preached about sin. But when someone is in a sin persistent in the church, everyone makes a fat view. Nobody does anything. That is useless. God sends us to do biblical theory and biblical practice. For those reasons, Christ established the necessary and very clear steps in the Bible to be able to proceed in the case of sin.

One of the things that some churches say, "Do not judge him, brother. Do not judge him, pastor, because with the same rod we will be judged." How terrible, brothers. What a terrible, bad interpretation of the text. We have all the power of God to judge, in a biblical way, in a fair way, the works of all our brothers. Not many churches do this because people leave.

No hacen esto muchas iglesias porque el pecador está dando muy buenos diezmos. No hacen esto muchas iglesias porque ese hermano que está en pecado y quiere persistir en ello da muy buenas ofrendas. Y podríamos sumar un sinnúmero de razones por las cuales no se disciplina la gente en las iglesias. Vamos a quedar con dos o tres hermanos, dicen. Mira, si fuese ese el caso mío, hermano, como pastor de la iglesia, me quedo con los dos o tres.

But when God sees that we are faithful to His Word, those two or three will last a while. But God is faithful. And God will send more repentant people in the future. If we are faithful to what He sends in His Word. It scares many pastors the number in the churches. The number is only relevant when it is in virtue of growth, maturity and holiness in the first place. If we have number for having number and all people persist in their sin within the churches,

I don't want to have numbers. We want to have converted people. Before we get into Matthew 18, what is not discipline? To take or throw someone out of the church. That is not biblical discipline. What is not discipline? To feel superior to the disciplined. Get rid of that, brother, because you are a sinner just like him. What is not discipline? To make our own justice prevail over that of the sinner's brother and to make it known to him

What is not discipline is not becoming little gods, judging the brother in a condemnatory way. Not in this, brothers. Discipline, as I said before, is the mechanism through which God forms us spiritually to be every day like our Lord Jesus Christ. And in this context, the church will use it. In the home, to the children. Who does God use to discipline the children?

to us, the parents. If we don't do it, we are in sin. In the context of the church, God uses the brothers, the body of Christ as such, and of course also the leadership of the church. Let's go to Matthew then, to get into the matter. 18.15 The first point is the private appointment.

Because the text says, if your brother sins against you, go and repent to him, being you and him alone. So don't call me. If you observe something, don't tell the neighbor. If you observe something, don't tell your partner. If you observe something in your brother, don't go with your best friend. Because that would be sin.

So, so what? What was the Lord talking about? Based, obviously, on what was taught previously. Being like children. This was taught by the brother Juan Carlos in the studies of homes on Thursdays. Being like children to enter the kingdom of heaven. Humility in dealing with others, the Lord was talking about. The appreciation that we must feel for the weak. Humility in dealing with others is now exposed.

con los que ofenden, con los que cometen pecados en la iglesia, tal cual como lo haríamos para seguir con la misma línea con nuestros niños, con nuestros hijos. Si tu hermano entonces, puede ser cualquier hermano, puede ser cualquier hermano, no importa quién, si tu hermano peca, hay actitudes aquí que se deben de realizar. ¿Cuál debe ser la actitud ante la ofensa, el pecado de este supuesto hermano? Hay tres cosas que el creyente debe hacer,

When there is an offense, there is a sin...

The brother who observes that, the brother who is a witness of the lack of his brother, the first thing he should do is take the attitude, the disposition to go to the brother, to approach the brother. To what? To embrace sin, to repress it. Davis and Allison comment on the following about the imperative, because it is a commandment, see.

No te pongas a silbar ahí como que si no has visto nada. Ve el lenco, el verbo en el griego. Y estos hombres dicen lo siguiente. El significado fundamental del lenco, es decir, reprender, es poner al descubierto, exponer, descubrir, revelar, demostrar el error o la culpa de otro. Y aplicado a la persona culpable significa, bueno, convencerlo de su falta culpable.

Al proporcionarle obviamente las evidencias de su culpabilidad. Por lo tanto, siguen citando ellos, el discípulo recibe el mandamiento de acudir a su hermano e intentar exponer su culpa de tal modo que le convenza de su pecado. Fin de la cita. Una de las cosas que dicen los hermanos es, y si no me escucha, y si se molesta, y si se incomoda, el Señor no pone condiciones aquí. No te preocupes de eso, hermano. ¿Sabes por qué?

Because the results are God's work, not yours. Your duty is to go, to repent. We are going to teach how. So this emphasizes, brothers, on the private. I repeat, not with a special committee first, not with the leadership of the church, not with the elders of the church, not with your friends in the church. Go and walk alone. You, brother, then, are we understanding what is the initial key of the discipline in the church? Who?

Galatians 6, 1-2

While you're looking for Galatians 6, you're not going to come across this attitude of the sinner brother. You think this is a joke, but this illustrates something that a friend of mine, a pastor, told me. You don't come across... Look, Pepito, look. You're talking here with the spiritual brother of the church. You don't come across this. Because if the Lord allowed him...

Observing your heart and your thoughts from just a month ago, you would be ashamed in front of him. That's why it's important to have an adequate attitude. Not to feel superior, brother. Not to feel more than such a person who has sinned. Once, I think I told you, if we don't remember, this pastor friend told me that a brother came injured to him. He says, Pastor, look, I come from this pastor of a church, and I had committed adultery, he says. And when I go in, he knew it.

So when he comes in, he says the following to the pastor: "Sit down there, brother, because I feel the smell of the rot of your sin." And he asks him to sit away from him, the sinner brother who came repentant to tell his problem to the pastor. And this pastor, who I don't know if he was an angel, I don't know, tells him: "Sit well away because I feel the smell of the rot of your sin." I said to this brother: "Would you like to have that pastor here in front of you?" "Yes, I do."

to tell him a couple of things. Curiously, later it was discovered that he also had his yajitas. Galatians 6:1 says: "Brothers, if any of you were to be surprised at any fault, you who are spiritual, restore him with a spirit of pride, no, of meekness,

Consider yourself not to be tempted. Attention, verse 2. Overweigh the loads of others and thus fulfill the law of Christ, the law of love. Something that Cain did not do. Am I the guard of my brother? What do I have to do with my brother? You are wrong, Cain, because we are a body.

Therefore, it will be key the attitude of you, brother, to be able to go to repress the sinner brother or the sinner sister with gentleness, with gentleness. Restoring here is a Greek medical term that is to return to its original state, something was used when a bone came out of its place. With what tenderness, with what patience one does that.

In the same way, we have to treat the sinner as a repentant, because if there is a pride, the Lord indicates us another step that we have to take. Look, brother, now in St. James 5:20, we will see it later when we get there, I'm just going to mention it, St. James 5:20. If this initial step was practiced more frequently, surely there would be more harmony, brothers, in the communities of believers. What does St. James 5:20 say?

5.19 That's the attitude, but it's a private quote when we observe someone in some sin. We return to Matthew 18.

What does verse 15 say? See, if he hears you, that is, if he reconsiders, if he reflects, if he accepts your correction, what does the text say? You have won your brother. You have won your brother. Listen, remember, brother, very well, that our objective is not to win the case, it is not to win the brother and to tell you, ah, yes, you are right. You see, I was right.

but to win the brother. It is a term that was used in commerce, to gain wealth or goods. And why have you won your brother? Because a brother who has fallen, brothers, and is restored, must be considered someone with tremendous value. Someone who enriched the congregation with his gifts. It is a loss for the congregation. It is a treasure for the life of the church. If the brother who made the mistake recognizes, regrets it,

Then we have won that brother. Now, curiously, this, listen very well, brother, what I'm going to tell you now. If your brother had an appreciation for you and God used you now to exhort him, that brother will love you more, he will have more appreciation for you, he will have more consideration for you. So when we make ourselves the misunderstood, the indifferent to the sinner brother,

We are losing the precious opportunity of first growing us and that the love for the brother reciprocally grow. Because immediately and automatically there is a growth of trust, of appreciation, of value with the brother. This then, brothers, is the first action of a believer. Go where the person who has made the fault in a private way.

Let's go to Galatians 2, because always, from the beginning, it's about looking for the restoration of the brother. You can't divulge the fault yet, because it starts, I repeat, correcting the fault in an intimate, private way. For what? To take it to repentance. What does Galatians 2, 11-14 say? It says,

But when Peter came to Antioch, I resisted him face to face. What does that mean? That's Paul, then, carrying out what Matthew 18 says. I resisted him face to face because it was to condemn. Who was to condemn? Peter. Peter was deviating. He was transgressing the gospel of grace with the works.

Now, listen very well. What did I tell you before? If an honest brother has won you, love will automatically grow. Do you remember that? Trust. The brother will appreciate you more. Why? Because you are helping him to appear to the Lord. Now, quickly, join me in 2 Peter 3, please.

For you to know, Peter was written years later. Now, if we asked Peter, "Hey, Peter, what did you think of the confrontation that Paul made with you?" "No, I didn't like it." "What do you think, Apostle Paul? If I am an apostle just like him?" Look at what Peter says in 2 Peter 3:15.

And to understand that the patience of our Lord is for salvation, as also our beloved brother Paul. Who is saying that? Peter, the one who had been confronted by Paul of his sin. What is his name? Our beloved brother. I love him more now, because that happens generally.

We return to Matthew. Concluding the first point, brothers, we can say the following. The first step in the discipline in the church must be carried out between two. Nothing more than that. Between two. Between individuals. Before the case is taken to something more public. We go on to verse 16. Here is now established the accompanied quote.

Mas si no te oyere, es decir, si no aceptó, si no quiso ser corregido, si no atendió tu corrección, tu reprensión, toma un contigo a uno o dos, para que en boca de dos o tres testigos conste toda palabra. Es decir, si no funcionó lo primero, ¿qué hay que hacer? Llamar a dos, a uno o dos testigos.

to address the situation now with present witnesses. This is the second action. Now, pastor, which of these two witnesses are my two? One or two witnesses? Let's see. I start looking at the congregation. This one is going to give me the reason. Look, come with me, please. There, the other sister, no, this is my sister-in-law. Did you want to accompany me? I have to confront a sin because, do you remember what Pastor Adiel taught you?

Well, I already talked to him or her. Now you and I, the members of the congregation, accompany me. No. The witnesses have to be mature people. People who objectively address the situation, not with partiality. Do you understand? Paul said, Santiago said, God does not make exceptions of people, neither do we.

Therefore, the view of the case has to be objective and for that you have to resort to mature people, not your best friends. Because your best friends will not necessarily be mature people who have addressed other situations of sin and discipline in the church. For those reasons, we could preferably think about the leadership of the church.

so that the situation can be approached in a neutral way and not having an inclination for anyone. And this is done because there are signs of rebellion in the brother. Because what should he have done in the first instance? To have repented, to have won the brother. That was the ideal, borrón and new account. Nothing has happened here. Let's see the bases that the Lord uses here.

Deuteronomy 19.15

It says,

to make three or six eyes look at the situation. That's why witnesses are asked, so that the vision, the perspective, is wider, deeper, and there is less error in the judgment. 1 Timothy 5.19 And this is interesting what I'm going to read, because I too, brother, the brother Gabriel as an old man of the church, and the old men that are there,

We are also, at any time, prone to you exhorting us. That is why 1 Timothy 5.19 says, Against an old man you do not admit accusation, but with two or three witnesses. Again, the biblical principle. Finally, 2 Corinthians 13.1 2 Corinthians 13.1

It says,

that objectively, based on the principles of the word of the Lord, we evaluate the situation and finally we say, yes, brother, you have sinned. Repent. The brother is right when he confronts you in this way. Change your attitude. I explain, brothers, that is the point. How much wisdom is there in the Bible? Because by having mature witnesses who can evaluate the situation,

There is a much greater probability that the judgment will be right. Are you now understanding, brothers, why the leadership of the church must know very well the word of God? Are you understanding why, within other reasons, so that our judgment is biblical and not under personal or emotional criteria? We return to Matthew. So there is the second step. Third step. If you do not hear them, who are they?

The witnesses. That's why I speak in plural. Not only the brother who confronted the sinner, but the witnesses. If you don't hear them, tell the church. Let's stop there. Tell the church. Here we start with the sentimental people. But pastor, are we going to communicate the sin of the brother to the church? What does the text say? Tell the church. So why hide the sins of people who persist in their sins? Why hide them?

If the Lord tells me to communicate it to you, obviously considering the first step, private appointment. Obviously considering the second step, accompanied appointment, two or three witnesses. If that is not carried out, we can conclude that there is a rebellious brother, that there is a brother with pride.

then that brother will be the object of public information to the church as a result of his rebellion. It is not that pastors want to evidence the sins of the brothers. It is not that we are delighted. Let's communicate something personal that the brother is doing. No, brothers, that situation is uncomfortable because nobody likes to expose their sins. But the problem is the rebellion.

Everything would be so different that at first we would repent. Everything would be so different. We wouldn't have to inform the congregation. But if Christ sends him, it's for a wise and sovereign reason. It's the only way, brothers, that the sinner realizes the dimension of his sin, the level of his sin, so that he understands that it's not just anything he's doing.

Therefore, it always has a pedagogical meaning. It always has a meaning of making the sinner reflect. Always, under the support of love, so that he reflects and at some point returns to the communion of the saints or to the local congregation. Tell the church, communicate it to the church, not only to the leadership of the church or to a special committee, but to the assembly, because that is the word ecclesia in Greek, an assembly.

Although it is true that here in Matthew we do not yet acquire the meaning of church as we have in the New Testament, but that word was used by the Greeks to refer to any assembly of citizens that gathered and finally it can be translated as congregation. Therefore, in all this process of discipline, brothers, the church must show love and concern for the disciplined.

In the same way that a doctor is supposed to be closer to a seriously ill person, in the same way the church must be closer. I'm not necessarily referring to the physical field, but spiritually with their prayers. Very well, now comes the most tragic part. Fourth step, 17: "If you do not hear them, tell the church." It says "and" as a connector of a fourth step.

And if you don't hear the church, be kind and public. If you don't hear the church. Now, the question is, brothers, for what is the congregation informed? If step one has already been passed, if step two has already been carried out and it has not been understood, and step three is to inform you. What is the purpose of informing the church? For you to begin to comment on sin with your neighbors? For you to begin to denigrate the brother in front of third parties?

Be careful with that, brother. Do you know why? Because if in the church we realize that you are doing that, we would have to call you to discipline. Because that is not done. If the congregation is informed, it is because that supposed brother, we still do not know if he is a believer or not, that is why we are evaluating with all the steps, because that believer in some minute was part of us.

And it is assumed that the church, being informed, the church will double its prayers for him or for her. It will be interested in praying more for him, so that the Lord has mercy on him and he can finally recap and return to the path. It is to pray for him. It is to show concern for him. For that, the congregation is informed, because we are a body and we are sick.

So there is greater intensity of commitment when there is someone in discipline in the church. Therefore, the most tragic thing is that even though the church is informed, this sinner brother insists on his sins and continues to sin, the final conclusion is to have him as a gentile and publican. Pastor, but there it does not say that he must be expelled from the church. But the Lord does not say that he must be excommunicated from the church.

Wait a little bit, let me explain something. Who was a Gentile in the Jewish context? Don't forget that Matthew destines his book to a Jewish context. The disciples to whom he speaks were Jews. And the Bible says that if you don't attend to the church, if you don't go to the church, be a Gentile. A Gentile was a person who was totally apart from God.

of the Israel congregation. It did not belong, nor could it be appropriated of the blessings of God for them, because God was his people Israel, the chosen one. So, these qualifications are given here to identify those who did not belong to the nation of Israel. They were totally out of the promises of the pact. And tell him as a publican,

A publican was a Jew sold to the government of Rome to collect taxes, to extort his own people. Who was a publican? Remember? Matthew. A publican for a Jew was the worst of the worst. A traitor and enemy.

With this, Christ is not teaching that he will not save the Gentiles and the publicans. In fact, the evidence is that Christ saved and saved a publican. It was Matthew. But it is in the context of the illustration of how the believers should react based on that sinner who has not repented. And with that we conclude that we have to take it out of the congregation. We have to separate it from the communion of the saints.

with the pain of our heart but it is what the Bible teaches and as we have said thousands of times we want to be faithful to Him and not to men we want to be faithful and to please God and not to men and that is the great temptation that we have the leadership of a church to give up in our convictions when we face a case like this what is Jesus teaching us finally?

that a sinner who does not repent, comes the moment when he must be excluded from the assembly of the redeemed, must be expelled from the congregation of the saints, as was the sinner of Corinth, as was the drastic decision of God to take away the life of Ananias and Sapphira, as was the practical example of the brothers in Thessalonica,

who didn't want to work and Paul tells them not to get together with them. Do you understand now why I think it is necessary to cite those practical examples of discipline? So that you can see in practice what the Bible teaches in theory. But we will see that next Saturday. What started as a private matter between two people, now is in the sight of the whole church.

The ecclesiastical discipline, brothers, is a ministry that has been neglected today. And one of the reasons why some local churches are as they are is for this reason. Because sin tolerates the church. Because sin is admitted in the church. We can conclude the following, William MacDonald comments the following. Although this person may be, may be a true believer, he is not living as such.

and should not be treated as one. Although it continues to belong to the universal church, it should be deprived of the privileges of the local church. End of quote. Therefore, I confirm again, brothers, that every discipline in a church has a purpose. The restoration of the sinner. But in the face of the insistence, arrogance, rebellion of that one, we have no choice but to continue with these steps.

Hendrickson says the following,

hacer de esta declaración bíblica para que aún esta severa medida de exclusión pueda, con la bendición de Dios, dar como resultado el arrepentimiento de la persona. Toda persona excomulgada de la congregación, allá donde esté, si es un hijo de Dios, son herramientas que Dios usa para hacerlo entender. Por eso, querido hermano, querida hermana, no juzgues.

If the church has to make a decision like this. Don't think with emotions. Understand it. That it is a benefit what we are doing. Even if at the moment it is painful. It is a benefit in the long term. That is why we are going to see at the end. As a gold brooch of this teaching. Hebrews 12. No discipline at the moment is a cause of joy. But of sadness. But in the end when the purpose is fulfilled.

produces fruit, peaceable. Then we will enjoy, because if God has to teach us, even outside the congregation, welcome to be able to look like him and that the holiness and purity of the church can be maintained. That is why, brothers, that the Lord gives us wisdom, because it is not easy. We have to have all the objective elements on the table to make decisions.

But help us, Lord, to always be critical or always have biblical criteria to carry out what the Lord commands us. In the next teachings, we will see the practical examples so that we can understand how radical God is and the Apostle Paul with the people when they fell into sin without repentance. Let's pray. Father, thank you for your word.

We know, Lord, that it is difficult for a church to achieve all these steps that you give us. However, Lord, we want to be faithful to you and your word. Not because we feel superior, Lord, to the sinner brother, but because you command us to do so. Father, help us, help us to be faithful to you. And with all gentleness, with all humility, and with all love,

I have won my brother.

He has helped him to appear to you. If he does not react, Lord, it is no longer my responsibility. The fruits are the result of your sovereignty, Lord. Give us wisdom, Lord, criteria, intelligence, tino to be able to proceed when necessary. We want to be a clean church, Lord. And although we are sinners, your blessed blood, Lord, has cleaned us of all sin. And you are willing, Lord, as a lawyer before the Father,

to be able to forgive us when we fall. Thank you for this teaching and allow us, Lord, to have a greater understanding of what the ecclesiastical discipline is when we consider the other teachings that we are going to listen to. Thank you, in the name of Jesus. Amen.