Jan 25
12
Second London Confession 26.13
“No church members, upon any offence taken by them, having performed their duty required of them towards the person they are offended at, ought to disturb any church-order, or absent themselves from the assemblies of the church, or administration of any ordinances, upon the account of such offence at any of their fellow members, but to wait upon Christ, in the further proceeding of the church.” (Matthew 18:15-17; Ephesians 4:2, 3)
Scripture Reading: Matthew 18:15-20
“If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. 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. 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, and 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.” (Matthew 18:15–20)
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Please excuse any typos and misspellings within this manuscript. It has been published online for the benefit of the saints of Emmaus Reformed Baptist Church but without the benefit of proofreading.
Second London Confession 26.13 Explained
No church is perfect. It was in Second London Confession (2LCF) 26.3 that we confessed, “The purest churches under heaven are subject to mixture and error…” Churches may err in many ways. One way that churches err is when the members of the church sin against each other and offend one another leading to division. How should the members of the church behave when they are offended? That is the question addressed in this paragraph.
First of all, we confess that those offended must perform the duty required of them towards the person they are offended at. And what is the duty required of those who have been offended? Matthew 18:15 says, “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. 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.” This is the duty that those offended must perform.
Notice, that it is not the offending party but the offended party that has the responsibility to address the offense. Why is this? The answer is simple. The person who is offended always knows they are offended whereas the one who has done the offending does not always know. Furthermore, there may be cases where a person knows they have offended another member of the church, and because they are living in sin, they do not care! So then, the Scriptures plainly teach that church members who have been offended by other church members have the responsibility to go to the one who has offended them to address the issue. The church is like a family. We must not be like a dysfunctional family where issues are not addressed. And neither can we fall into the sin of gossip. If someone offends you, go to them, and not to others. The sin of gossip can quickly ruin a church.
Secondly, we confess that the offended party, after performing their duty, must not disturb any church-order. The situation here being envisioned is a discipline case that has been brought to the church through the elders of the church. As the offended party waits for the church to speak and to act in the case, church-order must not be disturbed. You can probably understand the temptation. Sometimes things move slowly in the church. Sometimes this is bad and at other times it is good and necessary. The one who has been offended and has followed the steps outlined in Matthew 18 must not grow impatient and act in a disorderly way. For example, they must not gossip or speak out at a members’ meeting in an attempt to speed things up, etc.
Thirdly, we confess that offended church members must not “absent themselves from the assemblies of the church” as they wait upon the proceedings of the church. Again, I’m sure you can understand the temptation. Those who have been offended might be tempted to avoid those who offended them and to neglect to assemble with the church. This is disorderly and dysfunctional and must not be done.
Fourthly, we confess that offended church members must not “absent themselves from the… administration of any ordinances.” The ordinances are those things that Christ has ordered, especially baptism and the Lord’s Supper. The Lord’s Supper is primarily in view here. Offended church members might be tempted to avoid the Lord’s Table wherein our shared union with Christ is symbolized. This must not be done. It is true, that we must partake of the Lord’s Supper in a worthy manner. If you have been offended by someone, do your duty. Go to them in obedience to Matthew 18 and attempt to win your brother and sister. Do everything you can to be at peace with them, and then come worthily to the Lord’s Table. No church member has the right or authority to excommunicate themselves.
Fifthly, offended church members who have done their duty (in obedience to Matthew 18), who are not disturbing church-order, or absenting themselves from the fellowship or the ordinances, must “wait upon Christ, in the further proceeding of the church.” This is a beautiful statement. A few things need to be said.
One, offended church members must wait patiently upon the proceedings of the church. This means they are to wait for the elders to lead in matters of discipline and, if necessary, for the church to speak.
Two, this emphasizes the need for elders to lead as efficiently as possible in matters of discipline lest they tempt the offended members of the church to grow impatient as they wait on the proceedings of the church. The elders and the church must never rush to judgment, but neither can they afford to drag their feet. Both errors will jeopardize the peace and unity of the church.
Three, when offended church members wait upon the proceedings of the church, it is really Christ they are waiting on. This is a wonderful reminder that Christ is Lord and head of his church and that he has promised to be with his church always, even to the end of the age.
It is sometimes forgotten that the famous church discipline passage found in Matthew 18 concludes with these words from Christ: “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. 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” (Matthew 18:18–20). This passage is often quoted as if it is about Christ promising to be present with his people when they gather for prayer. It’s not. This passage is about church discipline. When the church judges in discipline, things are bound and loosed in heaven. And Christ promises to be present with his people in matters of discipline.
The point is this: When offended church members wait patiently on the proceedings of the church, they are really waiting on Christ, for Christ is Lord and head of his church, and he has promised to be with his people always to the end of the age.
Conclusion
It should not be difficult to see all of the good that will come to a church and its members when they are faithful to wait upon Christ in matters of discipline. And it should not be difficult to see all of the bad that will result when churches neglect discipline or members abandon the process prematurely. Church discipline, when carried out in obedience to the Scriptures and in love, is for the good of the church, the good of those who fall into sin, and the honor of Christ’s name.
And so we confess that “No church members, upon any offence taken by them, having performed their duty required of them towards the person they are offended at, ought to disturb any church-order, or absent themselves from the assemblies of the church, or administration of any ordinances, upon the account of such offence at any of their fellow members, but to wait upon Christ, in the further proceeding of the church.” (Matthew 18:15-17; Ephesians 4:2, 3)
