February 12, 2916
1 Corinthians 4:21-6:1; Matthew 18:15-35; Luke 6:31-45

Download discussion questions:  1 Corinthians 4_21-6_1 judgment

Download discussion questions:  Matthew 18_15-35 judgment

Download discussion questions:  Luke 6_31-45 judgment

This week’s study was an opportunity to pursue some cross-references regarding judgment.  The earlier discussion on 1 Corinthians 5 raised the question from one of the group members, “What did Jesus say about judging others?”  This week we pursued that question.

First, three comments about inductive Bible study and cross references.

• Cross-references are important. Few if any topics in Scripture are completely exhausted in a single passage.  Often different writers and different formats (Gospels, letters, history) and in different circumstances will cover a subject from their perspective and addressing particular needs in their audience.  Putting those different passages together is essential if we want the whole teaching of what God’s Word says on a particular issue.
• Cross-references are usually limited. While studying a passage and trying to get as much depth and detail from that passage as possible, cross-references are often brought in as a single verse.  In the question that started this departure from our usual method, the cross-reference might be “Do not judge” (Luke 6:37).  But it is unlikely that a verse (or in this case, part of a verse) taken out of context will provide all we need to know from that cross-referenced passage.
• Cross-references can be misleading. If “Do not judge” is the final and complete word on the topic, then Paul’s harsh language in 1 Corinthians 5 is even more troubling.  Is the apostle violating Jesus’ clear instructions?  Only by looking at the context of Jesus’ words in Luke 6 can we begin to understand how those words and Paul’s words (both Spirit-breathed Scripture) fit together in the harmony God intends.

The point is that the importance of cross-references can be undermined if we only quote assorted verses.  We can be distracted from the depth of study of the passage we are in, and we can be misled by partial understanding (or complete misunderstanding) of the quoted verses.

With this in mind, using cross-references means using the inductive method to study those passages as well.  The more depth and detail we have in looking at various passages, the better we will be able to merge the meaning that God has in each one together to understand His truth.

Our group studied three passages in three different smaller groups.  The suggested discussion questions were the same for all three passages.  Then we discussed together the results from each passage, focusing on the themes of judgment, discipline, forgiveness, and restoration.  Some of the comments for each group are summarized in the grid at the end of this article.

Matthew 18:15-35

This passage is usually the first one cited regarding questions about church discipline.  Jesus directly addresses the question of how to deal with sin among Christians.  While He doesn’t use the word judgment, He clearly expects some kind of discernment about what constitutes sin in another person’s life.[1]  He instructs His followers to adhere to an orderly process, involving as few people as possible.

The goal is clearly to “win” the brother, to rescue a beloved friend from his own destructive behavior.  The “judgment” in this case is in the sense of discerning, not condemning (another meaning of the word judgment).  Involving others at the second stage helps ensure that our discerning judgment is objective and not our own prejudice or misunderstanding.  Involving others may help us see God’s perspective more clearly, even recognizing if our judgment was incorrect.  The goal of restoration that Jesus emphasized was apparently not fully understood by Peter who wanted a clear, measurable limit.  Jesus’ response could be paraphrased as “forgive more times than you can count” in order to achieve the restored relationship.

The parable He uses to illustrate His answer reveals the main limitation we have with forgiveness and restoration:  We completely fail to recognize the magnitude of our own sin before a Holy God.  Without that perception we will miss the grace of forgiving others.  Those who genuinely commit themselves to Christ recognize that their “debt” of sin to God far exceeds the ten-thousand talents of the first servant in the story.  Whatever “debt” another owes us may be substantial but not in the same class as the ten thousand talents.  (As a side note, I think the common teaching that the 100 denarii amount was virtually insignificant misses the mark.  A denarius being a day’s wage means that the sum owed by the second servant was several months’ pay, no small amount to anyone.  The mistake of the unmerciful servant was not that he overvalued the debt owed to him, but that he had no perspective on the debt for which he had been forgiven.  No matter how egregiously someone sins against us (and how much it hurts) it still does not compare with the grace we have received from God.)  The more we see of our own sin and appreciate God’s immeasurable grace, the more we will be able to forgive others and work hard toward their restoration.

The discipline imposed on the unrepentant person is abrupt:  treat him as an outsider, a Gentile, or even worse, a despised tax collector.  This verse is easily abused, especially if the motivation for the discernment and discipline is malicious, or if an entire church has a condemning mindset.  Part of the discussion was, “How are we to treat outsiders, those who need to understand and experience God’s love?”  The experience of one member of the group was instructive.  In a small group setting an individual who was adamantly unapologetic for their actions was asked to leave the small group.  Rather than dismissing the person from their minds, the group had one member continue to meet with him.  He would miss out on the broader fellowship of the group, their support and encouragement.  But he was not abandoned as one faithful brother continued to meet.  Sometimes repentance is a slow process.  In this example (as yet unresolved), the constant goal of restoration, not punishment, is clearly in the forefront.

The passage starts with how we approach another about their sin and ends with a dramatic emphasis on forgiveness.  One member of the smaller group discussing this passage suggested that the forgiveness might be an integral part of the process of approaching the person about his sin.  If we have not forgiven the person (whether the offense was against us or not) there is a question about our own motives.  Are we trying to show our own righteousness (see the parable again)?  Or do we want the person to feel guilty?  Do we want to be spiritually superior?  Will the confrontation make us feel better (“At least I never do that sin”)?  Only if we have dealt with our own emotions and attitudes and have forgiven the person can we truly desire his restoration above all else.  Again, this may be where taking two or three others will help our perspective.  The others may recognize some “log” in our eye (see Luke below) that is polluting our motives.

Luke 6:31-45

The passage starts with what is commonly called the “Golden Rule” – do unto others as you would have others do unto you” (KJV) or “Treat others the same way you want them to treat you” (NASB).  That is different language but a similar idea (in a positive expression) of the problem with the unmerciful servant in Matthew 18, different standards for dealing with debt.  Another similarity to Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 18 is the motive of mercy to us.  The Matthew parable emphasizes God’s amazing grace to us as our incentive to show mercy to others.  This passage in Luke advises that our mercy to others is part of our expectation of mercy to us.  (Both passages suggest terrible consequences for the unmerciful, but we did not pursue that thread during the brief time we had for our discussion.)

Part of our conversation was about Jesus’ statement that “a pupil is not above his teacher; but everyone, after he has been fully trained, will be like his teacher” (Luke 6:40).  The “fully trained” idea seems to refer to our growing in Christlike character that enables us to forgive as fully as He forgives.  The ability to forgive and to work for the restoration of another person is not a natural ability we develop or a process that is easy for any mere human.  Difficulties in forgiving others are not solved by simply trying harder, or pretending there really is not a problem, or professing that we really were not hurt by their actions.  Growing in forgiving others requires training that makes us more like our Teacher.  Spending time with Him and in His Word will continually show us more of His grace toward us.  Our ability to forgive others will grow as we become like Him, sort of an apprenticeship in forgiveness.

The passage ends with Jesus’ comments about a heart of good treasure bringing forth what is good (and the tragic opposite result for an evil heart).  The person who approaches another (Matthew 18) with purity of heart will passionately pursue forgiveness and restoration, “good treasure.”  The proud or spiteful or vindictive person will produce only more evil.  Our motives make all the difference in the process of judgment and discernment of sin.

1 Corinthians 4:21-6:4

Which brings us back to where we started.  Paul has strong, even harsh, words for the Corinthian church for tolerating sin that exceeds even Gentile standards.  Paul is clearly using discernment (or judgment) which the Corinthian believers either lack or ignore.  He blames their arrogance, perhaps “sinning that grace may abound” in their twisted application of mercy.  They lacked an attitude of mourning, the sorrow over the sin that would damage the individual and others around him.

The danger is not only to the guilty individual, but Paul sees the “leavening” influence of that attitude spreading and contaminating wider and wider circles of believers.  Tolerating sin often leads to embracing sin (as demonstrated by some recent Supreme Court decisions).  Paul wants to protect the church from that risk.

His discipline is as clear as what Jesus instructed in Matthew 18.  Presumably the situation has already passed the point where individual confrontation is possible or even going with two or three.  The arrogance of the church is heightened by the public knowledge of the sin.  Removing the offender and not even sharing a meal with him is the only course of action at this point.  One of the participants in our discussion pointed out that this was a much more significant action in first-century Corinth.  In twenty-first century Denver there are countless churches to attend.  If Corinth there was only one, so being excluded would have more of a sobering impact if the wrongdoer had any sincere desire for Christian fellowship.  Paul equates this discipline to “handing him over” to Satan.  This is the same word used of Judas handing Christ over (Matthew 26:46, 48) and the Jews handing Him over to Pilate (Matthew 27:2), putting Him under the control of another.  The offender was under the influence and power of Satan, a powerful discipline in any century.

Even with such a disturbing discipline, Paul, like Jesus, still had restoration in mind, “that his spirit may be saved” (1 Corinthians 5:5b) and that the wider church would return to their “unleavened” path.  In fact, looking ahead to Paul’s later letter, the church may have over-emphasized his instruction.  In 2 Corinthians 2:6-8 Paul exhorts the same church, “Sufficient for such a one is this punishment which was inflicted by the majority, so that on the contrary you should rather forgive and comfort him, otherwise such a one might be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow.  Wherefore I urge you to reaffirm you love for him.”  Discipline is often easier than restoration.  We must not lose the desire for restoration in the exercise of discipline.

One member of our group asked why Paul said nothing about forgiveness in the 1 Corinthian passage.  The best answer offered by another member:  “We don’t know because the text doesn’t tell us.”  (To anyone passionately committed to inductive Bible study, those words are music to the ears!).  But at the same time, careful speculation, recognized as speculation, can be helpful.  Perhaps the arrogance and permissive attitude that ignored publicly known sin made Paul reluctant to even mention forgiveness.  Their tolerance of sin, their “broad-mindedness” and “non-judgmental” attitudes could be paraded as forgiveness (Bonhoeffer’s “cheap grace”).  Forgiveness was not the main issue for the Corinthians.  Holiness was.  If indeed the comments in 2 Corinthians 2 are correcting their treatment of the same individual, Paul had forgiveness and restoration in mind from the start.  He just didn’t want them to mistake forgiveness of the sinner with acceptance of sin.

 

The benefit of using cross references should be to synthesize the different aspects of an issue (like judgment, discipline, forgiveness, and restoration) into a more comprehensive understanding.  Examining these three passages even briefly suggests several conclusions:

• Judgment (as discernment, not condemnation) is a part of the relationships in Christian community. Seeing another person’s destructive behavior (to himself or to others) should move us to action.
• Taking such action must start with our own motives. Forgiveness growing out of mourning over the effects of sin should drive us.  Vindictiveness or callous self-righteousness that reveals our own arrogance must be dealt with before the process starts with the other person.  Our own repentance and recognition of the grace shown to us is critical.
• Beginning privately is essential to avoid the sin of gossip. Involving others is necessary only if there is no repentance.  Then their participation begins with our own self-examination to be sure we are truly seeking restoration of the offender.
• Discipline for continuing unrepentance is firm but not excessive. While the broader fellowship of the community may be withheld, continuing contact by one or two with the desire for reconciliation and restoration is important.

 

Judgment, Discipline, Forgiveness, Restoration

Summary Notes

	Matthew 18:15-35	Luke 6:31-45	1 Corinthians 4:21-6:1
Judgment	“if your brother sins” seems to imply “judgment” in the form of discernment “brother” – other Christian, not the general population “two or three others” means the judgment is not an individual assessment	Passage starts with “golden rule” – do unto others Not judging, condemning others	immorality worse than Gentiles clean out the leaven (it spreads and grows) believers only, not outsiders (God judges)
Discipline	alone, 2 or 3, whole church; a gradual process treat as Gentile, not a part of the church Gentile – one who needs to understand the Gospel, still show him God’s love, but not in fellowship of whole church (or small group)		don’t associate don’t eat together remove from church deliver to Satan
Forgiveness	Lavish, abundant forgiveness, over and over Probably needs to precede v. 15, “go to him” to be sure of our own motives	driven by mercy and pardon	[2 Corinthians 2:6-8?]
Restoration	“won your brother” – the goal of the process; protect from destructive behavior	after remove log, help brother remove speck don’t be blind, then you cannot help another blind person avoid problems good treasure out of a good heart; pure motives and goal of restoration	mourning spirit saved become unleavened

 

[1] One person in our discussion group pointed out that some translations read the passage as “if your brother sins against you” which seems to limit the scope of the discernment/judgment.  For this discussion about judgment and forgiveness the difference in the text won’t be considered.  Two other articles might be helpful regarding the question of “textual variants” in Scripture:
John 1_34 – Textual Variants
John 7_53 – 8_11 woman caught in adultery
I highly recommend a brief book by F.F. Bruce where he says, “The variant readings about which any doubt remains among textual critics of the New Testament affect no material question of historic fact or of Christian faith or practice.”  F. F. Bruce, The New Testament Documents:  Are they reliable? (Chicago:  Inter-Varsity Press, 1968), 19-20.