This is Sunday evening, October the 7th, 1976.
We do thank the Lord for gathering us
together again.
Some of you, I hope, may still remember
two months ago, we fellowshiped something on the
first few chapters of 1 Corinthians.
Of all Paul's letters, the letter to the
Corinthians, especially the first letter, is the most
practical of all his letters.
By that we do not mean that his
other letters are not practical.
Sometimes, you know, we have a kind of
misconception.
We think that the more spiritual it is,
the less practical it will be.
But of course we know it is a
misconception, because spirituality and practicality go together.
They are not contradicting to each other.
The more spiritual it is, the more practical
it should be.
But in this first letter to the Corinthians,
Paul deals with practical issues of life, both
individually and collectively.
That's the reason why we say that 1
Corinthians is the most practical of Paul's letters,
because it deals with practical issues, with practical
matters.
But dear brothers and sisters, in this most
practical letter, Paul is dealing with different problems.
He deals with all these problems according to
certain very important, vital, behind
all these problems, behind all the solutions for
these problems, you will find great principles, great
spiritual principles are being applied to each problem.
In other words, it is not just dealing
with different problems and trying to solve them.
It is applying great spiritual principles to solve
these various problems.
So when we are reading 1 Corinthians, I
hope that on the one hand we may
see these problems, and yet on the other
hand we may find out what principle of
principles are being applied in a practical way
to solve them.
Two months ago we mentioned the first problem,
and that is this matter of unity among
God's people.
You know, the Corinthian believers do not even
bother to ask Paul this question.
They have such a problem in their midst.
Some say, I am of Paul.
Some say, I am of Apollo.
Some say, I am of Jesus.
And others say, I am especially, in a
very special way, of Christ.
They have this problem in their midst, and
yet they do not even bother to ask
Paul about this problem.
But Paul considers this as the most important
problem in the midst of the Corinthians.
So in his letter to the 1 Corinthians,
he deals with this matter first.
And there is a great principle involved.
And the great principle is, is Christ.
Here you have a problem.
God's people are not united.
God's people are divided.
Even though outwardly they are still together, and
yet mentally, in their entity, they are actually
already divided into parties.
Some go after Paul.
Some go after Apollo.
Some go after Jesus.
And so on and so forth.
And Paul just asks them one question.
Is Christ?
If we can answer this question rightly, then
the problem is solved.
Is Christ divided?
If Christ is divided, if Christ is divisible,
then there is room for people of God
to be divided.
There is room for parties in the Church.
There is room for people to say, I
am of Paul, I am of Apollo, I
am of Jesus.
But if Christ is not divided, then it
is absurd.
It is absolutely impossible for the Church of
God, for God's people to be divided into
parties.
It is not permitted.
It cannot be.
It should never be.
Because if we do that, we are trying
to divide Christ.
Why?
Why are the people in the Church in
Corinth are divided?
The reason is, their eyes have shifted from
Christ.
When your eyes are set upon men, spiritual
men, great servants of God, ministers of Christ,
even men of such stature as Paul, Jesus,
and Apollo.
But if you set your eyes on men,
you set off on Christ.
Men always divide.
Only Christ.
So brothers and sisters, here you will find
in this matter of unity, actually it comes
down to a very basic, simple spiritual question.
Is Christ divided?
If our eyes are all towards Christ, we
cannot be divided.
Because Christ is one.
But if our eyes are distracted to this
man or that man, immediately.
So here you find the first principle in
dealing with this matter of unity.
Tonight we like to enter into another thing.
I do not know why I should go
into this.
But somehow, we'll go into it.
Let's read 1 Corinthians chapter 5.
1 Corinthians chapter 5.
We'll read the whole chapter.
In a sense, this is the most depressing
chapter in the whole Bible.
It is universally reported that there is fornication
among you and such fornication as is not
even among the nations.
So that one should have his father's wife.
And ye are puffed up, and ye have
not read a moon, in order that he
that hath done this deed might be taken
away out of the midst of you.
For I, as absent in body, but present
in spirit, have already judged as present to
deliver in the name of our Lord Jesus
Christ, ye and my spirit being gathered together
with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ,
him that hath so wrought this, to deliver
him, I say, being such, to Satan for
destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may
be saved in the day of the Lord
Jesus.
Your boasting is not good.
Do ye not know that a little leaven
leavens the whole lump?
Purge out the old leaven, that ye may
be a new lump, according as ye are
unleavened.
For also our Passover price hath been to
sacrifice, so that let us celebrate the feast
not with old leaven, nor with leaven of
malice and wickedness, but with unleavened bread of
sincerity and truth.
I have written to you in the epistle
not to mix with fornicators, not altogether with
the fornicators of this world, or with avaricious,
avaricious, and vicious, or idolatrous, since they need
to go out of the way.
But now I have written to you if
any one called brother, be fornicator, or avaricious,
or idolatrous, or abusive, or a drinker, or
a taker, not to mix with him, with
such a one not even to eat.
For what have I to do with judging
those outside also?
Ye judge them that are within, but those
without God's judgment remove the wickedness from among
them.
In the church, let's call it, they have
a very serious problem in their midst.
Someone has committed such a serious sin that
not even the nation, now can you think
of that?
Someone in the church at college has committed
such an unnatural sin that even it is
unheard of among the nation.
And when such thing happens in the church
there, the one who has so sinned continues
in the fellowship of the church as if
nothing happened.
And the rest of the church let this
thing remain in their midst, do not deal
with it never, as if everything is all.
Now that is the situation there.
Something very serious, something that affects the testimony
of Jesus is the church there that touches
the very testimony to the core.
And yet, though the one who has committed
the sin and the rest of God's people
in the church just tolerate, allow the whole
thing to remain and go on.
Not only that, but probably they have
developed such a mentality.
We are no longer under law.
We are under grace.
And by grace to them, it means that
you can do anything you like.
It's licentiousness.
In other words, it's an abuse of grace.
Probably they try to explain it.
It is grace.
So, nothingness, but it is an abuse.
And to the rest of the Corinthian believers,
they allow this thing to go on as
if there is nothing.
They close their eyes and probably they even
boast of themselves, and they do.
They boast of themselves as being highly intellectual.
They are not touched by emotion.
They are very tolerant.
They are very liberal.
Outwardly it appears as if they are very
loving.
They give the appearance of they are above
everything.
Oh, they can tolerate anything.
They are able to be so liberal, so
loving, so dear.
Probably that's them.
And because of that, Paul, who has such
sensitivity before God, his spirit is purged.
And there you'll find he writes to them
and says, Purge out the old leaven.
Do you not know that a little leaven
can leaven the whole lump?
Don't you know that Christ is our Passover?
We have already had our Passover.
We are now in the Feast of the
Unleavened Bread.
We have to keep the Feast with Unleavened
Bread.
There cannot be any leaven during the seven
days of Feast.
Now, I believe, brothers and sisters, you know
the background.
The children of Israel, they were in Egypt
as slaves with no hope of living.
Doing these labors, heavy work, they cried to
the Lord and the Lord said, Notice to
them that Pharaoh would not let them go.
In spite of praise after praise, Pharaoh refused
to let them go.
His heart was hardened against God.
So finally God used the Passover land to
deliver the children of Israel out of the
hand of our Passover land.
Who can deliver us out of the hand
of Satan?
Only.
It is Christ who is sacrificed for us.
And because He is sacrificed for us, we
are delivered out of the hand of Satan.
But immediately following the Passover, there will be
seven days of Unleavened Bread.
During those seven days, there shall be no
leaven throughout the borders of Israel.
If there is any leaven left, that man
will be cut off from the commonwealth.
They have to keep the feet with Unleavened
Bread, with the bread of sincerity and peace,
not with malice and wickedness.
Now, brothers and sisters, we are now, the
Church is now keeping the feet of the
Unleavened Bread.
We have had our Passover, Christ.
We have believed in the Pastoral Land.
And now we are in the seven days
of the Unleavened Bread.
Seven is a complete number.
In other words, the Church is to live
through her days on earth as keeping the
feet of Unleavened Bread.
We are to be pure, to be sincere,
to be true.
And there shouldn't be any malice, any wickedness,
any sin, remaining in the Church, undoubted, unrepentant.
But in Corinthians, in the Corinthian Church, there
is a leaven.
And if that leaven is not purged out,
it will leaven up the whole land.
The whole Church will be leavened.
And because of that, Paul advises them to
purge out the old leaven, to drive out.
Paul tries to stir up the conscience that
the Church will rise up to deal with
this matter.
And thank God, if you read 2 Corinthians,
you'll find that the Church listens to Paul.
Their conscience is purged.
They rise up to deal with this case.
It brings that man.
And in 2 Corinthians, Paul has to do
another thing.
They become so strict that even after the
man is repented, they will not let him
come back.
So Paul said, he has suffered enough.
Now you can receive him back because he
is purified.
But brothers and sisters, this is not what
is in my heart for tonight.
What is in my heart for tonight is
this thing.
There is a great principle in the Church.
And if this principle is not understood and
applied, it destroys the very meaning and
testimony of that very discipline.
You know, when we hear the word discipline,
we don't like it.
People are afraid of this word.
People rebel against the very mentioning of this
word discipline.
We want freedom.
And by freedom, we mean that free from
being interfered.
We are free to do anything we like
and we'll go by without any ill effect.
That is our concept of freedom of liberty.
It is popular today with freedom, with that
kind of concept.
But dear brothers and sisters, if there is
no discipline, there is no church.
This is what our brother, dear brother Watmanee
said to us.
He said, if there is no discipline in
the Church, you don't have it.
If there is no discipline in the family,
do you have a home?
If everyone is free to do whatever he
likes to do, and he can get by
without any discipline, if in a family there
is no discipline whatsoever, you don't have a
family.
You don't have a home.
The whole thing is chaotic.
If there is no discipline in the nation,
it is oddity.
There is no order.
It is ruin.
It is suffering.
Therefore, if there is no discipline in the
Church, you don't have the Church.
In the Church in Columbia, these people are
so impolite.
They want liberty.
They think they have found the liberty in
Christ.
And they misuse their freedom.
They think that they are free from anybody's
interference.
They just are free to do anything they
like.
They don't like discipline.
They do not have discipline.
And they dare not apply it.
And that is a weakness.
That is a fatal weakness to the Church,
you know.
If this is not corrected, the whole Church
will be hidden in this time.
So, brothers and sisters, I feel tonight a
burden to you.
Here with you, brothers and sisters, on this
matter of isn't it true that today among
God's people we do not see discipline very
much.
Almost none.
Everyone seems to be on his own.
The Church does not dare to discipline any
brother or sister.
So fear that it may appear very
light, but you know, because there is no
discipline.
Everything is.
There is no discipline.
There is no authority in
the Church in connection with Christian discipline.
Of course, we are not talking about personal
discipline.
That is a personal matter.
In other words, a Christian who knows no
discipline personally never grows up.
He remains a baby.
It is discipline that will build up your
character.
But we are not talking about the personal
discipline.
We are talking about more in relation to
one another in the Church.
You know, according to the Word of God,
discipline can come from three different directions.
In other words, there are three different areas
of discipline.
And let us call them for the time
being.
We will explain it.
Fatherly discipline, brotherly discipline, and Church discipline.
Fatherly discipline, that is to say, discipline that
comes from the Father.
When you read Hebrew, you will find what
we are talking about, fatherly discipline.
Maybe we read a little bit of it
just to give us a basis for consideration.
Hebrews, chapter 12, verse
5.
And ye have quite forgotten the exhortation which
speak to you as to sons.
Now here you will find the exhortation is
to the sons.
In other words, it comes from the Father.
My son, despise not the chastening of the
Lord, nor faint when reproved by him.
For whom the Lord loves, he chastens and
scourges every son whom he receives.
Ye endure for chastening.
God conducts himself towards you as to a
son.
For who is the son that the Father
chastens?
None.
But if ye are without chastening, of which
all have been made partakers, then are ye
vassals and not sons.
Moreover, we have had the fathers of our
flesh as chasteners, and we revel in them.
Shall we not much rather be in subjection
to the Father of spirit and lips?
For they indeed chasten for a few days,
as he is good to them, but he
for profit in order to the partaking of
his holiness.
But no chastening at the time seems to
be matter of joy, but of grief, but
afterwards yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to
those exercised by it.
Here you'll find it is the discipling of
the Father.
The Father is discipling the Son.
Despite is not the chastening of the Lord,
nor faint when reproved You know, these are
the two wrong attitudes that we can take.
When the Father is discipling us, we may
either despise it, in other words, we don't
care.
We don't listen.
We don't take it.
We reject it.
We will not learn the lesson, even if
he disciplines us.
We despise it, consider it as nothing.
So, the lesson is that you can harden
your heart against the discipling of the Father
by despising it, or you can go to
the other extreme.
You faint under it.
Oh, that is too much.
You are too hard.
God, you are really too cruel.
Why do you treat me like this?
And you faint.
Is it not true sometimes, you know?
When the Father is disciplining us, brothers and
sisters, do not despise his discipline.
Learn to submit yourself under his disciplinary hand.
Look to his hand.
Look to his face.
And do not just faint, because he will
not chasten us more than we can bear.
For whom the Lord loves, he takes and
scourges every son whom he receives.
The reason why the Father disciplines the son
is because...
Now, this is something we need to understand.
You know, when we are under discipline, we
tend to think that the Father does not
love us.
When the Father is scourging his son, the
son will think, well, the Father hates me.
Therefore, he does all this to me.
Yes, that is true.
The Father chastens because he loves.
He scourges because he cares.
Because he receives.
If he does not love you, if he
does not care about your spiritual welfare, he
won't discipline you.
What's the use of disciplining you?
So, therefore, Paul says, God conducts himself towards
you and towards the son.
If he does not discipline you, then you
are a bastard.
You are not a son.
It is the privilege of a son to
be disciplined.
Of course, the discipline of the Father comes
to us today through the Holy Spirit.
That is to say, the Holy Spirit will
so arrange our circumstances and bring us under
his discipline.
He is the Father of all wisdom.
A human Father loves his son, cares about
his son, and will discipline his son because
he wants his son to grow up, to
be a man.
But a human being, no matter how much
he loves, there is a selfishness.
There is not that full wisdom in love.
So, sometimes he may discipline rather, that is
true, but our Heavenly Father, who is the
God of all wisdom and all love, he
will never do that.
During the time of discipline, it is not
a very pleasant thing.
To be chastened is not pleasant at all.
So, the Bible says, for they will be
chastened for a few days as he did
to them that he for profit in order
to the partaking of his holiness.
But no chastening at the time seems to
be matter of joy but actually.
When a person is under chastening, it is
a time of bliss so far as our
flesh is chastened.
It is evil.
So far as our soul is concerned, we
are going through a period of difficulty.
But that's only for a few days.
Praise God.
Why?
Because the Father's purpose is for our profit
that we may be made partakers of his
holiness.
We receive the life of Christ in us.
And this life of Christ in us has
its nature.
A holy nature.
But this holy nature of this life of
Christ in us will not be our character
until we have gone through discipline.
You are not made partakers of his holiness.
In the practical sense, you have his holy
nature in you, but you are not made
a partaker of his divine nature, of his
holy nature, of his holiness.
In other words, his nature is not your
character until you have...
It is discipline that builds up.
It is discipline that makes children silent.
Throne of silence.
So, brothers and sisters, you'll find here is
a whole area of discipline.
It is the discipline.
Why does he discipline us?
It may not appear to be so, but
it is.
It is love.
And the end result is we are conformed
to the image of Christ.
And that is to say, we begin to
have the character of Christ imbued.
So what will be our attitude when we
are under the discipline?
1 Peter 5.
1 Peter 5 verses 6 and 7.
Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of
God, that he may exalt you in the
due time, having cast all your care upon
him, for he cares.
When a person is under the discipline hand
of the Father, his attitude should be humble
yourself under the mighty hand of God.
God resists the crowd.
He gives grace to the humble.
If we humble ourselves to him in due
time, he will exalt.
That is the attitude we need to take.
And of course, in the Bible you have
many, many instances of this nature.
But brothers and sisters, I would like to
apply this principle a little further.
Basically, it is the Heavenly Father who is
disciplining us as his sons.
Because he is our Father.
He is above us.
Therefore, he can discipline us who are his
children, his sons.
In other words, it is the higher that
disciplines us.
Physically, it is the Heavenly Father.
But you know, Paul says, he advances in
the church.
Some are little children.
Some are young people.
Some.
So we would like to apply this principle
a little further.
Hear the church.
Hear the Lord to raise up people like
fathers.
Now what do you mean by fathers?
It simply means that among God's people the
Lord may raise up some who are more
mature.
They are mature in relation to the other
brothers and sisters, and they are almost like
fathers.
Paul says to the Corinthians, you have a
thousand instructors and teachers, but you have only
one father.
And Paul is a father to them.
He begat them with the gospel.
So Paul says even though you may have
a thousand instructors, but you don't have a
thousand fathers.
You have only one father.
And here in 1 Corinthians you find Paul
is disciplining the church there as a father.
He said, do you want me to come
in love or to come with a rod?
In other words, here you'll find the apostolic
authority.
And he is the one to whom the
Lord has entrusted these believers and because they
are secure in the faith.
He is like a father to them.
And you see how Paul out of his
love for them, he gave the very strongest
and even if they did not repent, he
would come.
But how the Corinthians believers misunderstand they think
that Paul does not love them.
Oh, if Paul should love the Corinthians believers,
people can do anything they want.
Everything is okay.
But brothers and sisters, that's not love.
That's not love.
Paul loved them so much.
He just cared for them so much.
He cannot see them going down and down
and down.
He that does good is of God.
He that does not do good does evil,
has not evil.
It's not religious.
It's diocetic.
Diocetic.
So here you'll find again the apostle John
is exercising authority over diocety
as a father.
Over.
Brothers and sisters, this fatherly discipline requires spiritual
study.
The problem today is we do not have
many.
Or we have even no person of such
spiritual that can be father to us.
Brothers and sisters, you know father is very
important.
Very important.
I can never forget.
I think it was 19...
I was in Hong Kong.
And my father went to India for a
conference.
And while he was in India, my grandfather
passed away.
In Shanghai.
My father loved my grandfather very much.
Because my grandfather was ill, my father at
one time was coming to the States.
And because my grandfather was ill, he cancelled
the trip.
He didn't want to come.
And when my grandfather got better, he felt
it was alright for him to go to
India for a conference.
So he went.
But when he was in India, my grandfather
passed away.
And of course my family dare not tell
my father about the news.
So they asked me to tell my father
when he came back.
His trip was passed by Hong Kong.
That I would tell him about the news.
So I remember very clearly.
My wife and I and my brother.
My brother happened to pass by Hong Kong.
So we went to the pier to meet
my father.
And he was way up.
High up on the ship.
And we were there standing there.
And we saw him.
He suddenly noticed that in China we know
when a relative dies, we have a black
band put on our arms.
Suddenly he noticed that on me.
So he called down.
He said, what happened?
And of course it was my grandfather.
Of course he was deeply moved.
So we took him from the boat in
a few hours.
So we took him to our home.
And let him rest for a while.
And I can never remember what he said
to me.
At that moment it didn't register that it
seemed to be very, very common.
He said, son, I no longer have a
father.
Of course, my grandfather died.
He no longer had a father.
But what is it?
It seemed to be so common, you know.
It didn't register.
But I remember the words.
Until 1960 I was in England.
And the news came from Shanghai.
My father passed away.
And you know when I heard that, I
remember what my father said.
I no longer have a father.
And it broke me down.
Why?
Having a father to take care of you.
A father who loves you.
Who disciplines you.
He cares so much that he is strict
with you.
Honest with you.
He will not flatter you.
He will not deceive you.
But he will deal with you frankly and
honestly for your good.
And if you had no father, what a
loss.
What a loss, brothers and sisters.
What a loss it is to the church
today.
There are almost no people of such spiritual
stature.
Oh, that it may have people like Paul,
like John.
How much better it would be.
But, not everybody can be a father.
You may have a thousand instructors.
Many are just instructors.
They can instruct us.
But they cannot discipline you.
Because they themselves have not learned the lesson.
Oh, do not try to go out and
discipline others as if you are a father
to them.
When you reach that spiritual stature, yes.
But if you do not have that spiritual
stature, don't do it.
It will not work.
So what I'm thinking is, oh, how we
need to ask the Lord to raise up
in the church people with spiritual stature.
It is not just a matter of discipline.
Behind discipline there is love.
There is care.
There is all these things behind it.
And because you have thought behind it, when
discipline comes, you find it is for our
profit.
It is good.
Very good.
And this is the first area of discipline.
Now if we do not have spiritual people,
have people like fathers to us, then does
it mean that there is no discipline whatsoever
because we are more or less on the
same level?
Therefore you cannot discipline me and I cannot
discipline you because we are on the same
level.
There is another kind of discipline.
We call it brotherly discipline.
Brotherly discipline.
Now by brotherly discipline of course it means
that you are on the same level.
It is not as a father coming down
to the son.
But you are more or less on the
same level.
But it so happens that at that particular
moment or in that particular instance you are
in a better position.
That's all.
It doesn't mean that you are really better,
but in that particular case you are in
a better position.
Now let's read Matthew 18.
Matthew 18 verse 15.
But if thy brother sin against thee, go
reprove him between thee and him alone.
If he hear thee, thou hast gained thy
brother.
But if he do not hear thee, take
with thee one or two besides, that every
matter may stand upon the word of two
witnesses or of three.
If your brother sin against you, you are
equal.
You are brother to brother.
But sometimes your brother sin against you instead
of you sin against your brother.
Oftentimes we sin against our brother.
But there are times when our brother sin
against us.
Oftentimes.
What is it?
Probably the best we do is, well, he
is my brother.
So what can I do to my brother?
Try to forget him.
I'll try to forget him.
We consider a great victory.
I don't remember the exact words, but I
think I read it in the writing of
Campbell Morgan.
He said when he comments on this verse,
something like this, the church has not practiced
this.
We think that if our brother should sin
against us, the first reaction probably will be,
you are my brother and you sin against
me.
I cannot forgive you.
If you are an unbeliever, of course you
don't know anything better.
I am in a more glorious position than
you are so I have to forgive you.
But if you are my brother, why should
I forgive you?
You have no right to sin against me.
You should know better.
Now that probably will be our first reaction.
Then our second reaction probably will be, well,
after all he is my brother so let
me forgive him.
Let me try to forget him.
Probably that's as far as we go.
Is there any discipline?
No discipline.
We are exhorted to exercise discipline on one
another.
If your brother sins against you, go.
Reprove him between me and him.
You go.
You take the initiative.
You do not wait and see, it's my
brother who sins against me so he should
come.
Why should I go?
He should come and apologize.
But the Bible says, you go.
Why?
Because he will not come.
He is the one who sins.
He is the one in darkness.
And being in darkness, he does not know.
And he will remain in darkness if you
don't go and reprove him and open his
eyes.
Will you allow your brother to live in
darkness?
That's not love.
So here you'll find again discipline comes from
love.
It is not that your brother sins against
you therefore you go to him and reprove
him and say, brother, you sin against me
and try to vindicate yourself.
No.
Don't do that.
It is because you love your brother so
much.
You see your brother in darkness.
You are not considering yourself.
You are considering your brother.
Because you love your brother so much and
he remains in darkness, he doesn't know to
repent.
His fellowship with the Lord will interrupt it.
And therefore out of love you go.
You take the initiative.
You take the trouble.
Discipline is very troublesome.
You take the trouble to go and point
it out to them.
But remember between you and me.
When our brother sins against us, where will
we go?
We do go.
But we go to other brothers and sisters.
We let everybody know except that brother.
And you make the matter worse.
But the Bible says you go to that
brother.
You reprove him out of love.
Not out of vindication.
And try to instill and if he does
not your duty is not finished yet.
He may not listen to you because you
two are in a sense in trouble.
Go and get one or two, two or
three.
One or two.
Of course the one or two or the
one or two in the church.
Not just everybody in the church.
Not just those people who stand with you.
Because if you go with those people who
stand with you your brother will never listen.
Must be one or two brothers with sense.
That brother will respect you.
If your brother do not respect you, probably
he will respect these brothers.
So get one or two others and go
the second time.
That is the second line.
You go the second time and tell your
brothers and sisters this is brotherly discipline.
A brother is disciplining trying to restore what
a love relationship there is amongst them.
But today we are much lacking in love.
We say we love our brothers but do
we go into this trouble?
Well, we are afraid to be misunderstood.
But we are thinking of ourselves.
We are not thinking of ourselves.
There is a case in the Bible.
But it is an open case.
Now there is a reason for it.
In Galatians chapter 2 you remember one instance.
Peter came to Antioch.
And Peter was a man with revelation.
God revealed to him that whosoever God has
claimed shall know man's promise.
And for that reason he went to Camellia's
home.
So in other words, Peter had a revelation
that in Christ there is neither Jew nor
Gentile.
So when he came to Antioch he mingled
himself with the Gentiles.
He ate with the Gentiles according to the
truth.
According to the revelation he received.
According to the truth of the gospel.
Some brothers came from Jerusalem from James.
And you know James was very strict in
keeping the law.
So these brothers came and Peter got frightened.
He got frightened.
So what were these brothers he thought with
James that I Peter am eating with the
Gentile believers.
So suddenly he got frightened.
And he separated himself from the Gentile believers.
And because he did that, such a big
brother.
Even Barnabas.
And you know what Paul did?
Paul withstood Peter in public before his face.
Paul did not talk about him behind his
back.
Paul withstood him and said what you do
is not right.
Now why?
Why did Paul do it openly?
Because it is a matter of openness.
So it is not just go to him
alone.
That is the reason.
But anyway you find here, Paul and Peter,
they are in the same.
Paul had no jurisdiction as it were, no
authority over Peter.
Nor Peter over Paul.
One is an apostle to the Jews.
The other is an apostle to the Gentiles.
In a sense they are on the equal
level.
And yet even Paul who was younger he
could discipline out of love.
Out of truth.
And thank God Peter.
Peter was delivered.
And when Peter wrote his letter you find
he even said our dear brother Paul there
are many things he wrote that is not
easy to understand.
But don't try to misunderstand it.
It is the word of God.
Dear brothers and sisters on the side of
the brother who exercises the discipline it should
be love.
It should be love.
And on the side of the brother to
be disciplined learn to submit to one another.
Now brothers and sisters, this is something almost
unseen today.
Why?
Lack of love.
If we really love one another with a
pure love how can you allow a brother
or a sister remain in darkness?
You are concerned.
You care.
You not only pray for them, you do
everything you can to restore the discipline.
Peter seemed to lose faith.
Old Peter.
Challenged by young Paul in a sense.
Who are you, Paul?
When I am following the Lord you don't
know him yet.
If we take that kind of attitude what
will happen?
Oh, how we need to submit ourselves as
Paul said, one to another.
Do nothing because you are more senior.
Therefore it must be you who disciplines the
others and not the other way around.
Maybe in a certain instance your brother is
able to help.
Maybe in more instances you may have you
may be able to help your brother.
Because it happens you are more spiritual than
your brother.
But still there is the possibility of your
being helped by your younger brother.
How beautiful discipline is.
It is just beautiful.
And then lastly there is what we call
church discipline.
Church discipline in a sense is the last
reason.
In a matter of discipline, it is those
people who care for us.
Whom God has raised up to care for
our state of welfare as fathers.
But we despise their discipline.
If we reject brotherly discipline then as a
last resort Matthew 18 tells the church.
And the church will discipline that brother.
And if he does not listen to the
church, then you look at him as of
the nation.
In other words he is out of fellowship.
Why is he put out of fellowship?
For the sake of bringing him to his
senses that he may come back.
You know brothers and sisters it may not
be that clear today.
But I believe in the early days when
a person is saved, God delivers him out
of the world and puts him in the
church.
His whole life style is changed.
His whole life relationship is changed.
He no longer belongs to the world.
He now belongs to the family of God.
And if he is put out of fellowship
he is all alone.
He cannot go back to the world.
He is out of fellowship in the church.
He is all alone.
And that brings him to his senses.
So here you'll find it is not because
of hating him.
It is trying to bring him to his
senses with discipline.
Because he cannot live by himself.
And he will come back.
So brothers and sisters here in Matthew 18
that is what it is.
It is church discipline.
It is the law he says.
In 1 Corinthians 5 it is church discipline.
Here you'll find it is something that is
universally reported.
It is all known.
It is not a hidden thing.
And the church allows it to continue as
if nothing happened.
So Paul says purge out the old leaven.
The church has to rise up.
Has to have a conscience before God.
Has to be sensitive before God.
Purge out the old leaven.
Drive out the wickedness.
Deliver him to Satan.
To destroy him?
To destroy him.
If he is not repentant his body will
be destroyed but his spirit will be saved.
If he is repentant even his body will
be saved.
And in 2 Corinthians you find this brother.
And of course in Titus 3 you have
the same thing.
In Titus 3 if anyone is heretic, is
divisive in spirit warn him once or twice
and he does not listen in Thessalonians you
have the same thing.
2 Thessalonians 3 if anyone will not work
Paul says and refuse to listen then you
don't walk with him.
Let him be alone until he is ashamed
of himself and comes back.
So you find in the Bible these disciplines
in the Bible.
Oh brothers and sisters today there is no
discipline in the Bible.
Very little.
Why?
Because there is a lack of spiritual authority.
You cannot discipline without authority.
Because if there is no authority no spiritual
authority, who will listen to you?
Oh that God will restore spiritual not traditional
authority.
It is all spiritual authority.
And if there is spiritual authority there in
the church the church can exercise and discipline
is a sure way.
So here you find in the Bible there
are three areas.
Fatherly discipline.
It is based on spiritual authority.
Brotherly discipline.
It comes out of love.
And church discipline based on spiritual.
And if you have these disciplines going on
in the church brothers and sisters all the
building will be going on.
And also other people.
Many people dare not dare not because they
know there will be discipline.
Oh that the Lord will have mercy upon
them.
Lord we tremble when we talk about discipline
because we are not fit to exercise discipline
nor to speak about discipline.
Oh Lord forgive us.
For the sake of the building of thy
church we pray that thou will restore discipline
in them.
Thou will raise up people with spiritual specialties
who can be as thou.
Thou will raise up brothers and sisters with
such brotherly love that we may restore one
another.
Oh thou wilt put thy church in such
spiritual authority that the discipline will be respected.
That people will be restored.
Oh Lord restore discipline in thy church.
We ask in the perfectness of our Lord
Jesus.
Amen.