 The title of our sermon this morning is A Test of Obedience. A test of obedience, we're in part 3, 2 Corinthians 2 verses 5 through 11. So now we come again this morning to consider 2 Corinthians 2 verses 5 through 11 and the sobering reality of sin in the church. And as we well know from discussing the setting of our text in point number 1, sin is rampant in the church at Corinth. The Corinthian church, the Corinthians have been sinfully, shamefully negligent in addressing this sin in the church and their failure has provided fertile ground for the rise of false teachers and now a full-scale assault, a mutiny against the apostle Paul himself. One man in particular as we've discussed appears to be the primary enemy combatant and his very public, his very sinful conduct had been unaddressed by the church to this time prior to a severe letter from Paul calling the church to repent of its sin and to deal with the mutiny. And by the time Paul pens our text in 2 Corinthians chapter 2 verses 5 through 11, the church had done so by God's grace. They've turned from their sin to Paul's joy and rejoicing and the unrepentant man was put out of the church. So in verse 5 Paul writes, but if anyone has caused grief, he's not grieved me but all of you to some extent, not to be too severe. In other words, my concern is not an offense against me per se, it's not for my sake that I've asked you to deal with this rebellion, this sin in the church. He's caused grief, he's caused sorrow for you, not the least of which was the letter of revuec that Paul had recently written to them. But now, verse 6, Paul says this punishment which was inflicted by the majority is sufficient for such a man. Well, the faithful response of the Corinthian church to deal with the sin and to put the man out under church discipline has resulted in the desired response. The man who has caused so much grief among them has repented of his sin, he's turned from his sin and now it's time to forgive him, time to restore him to the fellowship with the church. Praise God, amen. Now, there are some among them, a minority in the church who appear to be against his restoration, as we've discussed. However, we considered Paul's instruction in point 2 on your notes from verses 7 and 8. Paul says in verse 7, on the contrary, you ought rather to forgive and to comfort him, lest perhaps such a one be swallowed up with too much sorrow. Therefore, I urge you to reaffirm your love to him. The loving, faithful, and mandated the required practice of biblical church discipline isn't aiming for retribution, it's not aiming for revenge. The Lord's gracious instruction for dealing with sin in his church aims for repentance, it aims for reconciliation, it aims for restoration and so much is riding on the faithful obedience of the Corinthian church to do here what Paul has called them to do. And that is the case with every church. So much is at stake, right? So much in the church today rides on the faithful obedience of a faithful loving church to do what Paul, to do what the Lord has called us to do in these circumstances. Now think with me about that for a moment. One, the purity of the Lord's church is at stake. The purity of the Lord's church is at stake. If they can't effectively deal with sin, the church will soon be overrun by sin. Now we see that in our day, don't we? If they can't effectively deal with sin, the church will soon be overrun by sin. First Corinthians chapter 5 verse 6, Paul says, do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Purge out the old leaven. The purity of the Lord's church is at stake. Number two, the honor of the Lord's name is at stake. The honor of the Lord's name is at stake. If they can't effectively deal with sin in the church, the church will forfeit its testimony in the world and bring reproach upon the name of Christ. Paul says again in Romans chapter 2 verse 24, for the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you. The honor of the Lord's name is at stake. Number three, the preaching of the gospel is at stake. The preaching of the gospel is at stake. Their failure to effectively deal with sin undermines the transformational promise of the gospel. In other words, it leaves them with nothing more than a form of godliness, but they deny its power. In other words, the gospel attests to transforming a person's life, not leaving them in their sin, freeing them from their sin, freed from the power of sin, freed from the penalty of sin, and increasingly freed from the presence of sin. Preaching of the gospel is undermined when churches fail to deal effectively with sin in the church. Number four, the soul of that sinning man is at stake. If they fail to lovingly confront him in his sin, then they willfully forsake him on the path to apostasy and they abandon his soul to hell. If you fail to warn the wicked, God says to the watchman, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity. That brings us to number five, your soul is at stake. If you don't, my soul is at stake. God says concerning that watchman, but his blood I will require at your hand. If you fail to warn the wicked, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand. We are admonished in the bible, right? We are instructed in the bible to love our brother and to watch out for his soul. You're a member here. You come here. This is your church. You are responsible for your brothers and sisters in this church. You are admonished to love them in this way. First John chapter 4 verse 20, and if we don't love our brother whom we do see, then how can we rightly say that we love God whom we do not see? We have great responsibility. There is much at stake. There's much writing on this. We have to get this right, amen? We have to get this right and we can't become slack in this. We can't lack diligence or fervor or earnestness or zeal in this. We have to get this right. We could easily continue this list, couldn't we? This list could go on and on. Point three on your notes and in verse nine of our text, Paul calls all of this a test. All of this is a test. Verse nine, for to this end or for this purpose, I also wrote that I might put you to the test whether you are obedient in all things. The purpose that Paul wrote the severe letter was to test their obedience. The purpose that Paul writes now in 2 Corinthians chapter two verses five to eleven and beyond is to test their obedience. In verse three, chapter two verse three, he writes certainly to avoid another painful visit. He doesn't want to make another painful visit to them. In verse four, he writes to show them the abundant love that he has for them. But it all comes down to this test in verse nine. This is a test. To this end, I also wrote that I might put you to the test whether you are obedient in all things. Will you obey the Lord? That's what it comes down to, right? This is a test. Will you obey the Lord in this? It's not legalism to obey the Lord. The Lord called us to obey him. Will you obey the Lord or not? Say, so-called fish or cut bait moment. Will you obey or will you not? Will you obey the Lord in this? This is a test of their obedience. Will they trust the Lord and obey him by faithfully practicing the very difficult, very sobering, very solemn duty of church discipline? Will they obey him in that? Will they do what the Lord calls them to do and withdraw fellowship from that unrepentant center? Will they rebuke? Will they correct? Will they instruct? Will they reprove? Will they exclude that unrepentant center from the church? Will they put them out? And when he's out, will they withdraw as they're called to? Will they trust the Lord and will they obey and what the Lord is asking them to do? And now that they have followed Paul's instruction, the Corinthian church repented of their sin, they followed Paul's instruction in dealing with the sin in the church. Now, would they trust the Lord and would they obey him by faithfully forgiving this repentant man and restoring him to fellowship? Would they reaffirm their love or would they hold them at arm's length? Right? Would they restore him or would they keep him out? Paul was extremely concerned about the church and rightfully so, right? The church is just overrun with sin. If Paul were standing here today, Paul would just be overwhelmed with concern for the church. You know, there are some when you run into them and you talk about the church, you talk about preaching, you talk about the Bible, you talk about the Word of God. There are those that express a disdain for preachers or pastors or teachers or brothers or sisters ringing the bell. There is a problem in the church today. Listen, if Paul were standing here, he would be morbidly concerned for the church. You and I should be concerned for the church over this. This doesn't get faithfully practiced by a vast majority of those who profess to be the church. He wasn't concerned about how culturally relevant the church is. He wasn't concerned with trying to keep people in the church by appealing to them with kids programs or great music, entertaining music or short sermons or lots of activity. He wasn't concerned with making unbelievers feel welcome. He wasn't concerned with that. He wasn't concerned with making unbelievers feel comfortable. He wasn't trying to find out what the customer wants and then giving it to them. That wasn't his mindset. It's not what the church is about. It's not what Paul's about. Paul was concerned for their holiness. Paul was concerned for their witness, their evangelistic witness to the world. Paul was concerned with their perseverance, with their godliness. Paul is concerned with what God is concerned about with respect to his church. He said in 2 Corinthians chapter 11 verse 2, Paul said, I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy for I have betrothed you to me one husband that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. This is a test. And Paul is concerned about the church. The word there for test is document. It refers to something that is proven or found to be true or genuine. It's tested, proven, found to be true, found to be genuine. It begs the question then doesn't it? What is it here that is found to be true or genuine upon the test? What is it that's found to be true or genuine through their obedience and faithfully dealing with sin? What's being tested? What's being tested is their faith, the genuineness of their faith, the proven character of their faith, the testimony of their faith. Paul tells them, if you remember 2 Corinthians chapter 13, Paul tells them in chapter 13 verse 1, Paul says, I'm about to come to you now for the third time, chapter 13 verse 1. I'm coming to you now a third time and I'm writing to those I'm writing to those who have sinned before so that when I come again you may know that this time when I come I will not spare. In other words, I'm going to practice church discipline. If there are those in Corinth who are sinning before and now when I come again this third time, if they are sinning more, if they are continuing in their sin, then when I come again I will not spare, Paul says. This will be confirmed by the mouth of two or three witnesses, he says, again referencing church discipline, a church discipline process. Therefore, he says in verse 5, chapter 13 verse 5, he tells the Corinthians, examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Consider your ways, Paul says, test yourselves, right? He's calling them to test themselves now. Consider your ways, consider your conduct, consider your heart, examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test, documentzo, it's a verb, test yourselves. Put yourself under the test. Paul is doing here in chapter 2 verses 5 through 11. He calls them to do this for themselves in chapter 13 verse 5. Put yourself under the test. Do you not know yourselves? Paul asks that Jesus Christ is in you. In other words, do you not know that you are true, that you are genuine, that you are proven, tested and tried, and found to be true? Do you not know yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you unless indeed you are disqualified, adakimasu, adakime, adakimasu, disqualified. Now what does it mean? What does it mean? Considering the test, what does it mean to be found adakimasu, disqualified? It means ultimately to hear the words of God in judgment. I never knew you, depart from me, you who practice lawlessness. The test either affirms or reveals, exposes the validity of their faith. It either affirms their faith as true, proven and genuine, or it exposes their faith as false, and spurious, disqualified. Titus chapter 1 verse 16 describes those who are disqualified. Paul says to Titus, they profess to know God, but in works they deny him being abominable, disobedient, and disqualified, adakimasu, for every good work. We've got to pass the test. Paul says this is a test of our obedience. One of the surest, most reliable, most helpful tests of genuine conversion. One of the best tests of genuine saving faith is an undiluted hatred for sin. Is a hatred for sin? Do you hate your sin? Are you fed up with it? Are you sick and tired of bearing the load of that sin? Do you want to be free from it forever? Are you looking forward to that day when you are glorified and the Lord in great grace and mercy to you releases you forever glorified in his presence, free forever from the presence of sin? Do you look forward to that day? Do you hate your sin? It's a hatred of sin in yourself. It's a hatred of sin in others. It's a hatred of sin in the Lord's Church. It's a hunger and a thirst for righteousness. It's a zealous, fervent desire, an earnest pursuit of righteousness, an earnest desire for righteousness. And you say that both positively and negatively, correct? I hate my sin and I want to be holy. I want to be more like Christ. I want to be free from my sin. I don't want this any longer. I am tired of the weight of this sin. Paul, a wretched man that I am. Who's going to free me from his body of death? That's the Christian's attitude towards sin. What would it look like here to fail the test? Paul says this is a test of our obedience, how you think about sin, how you view sin, how you deal or do not deal with sin in yourself and in the church. What would it look like to fail the test? It would look like a dull heart towards sin. It would look like insensitivity towards sin. Now you come to church because that's what you're supposed to do, right? You may wake up in the morning, you may pray, you may read your Bible. Because you know at the end of the day that's what I'm supposed to do. But you're dull, dull-hearted towards your sin. You know really, I don't really consider myself to be all that bad. I don't see where I'm that sinful. It's an insensitivity towards sin in yourself. It's an insensitivity or a carelessness with respect to sin in the church. It's an unconcerned attitude towards sin in your brother or in your sister. Lack of motivation, lack of concern. It shows up in a lack of loving confrontation, shows up in a lack of loving conversation with sinning people in the church. Rather not deal with that, rather not get into someone's business. I don't want to offend them. What it is is a lack of love. You don't love your brother if you're willing to abandon them to that course of action. You're not willing to step in and to do something. It's a disinterest, listen, it's a disinterest in holding others accountable out of love for them. And frankly it's a disinterest in being held accountable. You know you've got a problem with sin. If you just have no concern for your sin, for sin in yourself or sin in others, you're unconcerned with being accountable, unconcerned with loving your brother or sister enough to hold them accountable. It's what it looks like to fail the test. It's a failure. It's a failure to put an unrepentant sinner out of the Lord's Church. In this particular context it's a failure to do that difficult thing that Paul is calling them to do. Now this is a church by God's grace and by God's grace alone where we have brothers and sisters here who desire to be faithful to the Lord in this difficult business. We want for the Lord's Church to be holy and to be pure and to be at unity and peace with one another. We want that for the Lord's Church and we're willing to do what is necessary to obey the Lord in those things for the glory of His name, for the good of His Church and for the good of you and I. We want to do those things but what about you in particular when someone is put out of the Church? Do you disobey the Lord in maintaining those relationships? When the Lord says withdraw from every brother, every so-called brother who walks disorderly, who's caught up in these sins, unrighteousness, do you cut off that sinning person as the Lord has told us that we must do? For His soul's sake, for your own, the little glory of the Lord's name and for the good of the Lord's Church, do you do that? Maybe today you're here and your failure in this test is that you have remained embittered toward those who have been put out of the Church under discipline. Maybe there's a bitterness that has gripped your heart, discouragement that has gripped your heart, anger that has gripped your heart over someone who's been put out. When Paul says you ought rather to love, you ought rather to stand ready to forgive when they repent, right? Ready to love if they were to turn from their sin and want to be reconciled, want to be restored. Don't let bitterness be the cause of your stumbling. Don't let an unforgiving heart be the reason for your bitterness. In all of this it shows a lack of reverence for the Lord. To fail this test demonstrates a lack of love for the Lord. Ultimately a lack of love for the Lord. It demonstrates a lack of concern for holiness, a lack of concern for holiness either in yourself or a lack of concern for holiness in others or in the Church. And this is a leading factor in the failure of the modern Church. What about you? It absolutely goes all over me to see the Lord's Church mocked or to see some propped up counterfeit of the Lord's Church, posing as the Lord's Church and the world heaping scorn upon it as if it is the Lord's Church. Run over with sin, wrecked by sin, led by some wicked hypocrite false teaching liar all the while. No concern whatsoever for the Lord's name, no concern whatsoever for the gospel, the power of the gospel, no concern whatsoever for holiness. But listen, it's also, this is also a leading factor in the apostasy of professing Christians. This failure to deal with sin in your own life, a failure to identify it, a failure to acknowledge it, a failure to repent of it, a failure to deal with sin in your own life is a leading factor in the apostasy of professing Christians. The wake behind that massive ship is wide and broad and frothy. Failure to be obedient to the Lord in faithfully and effectively dealing with sin. Sin in yourself and sin in the Lord's Church. Let's consider for a moment, okay, and thinking about this, putting all this together. Why this is so important? Consider with me what the Lord is doing with us here. Turn to Ephesians chapter 5. When we come to church, when we worship, we praise the Lord together, we fellowship together, we talk to one another, we love one another, we pray with one another, we sing hymns and songs and spiritual songs, right? What is going on here? What is the Lord doing with us here? Look at Ephesians chapter 5 and look down at verse 25. Here Paul is going to give a command to husbands, but he sets this command in the broader truth, the broader illustration, the broader example of how the Lord Jesus Christ loves his church. Look at verse 25. Husbands, love your wives just as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for her. Now, husbands, as we consider the primary reason that we're going to this text, I want you to be thinking about that also. Consider how you are loving or not loving, treating well or not treating well, respecting or not respecting, reverencing or not reverencing your wife. Think about that for a moment in the context of Christ's example here. Christ also loved the church and gave himself for her. To what end? Verse 26. That he might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word. That so that he might present her to himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. That's what the Lord is doing with us here. He has us here. He's working on us here, working through us here, by his spirit, through his word, that he might sanctify us, that he might cleanse his church with the washing of water by the word. It's a picture there. Washing of water. It's not water baptism. It's a picture of the cleansing power of water expressed in the truth here that the Lord does that by his spirit through the word of God, cleansing us and sanctifying us, conforming us into the image of Christ. Verse 27. So that he might present her, his bride, to himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. That's the Lord's purpose among us. We're here to be sanctified. We're here to be cleansed. We're here to be washed with the water by the word. We're one day going to be presented to him and he intends to present to himself a glorious bride, not having spot, not having wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. Again, considering what the Lord is doing with us here, that's what the Lord is doing with us, for us, to us, for himself and for his own glory. That's what the Lord is doing. So then, what are you and I doing here? What are you and I doing here? What's your intention for being here? Why are you here? What are you doing? Why is it that some of you, got up early, drove an hour and a half across town to be here? Why would you do that? I mean, I know the copy's not that good. Why would you do that? Is it because of some sense of duty? Again, this is just what I'm supposed to do. I grew up this way. This is what I've always done. I feel guilty if I don't go to church. If somebody may call me if I don't go there, I better show up. They're going to be looking for me. My friends are here. Now, I like the fellowship, and if I go, I'm going to see that person, that other person, that gal, that guy. Why do you go to small group? Why is it that we emphasize small group? Why do you go? After a long day at work, that a long day at work, you're tired. It's been a long day. Why then would you get in your car after a long day at work and drive across town to go to small group? Why would you do that? Why go to another Bible study? You read your Bible at home? Many of you? Why another Bible study? Why would you listen to an hour-long sermon? This is the fourth sermon of the morning. As I've heard from many people before, after the call to worship, after a call to repentance, after a call to giving, why would you do that? Why would you be ready to pray with your brothers? Why would you be at group on time and work, strive to get there on time so that you could pray with your brothers if you're doing that? Why would you labor to be on time so that you could pray with them? Why would you pursue covenant membership here? This first has been through a lot. There are people here who are serious about following the Lord. Our covenant represents what the Bible teaches. That standard is high. Why would you pursue membership here? Why would you go to that trouble? Why would you make yourself accountable in that way? Why would you place yourself? Why do you place yourself under the preaching of God's Word? Why is it that many of you listen to sermons during the week, your reading sermons during the week? Why do you do that? What in the world are you trying to accomplish? What are you aiming at? Listen, this is not a spectacle. We've said that before. This is not dinner in a show. We're not here to entertain you. We're not here to perform for you. What is it that you are doing here? Christ intends to sanctify and to cleanse you with the washing of water by the Word. So let me submit to you that if you're here, you need to be here in accord with that purpose to kill sin in your life. Your sin exposed, to have your sin revealed by the Word of God. Under the steering spotlight of the preached Word of God, to have your sin exposed and revealed for you to acknowledge your sin so that you may kill your sin, that you may be cleansed, that you may be sanctified, that you may be washed. Now if you get encouraged, praise God. God encourages. God's Word encourages. If you're comforted, praise the Lord. May the God of all comfort comfort you in all your tribulation. You're given cause for rejoicing. Praise God. This is all cause for rejoicing. This is the grace of God to us, but the Lord intends to grow you and mature you and to change you, to change your mind, to change every thought, every word, every deed that does not accord with his high standard of righteousness and holiness and godliness to expose by means of his word, every thought, every word, every belief, every deed, every action, all those things that transgress his holy standard. And in that, to bind you to the horns of the altar and to bring you to repentance, he intends to wash you, to cleanse you, to sanctify you, that he might present his bride to himself a glorious church. You should be here with the intention, with the intent of killing sin, mortifying your flesh, dealing with sin, both in yourself and in others, in the Lord's church and in yourself. We have a responsibility before the Lord to deal with sin, lovingly, yes, but we have a responsibility to deal with it, obediently, faithfully. In Colossians chapter 1, verse 28, Paul says, Tim Christ, we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom so that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. Gospel ministry in the Lord's church right there, isn't it? The content of our preaching is what? Christ and him crucified. The intent of our preaching or the intent of our interaction here is to warn you and to teach you until you're perfect in him. Now, those that will say, well, perfect means they're whole. We need to be well balanced, right? Not too much of this, not too much of that, just a picture of wholeness. You need to be sort of well-rounded. No, it means perfect. It means sinless. Are you going to be sinless on this side of eternity? No. So what do we do? As long as you're here, we preach Christ. And your mission, your purpose while you're here on this side of eternity is to deal with sin, warning every man, teaching every man. There will come a day, there will come a day when we will no longer need to warn anyone. Wow, my dying. That we will no longer need to admonish anyone. And we will be presented and we will be perfect in him. Colossians chapter three, verse five, Paul says, therefore, put to death your members which are on the earth, fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, covetousness, which is idolatry. Because of these things, the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience. We have a responsibility to deal with sin. Sin in ourselves, sin in the church. Colossians chapter three, verse 16, let the word of Christ dwell in you richly and all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. Dealing with sin in yourself, dealing with sin in one another, right? Teaching there, teaching is communicating the truth, communicating the truth. Admonishing is the negative side of teaching. It deals with warning them of the consequences of their actions. We are to teach and we are to admonish one another. It's not just my responsibility, not just the responsibility of your other elders. That's all of our responsibilities. We have the responsibility to teach and admonish one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. Both of those, the teaching and the admonishing are overflowing realities of the fact that the word of Christ dwells in you richly. If the word of Christ does not dwell in you richly, it will not overflow into teaching and admonishing. But if the word of Christ dwells in you richly, it will. Of course, we're here to worship, amen. Of course, we're here to ascribe glory and honor and blessing to his name. Of course, we're here to sing praises to him, to extol our king, right? To offer thanks. But what is God doing in us? Even that worship, right? In the Lord's grace and mercy, even that worship is a means of grace to us. Whereby God, through our worship, sanctifies and cleanses us, washes us with water by the word. He's conforming us into the image of his Son. If you're not being conformed in that way, then you're not worshiping. And you're not worshiping. If you're worshiping with a haughty, I've got no sin to deal with attitude, then that worship is not acceptable to God. The worship of God is one that comes from a broken and contrite heart. Well, I come to church to get encouraged, okay? Be encouraged to kill sin. There are times when I just want to be comforted, right? I pray that you're comforted. There are times when we need comfort. But these things are not mutually exclusive, you understand, right? We come to church. We want to be, there are times when we need encouragement. There are times when we need comfort. But listen, the prevailing thing that's going on here that the Lord is doing during this time by His Spirit, through the word, is He is sanctifying you and cleansing you with the intention of presenting you to Himself a glorious bride. His bride must be sanctified. His bride needs to be cleansed with the washing of water by the word. This is the test, right? This is the test. Broad form, this is the test of our obedience. Will you be about this work? Will I be about this work? Will we be intentionally, thoughtfully, persistently about this work? When Paul writes in 2 Corinthians chapter 2, verse 9, that he meant to put them to the test, his aim is to test there whether we are obedient in all things, in all things he says, right? In other words, in other words, your Christian life, my Christian life is an ongoing test of our obedience in all things. And Paul says now, essentially, I'm adding this latest admonition to that ongoing test of your obedience in all things. Will you obey in this necessary work also? Will you obey in this necessary work also? And specifically here in our text, what is he talking about? Will you confront? Will you pursue? Will you track down that brother, that sister? Will you exhort? Will you encourage? Will you warn? Will you correct? Will you rebuke? Or will you just go about this whole business like it's a superficial meaningless thing? We're just here to socialize. It's just a little bit of a social club. We're all going to go home at the end of the day. You know what? When the lights are turned out at the end of this period in history, we're all going to make it in any way. So what's the big deal? Is that how you view this? Is this superficial to you? Is this a meaningless thing to you? What are you doing here? Will you confront? Will you exhort? Will you encourage? Will you warn? Will you correct? Will you rebuke? Will you call? Will you go to that house? Where are you, brother? I haven't seen you in a while. What are you doing? Brother, I've seen you in that sin for too long. What do I need you to do to help you? Let's get this thing conquered by God's grace in the power of the Spirit for Christ's sake. Let's deal with that sin. What are we doing here? Will we discipline? And if necessary, will you cut off? Will you put out? Will you forgive when necessary? Will you reconcile? Will you comfort? Will you love? Will you restore? We are to obey in all things. Specifically here in the text, we're to obey in these things. This specific test of obedience essentially comes to us in the form of this question. Will you do all that is instructed and required to lovingly and faithfully deal with sin in the Lord's church? Will you confront? Will you confront? Will you watch over your brother in that way? Turn with me to 1 Thessalonians chapter 5. 1 Thessalonians chapter 5. Will you confront? So easy to avoid, isn't it? I don't know many people that are just eager to do that. I can't wait to get to church because I'm going to find somebody to confront. That's tough. Will you do that difficult work of watching out for your brothers? Look, 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 verse 14. Now Paul says, 1 Thess 5, 14. We exhort you. The word you there is plural. He is exhorting us, you and I. We are being exhorted. Brethren, warn those who are unruly. Comfort the faint hearted. Uphold the weak. Be patient with all. See that no one renders evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good both for yourselves and for all. If you don't have a track to run on with respect to these things, you can become sluggardly or apathetic or straight out disobedient to these commands. We have a track to run on here with respect to these things. Trying to apply biblical principles and biblical wisdom to our philosophy of ministry here. We have opportunities where you gather with brothers and sisters at times when you can be accountable to one another and for one another, where you can pray together, study the Bible together, talk together. We have many opportunities in this church for that. So if you're negligent or disobedient with respect to these things is because you're avoiding those things or you go to those things and that's not your intention for being there. You're not considering those things when you're there. There is opportunity to obey these, right? Verse 16, rejoice always. Pray without ceasing and everything give thanks. For this, all of this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the spirit. That's not how Charismatics view that. What's the role of the Spirit of God in the life of a believer? It's a believer sanctification. Cleansing them with the washing of water by the Word. Don't quench that work of the Spirit in your life. Do not despise prophecies. In other words, don't treat as unimportant the very words of God in Scripture. You have great need of them. Don't count them as a common thing. Don't treat them with disrespect or irreverence, right? Don't despise prophecies. Treating them as unimportant. Test all things. Verse 21, hold fast what is good, abstain from every form of evil. Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely. That's what he's about here, right? Sanctify you completely and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it. There are five categories here in verse 14. There's one commentator put it. There's the wayward, the worried, the weak, the wearisome, and the wicked. First, we must warn the wayward. Warn those who are unruly. Unruly, often using military circumstances for a person who didn't march in step with everybody else. We have marching orders here. There's a statement of faith, and there's a covenant. We've covenanted with one another to serve the Lord in this way. Are you marching in step with everyone else here in accord with a covenant? In accord with our statement of faith, in accord with what the Bible says. A person who isn't tends to stick out like a sore thumb. That person is unruly. He was, this person is described as insubordinate, wanting to do his own thing, wanting to go his own way, out of step with everyone else. He didn't perform his duty, so to speak, in that military context. He failed in his responsibilities. The way this shows up in the church, this is someone who fails to serve the church or they serve with a bad attitude. The person who would be unsupportive of the church, unsupportive of the church's direction, unsupportive of the church's priorities, unsupportive of the church's leadership. The one who will shirk or avoid accountability, the one who obstinately defies their covenant, will refuse and justify their actions all along the way. That's this one, warn those who are unruly. They need warning. Why they need warning? Why do they need warning? Because there's danger associated with disobeying the Lord in these things. There's danger associated with sin. They need admonishment. Secondly, we must encourage the worried. Comfort the faint-hearted, right? The faint-hearted are those who are worried. They lack boldness. They fear the unknown. They'll avoid persecution. They'll avoid scorn to the point of being disobedient in evangelism. They're timid. These must be, the word there means spoken to alongside, spoken to alongside. Literally that's what the word means. It means encouraged, exhorted by those who are bold, right? Exhorted by those who are confident. We must encourage or comfort the faint-hearted. Third, we must give assistance to the weak, uphold the weak. The weak are those who are plagued by doubts, plagued by concerns, paralyzed or demoralized by past sins. The word here for weak is the word that's often used for sick, for sick. This person has a sick soul. Whatever the sin is that's causing their weakness, whatever doubts have rendered them ineffective or faithless. They need help. They need support to overcome that. We are to uphold or give assistance to the weak. Number four, we must bear with the wearisome. Be patient with all. It means here, suffering long with those who are weak or eat or wayward, right? Not being impatient with them, not writing them off. I had one conversation with that guy. Didn't go really well. I am done with him, right? That's the wrong attitude. We must be patient with all. Bear with the wearisome. Easy to become impatient. It's a response of our sinful flesh to become unnecessarily harsh or to load people down with unrealistic expectations. Be patient. We're to labor and love. We're to warn. We're to exhort. We're to encourage. We're to be patient. Fifth, we must discipline the wicked. Verse 15, see that no one renders evil for evil to anyone. In other words, no gossip, no slander, no strife, no contention, no division, no anger, no bitterness. Put a stop to that vengeful response before it happens. Paul finishes that with pursue what is good both for yourselves and for all. That's your responsibility, brother. That's my responsibility. Sister, that's your responsibility. That's what we're to do. This is our responsibility as a part of that process. To pass the test, we must be willing to confront, willing to pursue. Secondly, will you discipline when necessary? And if necessary, will you withdraw fellowship? If you flip the page, look at 2 Thessalonians chapter 3. Look there at verse 6. 2 Thessalonians chapter 3, verse 6. Will you obey the Lord in this? This is the test. Paul says in verse 6, but we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you withdraw from every brother who walks disorderly. It's the same word there, a taktos. Unruly. Withdraw from every brother who walks disorderly and not according to the tradition which he received from us. That one who is unsubmissive, that one who is irresponsible, that one who is disorderly, we are to warn them and we're to warn them and we're to warn them and we're to be patient with them and we're to warn them. But if this becomes an unrepentant pattern, then we are to withdraw. Withdraw means to withdraw fellowship from that one. In the presence of church discipline eventually gets to the point where we put them out of the church as a heathen and a tax collector. Paul says turning them over to Satan for the destruction of their flesh so that their soul might be saved in the day of visitation. Drop down to verse 13. Verse 13. But as for you, brethren, don't grow weary in doing good, right? And if anyone does not obey our word in this epistle, note that person and do not keep company with him so that he may be ashamed. Yet do not count him as an enemy but admonish him as a brother. Titus chapter 3, verse 9. Paul says to Titus, the church there, avoid foolish disputes, genealogies, contentions, and strivings about the law, for they are unprofitable and useless. Paul says reject a divisive man after the first and second admonition knowing that such a person is warped and sinning being self-condemned. Not always easy but commanded for the Lord's church, for his church's sake, for that sinning person's sake, for your sake, reject a divisive man. This is church discipline. This is the test. This is the test. Will we obey it? Some of you sin and you compromise in this. And ultimately, it's because you don't trust the Lord. You don't want to withdraw from that person who's been put out. And so you maintain those relationships. However you do that, what does the Lord say? We command you, brethren. This is a test. This is a test of your obedience. Are you disqualified? Will you obey in all things? Thirdly, will you forgive when someone repents? Will you comfort them? Will you reaffirm your love for them? When someone repents, will you turn then and restore them to full, unfettered fellowship? Will you forgive as you've been forgiven? First, forgiveness is a requirement. Forgiveness is a requirement. Will you put your hands around the throat of your brother for a comparatively small offense when you claim your Lord has forgiven you an immeasurable debt? Are you going to do that? The one who is not forgiving from the heart, the one who is not forgiving, will not be forgiven. Forgiveness is a promise. It's a promise that you're not going to bring that sin up again. You'll not bring it up against them. You'll not bring it up in their company or behind their back. You'll not bring it up. It's a promise to bury that sin. It is to reflect toward that repentant brother or sister the same disposition of heart that the Lord has shown toward you in Christ. To display Christ's like love is to forgive them that you will remember their sin no more. It's a promise to remember. That doesn't mean you just absolutely forget about it. When that thought pops up into your head, you put it right back down. The Lord is omnipotent, omniscient, knows all things. It's not that he just forgets. The Bible says he forgets. He casts your sin in the sea of his forgetfulness. He puts it as far as the east is from the west. What does that mean? The Lord purposes not to bring it up against you ever again. You're promising to remember their sin no more. You don't entertain thoughts about it. You don't linger on it. You don't muse on it. You don't meditate on it. You don't roll it over in your mind considering how you've been harmed by it. You refuse that temptation when it crops up into your head, pledging not to ever bring it up again. It is wiped out of your remembrance, so to speak. Isn't that a glorious thing? Isn't that a glorious thing that that's how God in Christ has forgiven us? Right? Never to bring it up against us. It has been wiped out, wiped away to that one who comes to him with a broken and contrite heart. The broken and contrite heart he will not despise, he offers to them hope and forgiveness in the gospel because Jesus Christ has given himself as a ransom for many. He has paid the penalty for their sin. Incidentally, that heart attitude of one who comes in repentance should match the heart attitude of David in Psalm 51. Let me just read this. I want you to listen. This is the heart attitude of the repentant sinner. Have mercy upon me, O God. According to your loving kindness, according to the multitude of your tender mercies, God brought out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. I acknowledge my transgressions. My sin is always before me. Against you, you only have I sinned and done this evil in your sight so that you may be found just when you speak and blameless when you judge. Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity and sin my mother conceived me. Behold, you desire truth in the inward parts and in the hidden part, you will make me to know wisdom. Purge me with hyssop, God, and I shall be clean. Wash me, and I shall be wider than snow. Make me hear joy and gladness as the bones you have broken may rejoice. Tide your face for my sins and blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a steadfast spirit within me. Don't cast me away from your presence. Do not take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation. Uphold me by your generous spirit. Then, Lord, I will teach transgressors your ways. Sinners shall be converted to you. Deliver me, O God, from the guilt of bloodshed. The God of my salvation and my tongue shall single out of your righteousness. O Lord, open my lips and my mouth shall show forth your praise. You do not desire sacrifice or else I would give it. You do not delight in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart. These, O God, you will not despise. Do good in your good pleasure design. Build the walls of Jerusalem. Then you shall be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offerings and whole burnt offering. They shall offer bulls on your altar. That's the sinner that God forgives. First, God stands with a readiness to forgive. We're to be the same way. He stands prepared in Christ to forgive the repentant sinner. Listen, you're here today and you are weighed down by the burden of your sin. If you will drop that sin today and turn to Christ in faith, God stands ready to forgive you, wiping all of your sin off, dropping it into the sea of His forgetfulness. As far as the east is from the west, you can be forgiven. You can be cleansed, washed, set apart. If you will turn, He stands ready to forgive. He stands prepared to forgive. His heart disposition is to forgive. He is the Savior, the Deliverer. He stands with complete, uninhibited, unrestrained, immediate, and permanent forgiveness. We should labor. We should labor and strive to forgive in the way that we've been forgiven, if you're in Christ. We need to strive to have that heart. Incidentally, to forgive in any other way undermines the truth of the gospel. In other words, remember years ago when that shooter went into that church in South Carolina? It seemed like before the end of the day, you had people there desiring to be godly. They're designed to be godly. If you had people there before the end of the day, they were on TV. We forgive Him. We forgive Him. We forgive Him. Listen, that's simply not how God forgives. I understand the heart. We stand ready. The genuine Christian, even under those circumstances, the genuine Christian can stand with the heart disposition to be ready to forgive that person when they turn in repentance. Praise God. That's the grace of God. That's evidence of grace and evidence of a work of God's spirit for a person to be able to stay in that position. But to, without repentance, give a blanket forgiveness like that simply undermines the gospel. It's not the way that we've been forgiven. What is the world's conception of sin and forgiveness with God today? I sin. Listen, it's what I do. I sin, and I sin, and I sin. What's God's job? What does He do? He forgives, and He forgives, and He forgives. So I can sin, and sin, and sin, and God's willing to forgive, and forgive, and forgive. I can live how, see where it goes. I can live how I want to live. I can do what I want to do, and I know that God's going to forgive. I remember witnessing to a guy here not long ago standing in his driveway, committing adultery on his wife about to divorce her. It's like, don't. He claims to be a Christian, claims to be a Christian. If you don't repent of your sin, you're no Christian. If you don't turn from that, you're no Christian. His mindset was, God is simply going to forgive him. I'm going to do this. How many times have you been at the abortion clinic, right? You're standing on the sidewalk, you're preaching, and somebody goes in with the attitude that, I am going to do this, and God is going to forgive me. It's that unbiblical, false notion of forgiveness and repentance that gives birth to that kind of unbiblical, damning thought process, right? It's not the way that God forgives. God forgives the repentant sinner, and so should we. God stands ready to forgive with a heart disposition to forgive, and so should we. So three tests, right? Three tests of faith-filled obedience, reference in our text. A test of loving confrontation, a test of loving discipline, a test of forgiveness, a test of love and restoration. So then back in 2 Corinthians chapter 2, verse 10. Paul says now, whom you forgive anything, I also forgive. Indeed, I have forgiven anything. I have forgiven that one for your sakes in the presence of Christ. Paul assures them that in this, he fully supports them. He fully affirms them in their desire to forgive, in their action, when they forgive. He doesn't do this for some kind of personal vindication, just as he called them to obedience, to discipline that man for the sake of the church. Now he follows with forgiving the offender for the sake of the church. In all of this, this verse 10 is framed then within the context of a warning, in point four on your notes. A warning. Paul says in verse 11, we do this, blessed Satan should take advantage of us, for we are not ignorant of his devices. The first reason for forgiving this man is for his own sake, so that he's not overwhelmed with too much sorrow. We saw that in verse seven. The other reason given is for all of our sakes, that Satan should not gain an advantage over us. Gaining an advantage there means that he doesn't outwit us, doesn't defraud or cheat us. To say it positively, we would say it this way, we would say it this way, we know how he thinks. We know how he thinks, so we need to obey the Lord in this and forgive. Negatively, we're not ignorant of his devices, we're not ignorant of his schemes, his plotting. A good way to think about this, an illustration, would be to consider this. Consider what might have happened if the prodigal son returned to his older brother before going back to his father. What might have happened? You can imagine that we're not ignorant of Satan's devices. We know how he thinks. We can see what kind of advantage Satan might have garnered for himself in that circumstance. Satan used sickness against Job to try to get Job to curse God and die. Satan used a messenger to buffet Paul to make him weak and ineffective. Satan bound a woman in a spirit of infirmity for 18 years until Jesus loosed her. He'll use a bitter, unforgiving heart to ruin your marriage. He will use a bitter, unforgiving heart to ruin friendships, to ruin a family. He will use bitter and unforgiving hearts to ruin the church, and he'll use a bitter and unforgiving heart in you to ruin you. If he can get you to believe the lie, he gains an advantage over you. We must be faithful to forgive. In another sense, this applies corporately to the church. It also applies to you personally if you're in Christ. Despair or discouragement, a morbid introspection, a morbid fascination with, or a better word, preoccupation with, your own sin is of the wicked one to keep you from the joy of your salvation, to keep you from faith in Christ, to keep you from faithful, effective service for Christ, to keep you under the thumb of Satan. Paul says, this man who had repented needs to be comforted. We need to reaffirm our love for him, lest he be swallowed up with too much sorrow and walk around then defeated and dejected and discouraged and ineffective. Satan then having garnered glory to himself, having robbed it from Christ in that sense, that man's not turning and rejoicing in Christ for the forgiveness offered him in the gospel. He's got his eyes buried in his own breast, preoccupied with his own sin, and where are not his eyes? His eyes aren't on Christ. He's not looking to Christ by faith. That person under that deception will go along, limping under that rejection. Makes sense? Satan is a liar and Satan's role in all of this is to gain advantage. Satan's role is to rob God, to rob Christ of the glory that is due him in the church, the glory that is due him in your life and to keep you under the thumb of the wicked one. So how do you deal with that? Whatever you're here this morning, that applies to you. You preoccupied. Your eyes are buried in your own breast. You're not looking to Christ by faith. You're too concerned with your own sin. Somehow the back of your brain is buried the thought that I can't be forgiven or that my sins are too great. That sin that I've turned from it plagues me still. You need to look to Christ and you need to rejoice in Christ and you need to embrace the forgiveness, the glorious, all-encompassing, lavish forgiveness that is offered to you in Christ and you need to trust him. You need to embrace his forgiveness by faith. His atoning sacrifice is sufficient. Trust him for it. Trust him. But if you're that one who has not turned from sin and you continue to wallow in it, you need to put your eyes, your sight on Christ by faith and repent of your sin today and trust him to empower you by his spirit to overcome that. Don't wallow in that sin. Trust Christ. Avail yourself of the means that he has appointed for you to overcome your sin and overcome in him. Overcome by the power of the spirit. If by the spirit you put to death the deed of the body, you will live. Well, if you live according to the flesh, you will die. You will die. Burn. Turn. Don't walk around here as a crippled Christian, right? We have great power. By faith, don't deny the Gospel's power to transform the center. Live by faith in him. Don't allow discouragement to rob you of your joy and to rob Christ of the testimony of one of his own. What you don't want to do is you don't want to walk around as a terrible witness for Christ. Yeah, I know this guy at work says he's a Christian, but man, he is in the dumps all the time. Yeah. All this is very practical, right? We must go to God's Word for help and wisdom in it. We must rely upon God's Spirit for strength to obey him in it. Let's glorify God in the joy of our salvation. Amen. Let's pray together. Take a few moments. Just pray silently. Do business with God with respect to these things, but when you're done, you are dismissed. Let's pray.