First Baptist Church Litchfield
August 2, 2026

      • Jeremiah 31:1–3ESV

  • Let Your Kingdom Come
  • You Are My King (Amazing Love)

      • 1 John 3:16–18ESV

  • I Could Sing Of Your Love Forever
  • Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus
  • My Jesus I Love Thee

  • The Heart of Kingdom Reconciliation

    For nearly two years, Sir Ernest Shackleton and his crew fought for survival in one of the harshest places on earth.
    In 1915, Shackleton's ship, Endurance, became trapped in the Antarctic ice. Months later, the crushing pressure splintered the ship until it sank beneath the frozen sea, leaving twenty-eight men stranded hundreds of miles from civilization.
    Shackleton could have accepted the loss. He could have reasoned that rescue was impossible. Instead, he made it his life's mission to bring every man home.
    After months of enduring bitter cold, starvation, and uncertainty, Shackleton sailed more than 800 miles across the violent South Atlantic in a twenty-two-foot lifeboat. Then, with two companions, he crossed the uncharted mountains of South Georgia Island on foot to reach a whaling station. It took four separate rescue attempts before weather finally allowed him to return to Elephant Island.
    When Shackleton stepped ashore and counted his men, every one of them was alive.
    What makes the story remarkable is not simply that everyone survived. It is that Shackleton refused to stop pursuing his men until every possible effort had been exhausted. Every decision he made, every sacrifice he suffered, every increasing effort was driven by one goal: bring his men home.
    Pursuing might be the driving spirit of Matthew 18.
    When most Christians think of Matthew 18:15–20, they immediately think about church discipline. They picture a courtroom, a trial, or even someone being removed from church membership. But if we begin there, we have already missed the pursuing heart of Jesus.
    Just a few verses earlier, Jesus told the parable of the shepherd who left the ninety-nine sheep to pursue the one that had wandered away. He concluded that parable by saying, "So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish" (Matt. 18:14). In many ways, that verse is the foundation of our text.
    Matthew 18:15–20 is the shepherd's pursuit put into practice.
    Because the Father delights in restoring wandering sheep, Jesus now teaches His church how to pursue wandering brothers and sisters. Every intimate conversation, every witness, every appeal by the church is another gracious attempt to bring a sinner home. The process becomes more serious with each step because Christ’s love refuses to give up.
    I was fortunate to have Dr. Jonathan Pennington, a New Testament Matthew Scholar, as a teacher and to serve with him as an elder at Franklin Street Church in Louisville, KY. He write a book on Becoming a Disciple of Jesus: A Theology of Matthew, he captures the heart of this passage well:
    "While Matthew 18 is often interpreted as the church-discipline text, this misses the main point. The text describes a vision for life together in merciful, compassionate, forgiving relationships among brothers and sisters. Nonetheless, the sting and weight of Jesus's instructions cannot be ignored. If anyone is unwilling to reconcile with his brother or sister, then that person shows himself or herself to not be a true disciple, hence the command to remove the person from the assembly and treat him or her as an outsider." Jonathan Pennington
    Church discipline, then, is not primarily about removing people from the church. It is about refusing to abandon them. It is the church's loving pursuit of a brother or sister who has wandered into sin, exhausting every gracious means Christ has given to see them reconciled to God and to His people. Only when every loving appeal has been rejected does the church recognize what has already become evident—that the person's life no longer bears the marks of a disciple of Jesus.
    This is Christ's vision for His church. We are not a community that ignores sin, nor one that delights in judgment, but one that loves one another enough to pursue reconciliation.

    Jesus calls His church to pursue kingdom reconciliation by lovingly confronting sin, faithfully seeking repentance, and exercising His authority for restoration.

    I. Kingdom Reconciliation Begins by Lovingly Confronting Sin (Matthew 18:15)

    Matthew 18:15 says, “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother."
    When I first became a Christian, I naively believed all my problems would disappear. Christ had forgiven my sins. The Holy Spirit now lived within me. I loved God's Word. Surely conflict would become a thing of the past.
    I was wrong.
    Twenty-five years later, I've discovered that the church is not a community without conflict. It is a community learning how to redeem conflict for the glory of God.
    Jesus assumes that reality when He says, "If your brother sins against you..."
    In my experience, it is not so much if one sins, but when he or she sins against you. Which begs the question, Why? Why does conflict still exist in the church? We all have the Holy Spirit. We all have the Word of God. Why do we still offend one another?

    Because although we have been justified, we have not yet been glorified.

    The Holy Spirit dwells within us, yet our flesh still wages war against the Spirit (Galatians 5:16–17; Romans 7:21–25). God is progressively sanctifying us. Progressive sanctification simply means that God is making us more like Christ throughout the course of our lives. We are not yet what we will one day be. Until Christ returns, every one of us will battle sin, and because of that, every one of us will sometimes sin against one another.
    Since every Christian is still growing, every Christian will eventually hurt another Christian. The question is not, "Will conflict happen?" The question is, "How will disciples of Jesus respond when it does?"
    The Bible gives two answers.
    First, not every offense requires confrontation.
    Peter writes, "Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins" (1 Peter 4:8).
    Love has broad shoulders. Love absorbs many offenses without demanding repayment. Consider the Lord Jesus. He was slandered, falsely accused, abandoned, denied, mocked, beaten, and crucified. Yet He continued to love. Sometimes the most Christlike response is simply to forgive and move on. As I have grown older, I have realized that many of the things that once offended me simply are not worth fighting over. Love gladly covers many wrongs.
    But love does not always overlook sin. Some sins cannot simply be ignored. Some sins destroy fellowship. Some sins harden hearts. Some sins require loving confrontation. That is exactly where Jesus takes us.
    He says, "If your brother sins against you, go..." Notice the simplicity of His command.
    He does not say, "Go tell your spouse." He does not say, "Go tell your best friend." He does not say, "Ask your Sunday School class to pray about it." He does not even say, "Go tell the elders or deacons"—at least not yet. And He certainly does not say, "Post it on Facebook," or air your grievances on Reddit.
    He says, "Go."
    Go to the person. Go privately. Go one-on-one. Go alone.
    Why?

    Because love seeks reconciliation before it seeks an audience.

    Private confrontation preserves a brother's dignity. It gives him the opportunity to explain himself, confess his sin, and repent without unnecessary embarrassment. It creates an atmosphere where humility can flourish and reconciliation can take place. That is the purpose of Jesus' command.
    Matthew 18:15 does not end with confrontation.
    It ends with these beautiful words: “...you have gained your brother."
    That is the goal.
    Not proving you're right. Not winning an argument. Not getting even. Not seeking revenge. Not merely demanding justice. The goal is reconciliation.
    Jesus never commands confrontation as an end in itself. He commands confrontation as the pathway to restoring a broken relationship.
    Brothers and sisters, when someone sins against you, don't rehearse the offense. Don't recruit allies. Don't allow bitterness to take root. And don't pretend everything is fine when your heart knows it isn't.
    Go. Go privately. Go humbly. Go prayerfully. Go with the hope of winning not an argument, but your brother. Because kingdom reconciliation doesn't begin by exposing sin. It begins by loving your brother enough to pursue him. And if, by God's grace, he listens, you have gained your brother.
    But what if he doesn't listen?
    Jesus is not finished. Because love does not give up after one conversation. He now gives us the next step in the pursuit of reconciliation.

    II. Kingdom Reconciliation Pursues Restoration Through Christ's Process (Matthew 18:16–17a)

    Jesus continues,
    "But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church…" (Matthew 18:16–17)
    Notice that Jesus does not abandon reconciliation after one difficult conversation. Neither does He encourage us to become impatient or vindictive. Instead, He gives us a gracious process for pursuing a brother or sister who refuses to repent.
    Jesus reaches back to Deuteronomy 19:15, where God instructed Israel that "A single witness shall not suffice… Only on the evidence of two witnesses or of three witnesses shall a charge be established." Under God's law, accusations were never to be based on one person's word alone. Justice required careful investigation and corroborating testimony.
    Jesus applies that same principle to life in His kingdom.
    Why?

    Because kingdom reconciliation must be marked by both truth and love.

    This is not a witch hunt where reputations are destroyed by rumors, assumptions, or one person's version of events. Christ has established a process that protects both the offended and the offender. The additional witnesses are not brought in to gang up on a brother or sister. They are there to verify the facts, provide wisdom, guard against partiality, and lovingly call the offender to repentance.

    Their purpose is not condemnation. Their purpose is restoration.

    Have you ever watched a parent searching for a lost child in a crowded store?
    At first, one parent walks through the aisles calling the child's name. When they cannot find the child, they don't simply shrug their shoulders and leave. They ask another employee for help. Then another. Soon several people are searching together.
    Why?
    Because the goal is not to embarrass the child. The goal is to bring the child safely home. That is exactly what Jesus is describing.
    One brother goes first. If he is not heard, he lovingly brings one or two others. Every step widens the circle of care, not the circle of shame.
    Jesus is not increasing the punishment. He is increasing the circle of pursuit.
    That should not surprise us, because it reflects everything we have already learned in Matthew 18. The Father treasures His little ones. He pursues them when they wander. He rejoices when they are restored. Now He calls His church to reflect that same shepherding heart.
    But what if the brother still refuses to listen?
    Jesus says, “Tell it to the church."
    This is one of only two places in all four Gospels where Jesus uses the word ἐκκλησία (ekklesia), "church" (Matthew 16:18; 18:17). He is speaking of the gathered covenant community, the visible body of believers whom He has redeemed.
    Even here, the goal has not changed. The church is not informed to publicly shame the offender. The church is enlisted to lovingly pursue them.
    Now the entire body joins the search. They pray. They plead. They exhort. They lovingly appeal for repentance. The circle of pursuit has become as large as the covenant community because Christ desires the restoration of His wandering sheep.
    Only after every loving appeal has been exhausted does Jesus say, “If he refuses to listen even to the church…"
    Notice how patient Jesus is. Private conversation. Two or three witnesses. The loving pursuit of the entire church.
    Every opportunity has been given for repentance.
    Only after every effort toward reconciliation has failed does the church remove the unrepentant person from its fellowship.
    As R. T. France wisely observes,
    "After all persuasion has failed, a cold shoulder may still bring him to his senses; at any rate there can be no real fellowship with someone who has so blatantly set himself against the united judgment of his fellow disciples." R. T. France
    Kingdom reconciliation, church discipline, is never about winning a dispute. It is about rescuing a disciple.
    Even removal from the fellowship is not an act of revenge or retribution, but one final, loving appeal. By experiencing the loss of fellowship, the hope is that the wandering brother or sister will finally recognize the seriousness of their sin, repent, and be joyfully restored to Christ and His church.
    The apostle Paul gives us one of the clearest examples of kingdom reconciliation in the church at Corinth.
    In 1 Corinthians 5, Paul confronts the church because they had become complacent toward a man who was living in blatant sexual immorality with his father's wife. The sin was so grievous that Paul says, "it is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you... of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans" (1 Cor. 5:1). Instead of mourning over the man's sin, the church had tolerated it.
    Paul called the church to do what Jesus commanded in Matthew 18. Because the man refused to repent, they were to remove him from the fellowship of the church. Paul even says, "you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord" (1 Cor. 5:5).
    Notice Paul's goal. It was never punishment for punishment's sake. It was always restoration. The hope was that the painful consequences of being removed from the fellowship of God's people would awaken the man to the seriousness of his sin and lead him to genuine repentance.
    And by God's grace, that is exactly what happened.
    By the time Paul writes 2 Corinthians, the man had repented. Now Paul tells the church,
    "You should rather turn to forgive and comfort him, or he may be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. So I beg you to reaffirm your love for him." (2 Cor. 2:7–8)
    The church obeyed Christ's process. The sinner repented. The brother was gained. That is the goal of Matthew 18.
    Kingdom Reconciliation, or as many call it, church discipline, is never about driving people away. It is about lovingly pursuing them until they are restored.
    Once more, the church that has the courage to confront sin must also have the grace to celebrate repentance. The same congregation that removes an unrepentant sinner from fellowship must be the first to run and embrace him when God, in His mercy, brings him home.
    But what if the man had not repented? What if they leave and never return?

    III. Kingdom Reconciliation Reveals the Heart's Allegiance (Matthew 18:17)

    Matthew 18:17 concludes, “...And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector."
    At first glance, Jesus' words sound severe.
    He says,"Let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector."
    To Jesus' Jewish audience, Gentiles and tax collectors were outsiders to the covenant community. Tax collectors were viewed as traitors who had aligned themselves with Rome, while Gentiles stood outside the blessings and privileges of God's covenant people. Jesus is saying that a person who continually refuses every loving appeal to repent can no longer be regarded as someone walking faithfully with Christ. Their persistent refusal to repent calls their profession of faith into serious question.
    Notice what has happened.
    Jesus is not describing someone who struggles with sin. Nor is He speaking of someone who stumbles and then repents. He is describing someone who refuses to listen. He refuses to listen to a brother. He refuses to listen to two or three witnesses. He refuses to listen to the church.
    At every stage, the issue is not the presence of sin but the absence of repentance. That refusal reveals the true condition of the heart.
    Church discipline does not make someone an unbeliever. Rather, it recognizes that their persistent, unrepentant life no longer gives credible evidence of genuine discipleship.
    Yet there is something remarkable about Matthew's Gospel.
    How did Jesus treat Gentiles and tax collectors?
    He welcomed them. He ate with them. He preached the gospel to them.
    He called Matthew, a tax collector, to become one of His disciples (Matt. 9:9). When the Pharisees criticized Him for eating with tax collectors and sinners, Jesus replied, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick... I came not to call the righteous, but sinners." (Matt. 9:12–13)
    Later, Jesus shocked the religious leaders by declaring, “The tax collectors and the prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before you." (Matt. 21:31)
    That helps us understand His command here.
    To treat someone as a Gentile or tax collector does not mean we despise them, hate them, or write them off. Rather, we acknowledge that we can no longer affirm their profession of faith while they persist in unrepentant sin. Instead, we begin relating to them as someone who desperately needs the grace of the gospel.
    This fits perfectly with the flow of Matthew 18.
    The Father pursues wandering sheep. The church pursues wandering brothers and sisters. Even this final act of church discipline is not the end of pursuit but the beginning of a different kind of pursuit. We no longer assume everything is spiritually well. Instead, we pray for them, plead with them, proclaim the gospel to them, and long for the day when they repent and are restored to Christ and His church.
    Even this final step is an act of redemptive love. The door to repentance is never slammed shut. It remains wide open for every sinner who will humble himself, turn from his sin, and come home to Christ.
    At the end of the day, Matthew 18 is not a chapter about how to remove people from the church. It is a chapter about how far the church should go to bring people home. And those who are Christ’s sheep will have ears to hear and eyes to see, and will respond the process of reconciliation. And those who don’t respond, reveal their heart was never born again, and they need to repent and believe the gospel.
    Furthermore, brothers and sister, we are not alone in this process. Heaven walks with us and agree with us.

    IV. Kingdom Reconciliation Operates Under Christ's Authority (Matthew 18:18–19)

    Jesus continues,
    "Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven. Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven." (Matthew 18:18–19)
    At first glance, these verses can seem confusing. What does Jesus mean by binding and loosing?
    These were familiar rabbinic expressions in Jesus' day. To bind meant to forbid or declare something unacceptable. To loose meant to permit or release. In the context of Matthew 18, Jesus is not giving the church unlimited authority to make up rules or pronounce whatever it wants. Rather, He is assuring the church that when it faithfully follows His Word and His process for reconciliation, it acts under His authority.
    Notice something very important.
    Jesus does not say the church creates heaven's decision. He says the church reflects heaven's decision.
    As the church carefully examines God's Word, patiently pursues repentance, lovingly confronts sin, and prayerfully follows Christ's instructions, it declares on earth what Christ has already determined in heaven.
    When a repentant sinner is forgiven and restored to fellowship, the church is simply affirming what heaven already celebrates.
    When an unrepentant sinner is removed from fellowship after refusing every gracious appeal, the church is recognizing what heaven already knows, that the person's life no longer gives credible evidence of genuine repentance.
    That should humble every church. Church discipline is never about power. It is always about submission. We do not sit in judgment over Christ. We submit ourselves to the judgment of Christ revealed in His Word.
    That is why Jesus immediately speaks about prayer.
    "If two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven."
    This verse is often quoted to encourage corporate prayer, and while it certainly teaches the value of praying together, that is not Jesus' primary point here.
    The context is church discipline.
    Jesus is describing believers who are united in seeking His wisdom as they shepherd one of His wandering sheep.
    How desperately the church needs that kind of prayer. When confronting sin...when pleading with a wandering believer...when deciding whether repentance is genuine...when determining whether someone must be removed from fellowship...the church must never act hastily.
    We must pray. We must seek the mind of Christ. We must ask for wisdom, humility, discernment, courage, and love. James reminds us, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach." (James 1:5)
    Paul likewise commands, “Pray without ceasing." (1 Thessalonians 5:17)
    Kingdom reconciliation is never carried out by human wisdom alone. It is accomplished by a church that humbly kneels before its King.
    Before performing a complicated surgery, no surgeon walks into the operating room and simply improvises. The entire team pauses. They review the scans. They confirm the patient's identity. They review the procedure together. Everyone submits to the same medical standard because someone's life is at stake.
    In a similar way, Matthew 18 is spiritual surgery.
    The church doesn't improvise. It doesn't react emotionally. It doesn't operate on personal opinions. It submits to the authority of the Great Physician, Jesus Christ.
    Brothers and sisters, every difficult conversation, every act of restoration, every exercise of church discipline should remind us that this is not ultimately our church.
    It is Christ's church. He purchased her with His own blood (Acts 20:28). He is the Head of the church (Ephesians 1:22–23). He alone possesses all authority in heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:18), and he promises to always be with us.

    V. Kingdom Reconciliation Is Sustained by Christ's Presence (Matthew 18:20)

    Every act of faithful kingdom reconciliation is carried out in the presence of the Good Shepherd Himself.
    Jesus concludes, “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them." (Matthew 18:20)
    This may be one of the most misunderstood verses in the Bible.
    We often hear it quoted to encourage small prayer meetings or worship services. While it certainly comforts us to know Christ is present whenever His people gather, that is not the primary point Jesus is making here.
    The "two or three" are the very witnesses Jesus has been describing throughout this passage.
    They are believers gathered in His name to pursue the reconciliation of a wandering brother or sister.
    Jesus' promise is breathtaking.
    When the church faithfully follows His process, when one believer lovingly confronts another, when two or three witnesses prayerfully pursue the offender, when the church grieves over unrepentant sin, and when repentant sinners are joyfully restored, Christ Himself is present among His people.
    He has not delegated reconciliation and walked away. He shepherds His church from the midst of His church. That means Jesus is present when difficult conversations take place.
    He is present when tears are shed over sin. He is present when the church patiently pleads with a wandering believer to return. He is present when the congregation mourns the painful necessity of removing an unrepentant person from fellowship. And He is present when heaven's joy erupts because a brother or sister comes home.
    What confidence this gives the church! Kingdom reconciliation does not rest upon our wisdom. It does not depend upon our personalities. It is not sustained by clever counseling techniques or persuasive arguments. It is sustained by the living presence of the risen Christ.
    After His resurrection Jesus declared, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me." (Matthew 28:18)
    Then He immediately promised, “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:20)
    The One who possesses all authority is the very One who promises His continual presence.
    That means every step of Matthew 18 is carried out under the authority of Christ and in the presence of Christ.
    Brothers and sisters, what a comfort this is. When you must have a difficult conversation, Christ goes with you. When you lovingly confront a brother or sister, Christ stands with you. When the church gathers to pray for a wandering believer, Christ is in your midst. When reconciliation seems impossible, Christ is still the Good Shepherd who leaves the ninety-nine to pursue the one. We never pursue reconciliation alone.
    The Shepherd who reconciled us to the Father now walks with His church as we seek to reconcile one another. For where His people gather in faithful obedience to His Word, there He is among them.

    With Every Effort, Endure…

    Sir Ernest Shackleton became one of history's greatest explorers, not because he conquered Antarctica, but because he refused to abandon his men.
    When the world looked at those stranded sailors, it saw twenty-eight men who were probably lost forever. Shackleton saw twenty-eight men who still belonged to him. That made all the difference.
    He refused to stop pursuing them until every possible effort had been exhausted. That is the heart of Matthew 18.
    That is the heart of our Father. He does not ignore wandering sheep. He does not write them off. He does not delight in judgment. He relentlessly pursues them. And He calls His church to do the same.
    So let me ask you…

    Who has wandered from the fellowship of Christ?

    Who has drifted from the church?

    Who has become isolated by sin?

    Who has quietly disappeared?

    Perhaps God has already placed someone's name on your heart. Don't assume someone else will pursue them. Perhaps Christ intends to pursue them through you.
    Make the phone call. Send the text. Invite them to coffee. Open the Scriptures. Pray with them. Plead with them. Love them enough to tell them the truth. Love them enough not to give up.
    Because that is exactly what Jesus has done for every one of us. We were not merely the ninety-nine. We were the one. We wandered. We rebelled. We were dead in our trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1–3).
    Yet the Good Shepherd left the glories of heaven, pursued us through His incarnation, purchased us by His blood, conquered death by His resurrection, and even now intercedes for us at the Father's right hand (Hebrews 7:25).
    He has never stopped pursuing His people. And He never will.
    Church, let us be known as a people who refuse to abandon one another.
    May we lovingly confront sin. May we patiently pursue repentance. May we faithfully submit to Christ's authority. May we depend upon Christ's presence. And may we never stop pursuing wandering brothers and sisters until every gracious means Christ has given has been exhausted.
    For that is the heart of kingdom reconciliation. It is the heart of our Shepherd. And by God's grace, may it become the heart of His church. Amen.

      • Matthew 18ESV

  • How Deep The Father's Love For Us
First Baptist Church Litchfield
pastorjason.fbcl@gmail.com
217-324-4232
http://www.firstbaptistlitchfield.org/
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