020523- “Restoring Your Sinning Brother”...Matthew 18:15-35
Matthew 18:15...“If your brother sins against you, go and rebuke him in private. If he listens to you, you have won your brother.”

Sermon In A Sentence:For a sinning brother to be restored Biblically requires that the church keeps pursuing them and keeps forgiving them.

1 John 3:1...“Look at how great a love the Father has given us that we should be called God’s children. And we are!”

John 1:12...“But to all who did receive Him,
He gave them the right to be children of God, to those who believe in His name”

Jesus Teaches Us How To Restore A Sinning Brother:
-There is a specific command we are told to follow (v.15-20)
-There is no limit to the number of times we forgive (v.21-22)
-There is judgment to face when we deny forgiveness (v.23-35)

Matthew 18:15-20...“If your brother sins against you, go and rebuke him in private. If he listens to you, you have won your brother. But if he won’t listen, take one or two more with you, so that by the testimony of two or three witnesses every fact may be established. If he pays no attention to them, tell the church. But if he doesn’t pay attention even to the church, let him be like an unbeliever and a tax collector to you. I assure you: Whatever you bind on earth is already bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth is already loosed in heaven. Again, I assure you: If two of you on earth agree about any matter that you pray for, it will be done for you by My Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there among them.”

The Word “Sin”:
-Hebrew word “KHATA”
-Literally means “to miss the mark; to fall short, to fail”
-A hunters term when they missed their target: “I sinned!”

“Whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it,
for him it is sin” –James 4:17

Galatians 6:1...“Brothers, if someone is caught in any wrongdoing, you who are spiritual should restore such a person with a gentle spirit, watching out for yourselves so you also won’t be tempted.”

Ephesians 4:2...“Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love”

Matthew 18:21-22...“Then Peter came to Him and said, ‘Lord, how many times could my brother sin against me and I forgive him? As many as seven times?’ ‘I tell you, not as many as seven,’ Jesus said to him, ‘but 70 times seven’”

Matthew 18:23-35...“For this reason, the kingdom of heaven can be compared to a king who wanted to settle accounts with his slaves. When he began to settle accounts, one who owed 10,000 talents was brought before him. Since he had no way to pay it back, his master commanded that he, his wife, his children, and everything he had be sold to pay the debt. At this, the slave fell facedown before him and said, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you everything!’ Then the master of that slave had compassion, released him, and forgave him the loan. But that slave went out and found one of his fellow slaves who owed him 100 denarii. He grabbed him, started choking him, and said, ‘Pay what you owe!’ At this, his fellow slave fell down and began begging him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’ But he wasn’t willing. On the contrary, he went and threw him into prison until he could pay what was owed. When the other slaves saw what had taken place, they were deeply distressed and went and reported to their master everything that had happened. Then, after he had summoned him, his master said to him, ‘You wicked slave! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. Shouldn’t you also have had mercy on your fellow slave, as I had mercy on you?’ And his master got angry and handed him over to the jailers to be tortured until he could pay everything that was owed. So My heavenly Father will also do to you if each of you does not forgive his brother from his heart”