NXR Podcast - DAILY TRUTH - The True Meaning of "Where Two or More Are Gathered"
Aired: 2023-01-21
Duration: 06:05


=== Two or Three Witnesses (06:05) ===

[00:00:00]  All right, listen, guys, I get it.
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[00:00:42]  Jesus said, Man cannot live on bread alone, but from every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.
[00:00:47]  You're listening to Daily Truth.
[00:00:52]  Look at the charge in our text today, verse 21 of 1 Timothy 5.
[00:00:57]  In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of the elect angels.
[00:01:02]  Goodness gracious.
[00:01:03]  Okay.
[00:01:05]  Let's listen.
[00:01:06]  I charge you to keep these rules without prejudging, doing nothing from partiality.
[00:01:14]  So, Paul is charging Timothy, who is then going to charge the church at Ephesus, and he's charging them in the presence of God on his holy throne with Christ Jesus and all the elect angels.
[00:01:26]  And I think Paul's saying the charge is coming from the very throne room of God.
[00:01:30]  And not only that, the reason why this charge, I believe there's A correlation here.
[00:01:35]  The reason why this charge to enact justice, to perform church discipline properly, appropriately, biblically, and without partiality, the reason why this very charge comes from the very throne room of God where Christ Himself is present, I believe it's no coincidence, is precisely because church discipline is always carried out in the presence of the Lord Jesus, who sits in heaven on His holy throne, surrounded by all His angels.
[00:02:02]  Matthew chapter 18, verses 18 through 20.
[00:02:06]  We see Jesus saying to the disciples this if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault privately.
[00:02:12]  Step one.
[00:02:13]  If he listens to you, you've won your brother over.
[00:02:15]  If not, take one or two others with you so that the testimony may be established in the presence of two or three witnesses.
[00:02:20]  Boom.
[00:02:21]  The very same language as 1 Timothy 5, our text today, and Deuteronomy 19.
[00:02:25]  This is the law of Moses.
[00:02:26]  It's got to be factual, right?
[00:02:29]  So bring one or two others so you have two or three witnesses so that the charge might be established.
[00:02:35]  It might be confirmed.
[00:02:37]  If he doesn't listen to them, then tell it to the church.
[00:02:40]  Right?
[00:02:40]  The final ecclesiastical jury, the highest court, the Supreme Court, this is why we're Baptists.
[00:02:47]  We believe biblically, the Supreme Court for the church is the church.
[00:02:53]  Right?
[00:02:53]  So the final step is go to him privately, bring one or two, and then tell it to the Pope.
[00:03:00]  No.
[00:03:02]  Tell it to the Presbytery.
[00:03:03]  No.
[00:03:04]  That's better.
[00:03:05]  But no.
[00:03:06]  Tell it to the church.
[00:03:08]  The highest ecclesiastical court.
[00:03:10]  The highest jury in the land for Christians is a congregation of a local church.
[00:03:17]  And if he does not listen to the church, then treat him as a tax collector or a Gentile.
[00:03:21]  That is, treat him as a non believer.
[00:03:23]  Remove him.
[00:03:24]  And then the text goes on.
[00:03:26]  And Jesus says, For I tell you, truly, truly, I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven.
[00:03:31]  Whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.
[00:03:33]  I give you the keys.
[00:03:35]  And then he goes on even further.
[00:03:37]  And he says, Wherever two or three are gathered in my name, I am there in your midst.
[00:03:41]  Now, we take that text and we say, wherever two or three teenagers are playing on a cajon and an acoustic guitar singing, you know, Kumbaya, my Lord, and the palpable presence of God is there, right?
[00:03:54]  No, that's not what it's saying.
[00:03:56]  Jesus is saying, I'm there in your midst wherever two or three gather in my name.
[00:04:00]  I'm there in your midst.
[00:04:02]  It's all in the context of Jesus talking about church discipline.
[00:04:05]  This is what he's saying.
[00:04:06]  He's saying, whenever there are two or three Christians, not two or three popes, not two or three bishops, not two or three cardinals, not two or three pastors, not two or three presbyters, but just two or three good old fashioned Christians, whenever they're gathered in my name, aka they constitute a local church, wherever the members, not just the leaders, but the members of a church are gathered together in my name, I am there in their midst.
[00:04:28]  To rule with authority.
[00:04:31]  Meaning that whatever ruling the congregation determines is the very ruling of Christ.
[00:04:37]  The congregation, not just the pastor, the congregation is standing in representative of Christ.
[00:04:43]  So when he says, I'm there in your midst, he's saying, I'm there in your midst, but in a particular way.
[00:04:47]  I am there with authority to render justice, to rule righteously through the agency of the two or three, through the agency of the congregation.
[00:04:58]  Isn't that beautiful?
[00:05:00]  And so, Paul, it's not a coincidence.
[00:05:02]  If he says, I charge you, Timothy, I charge you, don't use partiality.
[00:05:08]  Make sure there's facts, right?
[00:05:09]  The three, that's it factual evidence, public rebuke, if it turns out it's true, if it goes from alleged to be confirmed, and don't use partiality.
[00:05:19]  And I am charging you in the presence of God and Christ and his elect angels.
[00:05:24]  Why?
[00:05:25]  Because the very thing that we're talking about right now, the very thing that you are called to carry out.
[00:05:30]  It's something that is only ever carried out in the presence of God, in the presence of Christ, where two or three are gathered.
[00:05:39]  I am there in your midst.
[00:05:41]  Church discipline, whether it be for a congregant or an elder, it is Christ's ruling, and it is a weighty matter.
[00:05:49]  Thanks so much for listening.
[00:05:50]  But, real quick, before you go, do us a small favor take a moment and leave us a five star review if you enjoyed the show.
[00:05:57]  This is undoubtedly the best way that you can help us get this biblically faithful content to as many people as possible.
[00:06:04]  Thanks so much.