“Judge [or criticize] not, that
you be not judged [or criticized]” (Matt. 7:1).

      How
many of you, my readers, enjoy receiving criticism? Not many, if any, I reckon.
Now, how many of you have ever given out criticism? Most, if not all, I would
guess. So why do we dish it out if neither we nor anyone else enjoys receiving
it? This is a question we all need to ponder.

      The
above verse is fast becoming one of the best known and most widely quoted of
all Scripture. It is being used more and more against those who dare teach that
certain activities and behaviors are wrong and sinful. But did the Lord intend
that His disciples never discern between right and wrong in themselves
and others? In Matt. 18:15-17 the Lord clearly authorizes His people not only
to discern sins committed by others but also to go to such a person and point
out the sin. For what purpose? Showing that I am better than that sinner? No,
not at all, but rather for the purpose of drawing that person back to the Lord.
“If he shall hear you, you have gained your brother.”

      Notice
that Matt. 7:1 is not an absolute prohibition against judging or criticizing
another. Verse 5 gives one condition that needs to be satisfied before we are
qualified to criticize another:“First cast out the beam [or log] out of your
own eye, and then you shall see clearly to cast the mote [or speck] out of your
brother’s eye.” However, this condition is helpful only if I have the spiritual
discernment to detect the log in my own eye.

      Another
condition is implied in verse 1 itself:“Judge not, that you be not judged.” In
other words, if you don’t want to be criticized, and if you don’t appreciate
the value of it for yourself, then you are not qualified by the Lord to give it
out to others. But as we grow spiritually, we will begin to pray along with the
psalmist, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my thoughts;
and see if there be any wicked way in me” (Psa. 139:23,24), and “Cleanse me
from secret faults” (Psa. 19:12). In what ways does God answer these prayers?
(1) He may impress a Scripture upon our hearts during our private Bible study
(“All Scripture … is profitable … for reproof, for correction,” 2 Tim.
3:16,17); (2) He may use the public preaching and teaching of the Scriptures to
impress upon our hearts the need for correction and change (“Preach the Word
… reprove, rebuke, exhort,” 2 Tim. 2:2); or (3) He may send another believer
to us to point out our sin (Matt. 18:15; Gal. 6:1). Most of us can easily
handle the first two means of correction, but many of us have difficulty with
the third one. Why is that? Our human pride gets in the way (1 John 2:16).

      The
more we grow in Christ—in that One who was “meek and lowly in heart” (Matt.
11:29), the One who “humbled Himself and became obedient unto death” (Phil.
2:8)—the more we will exhibit these characteristics of Christ (see Gal.
5:22,23). Thus, we will grow in the ability to be ready and willing to receive
reproof, correction, and criticism from other persons, whether believers or
unbelievers, whether family members or non-relatives, and whether persons older
or younger than ourselves.

      As
we begin accepting and valuing the criticism of ourselves, we will discern the
ways of offering criticism that make it easiest to accept. Then, and only then,
are we prepared and qualified by the Lord to pass along criticism to others.
When we see a brother or sister “overtaken in a fault” or sinning in some way,
we first fall on our knees before the Lord. We examine ourselves as to that
fault or sin. We make intercession to the Lord for that person (1 Tim. 2:1).
And if the Lord lays it on our heart to “go and tell him his fault” (Matt.
18:15), we go with fear and trembling, “in the spirit of meekness” (Gal. 6:1),
and with much prayer and dependence upon the Lord. “If the sinning person
“hears you, you have gained your brother [or sister]” (Matt. 18:15), restoring
him or her to a closer walk with the Lord and to precious fellowship with
yourself.

      So
let us pray for the ability to accept and value positive, spiritual, Biblical
criticism from others, that we may in turn be “thoroughly furnished unto all
good works” (2 Tim. 3:17), including that of helping to restore our sinning brothers
and sisters to the Lord.

Having the Attitude of

Christ toward Sinners

      Suppose
your brother does you wrong; an evil word, perhaps, or an unkind action done
against you—something that you feel deeply as a real personal trespass against
you. It is a sin, of course. Nobody knows it, probably, but himself and you.
What are you to do? At once this great principle is applied:When you were
ruined and far from God, what met your case? Did God wait till you put away
your sin? He sent His own Son to seek and to save you. “The Son of Man came to
seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). This is the principle for
you to act upon. You belong to God; you are a child of God. Your brother has
wronged you? Go to him and seek to set him right. It is the activity of love
that the Lord Jesus presses upon His disciples. In the power of divine love we
are to seek the deliverance of those who have wandered from God. The flesh
feels and resents wrong done against itself. But grace does not shroud itself
in its own dignity, waiting for the offender to come and humble himself and own
his wrong. The Son of Man came to seek the lost. I want you, He says, to be
walking after the same principle, to be vessels of the same love—to be
characterized by grace, going out after the one who has sinned against God.
This is a great difficulty unless the soul is fresh in the love of God and
enjoying what God is for him. How does God feel about the child who has done
wrong? His loving desire is to have him right. When the child is near enough to
know the Father’s heart he goes out to do the Father’s will. A wrong may have
been done against him, but he does not think about that. It is his brother who
has slipped into evil, and the desire of his heart is not to vindicate self but
to have the brother righted who has gone astray that his soul may be restored
to the Lord.

“You and Him Alone”

      “Moreover,
if your brother shall trespass against you, go and tell him his fault between
you and him alone” (Matt. 18:15). It is not here the case of a sin known to a
great many, but some personal trespass only known to the two of you. Go, then,
to him and tell him his fault between you and him alone. “If he shall hear you,
you have gained your brother.” Love is bent on gaining the brother. So it is to
him who understands and feels with Christ. It is not the offender, but your
brother that is the thought before the heart:“You have gained your
brother.”

Further Steps

      “But
if he will not hear you, then take with you one or two more, that in the mouth
of two or three witnesses every word may be established” (18:16). Is it
possible he may resist one or two who come to him, witnesses of the love of
Christ? He has refused Christ pleading by one; can he refuse Christ now that He
pleads by more? It may be, alas, that he will. “And if he shall neglect to hear
them, tell it unto the church.” The church means the assembly of God in the
place to which these all belong. “If he shall neglect to hear them, tell it
unto the church; but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto you as a
heathen man and a publican” (18:17). The assembly, then, is told of the guilty
person’s fault. The thing has been investigated and pressed home. The church
warns and entreats this man, but he refuses to hear; and the consequence is:
“Let him be unto you as a heathen man and a publican.” This is a most solemn
issue! A man who is called a brother in the preceding verse is now to me as a
heathen man and a publican.

The Kind of Person Who

Is to Be Put Away

      We
are not to suppose the man necessarily to be a drunkard, thief, or fornicator;
but he is one who shows the hardness of self-will and a spirit of
self-justification. It may arise out of small circumstances; but this unbending
pride about himself and his own fault is that on which he may, according to the
Lord, be regarded as a heathen man and a publican. In the case of open sin or
wickedness, the duty of the church is clear:the person is put away. Nor would
there be reason in such a case for going one at a time, and then one or two
more. But the Lord shows here how the end of this personal trespass might be
the same:the Church has finally to hear it may have to put the unrepentant
sinner away.

      (From
Lectures on the Gospel of Matthew.)

      “If
your brother shall [sin] against you, go and tell him his fault between you and
him alone” (Matt. 18:15).

      The
disciples having been charged to avoid what would be offense against another,
and as to themselves rather to get rid of what might seem like hand or foot
than go on with what was matter of offense, are now taught how to deal with sin
in another.

Dealing with Sin in Another

      But
at once question begins:What is the sin which we have to do with here? and are
we to take it as generally taken, as simply personal trespass? Some of the most
ancient manuscripts and some editors omit the “against you” of the common
version, and have only “if thy brother sin,” which would seem to make it wider.
However, this can, I think, be better settled as we go on, and we may leave it
for the present undecided.

      We
are to note that the thing to be considered by us is what the Lord calls “sin,”
and we must not allow ourselves to admit a lighter word than that. “Sin,”
whether it be against oneself or not, is something that should bring up at once
before us the psalmist’s deep realization, “Against Thee, Thee only, have I
sinned” (Psa. 51:4). These words only appear the more striking as we think of
the dreadful character of that which David had committed against his neighbor.
Sin can only be viewed rightly as against God; and to treat it so we must be
before God about it. We must know how, in Old Testament language, to eat the
sin-offering in the holy place.

      In
the presence of God sin is truly judged, but therefore judged in ourselves
first; and so it is we obtain that “spirit of meekness” in which alone we are
able to “restore” those “overtaken in a fault” as considering our own proneness
to temptation (Gal. 6:1). The first thought here and always as regarding one
who has sinned is restoration:“if he shall hear you, you have gained your
brother.” There is not one thought of “pay me what you owe,” but of gaining a
brother—of winning him back to all that belongs to Christian brotherhood. Sin
means collapse, estrangement from the Lord and other Christians—a shadow over
the glory of “what is really life,” and dishonor to Christ and to God. How, in
the apprehension of this, could one even think of one’s own things, save as one
may truly find them in the thought of a “brother”!

      This
governs all in this first step taken:“go and show him his fault”—literally,
“convict him,” bring him to conviction—“between you and him alone.” Let there
be no needless exposure, no pain that can be spared, nothing that would arouse
resentment, whatever might hinder recovery.

      Grace
is the only power over sin. It is not laxity, as people misconceive it, but
always sin’s unsparing enemy and scourge. “Sin shall not have dominion over
you, because you are not under the law, but under grace” (Rom. 6:14). Yet how
often do those who are themselves wholly debtors to grace, use the law without
hesitation in their dealings with one another. Of course, they betray in this
their own slight knowledge, while the fruit is reaped in failure to maintain
the holiness they seek. We cannot make that which is the “strength of sin”
become its antidote.

      But
if this is the divine principle in dealing with it, it is plain that it matters
not whether it is sin against myself or against another. This does not come
into consideration, and the reading that would leave it out seems practically
right. If it is grace that is moving me for a brother’s deliverance, it can
make no difference against whom the sin is. No, if it is in my brother, it is
against me necessarily, if not directly:it injures me and grieves me as one of
the family. It is equally against God my Father, against Christ my Lord, and
against the soul of him who has committed it.

“One or Two More”

      The
next step to be taken, if the first is ineffectual, is to “take with you one or
two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be
established.” These witnesses are not to establish the truth of the charge:for
of this the one who has sinned is already “convicted,” but to bring the
influence of the truth to bear upon him the more by their confirmation. They
are a jury of appeal to make him realize the gravity rather than the truth of
his sin—a midway step between the private reasoning and the full publicity of
the assembly. Love would yet spare the person, while it cannot spare the sin;
and therefore the present procedure.

“Tell It unto the Church”

      The
third appeal is to the assembly as a whole, which is defined in what follows
(18:20) as a gathering to the name of Christ. The thought here is not of the
Jewish synagogue, although it is true that the Christian assembly did not yet
exist; the Lord is speaking anticipatively. The Christian assembly has as yet
only once been spoken of in Matthew’s Gospel (16:18), and in the present case
it is a local assembly—a “gathering,” for which we must wait historically for
the Acts. Here we have it strikingly for the first time as entrusted with the
maintenance of holiness in connection with Christ’s Name on earth. It is, as we
see, the last court of appeal, and to whose acts He gives, in the most solemn
way, authoritative sanction. The case is left in its hands for final decision,
which is supposed to be in accordance with what has been done before; and now,
“if he refuse to hear the assembly, let him be unto you as a Gentile and a
tax-gatherer.”

      This
is the fourth step therefore:the man is now to be treated as in an outside
place, as a Gentile. A “tax-gatherer” adds to this the thought of having lost
the place inside by his unworthiness. The outside place is manifest:of course,
in the Lord’s lips it could not mean any dismissal of care and thought and
labor after the one so treated. It is Matthew, one of that hated class of the
tax-gatherers, who records this injunction, himself the most signal example of
the grace that sought all such. On the other hand, while business intercourse
and communications might go on, even in all this would it be but the more
apparent that what was Christian had come to an end, till divine grace should
restore it. The Christian in the world was to be but the reflection of his
Master’s mind; and as surely as He could not go on with sin, no more could
those who were to act on earth for Him who had left it.

      It
is true that it is said here, “let him be to you,” and this is the binding of
this conduct on the individual; but any proper consideration given to the
matter will assure us that this could not possibly mean that this refusal of
Christian fellowship was to be merely on the part of the one against whom the
sin had been. Were the witnesses who had shown their sympathy up to this point
with the brother who had been sinned against, now to withdraw it, and go on in
fellowship with him they had condemned, because the case was not their own? Was
the brother offended, and to whom at least this must apply, to act in such a way,
not because of the sin, but because he himself was the person wronged? How this
would destroy the whole character of discipline, as well as the spiritual
character of Christian fellowship!

Binding and Loosing

      The
assembly would be little Christian which could become partner to anything of
this sort, or look at sin as having merely a particular reference, and not
being the general concern of all. The next verse also, which applies, of
course, to the assembly as a whole, negatives absolutely any such conclusion.
Here, the power of God allying itself to human weakness, the Lord adds,“Verily
I say unto you, Whatsoever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven;
and whatsoever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

      The
Church on earth acts for its absent Lord. The Lord gives the local assembly His
authority with the broad seal of royalty attached to the commission. Without
this it could not move in the regulation of such matters at all:all the
authority that it has is delegated to it by the King; it is not a democracy,
but a monarchy most absolute—a Kingdom not of man but of God.

      The
Church is not a legislative body but executive:it does not decree what shall
be, but decides upon what is. It has authority to act, but upon lines laid down
for it; and authority to act does not guarantee the action. Unless the action
be according to His mind, it should be plain that the Lord could not sanction
it. He could not “bind” sin upon one who had not sinned, nor “loose” it where
there had been no repentance. This would be to put evil for good and good for
evil, and to put the Church above her Lord. Either, then, the Church’s action
is secured infallibly, or there are conditions implied which we shall be able
to gather from the context.

      In
the specified case to which this assurance is appended, it is abundantly plain
that it is a case of real “sin”:“if thy brother sin.” Of this he is to be
convicted, and witnesses brought in, and then it is to be told to the assembly.
This is the case in which the assembly is authorized to act, and only in such
plain cases. As far as we read here, if the case were not plain—if there were
not, therefore, agreement about it—it would not be such as would give title, or
(to speak better) impose responsibility, to act at all. It must be in the
light, not in the dark, we walk. The Church is guardian of the holiness that is
always to be associated with the profession of the name of the Lord.

      (From
The Numerical Bible:The Gospels.)

      “My
little children, these things write I unto you, that you sin not. And if any
man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (1
John 2:1).

      If
the child of God has still within him a fallen, sinful nature, it is not only
possible, but there is the constant danger of his falling into sin, unless he
is guarded by the truth, and by the power of God. Sin is not looked upon as a
trifle, nor as something habitual. “Whosoever is born of God does not commit
sin” (1 John 3:9). Any doctrine, therefore, that teaches that we are to think
lightly of sin is not the doctrine of Christ, but of Satan.

      But,
on the other hand, there is the opposite extreme. Satan would seek, first, to
make the believer careless and lead him into sin, and then to overwhelm him
with despair. Both are the opposites of that which grace does. It warns against
sin, speaks of its danger; but for one who has fallen into sin, it shows the
remedy, and means of restoration to God.

Failure

      What
is the root and origin of all failure in the child of God? Self-confidence:
this leads to self-pleasing, begets carelessness, and the eye is taken off the
Lord Jesus. A living faith in Him alone is what keeps the saint in God’s ways.
“By faith you stand” (2 Cor. 1:24). God has called His people to make progress
in His ways, to go on from strength to strength, and not to be standing still.
“Giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue …” (2 Pet. 1:5). When the
soul is thus pressing on after Christ, with the one object to be with Him and
like Him on high, he will despise the attractions of the world and the
enticements of the flesh, and will withstand the wiles of the devil. But “he
who lacks these things is blind” (2 Pet. 1:9). It is spiritual sloth in the
child of God that leads to neglect of prayer and feeding on the manna; and thus
Satan’s opportunity has come. Well is it for the soul if this inward declension
is owned at once, and restoration take place immediately. The Lord’s eye, as a
flame of fire, sees down in the secrets of the heart, and knows when love has
grown cold. “You have left your first love” (Rev. 2:4)—this is the beginning
and root of all declension; and to this one He says, “Repent.” This is a call
to judge the state of the heart, to turn afresh to Him whose love is as intense
and almighty as when He laid down His life and rose again. His love fans the
heart’s dull flame into brightness and warmth, and restoration is effected in
His grace.

      Suppose
this state of coldness and worldliness is neglected; it increases, and becomes
manifest in some form of outward evil. This may be some gross act like the sin
of David, or that of Peter when he denied his Lord; or it may be increased
worldliness, taking up the ways of the world, its pleasures or its
covetousness. Many things, doubtless, that are not regarded by man as evil are
in the Lord’s eyes a fall. Indeed, the gross act may be used by Him to awaken
the saint, who would otherwise go on with a cold and careless heart. A fall:is
it a trifle? God keep us from thinking so. It means dishonor to Christ, linking
His holy name with sin. It means the encouragement of the world to go on in
sin, to despise God, to reject Christ. It means an example to fellow-Christians
that may embolden them to trifle with sin. Who can tell the consequences of
such an act?

Restoration

      If
the child of God were left alone after a fall, he would be hopeless; Satan
could fill him with despair, and he would plunge still more deeply into sin, or
lapse into hopeless indifference. But there is a mightier One than Satan. The
good Shepherd has His eye upon His poor wandering sheep, and none shall pluck
him out of His hands. So He begins the work of restoration. “He restores my
soul” (Psa. 23:3). Indeed, this had been anticipated for, as He said to Peter,
“I have prayed for you” (Luke 22:61); and this was before Peter dreamed of his
danger. “He ever lives to make intercession for [us]” (Heb. 7:25) but He must
bring the sin home to the conscience; for otherwise one would remain
indifferent. So He recalls the soul:“The Lord turned and looked upon Peter”
(Luke 22:61). This brings back the warning, shows the sin, and breaks the
heart. Its effect is wonderful and most blessed. All his pride and
self-confidence is gone, and in true sorrow Peter goes out, not to continue in
his denial, but to weep bitterly.

      Nathan’s
words to David, “You are the man” (2 Sam. 12:7), and the effect upon David—“I
have sinned against the Lord” (12:13)—tells the same story. The work of
recovery is now effectually begun; the soul has judged its sin and confessed
it. Confession and self-judgment, in simple faith, are God’s means of restoring
the soul to communion. This is the washing of the disciples’ feet (John 13)—a
bringing home to the conscience the sense of sin, and leading to true confession
to the Lord. And He is as ready to forgive and restore (not to save, which had
already been done when the soul first came to the Lord) as He was to receive
the first feeble call of faith. There are many lessons, humbling and painful,
that He has to teach, showing the root of the evil, and how it developed,
leading them to increased self-distrust, hatred and loathing of the sin, and
earnest departure from it. Thus following restoration to communion, and the joy
of the Lord, is the walk in the Lord’s path, in childlike obedience and happy
engagement in His service.

      (From
Help and Food, Vol. 25.)

      When
the apostle Paul wrote about wickedness in Corinth, he was grieved to see the
utter indifference as to the matter. It may be true they did not know what to
do, but would not every right-minded saint have been overwhelmed by the shame
that had come upon the Church of God? And would He not have removed
providentially a wrong-doer if there was no other way to be rid of him? Their
indifference showed an entire lack of conscience. The most uninstructed spiritual
person would mourn (1 Cor. 5:2). How differently the apostle felt:
“Out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote unto you with many tears”
(2 Cor. 2:4).

Judging Self Before

Disciplining Another

      A
case of wickedness in an assembly assuredly ought to lead to deep exercise on
the part of all. Instead of saying, “God, I thank Thee” (Luke 19:11), true
humility will rather say, “Search me, O God” (Psa. 139:23).
Frequently, too, there will be occasion for self-reproach. Had the erring one
been looked after? Had he been prayed for? Had a godly example been set him?
Surely such questions as these will arise in one truly realizing the shame of
such things. An undressed wound may become gangrenous, and amputation be
necessary; but would not the physician who had neglected to take the proper
care of his patient be ashamed of his work? And how many cases of extreme
discipline are made necessary by these neglected cases! “He who rules … with diligence”
(Rom. 12:8).

Limiting Occupation with Evil

      But
this sorrow and humility, this self-judgment, will only make the truly
exercised the more firm in vindicating the honor of the Lord. Joshua arose from
lying on his face and executed the Lord’s penalty upon Achan (Josh. 7). After
all, His glory is the only thing to be sought. The case of the woman in John 8
is not in point here. There it was the infliction of the law by men themselves
guilty; here it is the act of broken-hearted saints resorting to a last act to
keep unsullied the precious name of Christ. But in what spirit are we to act?
How shocking would be the thought of a judicial trial as if we were the judges!
How loathsome the gloating over the wretched details of the evil! It is not
necessary that the whole assembly be dragged into the particulars of a case of
wickedness. A few careful, godly brothers who have the confidence of the saints
should go thoroughly into the matter, and when all is clear report the results
to the assembly, which will then act by putting away the wicked person.
Occupation with evil, even when necessary, is defiling; and as few as may be
should be engaged in it, and these should wash their garments (Num. 19:21). Let
such matters be kept out of conversation. “Let it not be once named among
you, as becomes saints” (Eph. 5:3,4).

Loving the Sinner

      We
must likewise remember that love—love to the offended and to each other—will
fill the hearts of those truly exercised; not love at the expense of truth, but
love that mourns while it smites, like God’s love when He chastens.

      The
detection of evil is a priestly function (see Lev. 14 in connection with
the leper). Why is it that so many cases of discipline fail to commend
themselves to the consciences of God’s people, and are the occasion of dividing
them asunder instead of uniting them? Is it not because the saints have
forgotten their priestly position, their place in the sanctuary, and that in
communion alone they can have guidance and power? Instead of this, how often
the subject is food for conversation and strife, until there is no power.
Saints need to be much with God, much occupied with Christ, when evil has to be
dealt with.

Having Godly Sorrow

      In
concluding this subject, let us note the spirit produced in the Corinthians by
the apostle’s faithful dealing:“For behold this selfsame thing, that you
sorrowed after a godly sort…. In all things you have approved yourselves to
be clear in this matter” (2 Cor. 7:11).

      (From
The Church and Its Order According to Scripture.)

      It
is always a trial and a grief to an assembly of Christians when the extreme,
final step of discipline must be carried out in putting away a wicked person
from fellowship with God’s people. But thank God, there is a bright side when,
after faithfulness in the path of duty, there is the joy of seeing the wanderer
restored. We can almost feel the thrill of the apostle’s gladness as he wrote
of the recovered brother, “I am filled with comfort, I am exceeding joyful in
all our tribulation” (2 Cor. 7:4).

Praying for Restoration

      Restoration
is what was prayed for, hoped for, expected. While one put away is to be left
alone, this does not preclude the thought of prayer for him, and looking after
him after the lapse of some time. Especially should this be done if he is weak
and untaught, and if he has bowed to the Lord’s judgment. Of course, those who
put a bold face on it, or who continue in sin, can only be left in God’s hands.

Looking for Marks of

Restoration

      Marks
of true recovery are very plain. There will be a sense of sin against God (Psa.
51), a judging of the root of it, a submission to God’s governmental dealing,
even when undue severity may have been used by the saints; these are some of
the proofs of true recovery. If there was trespass against any, the wrong will
be righted as far as possible—the dishonest gains refunded, the bitter, false
accusations withdrawn; and, we need hardly add, the sin will be forsaken. Until
there is restoration to communion with God, there can be no true restoration to
the assembly. The steps in the reinstatement of the cleansed leper (Lev. 14) to
his privileges are interesting and instructive in this connection. It was the
priest who was to examine the healed man, and rites in his restoration are most
suggestive of recovery.

Being Restored to the Assembly

      It
will be noticed that the leper, even after his restoration to the worship of
God, “remained abroad out of his tent seven days”; it suggests that even after
personal recovery an interval may elapse before the person is restored to his
privileges in the assembly. There are many reasons for this. If the offense has
been glaring or disgraceful, it is fitting that the world should see the
genuineness of the repentance. It will not hurt, but deepen in the individual a
sense of his sin. In addition to this, it is well to remember that the tender
consciences of the saints have been sorely wounded, and the offender will
gladly allow time for the healing of the shock inflicted. Anything like
insistence upon his immediate reception after confession, or resentment at
delay, would show that the work in his soul lacks completeness.

      On
the other hand, the assembly needs to guard against a hard, unforgiving spirit.
When the consciences of all are satisfied, there should not be needless delay
in confirming their love to their recovered brother. “Sufficient to such a man
is this punishment that was inflicted of many. So that contrariwise you ought
rather to forgive him … lest perhaps such a one should be swallowed up with
overmuch sorrow. Wherefore I beseech you that you would confirm your love
toward him” (2 Cor. 2:6-8). How gracious, how loving, and yet how holy, are all
these directions!

Walking Softly While

Restored Fully

      Let
us add that when the restored brother is again in his place, his sin is not to
be remembered. True, he will not forget it; but shall the others, by
look or manner, betray lack of confidence? Ah, we are too much like the world,
which “forgives, but cannot forget.” Neither can we say such an one must keep
silence, and never again expect to be used of the Lord. It was Peter, the
wandering sheep, who was made a shepherd for others (John 21:15,17). When David
was restored he would teach transgressors God’s ways (Psa. 51). He will walk
softly the rest of his days, a chastened person, but a happy and a useful member
of the Body of Christ. “He restores my soul, He leads me in the paths of
righteousness for His name’s sake” (Psa. 23:3).

      (From
The Church and Its Order According to Scripture.)

      “And
Abram went up out of Egypt … even to Bethel, unto the place where his tent
had been at the beginning,… and there Abram called on the name of the Lord”
(Gen. 13:1-4).

      This
passage presents to us a subject of immense interest to the heart, namely, the
true character of divine restoration. When the child of God has in any way
declined in his spiritual condition and lost his communion, he is in danger,
when conscience begins to work, of failing in the apprehension of divine grace
and of stopping short of the proper mark of divine restoration. Now, we know
that God does everything in a way entirely worthy of Himself. Whether He
creates, redeems, converts, restores, or provides, He can only act like
Himself. This is unspeakably happy for us as we are particularly prone to limit
Him in His restoring grace. In the situation now before us, we see that Abraham
was not only delivered out of Egypt, but brought back “unto the place where his
tent had been at the beginning.” Nothing can satisfy God in reference to
a wanderer or backslider apart from his being entirely restored. In the
self-righteousness of our hearts we might imagine that such an one should take
a lower place than that which he had formerly occupied; and so he should, were
it a question of his merit or his character; but inasmuch as it is altogether a
question of grace, it is God’s prerogative to fix the standard of restoration;
and His standard is set forth in the following passage:“If you will return, O
Israel, return to Me” (Jer. 4:1). It is thus that when God restores, He
does it in such a way as to magnify and glorify the riches of His grace. Thus,
when the leper was brought back, he was actually conducted “unto the door of
the tabernacle of the congregation” (Lev. 14:23). When the prodigal returned,
he was set down at the table with his father. When Peter was restored, he was
able to stand before the men of Israel and say, “You denied the Holy One and
the Just” (Acts 3:14)—the very thing that he had done himself. In all these
situations, and many more that might be added, we see the perfectness of God’s
restoration. He always brings the soul back to Himself in the full power of
grace and the full confidence of faith.           The moral effect of divine
restoration is most practical. The restored soul will have a very deep and keen
sense of the evil from which it has been delivered, and this will be evidenced
by a jealous, prayerful, holy, and circumspect spirit. We are not restored in
order that we may the more lightly go and sin again, but rather that we may “go
and sin no more” (John 8:11). The deeper my sense of the grace of divine
restoration, the deeper will be my sense of the holiness of it also.
This principle is taught and established throughout all Scripture, but
especially in two well-known passages, namely, “He restores my soul; He
leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake” (Psa. 23:3),
and “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins,
and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). In other
words, having tasted divine grace, we walk in righteousness. To talk of grace
while walking in unrighteousness is, as the apostle says, to turn “the grace of
our God into lasciviousness” (Jude 4). The grace that forgives us our sins
cleanses us from all unrighteousness. Those things must never be separated.
When taken together they furnish a triumphant answer to both the legalism and
the lawlessness of the human heart.

      (From
Notes on the Book of Genesis.)

      When
the Lord gathered His disciples together in the upper room for the breaking of
bread, after supper was over, “the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has
desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat; but I have prayed for you,
that your faith fail not; and when you are converted, strengthen your brethren”
(Luke 22:31,32). The way the Lord warned Peter is very striking. He referred to
Satan sifting him as wheat. If Peter had not been wheat, he would not
have been sifted. If he had been mere chaff, the devil would have left him
alone. He never worries his own subjects; he keeps them in peace. Saints he
always attacks.

      What
is the next word? “But I have prayed for you, that your faith fail not.” That
is beautiful. We should pray for God’s servants too. Pray for those who are in
the forefront of the battle. The devil is ever ready to trip them up.

      Now
look at Peter’s answer and his fall:“Lord, I am ready to go with Thee, both
into prison and to death.” What an answer! Beloved, that man had fallen! His
fall did not occur when he really denied the Lord. Here is where he fell. He
was occupied with his own affection. Later that evening the Lord was betrayed
by Judas, following which they took Him, “and led Him, and brought Him into the
high priest’s house. And Peter followed afar off” (verse 54). Shortly
thereafter, Peter denied his Lord three times over as forewarned by Him.

      Notice
how the process of restoration follows immediately upon the heels of Peter’s
denial:“And the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter, and Peter
remembered the word of the Lord…. And Peter went out and wept bitterly”
(verses 61,62). How does the Lord recover our hearts? By a look sometimes. He
turned and looked on Peter. What kind of a look was it? Was it a look of anger
and reproach? No, I think it was a look of brokenhearted, disappointed love. It
said, “You do not know Me, but I know and love you. Nothing has changed My love
to you.” That look broke poor Peter’s heart and he ”went out, and wept
bitterly.”

      If
Peter had not had the word, “I have prayed for you,” and the look, I believe he
would have gone and hanged himself as Judas did. Remorse puts you into Satan’s
hands, but repentance leads to real breaking down before God. There never will
be recovery without repentance.

      You
will find that Peter has a private restoration and a public one. The private
restoration is referred to in Luke 24:34 and the public restoration in John 21.
The evidence of his restoration is manifest in Acts 2. The Lord met Peter
privately. What took place at the meeting nobody knows. The Spirit of God has
thrown a veil over it. Why? Because He deals with souls individually. It would
not do me any good to know how the Lord dealt with you when your soul had
backslided. But we do know that Peter was beautifully restored to the Lord.
This we find in John 21. His brethren were slower than Peter in reaching the
Lord on that occasion. He did not wait till the boat got to the shore; he cast
himself into the sea in his hurry to get near the Lord. He says in effect, “You
can have the fish, let me get to the blessed Lord.” It is clear from this
action that Simon Peter was restored to the Lord.

      Then
the Lord gave him a public restoration. I think, beloved friends, you will
never find a saint doing any real good until he is completely rid of
self-confidence and broken down before the Lord, and hence really right with
the Lord. He is then in a condition for the Lord to use him. We see Peter
restored to the fellowship and company of the apostles in John 21, and then we
see him in Acts 2 preaching the Word and mightily used of the Lord. When the
devil saw Peter preaching in Acts 2 he may have wished he had left him alone in
the high priest’s palace. Why? Because the breaking of him was the making of
him, and in the Acts of the Apostles we hear much more about Peter than any
other of the Lord’s disciples. He was picked up and restored. There is nothing
like grace! Grace saved us as sinners, and grace has kept us as saints. And
when we get to glory what shall we say? It was grace all along the way.
Therefore the deeper the sense of the Lord’s grace in our souls, the more our
hearts will rejoice in Him.

      (From
Backsliding and Restoration.)