Systematic Theology - Church

Loosing and Binding

Professor: Dr. R.J. Rushdoony

Subject: Systematic Theology

Lesson: Government

Genre: Speech

Track: 24

Dictation Name: 24 Loosing and Binding

Year: 1960’s – 1970’s

Our Lord and our God, thou who art on the throne of creation, we come to thee grateful for all thy mercies and for thy sure government. Give us grace, our Father, day by day, to walk in the certainty of thy government, to walk by faith, knowing that the wrath of man shall not prevail against thee nor against thy kingdom. Make us bold in Jesus Christ, strong in faith, certain of thy sure mercies, and more than conquerors in all things. In Christ’s name we pray. Amen.

Our scripture this morning is Matthew 18, and our subject, as we continue our studies in the doctrine of the church is Loosing and Binding. “At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, and said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me. But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea. Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh! Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire. And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire. Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven. For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost.

How think ye? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray? And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray. Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish. Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.

Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven. Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants. And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents. But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt. But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest. And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt. So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done. Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me: shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee? And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.

Texts are too often seen in isolation from their context, but the arrangement of scripture is purposive, not accidental. Too often thus, when we turn to Matthew 18, the classic text that churchmen use to deal with loosing and binding are verses 15-20. Here we are told are the texts that deal with the power to give absolution and the power to excommunicate. This is not quite accurate, because the entire chapter deals with this subject. Let us look at the whole chapter in order to see what our Lord does say about loosing and binding.

In the first six verses, our Lord speaks of the necessity for conversion, of becoming as little children in our trust of our heavenly Father. He goes on to declare that to offend one of the little ones who believe in Christ is a most fearful offense. The world, our Lord says in verses 7-9, will see offenses, “but woe unto them for whom the offenses come.” It is better to cut off that aspect of our life which leads to offending rather than to become offenders. Our Lord, in this chapter, begins by speaking of children, but as we read on, we understand that he means not only the little child such as he set before himself, but all humble believers, all those who, as children, commit their every trust to the Lord. These little ones can be the straying sinners as in the parable of the lost sheep.

Then, in verses 11-15, he gives us the classic text on church discipline, which is very often construed to mean chastisement, or punishment, but the key concept here is discipleship, discipline, discipleship. These are related words, and the whole of this chapter is concerned with restoration, about restoring the people of Christ into relationship with him, and failing that, then separation, or excommunication. The disciples saw that everything our Lord was here teaching had to do with restoration, and as a result, they raised the question through Peter, “Lord, how oft do we forgive? Till seven times?”

Now, forgiveness, of course, is a judicial, a juridical, concept. It has reference to law. As we have seen previously, it is an error of the modern age to see anything that is legal as somehow impersonal and unloving, but marriage is a legal tie, and it is loving precisely because it is a legal tie. Because we love someone, we make a legal commitment to that person, the marriage ceremony, and this is what makes it loving and personal. Forgiveness means restitution, and as long as restitution is made, our Lord says we are to forgive.

In this chapter thus, our Lord warns us all against offending one another by sin. To be great in the kingdom of God is to be simple, to trust, to walk by faith as little children following our Father. Thus, the concern here is with offenses to our fellow believer. Now, there are sins in relationship, of course, to God, but in this passage, in this chapter, our Lord is concentrating upon those sins which are an offense against our fellow believer. He speaks of the importance of the least of our brethren. He declares that he has come to seek and to save the lost, not to gather the great men of the earth to himself. He makes us aware of the fact that the Good Shepherd’s concern must be ours, that the ministry of the church is to be as that of the Good Shepherd, not essentially to punish, but to restore, to seek out, to save, to restore, and failing that, then separation.

The first step in that restoration is individual. It is personal. It is essentially restorative. The offended person must go to the offender personally. The second step is still restorative, only now there are two or more involved, the church is brought in. Only when this fails can the punitive aspect enter in. Restoration failing, then the next step, a necessary step, is separation, or excommunication. Separation from the Table of the Lord and from fellowship with the people of the Lord. Then, the one from whom we separate ourselves is to be regarded, as verse 17 says, as an heathen man and a publican. This means that they can be taken to civil court then, although we are told in 1 Corinthians 6:7 and following, that sometimes it may be better, given the circumstances, to let them be and to allow the defrauding, simply to excommunicate them.

Now, in terms of the ministerial powers of the church, binding and loosing are given to the church, or to two or three gathered together in his name. Now, here is an important fact. The power of binding and loosing is too often seen as exclusively an ecclesiastical, a church power, but the Bible does speak of a private reconciliation and absolution. For example, in Matthew 5:23-24, we read, “Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.”

Thus, before the church, as a ministerial government, is involved, private confession and absolution can be made. St. Augustine, in his word, Our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount, stressed this private reconciliation in dealing with Matthew 5:23-24. Because our life in Christ, and in his congregation is a personal one, there is a necessity for this personal and specific confession to the offended party. It is very important. We must recognize that if there is no absolution on the personal level, what happens on the church level is not total. It has to be personal, and where the church is involved, also ecclesiastical. Thus, there is a ministerial loosing and binding, which is required of all of us. We cannot refuse to excommunicate someone because we are attached to them, nor can we refuse to restore someone because we dislike them. If we cannot do it personally, the church cannot do it, because then there is no character, no obedience, in the members.

Ministerial faithfulness, and life in Christ, mean power. Our Lord is emphatic on that. He says, “whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” Our Lord here is speaking of something more than the church. He is speaking of us as individuals, as families, as two or three who are involved in something where we need to forgive, or work to restore, or where we must make an act of separation. So, our Lord is stressing the fact that this power is on the personal level, on the family level. If two have such power, gather together in our Lord’s name, how much more so the church? But can the church have it if the members do not have it? If two or three disbelieve in such power, can they, by being two or three hundred, exercise it through the church? The powerlessness of men and the church is due to a lack of faith, and a lack of the presence of the Lord.

When Peter asked, “Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.” Our Lord then tells a parable, the parable of the unmerciful and unforgiving servant. What Peter is told, and all the disciples, and we ourselves, is simply this: we have no rights in the matter of forgiveness. The Lord prescribes the terms. We cannot be forgiven by God if we are not forgiving one of another in terms of the forgiveness we have experienced and know. Our Lord Jesus Christ provides atonement and restitution. Forgiving the sins of our brothers is a trifling thing compared to what the Lord has done for us, so that we must forgive.

The unmerciful servant refused to allow restitution. He chose condemnation and was therefore condemned. The church has a duty to strive for restoration, and failing that, to effect separation. If there is no absolution, then there must be excommunication. Beyond that, the punishment is in the Lord’s hands. Paul, in dealing with the case of incest at Corinth, required the church to excommunicate the proud offender and all involved, to deliver him, he said, over to Satan, in the hopes of thereby bringing about the sinner’s repentance.

Matthew 18 stresses the ministry of grace, of restoration, and even the separation is to be with prayers for restoration. Paul thinks primarily of restoration when he orders the excommunication of those involved in the incest. The state bears the power of the sword. It is to be a terror to evildoers. It is something very discouraging and sad in our day that the state is too seldom a terror to evildoers, and too often a terror to the godly. It was very distressing to receive a letter just this past week fro one of our number who will be moving here soon from the city, and in the letter, Florette{?} mentioned the fact that theirs was the only house that had not been broken into for a couple of blocks around. The state is not a terror to evildoers. It certainly is making itself a terror to the godly.

Well, the church does not have the power of the sword, or the power of terror, but of the keys of the kingdom, to open and shut, to loose and to bind ministerially, as God’s law allows. The freedom and the power of the church is in its faithfulness to this calling, so that where two or three are gathered together in his name, as members of a congregation or as the congregation itself, the two or three hundred, or two or three dozen, or two or three thousand, and they are faithful to the Lord, they have power, whether in the little group or in the congregation.

The church today has monstrous evils to confront. To name only two, abortion and homosexuality. What a monstrous fact that the very cause, the first that the church first confronted the Roman Empire with, abortion, is again a major problem, a staggering problem. It involved in this country alone, the murder of more than a million innocent babes a year, and homosexuality, which is spoken of as the burning out of man by St. Paul, again condoned and in fact, encouraged, financed by Washington, and the Christian church, the object of persecution. We cannot confront the world in these things and triumph, except in faithfulness to God’s law, except in faithful exercise of the keys of the kingdom, interpreting the scripture faithfully, unwaveringly, and honestly. Then, we have the power of binding and loosing. Then, we can ask in the Lord’s name and know that we are heard, for “if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.” Let us pray.

Almighty God, our heavenly Father, we come, our two or three, gathered together in thy name to beseech thee, O Lord, to give thy people a mighty victory against the powers of darkness. Grant, O Lord, that abortion cease in this land, that homosexuality be again, with abortion, illegal, that the persecution of thy church and thy Christian school be ended, and the power of the humanist broken, and thy people again strong in the power of thy word and by thy Spirit. Make us a mighty people in thee. Bless us as individuals, as families, and may thy blessing and prospering hand be upon Chalcedon. Grant us this, we beseech thee. In Jesus name. Amen.

Are there any questions now, first of all, on our lesson? Yes?

[Audience] It seems clear from this place, and best I can see in general in scripture, but of course one is always to forgive when a person is repentant and asks for forgiveness, what do you think of the statement some people say which you should automatically forgive a person even if they’re not repentant? Is that really in line with the teaching of scripture? At least it’s not in this passage.

[Rushdoony] Definitely not. To forgive when someone has not asked for forgiveness and where restitution must be made, made restitution, it is altogether a sin, because then all we are saying is, “Bless you in your sin.” To do otherwise is then to require repentance, and where restitution must be made, that restitution be made is to approve of sin. Too often, we have a sentimental attitude towards forgiveness. It’s like the mother whose son robbed her of $5,000, and she said, “Oh, I have to forgive him, he’s my son.” Well, that was only the beginning then of her troubles with him, because he knew she was a sucker. That was not godly forgiveness, and it’s not surprising that she drifted away totally from her church. Yes?

[Audience] In verse 19, I hear it very often used as a means of showing that if we ask of anything, the proper number of two or more, then that will be granted. Often it’s used by people, faith healers, and for almost any purpose. I wonder if you could explain that a little more?

[Rushdoony] Yes, there are a number of passages in scripture that do speak of answers to prayer, but the whole context in this chapter is restoration of sinning brothers. So that what we have to say is the primary reference of verse 19 is to the context of this chapter. When we are concerned about someone who is straying, when we are seeking their restoration, this does not mean that our Lord does not command us to pray for our needs and promise us answers, but this particular reference is essentially to the work of restoration. When there are problems within the faith, within our family circle, within the church, and we are concerned about the restoration of a lost sheep.

There are numerous like passages in scripture that deal with answered prayer, our Lord has some statements in the Gospel of John. Then, in 1 John 5:14-15, we have a verse similar to that of our Lord here. John writes to the Christians, “And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: and if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.” So that here, we have a similar promise, and John is obviously referring to our Lord’s words in Matthew 18.

[Audience] So, in other words, the asking is in terms of asking for God’s will to be done?

[Rushdoony] Yes, in terms of scripture, yes. Not for our lusts. Does that answer your question, or was there something I didn’t understand? Yes?

[Audience] I just wanted to point out, I happened to notice in my Bible because I underlined it, but in 1 John 3:22 it says, “And whatsoever we ask we receive of him because we keep his commandments.”

[Rushdoony] Very good, yes. That’s a very important verse in this connection. That’s 1 John 3:22. Any other questions or comments? Yes?

[Audience] When the early church confronted the Roman Empire on the issue of abortion, what happened? How did that {?}

[Rushdoony] Yes, that’s a good question. When the early church confronted the Roman Empire on the issue of abortion, what happened? Well, at the same time that it confronted the Roman Empire on the question, the early church was being persecuted. It was being persecuted because it refused to be a licensed, or elicit religion. Well, for the early church to lecture Rome on the issue of abortion when it was already a persecuted church certainly didn’t increase its popularity any, but they were not viewing the situation as a popularity contest. What they did was simply to say, “This is a sin,” and to speak of it as murder, and to discipline every member in terms of this belief. Abortion is murder.

Now, in those days, and I have mentioned on more than one occasion, abortion was rather crude. It was not as successful as it is now a days. As a result, women were not always able to abort their babies successfully. The result, when the baby was born, they would abandon it in Rome under the bridges. In different cities, they had different places for abandoning them, leaving them for wild dogs and other animals to devour. Tertullian tells us of this, very specifically. So, the Christians simply went out and picked up these babies, and passed them around and reared them as their own, and the net result was that the church grew all the faster, but it does indicate the level of dedication that people were taking in these unwanted newborn babies and rearing them as their own. So, that’s how the early church met the problem of abortion. It took them several centuries to conquer and to make abortion illegal, because first, they had to become recognized and no longer persecuted, and then to begin to influence legislation on this point.

[Audience] Don’t you think it’s ironic today there are so many people desiring to adopt children, at the same time abortion is going on, and there was an interview in the paper once where a woman said she would rather abort her child than have it adopted, because she couldn’t bare the thought of losing control of the child, giving it up for adoption. I think {?} particular {?} involved.

[Rushdoony] Yes. In other words, if I cannot play God in the life of the child, the child cannot exist. Therefore, I would rather abort it than adopt it out. Yes?

[Audience] If a doctor is a member of our church congregation and the doctor performs abortion, then there would be discipline against that doctor.

[Rushdoony] Any doctor that is a member of a church and performs abortion should be excommunicated. Yes, because he is a murderer. In the early church, if a woman had an abortion, the attitude towards her was that she should have been executed by the state for murder, but since she had not been, she would be regarded as the living dead. Therefore, if she repented, she was forgiven, but she was barred from communion for seven or ten years, or life, depending on the particular area of the church. Their attitude was, “While we will receive her back on repentance into our fellowship, we will, this way, signify that she is the living dead. She’s only alive because the state has not done its duty. In other words, they took sin very seriously, and that was because they took the Lord very seriously. This does not mean the early church was perfect. It had very serious problems because it was dealing with people who came from very evil backgrounds, and did not have a disciplined background, but they did take their faith seriously. To become a Christian was to put your life on the line. Therefore, there was a response that was very remarkable.

Well, if there are no further questions, let us bow our heads in prayer.

Our Lord and our God, we give thanks unto thee that we have such great promises in Jesus Christ. Give us a spirit of dedication that we may indeed serve thee with out whole heart, mind, and being, that we may become a people of power, and a blessed people in Jesus Christ. In his name we pray, amen.

End of tape