Sermon -- 16th Sunday after Pentecost (September 13, 2026)

LOVE COMPELS US TO CALL OUT TO SINNERS.

MATTHEW 18:15-20 

In the name + of Jesus.

      The first phrase of our Gospel reading is important.  Jesus said, “If your brother sins against you” (Matthew 18:15).  That refers to a fellow Christian, not to someone who is outside the Church.  This is a huge distinction.  We certainly want those who are outside the Church to repent and to come to the knowledge of the truth.  We want that because that is what God wants.  Love compels us to call out to the sinner.  If an unbeliever refuses to repent and to come to the knowledge of the truth, we will be disappointed, but we need not be surprised.  Those who live in darkness turn away from the light of God’s word.  Jesus told us why: “Everyone who practices wicked things hates the light and does not come toward the light, or else his deeds would be exposed” (John 3:20).  

     If someone is a brother or sister in Christ, however, he or she has been enlightened to know God’s truth.  Christians have the words that save.  They know that they have been called to a life of godliness.  If they turn away from godliness, it is not a matter of ignorance.  Perhaps it is weakness.  Perhaps they have been deceived.  Perhaps it is full-blown defiance.  In any of those cases, they are in the wrong.  They are forsaking the light for the deeds of darkness.  If your brother sins against you, address him presuming that he knows better and ought to do better.

     “If your brother sins against you, go and show him his sin just between the two of you” (Matthew 18:15).  This refers to a fellow Christian who has violated God’s word in a particularly grievous way.  Either he is persisting in a sin, or he has done something that has caused you harm—perhaps slander or theft or betrayal.  We are usually tempted to broadcast the sins of others to a wider audience.  If your fellow Christian sins against you, demonstrate love to him first of all by not making his reputation worse.  If no one else needs to know what was done, then no one else should know what was done.  Love compels us to call out to sinners, not to call others’ sins out to the world.

     Love will also move you to confirm what has been done.  We often misinterpret what someone said or did.  We assume the worst and get angry over what we thought happened without knowing what actually happened.  Get the story straight, lest you create a problem that did not exist.  You can say, “Let me see if I understand this correctly.  Did you really do such-and-such?  Did you really mean to say so-and-so?”  If you did understand it correctly, perhaps just showing him his sin might be enough to lead him to repent.  That is the goal.  Love compels us to call out to sinners.  We love the person enough to show him his fault so that he will repent and make amends.  It grieves us to see anyone lost to God’s kingdom.  “If he listens to you, you have regained your brother” (Matthew 18:15).  There is great joy in brothers being reconciled.  “How good and how pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity” (Psalm 133:1)!

     But not every conversation has a happy ending, and Jesus knows that.  Jesus continued, “If he will not listen, take one or two others along with you, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’  If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church.  And, if he refuses to listen even to the church, then treat him as an unbeliever or a tax collector” (Matthew 18:16-17).  First, one’s sin needs to be exposed.  Then, if he does not repent, others can go along to bear witness to what God says in his word.  It needs to be known that you are not engaged in some petty squabble.  Nor is it you judging.  It is a judgment based on God’s word.  Proclaim God’s Law, and let God judge what is right and wrong.

     If others also go and cite God’s word, they can also bear witness if the sinner refuses to heed God’s word and is persisting in his sin.  Then, if it is proved to be manifest impenitence, the Church acknowledges that he can no longer can he be called a brother in Christ.  He has confessed that God’s word is unimportant or false.  He has proved his impenitence in multiple visits and to multiple witnesses.  He must be told that his sin clings to him, as well as the damning judgment to come.  Jesus assures us that, if such a declaration has to be made, it is acknowledged in heaven as much as it is declared on earth.  But make sure that every word is motivated by love—love first for God whose word we confess, and then love for the sinner.  Love for the sinner means we will show him how serious this is in hopes that he will heed the word of the Lord and repent. 

     These are heavy, difficult matters.  They should be.  We are dealing with eternal stakes here.  You may be tempted to ignore all of it.  You may pretend that there are no problems.  You may be tempted to argue that the sins are no big deal and find excuses for them.  This is especially true when we are dealing with family members.  Grandparents and parents just want to enjoy pleasant Thanksgiving and Christmas meals.  Ignoring the glaring sins will secure temporary peace, but it will be at the cost of eternal peace.  But love compels us to call out to the sinner. 

     If you are afraid to speak to a family member about a sin that they may be ensnared in, it is probably because you fear losing them.  You fear someone saying, “Well, then maybe you don’t want to see your grandchildren anymore.”  No doubt, this would be painful to endure.  No one wants to lose a loving family connection.  But wouldn’t it be much more painful to lose them for eternity?  You may think, “If I say something to a church member, we might lose them.”  First of all, salvation does not come by a name on a church roster.  More importantly, if he is persisting in sin, he is already lost.  Love compels us to call out to the sinner.  Again, these are heavy, difficult matters.  They should be.  We are dealing with eternal stakes here.  We pray for a happy ending, understanding that we don’t always get it. 

     When the Lord spoke through the prophet Ezekiel, the message was for some who were already in exile and for others who were still in Jerusalem.  The people of Israel had turned away from God’s word.  They did not listen.  They did not care.  They mocked the prophets, rejected them, and in some cases killed them.  You’d think the Lord would just have written them off.  Nevertheless, the Lord kept imploring them to repent.  Why would the Lord do so much for people who did not care about him or his word?

     Through Ezekiel, God gave the answer: “As I live, declares the LORD God, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn from their way and live.  Turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why should you die, O house of Israel” (Ezekiel 33:11).  The Lord takes no pleasure in sending people to hell, but that doesn’t mean he won’t do it.  To ensure that no one should have to be banished to endless torment, the Lord took action.

     How much does our Lord desire that all people live and not be sentenced to hell for their sins?  He sent his only begotten Son into the world so that he would suffer and die for sinners.  To deliver you from the punishment sins deserve, Jesus bore that punishment for you.  Jesus willingly was condemned for sins he did not commit so that no sinner should have to be condemned for anything he has done. 

     Love compels us to call out to sinners so that they find their hope in Jesus Christ.  All who trust in Jesus will find relief from all shame and regret.  You don’t have to create excuses for your sins to justify yourself.  You can acknowledge that you were wrong—even for your silence because you feared losing the favor of your family and friends more than losing God’s favor.  You can confess that your actions and your motives were impure and indecent.  And why confess that?  Because our Lord has made a promise: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).  The Lord is faithful in forgiving you because it was his will to make Jesus a sin offering for you.  He stands by that.  Jesus willingly forfeited his Father’s favor so that the Father’s favor would be poured out upon you.  He is faithful to that.  And the Lord is just in pardoning you.  It would be unjust for the Lord to punish you if Jesus has taken away your sins.  So, no one should ever have to be condemned for his sins.  Jesus has taken all sins away.  They can only condemn you if you take them back.  Jesus’ love compelled him to save us.  And this love compels us to call out to sinners.

     Jesus has taught us how this forgiveness is applied to us.  He told his disciples, “Amen I tell you: Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven” (Matthew 18:18).  Jesus has given his Church the keys to the kingdom of heaven.  And what a tremendous blessing this is!  Every one of us has guilt on our record.  All have sinned.  So, how can you be sure that your sins are truly forgiven? 

     God does not give blanket forgiveness for no reason.  There are consequences to sin.  Since Jesus suffered those consequences in his death at the cross, forgiveness is tied to Jesus.  Now, how does Jesus apply his forgiveness to you?  Through his words spoken by the Church, based on the Holy Bible.  The impenitent reject Jesus, and therefore forfeit his forgiveness.  But the penitent find in Jesus a merciful Savior.  He sets you free.  He also sends people who tell you so.  A man on death row may long to be pardoned, but he can’t be unless it comes from the proper authority.  So also, forgiveness does not come from you thinking about it.  Forgiveness comes from outside of you—dispensed by our Lord and received by you in faith.  This is how you can be confident of your forgiveness.  If it comes from within, you will never know if your feelings match God’s judgment.  But if it comes from outside of you, from God through his ministers, then you hear and know God’s judgment.  And, of course, you also are entrusted with the word of God so that you may bestow forgiveness to the penitent and withhold forgiveness to the impenitent.

     Jesus Christ backs it up: “Amen I tell you: Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven” (Matthew 18:18).  Jesus unties the knot of any and all sins which cling to you.  Love compels us to call out to sinners so that they will be set free from their sins, too.  Love compels us to summon people to come and hear Jesus’ words, to come and partake in his sacraments so that Jesus’ forgiveness comforts and preserves them in God’s good grace.  Love compelled Jesus to save sinners.  Love compels us to tell them.

In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.