Dr Paul Allen

Oil painting of a young John Calvin. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Matthew 18:18–20 “Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” ( v. 18 ). In our day, respect for church authority has all but vanished. Many professing Christians think their “private lives” are no business of the church. Excommunication from a local body is hardly ever taken seriously since it rarely prevents someone from joining the church next door with no questions asked. Several phenomena explain this sad reality. The church’s fragmentation makes it easy to move from one denomination to another. Many church leaders exalt numerical growth and will not ask hard questions of the people in the pews for fear of learning a fact that would bar someone from membership. Furthermore, individualism and the way our culture falsely divides our private and personal lives makes it hard to honor the authority of Christ ’s church. Yet our “

John Calvin  (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Matthew 18:15–17 “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother” ( v. 15 ). James M. Boice’s comments on Matthew 18:13 remind sinners that “everything God has done is for your salvation, and no one in all the universe will be happier at your repentance than God” (The Gospel of Matthew: An Expositional Commentary, vol. 2, p. 388). If the Father rejoices to see errant sinners return, we must also desire transgressors to be restored, no matter their offenses. This principle undergirds today’s passage, the classic text on church discipline. Discipline necessarily means confrontation and is established in Christ ’s call for us to care for the spiritual growth of one another ( Matt. 18:10–14 ). We are required to intervene when Christian friends and family go astray, otherwise sin might destroy that person. In a real sense, we are our brother’s keeper.

The Reformed Church of France, Paris, France (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Matthew 18:18 –20 “Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” (v. 18). In our day, respect for church authority has all but vanished. Many professing Christians think their “private lives” are no business of the church. Excommunication from a local body is hardly ever taken seriously since it rarely prevents someone from joining the church next door with no questions asked. Several phenomena explain this sad reality. The church’s fragmentation makes it easy to move from one denomination to another. Many church leaders exalt numerical growth and will not ask hard questions of the people in the pews for fear of learning a fact that would bar someone from membership. Furthermore, individualism and the way our culture falsely divides our private and personal lives makes it hard to honor the authority of Christ ’s church. Yet

Wenceslas Hollar - Jesus before Caiaphas (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Matthew 26:1–5 “The chief priests and the elders…plotted together in order to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him. But they said, ‘Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar” ( vv. 3–4 ). Matthew 26 opens with Jesus’ fourth prediction of His passion and resurrection. After ending His Olivet Discourse , Matthew tells us that our Lord has finished “all these sayings” ( v. 1 ), which likely refers to all the instruction He has thus far given in this gospel. In other words, Christ’s teaching ministry is done and it is time for Him to atone for sin and seal His victory. The Savior has already told His disciples three times that He will die and be raised ( 16:21 ; 17:22–23 ; 20:17–19 ), but in today’s passage He explains for the first time that this will take place during Passover . This provides a theological framework for understanding the significance of the Messiah ’s death. Just as the angel of death passed

John Chrysostom, Constantinople, early or middle 11th century. Soapstone and highlights of gold. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Matthew 25:14–30 “You ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest” ( v. 27 ). Five of the virgins in Matthew 25:1–13 are fools because they believe that the way to eternal life is easier than it really is and do not prepare themselves for the master’s return. Yet as verses 14–30 indicate, the one who thinks the Lord’s way is harsher than it truly is will also be revealed as a fool on the last day. Today’s passage shows what it means to expect the second coming of Christ and ready ourselves for it. Jesus exhorts us to stay awake and be prepared for His return in 24:36–25:13 , but those verses give few specific, practical directives for how to wait and equip ourselves properly. The parable of the talents makes it plain that the waiting and preparation Jesus expects is ethical and

Oil painting of a young John Calvin. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Matthew 18:18–20 “Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” ( v. 18 ). In our day, respect for church authority has all but vanished. Many professing Christians think their “private lives” are no business of the church. Excommunication from a local body is hardly ever taken seriously since it rarely prevents someone from joining the church next door with no questions asked. Several phenomena explain this sad reality. The church’s fragmentation makes it easy to move from one denomination to another. Many church leaders exalt numerical growth and will not ask hard questions of the people in the pews for fear of learning a fact that would bar someone from membership. Furthermore, individualism and the way our culture falsely divides our private and personal lives makes it hard to honor the authority of Christ ’s church. Yet our “p

The Reformed Church of France, Paris, France (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Matthew 18:15–17 “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother” ( v. 15 ). James M. Boice’s comments on Matthew 18:13 remind sinners that “everything God has done is for your salvation, and no one in all the universe will be happier at your repentance than God” (The Gospel of Matthew: An Expositional Commentary, vol. 2, p. 388). If the Father rejoices to see errant sinners return, we must also desire transgressors to be restored, no matter their offenses. This principle undergirds today’s passage, the classic text on church discipline . Discipline necessarily means confrontation and is established in Christ ’s call for us to care for the spiritual growth of one another ( Matt. 18:10–14 ). We are required to intervene when Christian friends and family go astray, otherwise sin might destroy that person. In a real sen