The NXR Podcast - DAILY TRUTH - The True Meaning of ＂Where Two or More Are Gathered＂

00:00:00.000 All right, listen, guys, I get it.

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00:00:39.580 God bless.

00:00:41.720 Jesus said, man cannot live on bread alone,

00:00:44.500 but from every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.

00:00:47.540 You're listening to Daily Truth.

00:00:52.160 Look at the charge in our text today,

00:00:54.960 verse 21 of 1 Timothy 5.

00:00:56.920 in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of the elect angels.

00:01:02.600 Goodness gracious.

00:01:03.940 Okay, let's listen.

00:01:05.700 I charge you to keep these rules without prejudging, doing nothing from partiality.

00:01:14.120 So Paul is charging Timothy, who is then going to charge the church at Ephesus,

00:01:19.700 and he's charging them in the presence of God on his holy throne with Christ Jesus and all the elect angels.

00:01:25.760 And I think Paul is saying the charge is coming from the very throne room of God.

00:01:30.700 And not only that, the reason why this charge, I believe there's a correlation here.

00:01:35.340 The reason why this charge, to enact justice, to perform church discipline properly, appropriately, biblically, and without partiality.

00:01:46.040 The reason why this very charge comes from the very throne room of God where Christ himself is present.

00:01:51.060 i believe it's no coincidence is precisely because church discipline is always carried out in the

00:01:57.040 presence of the lord jesus who sits in heaven on his holy throne surrounded by all his angels

00:02:02.340 matthew chapter 18 verses 18 through 20 we see jesus saying to the disciples this if your brother

00:02:09.960 sins against you go and tell him his fault privately step one if he listens to you you've

00:02:14.320 won your brother over if not take one or two others with you so that the testimony may be

00:02:18.540 established in the presence of two or three witnesses boom the very same language as first

00:02:22.740 timothy 5 our text today and deuteronomy 19 this is the law of moses it's got to be factual right

00:02:28.940 so bring one or two others so you have two or three witnesses so that the charge might be

00:02:33.620 established it might be uh confirmed if he doesn't listen to them then tell it to the church

00:02:39.740 right the the final ecclesiastical jury the highest court the supreme court this is why we're baptists

00:02:47.060 We believe biblically the supreme court for the church is the church.

00:02:53.240 So the final step is go to them privately, bring one or two, and then tell it to the Pope.

00:03:00.040 No.

00:03:01.480 Tell it to the Presbytery.

00:03:03.260 No.

00:03:04.120 That's better.

00:03:05.300 But no.

00:03:06.580 Tell it to the church. 0.80

00:03:08.160 The highest ecclesiastical court, the highest jury in the land for Christians is a congregation of a local church. 0.95

00:03:16.980 And if he does not listen to the church, then treat him as a tax collector or a Gentile. 0.95

00:03:21.240 That is, treat him as a non-believer. 1.00

00:03:23.960 Remove him. 0.70

00:03:24.580 And then the text goes on.

00:03:26.160 And Jesus says, for I tell you, truly, truly, I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven.

00:03:31.480 Whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.

00:03:33.400 I give you the keys.

00:03:35.640 And then he goes on even further.

00:03:37.100 And he says, wherever two or three are gathered in my name, I am there in your midst.

00:03:41.700 Now we take that text and we say,

00:03:43.820 wherever two or three teenagers are playing on a cajon

00:03:47.960 and an acoustic guitar singing, you know,

00:03:50.340 kumbaya, my Lord,

00:03:52.300 then the palpable presence of God is there, right?

00:03:54.800 No, that's not what it's saying.

00:03:56.320 Jesus is saying, I'm there in your midst

00:03:58.100 wherever two or three gather in my name.

00:04:00.220 I'm there in your midst.

00:04:01.300 It's all in the context of Jesus

00:04:03.980 talking about church discipline.

00:04:05.180 This is what he's saying. 0.99

00:04:06.200 He's saying whenever there are two or three Christians,

00:04:08.060 not two or three popes, not two or three bishops,

00:04:10.080 Not two or three cardinals

00:04:11.360 Not two or three pastors

00:04:12.380 Not two or three presbyters

00:04:13.500 But just two or three 1.00

00:04:15.220 Good old fashioned Christians 1.00

00:04:17.220 Whenever they're gathered in my name 0.99

00:04:19.320 AKA they constitute a local church

00:04:20.960 Wherever the members

00:04:22.300 Not just the leaders

00:04:22.980 But the members of a church

00:04:24.400 Are gathered together in my name

00:04:25.620 I am there in their midst

00:04:27.220 To rule with authority

00:04:30.120 Meaning that whatever ruling

00:04:32.140 The congregation determines

00:04:33.860 Is the very ruling of Christ

00:04:36.600 The congregation

00:04:38.020 Not just the pastor

00:04:38.720 The congregation

00:04:39.880 He's standing in representative of Christ.

00:04:43.040 So when he says, I'm there in your midst, he's saying, I'm there in your midst, but in a particular way.

00:04:46.780 I am there with authority to render justice, to rule righteously through the agency of the two or three,

00:04:56.200 through the agency of the congregation.

00:04:59.180 Isn't that beautiful?

00:05:00.620 And so Paul, it's not a coincidence.

00:05:02.040 If he says, I charge you, Timothy, I charge you, don't use partiality.

00:05:08.040 Make sure there's facts, right?

00:05:09.240 The three, that's factual evidence, public rebuke, if it turns out it's true, if it goes from alleged to being confirmed, and don't use partiality.

00:05:19.820 And I am charging you in the presence of God and Christ and his elect angels.

00:05:24.780 Why?

00:05:25.280 Because the very thing that we're talking about right now, the very thing that you are called to carry out is something that is only ever carried out in the presence of God, in the presence of Christ, where two or three are gathered.

00:05:38.960 I am there in your midst.

00:05:41.520 Church discipline, whether it be for a congregant or an elder,

00:05:45.140 it is Christ ruling and it is a weighty matter.

00:05:49.100 Thanks so much for listening.

00:05:50.320 But real quick, before you go, do us a small favor,

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00:06:04.900 Thanks so much.

The NXR Podcast - January 21, 2023

DAILY TRUTH - The True Meaning of ＂Where Two or More Are Gathered＂

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