The Church's Call to Relentless Love

In this sermon we examine a Scripture text from Matthew chapter 18, where Jesus teaches the nature of love within the church community. We are called to love one another in a way that demonstrates passion for the individual disciple in our church. We find first, in verses 6-9, a love that is relentlessly tough on oneself, so as not to damage the faith of others in the church. Secondly, in verses 10-14, we read of a shepherd diligently seeking after one wandering sheep. From this illustration, we discover that love for one another leads us to relentlessly pursue the straying disciple, seeking to restore him to the fold. Then in verses 15-17, Jesus teaches the sin-confronting process whereby straying individual disciples are won back into the family. When we think of love, our minds rarely run to “cutting off limbs” or “announcing sin to the entire church;” but the love that God ordains for His church is one that relentlessly pursues its object until it makes sure that he or she achieves the common goal of the upward call of God, whatever the cost.