in Second Thessalonians, and we're gonna be confronted with two really important doctrines. One is church discipline, and the other is the doctrine of work. So by way of introduction, I wanna look at some teaching from the Westminster Confession of Faith. It'll set the stage for this morning's sermon as we begin to think about church discipline. So if you could grab your hymnals again and turn to page 938, 938, we're going to read the third paragraph of chapter 30, which is of church censures. Page 938, that third paragraph, it's on the top left-hand side of the page. Church censures are necessary. for the reclaiming and gaining of offending brethren, for deterring of others from the like offenses, for purging out of that leaven which might infect the whole lump, for vindicating the honor of Christ and the holy profession of the gospel, and for preventing the wrath of God which might justly fall upon the church if they should suffer his covenant and the seals thereof, to be profaned by notorious and obstinate offenders. When the Westminster Confession of Faith speaks of church censures, it's simply another way of reminding the church of its duty to carry out church And we didn't read them, but the first two paragraphs essentially say that the Lord Jesus is the king of the church, and as the king, he's entrusted this responsibility of church discipline to the church. And of course, he's given specific responsibilities to the church, to those who serve as office bearers. Formal church discipline is an element of church life that's conspicuous by its absence in a great many churches. And I'm sure there are many reasons for that. There are probably a throng of excuses that, for which it's earnestly avoided. And some of them might even be understandable. The truth is, most people don't like confrontation. Often, it's difficult to know what to say or how to say something to people who are in the grip of a moral or theological error. Most of us don't want to come off as judgmental or as hypercritical. And also, we're aware of our own sin, and so we might think that confronting a brother or sister might make us appear to be hypocrites. So it's really easy to say, you know, that sin that they're engaged in, that's really just a private matter. That's a choice they've made for themselves. I'm just gonna stay out of it. After all, it's really none of my business. That sounds very noble, doesn't it? The problem with that is if we love Jesus Christ and we love His church, it most certainly is our business. Listen about the Apostle writes in Galatians 6, Verses one and two. Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted, bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. I would imagine those verses are familiar to most of you, but there's something I want to make sure you pick up on from those two verses in Galatians 6. Did you notice that this isn't church officers? who are being called to the work of restoring sinners. It's the church body. Keep that in mind. Church discipline isn't exclusively the work of elders. It is the work of the entire congregation. We'll store that away. One of the things we're gonna see in 2 Thessalonians in a few minutes is that the congregation has responsibilities. and church discipline. Now that third paragraph that we read, it spells out five reasons that church discipline is necessary. First, for the reclaiming and restoring of a brother or sister who's fallen into sin. Listen to how James ends his letter in chapter five, verse 19 and 20. Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone turns him back, Let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sin. So that's the first reason and certainly a main one to restore a brother or sister. And again, I hope as we just read James 5, you picked up that that's a congregational responsibility, not just an elder responsibility. The second reason our confession reminds us to do church discipline is to deter others. First Timothy 5.20, the apostle urged his young pastor, as for those who persist in sin, rebuke them in the presence of all so that the rest may stand in fear. So church discipline is a deterrent to those who might be flirting with a particular sin pattern. Third, it's for purging out the leaven that it might affect the whole lump. That is, it's necessary for the purity of the church. And this is something that matters to Christ, the purity of His church. Oh, dear ones, a little bit of poison administered just a couple drops at a time is still deadly. Fourth, church discipline is for the honor of Christ. The church is to reflect the beauty of her bridegroom, and she can't do that if unrepentant sin is left unchecked in her midst. And fifth, church discipline is necessary because we don't want the severe chastisement of God to fall on us because we tolerate all manner of gross sin. As I mentioned, when we return to 2 Thessalonians 3, the doctrine of church discipline and the doctrine of work are front and center. To that end, I entitled this sermon, Laboring with the Lazy. And we're gonna actually spend three weeks looking at these two topics. This morning, we're gonna do quite a bit of foundational work, but these are important, important doctrines. So let's ask the Lord to bless our time of study together. Pray with me once more. Our great God in heaven, we're thankful again just to be men and women of God who can bow before your word and to offer our hearts to you and ask you to write eternal truths on them, that we might be men and women whose lives reflect these truths. So work in us powerfully, oh God. Do something great for your name. We ask in Jesus' name, amen. Well, please turn in your copy of Scripture to 2 Thessalonians 3. We're gonna read verses six through 15. 2 Thessalonians 3, beginning in verse six. But we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you would draw from every brother who walks disorderly and not according to the tradition which he received from us. For you yourselves know how you ought to follow us, for we were not disorderly among you, nor did we eat anyone's bread free of charge, but worked with labor and toil night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, not because we don't have authority, but to make ourselves an example of how you should follow us. For even when we were with you, we commanded you this, if anyone will not work, neither shall he eat. For we hear that there are some who walk among you in a disorderly manner, not working at all, but are busybodies. Now those who are such, we command and exhort through our Lord Jesus Christ that they work in quietness and eat their own bread. But as for you, brethren, do not grow weary in doing good. And if anyone does not obey our word in this epistle, note that person and do not keep company with him that he may be ashamed. Yet do not count him as an enemy but admonish him as a brother. The grass withers, the flowers fade, but the word of our God endures forever. May he bless it to our hearts this morning. Well, dearest congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ, in the first five verses of this chapter, the apostle focused on the work of the Lord. He makes it clear that the success of the gospel ministry, the protection of his people from wicked men as well as the evil one, the obedience of God's people and even Christian affections are all grounded in the sovereign and kind work of the Lord. And it was Paul's earnest desire, it was his benedictory prayer wish that the Lord would direct our hearts into a fuller knowledge of the work of the Lord. In this morning's passage, Paul turns our attention to the importance of our work, what God calls us to do. And basically, as I've already alluded to, there are two big ideas in these verses. First, as a general rule, God expects his people to labor for themselves so as to not be a burden to others. The second big idea in these verses is that if there are brothers and sisters who refuse to work, the congregation has a responsibility to discipline them. Now we're gonna spend, as I said, I think three weeks on this passage. And what we just read, it's not a comprehensive treatment on the doctrine of church discipline, nor is it a comprehensive treatment on the doctrine of vocation or the doctrine of work. So we are gonna do a little spade work so we can see how these particular teachings in Second Thessalonians fit into the broader biblical teaching. So the first thing we want to see is that Paul's teaching on discipline and his teaching on work come with the force of a strong command. Verse six, we command you. Verse 10, we command you. Verse 12, we command you. Now this word command, conveys the image of a general who's giving orders to his captains. It's military jargon. In this instance, the apostle is giving the church her marching orders regarding discipline and work. Now listen again to verse six where Paul begins this discourse on discipline. We command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you withdraw from every brother who walks disorderly and not according to the tradition which he received from us. I want to unpack some of the basics here. First off, even before we look at what Paul's commanding, We need to see that this command is given to the brethren. That is, it's a command to the church. I know I've said that a few times. I'm gonna say it a few more times, because I'm sure we need to hear that. The point is, whatever Paul is gonna tell the church to do, it's not primarily or firstly directed at elders or leaders in the church. It's to all of us as a congregation. So second, notice the force of the command is grounded in the power and the authority of Christ. Now Paul can just speak with apostolic authority, but he's using that to put a special emphasis on this. And in all likelihood, Paul was reflecting on the Lord's own teaching on discipline, which we'll look at in just a couple minutes. So Paul, as an apostle, is very careful at this point to say, look, I know I'm gonna say some difficult things to you. I'm saying these things in the name and the authority of the king and head of the church, even the Lord Jesus. Third, we wanna see that Paul's concern has to do with those who walk disorderly. Now I have to tell you, scholars rack their brains trying to define that word that's translated as disorderly. In fact, I would imagine some of you probably have translations that use the word idleness. Some might use the word unruly. Idleness is probably the best. But despite the inability to hammer out a specific translated word, the context makes it clear. It's idleness or disorderliness that flows from laziness. That's the big issue. It's describing people who won't work for their own bread. And this disorderliness isn't simply laziness. Verse 11 tells us, because they're lazy, they're actually also becoming busybodies. They think it's their job to be in everybody else's business. Instead of handling their business, they want to handle others. Now, even as we hear these introductory remarks, they might sound familiar to you. And it's because Paul gave a similar exhortation back in 1 Thessalonians 4, only back there he was much more gentle. Excuse me. I don't want my notes to get blown away. Listen to 1 Thessalonians 4. I'm going to begin in verse 10. And again, this is much more general. We urge you, brethren, that you aspire to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, to work with your own hands as we've commanded you. So we get this was a problem from the get-go in Thessalonica. And initially, Paul dealt with them with kid gloves. The people were to live quiet lives. He wanted them to make a living for themselves, to provide for their own families. And this is what the missionaries commanded them. But obviously there were some in the Thessalonican church who didn't want to put this teaching in practice. And now in 2 Thessalonians, he's taking off the kid gloves and he's putting on the brass knuckles. He's gonna give them a good wrapping. And this immediately teaches us something important about church discipline. Something we're gonna see in a few minutes. When it's ignored, the intensity of the exhortation ought to necessarily increase because the consequences increase. Paul was always willing to start with a very gentle tone. But he also wasn't hesitant to ramp that up, to speak very directly and very pointedly when he was confronting sin. And so in Thessalonica, the apostle tells the church, you see those folks who are idle? You see those folks who are busybodies? You see those folks who are not taking care of their families? Withdraw from them. Withdraw from every brother who persists in idleness. Now, I have to tell you, I would be surprised if there aren't some of you who are surprised that Paul just said that. withdraw from them. Now that word basically means to stand aloof. It's a word that comes from the nautical world and was sometimes used to describe the furling of sails, that is, taking the sails down and storing them away. I'm sure Don can tell you all about furling sails if you're interested. The point is, when you do that, your sails are out of commission. You're not using them. And that way, Paul is telling the faithful in Thessalonica, you're out of commission to the idle and the lazy. I can tell you next week, this is gonna get uncomfortable. Because this is a truth we're not gonna lie, but it's one we dare not ignore. That word again, withdraw, it's the same word Paul used in Galatians 2 when he dresses down the apostle Peter. You'll remember just prior in Galatia to the Judaizers showing up, Peter had just a chummy relationship with all the Gentiles, but after the Judaizers showed up, Peter's like, no, I'm afraid. I can't really have fellowship with you Gentiles anymore. And it says in Galatians 2.12, Peter withdrew from them and separated. And while Peter was absolutely wrong for withdrawing and separating from the Gentiles, that is exactly what Paul's telling the faithful in Thessalonica to do, to withdraw and separate themselves. Now, before we think about what this actually looks like, again, that's gonna be mostly next week, we need to consider how this fits into the broader biblical teaching on church discipline. And so to do that, I wanna turn to the classical text on church discipline. Most of you probably know what I'm thinking of. It's found in Matthew 18. So let me ask you to turn there, Matthew 18, and we're gonna read verses 15 through 17. Matthew 18, beginning in verse 15. Moreover, if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault. Between you and him alone, if he hears you, you've gained your brother. But if he will not hear you, take with you one or two more, that by the mouth of two or three witnesses, every word may be established. And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector. As I said, I wanna look at this passage to help us think more broadly about the application of church discipline. And the reason I think this is important is that most of us hear church discipline and our stomachs churn. We just know that something bad has happened and the church has to respond to it. And sometimes that's definitely true. Sometimes formal discipline has to take place because some gross immorality or some gross doctrinal error exists. And in those circumstances, church discipline is almost always painful and almost always messy. But if we think that's where church discipline begins with something big and messy, We're actually missing the big picture. So I want to do a mini dive into these verses. Let's start with this. Church discipline is commanded. Again, we heard that over in 2 Thessalonians 3. And in the verses we just read in Matthew 18, there are actually five imperatives. in those three verses. Verse 15, go and tell, both imperatives. Verse 16, take. Verse 17, tell, and then let him be. Those are five commands. My point is, whatever our view of church discipline is, God's Word says it must be done. And when Paul says, I command this, and I command this on the authority of Christ, he's reflecting Christ's own disposition. Now, as Reformed and Presbyterian believers, we rightly acknowledge that formal discipline can only be initiated when God's law has been violated. That means we don't discipline people because they don't dress the way we do or because they're different than we are. We don't like the cologne that they wear. Formal discipline is grounded in the you shalls and the you shall nots of scripture. However, and please hear me, this is so important. When the process of discipline moves forward, it advances from one part of the procedure to the next part of the procedure, always for the same sin. what our Reformed church orders call the sin of contumacy. Contumacy. Now, I'm guessing many of you don't know what that word means, so if you go home and you Google it, Wikipedia will tell you it means something like this, a stubborn refusal to submit to appropriate authority. You see, contumacy is just a fancy way of saying that so-and-so refuses to repent. they refused to listen to the correction of the church. And that's exactly what Jesus is describing in Matthew 18, isn't it? I mean, if you read through those verses, you ought to ask yourself the question, what particular commandment is this person breaking in Matthew 18? What are they doing in Matthew 18 that moves the process of church discipline forward from one phase to the next phase to the next phase? What is it? He refuses to hear. He's not listening. Do you see that in the text? A brother shows up and he says, hey, there's a sin issue and we need to address it. If he hears You've won a brother. If he won't hear, verse 16, it goes to the next step. And the only reason it progresses from that point is if he still refuses to hear. And if it goes all the way to excommunication, it's because they refuse to hear even the church. You see? At any point in the administration of discipline, if he hears, and if he submits to God's word, repents of a sin, the matter's over. That's why contumacy is the one sin that always moves church discipline forward. I will not repent. The issue is hearing. Now let me tell you why this is important and why I'm drawing this out. Matthew 18 is rightly appealed to as the go-to passage for church discipline. And the procedures are appointed by Christ. But if our view of church discipline is limited to these procedures, you know, step one, you go. Step two, a couple of you go. Step three, bring it to the church. If we think that exhausts what is biblical discipline, then our view is way too narrow. You see, we do tend to think all discipline begins with an offense that has to be dealt with in regard to another person. And that's because when we think of disciplines strictly involving things like trials and judgments and punishments, that's the conclusion we draw. But that's not the primary biblical usage of discipline in general. Biblical discipline is more closely related to another well-known biblical word. Can you think of what that might be? A cognate of discipline? A disciple. A disciple. And you know what a disciple is? It's a person who is taught. A disciple is one who hears. I mean, that's the Great Commission, isn't it? Go into the world and make disciples. And one of the things we do is to teach them everything that Christ has commanded. So when you make a disciple, it's because that's one who's following Jesus and will hear. And so here's what I'm getting at. It is appropriate to say that the first step in church discipline isn't when you address someone else or something that takes place in the public realm, step one of church discipline in the church is when you sit under God's word, you hear it authoritatively proclaimed, it brings you to conviction or exhorts you to action, and you hear it, and you submit it to it. You were just disciplined by the word of God. Sometimes we miss this, but listening is the hallmark of a disciple and this starting point in discipline. One of the reasons, again, I'm sort of beating this drum is because our default thinking, right off the bat, is that discipline is something that's negative, and that's just not often the case, not scripturally. It's often positive in God's word. You submit to God's authority as it's revealed to you in his word. You're being disciplined as a disciple. Hebrews 12, five and six tells us a very positive way that discipline is applied to us. My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when you're reproved by him, for the Lord disciplines the one he loves and chastises every son whom he receives. And of course, in Ephesians 6, four, the admonition to fathers is do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline. and instruction of the Lord. That's possible. And when you discipline your children, what are you ultimately trying to do? You're trying to get them to hear the voice of Christ as it's reflected in His Word. You see, when we hear church discipline, we immediately think, okay, this is a last straw moment. And Matthew 18 is simply the way we're going to litigate and prosecute those cotton-picking evildoers. But church discipline starts and really ends with hearing or a person choosing not to hear. Now, I want that in our repertoire so we understand next week when we come back and we're gonna be engaged in the process of discipline as a congregation, we understand how this got there. You see, by the time you get to Matthew 18, You're actually dealing with a situation where the person has purposely determined not to hear, not to respond to what's taught in the Bible, not to conform his life to the clear precepts of God's Word. Now, in that case, that's when these unfold. I'm gonna work through these very quickly. Verse 15, it says, if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault. Between you and him alone, if he hears you, you've gained your brother. Now please see this, we don't approach our brother and sister because they bug us or because they have a personality trait that we find personally annoying. It's if they've sinned against you or we could say if they're engaged in a sin pattern and you know there's no repentance, they're just sort of wallowing in it. If you know that exists, it's incumbent upon you to go to them. This is a command from Christ. Because I know people are thinking, I could never do that. I'd rather just pretend it didn't. No, you don't have that option. Sorry, that's not option A. There's only one option. Do what Christ said. Now what verse 15 is telling us in that first step is to keep the circle as small as you possibly can, but go to them. You see, here's our default. Somebody sins against us, or we see a sin pattern. And instead of going to them, we go to everyone else. Let me tell you what they're doing, right? That's the way we want to handle it. But Christ is telling us we have to be willing to lovingly confront people. It's what love demands of us. If we love one another, if we want to care for each other, if we have admiration and affection for the family of God, the work of restoration has to be a part of community life. And it isn't only so we can enjoy some kind of harmony and unity. That's a fruit of it. It's because we actually care about our brothers and sisters' spiritual lives. Listen to what William Hendrickson says about verse 15. Jesus means that the offended brother should, in the spirit of brotherly love, go and show the sinner his faults, and this not certainly most of all for the purpose of receiving satisfaction for a personal grievance, but rather in the interest of the offender, that he may repent. and may seek and find forgiveness. And what Henderson is driving at is that the goal in that initial situation isn't necessarily conflict resolution, although that could be a part of it. That's a byproduct. The goal, when you confront a brother and sister who is in doctrinal error or in moral error, is first and foremost a concern for their soul, for his or her spiritual well-being. And if they hear you and they repent, you've won a brother. It's never, ever, ever an easy situation to confront someone or question someone about a sin, but true believers, true believers will never be angry at you if you confront them with a sin gently and lovingly. If they do, then they have a bigger problem. Because the Holy Spirit is in us, telling us when we sin if we're a believer. And so if someone comes and says, look, I see this sin, dear one, you gotta turn from it, that's an opportunity to relieve himself from his guilt and the burden of his sin. You'll win a brother. Of course, verse 16 says, if he'll not hear, take with you two or more, that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. Jesus is quoting here from Deuteronomy 17. So you go to the person, bring a couple people with you. This is significant because this makes it a valid testimony according to biblical law. And I also think the purpose of bringing other witnesses is to show the person the gravity of the situation. The prime concern that Jesus says he wants you to have in your heart is that your brother or sister might not be hindered in their spiritual growth, that your brother or sister might not become hardened in their sin, that your brother and sister might not drift away from light and truth. And by bringing a couple others, it's a way of saying, look, I really, really care about your soul. You matter to me. I love you. And they're here with me because they love you too, and they care about your soul too." And if he refuses, then you tell it to the church. That's when you make it a public matter for the congregation. And then, if they refuse to even hear the church, that's when they're excommunicated and they're treated like a heathen. and a tax collector. Now what I want to do, and I'm going to do this very quickly, is I want us to understand where the procedure that Paul's teaching us in 2 Thessalonians fits into this paradigm. Simply, I believe it's between bringing it to the church and excommunication. It's somewhere between those two points. Let me tell you why. I don't believe Paul has excommunication in mind in 2 Thessalonians 3, because in verse 15, that last verse, listen to what he says. You do not count him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother, right? And that's not what Jesus said. Excommunication is treating them like a heathen or a tax collector, which is just another way of saying, treat them like an unbeliever who needs the gospel. That's not how Paul is ending this. So it's somewhere in that process. You're dealing with a person who hasn't heard one person. He hasn't heard the two or three people. It's come to the church. His soul is in peril, and it becomes incumbent upon the church to love that person enough to respond the way Paul says, and that is to withdraw from them. I want to close this morning with a a quote from Pastor Paul Murphy in New York. Many of you know Paul. I love the way he explains church discipline, and this just gives us a wonderful way to sort of have a framework in our own minds. He writes, the purpose of church discipline is not to hurt people, but to benefit them. It's not to reject them, but to reclaim them. It's not to cast them out, but to save them. The purpose of church discipline isn't to remove the sin from the sinner. Excuse me, the purpose of church discipline is to remove the sin from the sinner, not the sinner from the church. I want to repeat that last one. The purpose of church discipline is to remove the sin from the sinner, not the sinner from the church. That ought to be the desire our church has when we think about church discipline, reclaiming, regathering, being instruments in the hands of the Holy Spirit to bring erring men and women of God to repentance. May the Lord make us brothers and sisters who love the family of God in such a way that we won't shrink back from confronting sin as we should. Amen. Let's pray. Father, we thank you and I praise you that the king of the church has given us this information, how his church should function, how it should be governed, how discipline should be exercised. Indeed, oh God, we know that a true church, a true church will always proclaim the pure gospel of Jesus Christ. A true church will rightly administer the sacraments, and a true church will faithfully exercise church discipline. We pray, O God, that when that need arises at any point in the process, that we would do that, that we would labor in love for the Lord's church. We ask this in Jesus' name, amen. Well, brothers and sisters, as we prepare to come to the Lord's table, as you know, the invitation to come to this table is extended to men and women of God who are trusting solely in the finished work of Jesus Christ. Those who sing the old hymn, nothing in my hands, I bring simply to The cross I cling. Those who know, it's Christ's finished works, Christ's merit, Christ's righteousness, Christ's shed blood. It's Christ, it's Christ, it's Christ, that's your hope. If that describes your understanding of salvation, and you're a member in good standing of a Bible-believing church, please do come and feast with the Lord. If that doesn't describe you, or if you are living in unrepentant sin, when the elements are distributed, simply let them pass by. Repent of your sin. and come back next time and join with us. Well, as you know, we confess with the Historic Church what we believe using the Apostles' Creed. You can find this on page 851. Dear Christian, what do you believe? I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried. He descended into hell. The third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From there he shall come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit. the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen. Let's pray, brothers and sisters. We're thankful, O God, that we can come to this holy sacrament. We're thankful, O God, that what we take in our hands, these tangible signs direct our thoughts and our hearts to the finished work of Jesus Christ, to his broken body and his shed blood. Help us to participate in this sacrament with that faith that apprehends and appropriates Jesus Christ. We ask these things in his precious name. Amen. Let me ask you to give your attention to the reading of God's Word from 1 Corinthians 10. I'm gonna read verses 16 through 17, and the meditation is actually from Calvin's Institutes. But 1 Corinthians 10, verses 16 and 17. The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? For we though many are one, excuse me, for we though many are one bread and one body, for we all partake of that one bread. Excuse me. Again, you can follow along or simply listen to the meditation. Calvin writes, we do not adore the symbols, the bread and the cup. We adore the one to whom they point. We adore Jesus. The cup is communion with his shed blood for our sins. The bread is communion with his body given for our salvation. As we remember and proclaim his death, this meal of communion urges us to holiness of life and also to charity, peace, and unity. In the supper, the Lord communicates his body so that he becomes altogether one with us and we with him. Moreover, since he is only one body of which he makes us all to be partakers, we must necessarily, by this participation, all become one body. This unity is represented by the bread which is exhibited in the sacrament. as it's composed of many grains, so mingled together that one cannot be distinguished from another, so our minds to be so affectionately united as not to allow of any dissension or division. This is Paul's point. It must be engraved upon our minds. If our brethren is hurt, despised, or injured, Christ's body is hurt, despised, and injured. We cannot have dissension with our brethren without at the same time dissenting from Christ's body. Likewise, we cannot love Christ without loving our brethren. The same care we take of our own body, we ought to take of our brethren who are members of our body. Augustine, not inappropriately, often terms this sacrament the bond of love. What stronger stimulus could be employed to excite mutual love than when Christ, presenting Himself to us, not only invites us by His example to give and devote ourselves mutually to each other, but inasmuch as He makes Himself common to all, also makes us all to be one in Him. Receive the Lord's benediction. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all now and forever and all of God's people said.