Three Characteristics of a Healthy Church (Matthew 18:10–20)

[Stephan Choe]

July 18, 2026

Key Verses 18:12–13: “What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to search for the one that has gone astray? And if it happens that he finds it, truly I say to you: He rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray.”

Jesus is not like a businessman. He does not calculate the profit He might gain; instead, He loves every person as if they were His only child.

The Parable of the Lost Sheep is well known to us. It teaches us that Jesus seeks lost people with all His heart in order to grant them a blessed, eternal life.

We want to understand Jesus’ heart for lost people so that we, too, may have such a heart and seek out the lost.

To this end, we will examine three characteristics of a healthy church.

1. The first characteristic: Having a heart that seeks lost sheep (10–14)

Small children need various kinds of help. That is why many mothers give up their careers to stay home and care for their children. Elderly people with limited mobility also require support, as do the poor.

It is not easy to have a heart for small children, the elderly, or the poor.

That is why Jesus says to us, "See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you, their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven." (10)

Jesus teaches us that there is not only a visible world but also an invisible one—comprising God, angels, and the kingdom of heaven.

God seeks lost people—with His broken heart.

To better illustrate God’s heart, Jesus tells a parable:

A man owned a hundred sheep but lost one of them. He could have told himself, "It is unfortunate that a sheep has gone missing. Sadly, it is hard to find again. I should probably just forget about it; after all, I still have ninety-nine sheep."

But no, he could not think so pragmatically. Instead, he viewed the lost sheep as an irreplaceable member of the family.

Let us imagine a married couple with ten children who have lost one of them.

Could the couple say, "It is a shame that a child has been lost. But thank God we still have nine children"?

Certainly not. That couple would search for the lost child, filled with fear and anxiety.

Through this parable, Jesus teaches us three things about God’s love for lost people:

First, this parable teaches us that God deeply loves every single person and does not want to lose anyone.

Although the shepherd still had ninety-nine sheep that had not strayed from the path, he was deeply distressed over the lost sheep and set out to find it.

No matter how many children parents may have, they do not want to lose a single one of them.

Our God loves every person as if they were His only child; that is why He searches for the lost person with a broken heart.

William Carey (1761–1834) was an English missionary in India. He is known as the "Father of Modern Missions." He burned with zeal for the salvation of the people in India. The following story is told in the book <William Carey: A Sketch of the Beginnings of Modern Missions>:

One day, the senior pastor, Ryland, convened a meeting of clergy and asked them to suggest topics for discussion. William Carey proposed examining whether Christ’s command to go to the ends of the earth and make disciples of all nations applied only to the Apostles or also to all subsequent clergy. The senior pastor exclaimed, "You are a pitiful visionary. We humans can accomplish nothing unless a second Pentecost occurs and—just as at the first Pentecost—we receive not only Christ’s missionary command but also miraculous gifts such as speaking in tongues."

It was a humiliating moment for Carey. Yet the fire within him could not be so easily extinguished.

William Carey went to India and labored there for 41 years for the salvation of the people.

Today, one finds lost sheep not only abroad but also in Germany, and they outnumber those that have not strayed from the path. These lost sheep must be sought out and found. For this, we need a shepherd’s heart for lost souls.

Secondly, this parable teaches us that God’s love is a life-giving love.

Nowadays, everyone speaks of love. Indeed, some people show warmth and love, ensuring that the world is not entirely cold. Such love makes us happy for a short time. Unfortunately, however, this love offers us neither enduring love nor eternal life.

The shepherd in this parable loves his sheep and seeks it out so that it may be saved and live eternally in bliss under the shepherd’s protection.

Out of love, God sent Jesus Christ to redeem us from sin and the power of death and to grant us a blessed, eternal life. Jesus sacrificed His life for this purpose. Only God can show us such love. We ought to gratefully accept God’s life-giving love.

I would like to speak about the time I was preparing for my university entrance exam. I was determined to pursue a university education, even though my family was poor and could not afford to finance my studies. While preparing for the exam day and night, I sometimes seriously questioned the point of all this immense effort—after all, I would eventually die anyway. I felt that all the work I was putting into exam preparation was meaningless, and consequently, I lost the desire to study. Nevertheless, after two or three hours, I would push aside these thoughts about the meaning of life and resume studying for the exam.

Our God is gracious to me. I passed the university entrance exam with distinction and was able to pursue my studies thanks to a scholarship. Moreover, I was able to live rent-free in a vacant room of a former Catholic orphanage, as the parents of a close friend from my hometown had taken over the disused building shortly before I began my studies. This friend’s uncle was a Catholic priest and the head of St. Mary’s Hospital in my university town.

Right at the start of my studies, God led me to faith in Jesus Christ and granted me a happy, eternal life. That was a wonderful grace of God.

Our God wants to give every person a happy, eternal life.

Thirdly, this parable teaches us that God’s love is a seeking love for the lost sheep.

The shepherd in Jesus’ parable did not simply wait for the lost sheep to return to the flock on its own. Instead, he set out and searched everywhere for the lost sheep.

Some people believe that God simply waits for lost individuals to seek Him out and come to faith on their own. Yet that rarely happens. Almost all lost people need to be sought out and supported by Christians. This parable teaches us that God—through Christians—actively seeks the lost person, and does so with a broken heart.

I grew up in a village in South Korea. A market was held there every five days. The marketplace was about seven kilometers from our home. When I was about five years old, I walked there with my mother. The market was quite large and crowded. While I was looking around curiously, I lost sight of my mother. What was I to do? I immediately started walking home. Since I had followed the railway tracks on the way there, I walked along them on the way back as well. I counted the railway bridges I crossed; there were eight of them. And what was my mother doing? She was searching the entire market for me. When she could not find me, she returned home. Upon seeing me, she was overjoyed—even though she had five other children besides me.

God is like my mother. With a broken heart, our God seeks lost people. God cannot simply wait for people to return home to Him; He sets out to find them—whatever the cost. That is why God came into the world as a human being and died on the cross for our salvation.

We, too, are called to seek lost people, even though it is not easy to find them and lead them to our heavenly home.

2. The second characteristic of a healthy church: leading sinning brothers and sisters to repentance (15–17)

Verse 15 reads, "If your brother sins, go and correct him—in private."

When a brother transgresses God’s commandment and sins, we should not simply turn a blind eye. Rather, we ought to show him our Christian love. What should our love look like in such a case? We should approach him and lovingly lead him to repentance.

Last time, I shared the story of how the Apostle John led a bandit leader to repentance. I will tell it again.

The Apostle John learned that the young man he had previously entrusted to the local bishop had since become a bandit leader himself. So, John went to the bandits' hideout.

The bandit leader was startled and began to flee. But John hurried after him and called out, "My son! Why do you flee from your father? Do not be afraid! There is still hope for your life. I will intercede for you with Christ. I am even willing, if necessary, to die for you, just as the Savior died for us. Jesus has sent me to you!"

At these words, the bandit leader stopped in shame; he threw away his weapons, wept bitterly, embraced the holy elder, and asked for forgiveness.

John’s actions constituted an effective correction. He was able to move the bandit leader to repent because he possessed holy love. We need holy love, just as the Apostle John did.

When the one who has gone astray confesses his guilt and repents, the person who helped him should explain that God has forgiven him. Furthermore, he should not spread word of the man's guilt to others. This helps the repentant brother maintain good fellowship with others. What should we do if the brother refuses to repent?

Jesus tells us, "If he does not listen to you, take one or two others along with you so that every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses."

Here, Jesus draws upon Old Testament teaching (cf. Deuteronomy 17:6). The goal is to lead the brother to an acknowledgment of the truth. The brothers and sisters offering help should act with a loving heart so that the person involved recognizes his guilt and repents.

What should we do if the person in question does not admit their guilt despite all our efforts?

Jesus says, "If he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector" (17).

If the brother’s behavior constitutes a serious violation of God’s commandment and he stubbornly refuses to repent, the church should exclude him. This drastic measure is intended to prompt the erring brother to recognize his mistake and to protect the church from being infected by the sin—for God desires to protect His church from danger.

3. The third characteristic of a healthy church: united prayer with one heart (18–20)

A problem can arise within the church—for instance, a member might love the world or commit a serious sin. If there is disagreement on how to handle the matter, this dispute can threaten the unity of the church. In the worst-case scenario, the church could fracture. What does Jesus teach us?

Jesus says to us, "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. Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them" (18–20).

Here, Jesus teaches us that we should pray to God with one heart. The church comes into being wherever two or three people pray to God with one heart. Naturally, believers should not pray for the fulfillment of their own will, but for the divine will—entirely in the spirit of the Lord's Prayer: "Your will be done..."

The church is present wherever two or three believers are gathered in Christ's name and pray to God with one heart. God gladly answers their prayer.

In many respects, the church resembles a family. A family is not about profit or personal gain, but about love and care. If conflicts frequently arise within a family, it harms all its members.

Therefore, we should not quarrel over trivial matters in the church but rather be united in brotherly fellowship. We should strive to worship and praise God with one accord. God takes great delight in this and gladly answers our prayers. Jesus promised us, "Where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them."

We ought to take this promise seriously. We should avoid conflict and preserve brotherly unity. Then God will surely bless our prayers, and we will all have grateful hearts and praise God with all our hearts.

A healthy congregation strives to lead fellow believers who have sinned to repentance. This is a somewhat painful task, yet Jesus Christ teaches us not to shy away from this effort.

Three characteristics of a healthy congregation or church

Let me briefly summarize three characteristics of a healthy congregation:

First, a healthy congregation has a heart that seeks lost souls.

Jesus came into the world to seek and save the lost. We should adopt the heart of Jesus and likewise possess a heart that seeks the lost.

Second, a healthy church strives to lead fellow believers who have sinned to repentance.

This is sometimes a painful task, yet Jesus Christ teaches us not to shrink from this effort.

Third, the believers pray to God with one heart.

Unity is crucial for well-being and divine blessing—both for a family and for a congregation.

May God help us to build such a healthy congregation so that we ourselves may be blessed and be a blessing to the world. Amen!