Matthew 18:15-20
“15 Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go
and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou
hast gained thy brother.
16 But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or
two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be
established.
17 And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the
church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an
heathen man and a publican.
18 Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth
shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be
loosed in heaven.
19 Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on
earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of
my Father which is in heaven.
20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name,
there am I in the midst of them.”
I am a firm believer that most of the problems in the Lord's
Churches today stem from internal issues. Whether it is a false teacher who has
crept in and begins teaching false doctrine a little at a time at first. Or it
is the members who seem to prefer to follow the world rather than follow
Christ. But I believe one of, if not the worst, things that can happen to a
church is when the brethren begin to gossip and talk about each other without
caring to understand the others situation or to know the truth of the matter at
hand.
In the verses above our Lord is teaching Peter, James and
John. The leaders of the first church. Jesus is teaching them on matters that
will concern the churches to come.
In this passage Jesus addresses the matter of the offended
brother. Notice in verse 17 this is concerning the brethern who are members of
the same church. He is not discussing the brethren of His Kingdom, but rather,
His churches.
So, if a brother, who is a member of the same church we are
a member of, offends us in some way, Jesus tells us we are to go to them in
private or “alone”. We are to discuss the offense with them alone. We are not
to spread the news to everyone of the members and certainly not to the public
in general. But, no, only to the one who has offended us.
It may not be an apology at first. It may be just the two
getting their side out in the open and their concerns known to the other. But,
it should lead to an apology from both to each other in the end. Jesus tells us
“if he will hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.” I have found that the best
way to gain the respect of someone is to be open and honest with them. Whether
we can work out our difference or not, respect goes a long ways. If we love the
Lord like we claim we will show compassion on our brethren even when offended.
The problem is when we go to others first. Most times those
others have no idea who to believe and would rather not be involved. But then
there are those who seem to thrive on a good juicy story and will continue to
spread the tale, changing it to suit their own ideas. And then there are those
who will just sit back and listen and become offended themselves, not knowing
the whole matter, but willing to believe what they have been told by only one
party.
The Lord warns of these very things. It is only after we
have approached our brother and he has not heard us that we take this up with
others in the church. And even then, we along with the others are to go to him
in the same manner.
But notice the order of things. First we go to them
ourselves, without telling anyone else and try to resolve the matter without
anyone else needing to know. If that fails then second we take one or two more
back with us as witnesses and these one or two are to be fellow members of the
same church. If this fails, then we bring it before the church. Bringing it
before the church is to be a last resort. When all other means have failed,
then and only then are we to bring the matter before the church. It is only
then that if he refuses to hear the church that the church has the authority to
discipline a member. And that would only be if the matter could not be
resolved.
Gossip and refusing to hear anothers side of the story are
very serious matters when it comes to the Lord's people and to the Lord's
churches. We are warned of these things all through God's Word. Yet, we as
God's people, will follow after the ways of the world or our own ideas even in
this.
Offending a brother is a very serious matter. But refusing
to go to the one who has offended us and talk over the matter with them in
private is just as wrong as the original offense. As God's children we are to
love one another as Christ loves us. Even more so when we are members of the
same church. Communication is key when it comes to our love for our brethren.
So many times the lack of or the break down of communication between two people
has caused unnecessary grief and mistrust.
We need to remember the next two verses: “Then came Peter to
him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive
him? Till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven
times: but, Until seventy times seven.”
O child of God, have you a conflict with one of your
brethren? Have you been willing to go to the one and try to settle the matter?
Or are you waiting on them? Remember Jesus said we are to go tell him his
fault. He did not tell us to wait for them. Follow the example Jesus gave. Not
just in this but in all things. How much more of a witness of Christ would we
be if we simply followed His teachings and loved our brethren more than we love
ourselves?
Please understand, many times when I write these devotionals
I am looking at myself as I write, as is the case with this one. Also, remember
it is me who the Lord preaches these to first. It is not always easy write what
He gives sometimes. But He always brings a blessing no matter how hard the
lesson.
Praise ye the Lord!!!
