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 is concerning the brethren 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 every one 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
way. 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 of
the 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 another’s 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 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 talking 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 breakdown 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!!!
