If Your Brother Sins Against You
Matthew 18:15-20
15 “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you havegained your brother. 16 But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. 17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile anda tax collector. 18 Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed[a] in heaven. 19 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. 20 For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”
15 “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you havegained your brother. 16 But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. 17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile anda tax collector. 18 Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed[a] in heaven. 19 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. 20 For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”
Disputes seem too rampant in our churches
today. They can be caused by all sorts of things such as; rash decisions,
laziness, thoughtlessness, lack of gratitude, or just very poor communication
between parties. Whether the issues people have are justified or not, they
still need to be handled in a biblical manner. Jesus told us in these verses
how we are to resolve conflict with our brothers and sisters. There are four
steps we should take in order to reconcile with one another.
The initial step is
overlooked and ignored so often, it only snowballs and makes the issue worse
than it needs to be. If our brother sins against us, we must go and tell him
his fault. In today's society, it is rare that the conflict will be resolved
right there. We are a prideful people, and our first thought when we are
accused is to defend ourselves. Jesus says that if your brother listens to you,
you have gained your brother. He calls us to do this quickly and do not allow
Satan to place hate in your heart.
If dealing directly with
the manner doesn't work out, go to your brother with two or more witnesses so
that both of you may be held accountable. And if this still does not resolve
the issue, it should be brought to the church. Since the church is to be our
family, then as a family we should attempt to fix the problem. If the accused
does not change his ways, he to be treated an outsider and left alone. Jesus
tells us, "That whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and
whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." So if he chooses
to hold onto his sin and not repent, then he is bound his sin and until he
repents, he cannot enter into God's presence.
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