It's just ripping me apart; it's tearing me up. With them they had no religious contact or communion. Let none suppose that, in giving my own convictions, I have the presumptuous thought of putting these forward as if they were the sole motives in God's mind. The heavy-handed application of Matthew 18:15-20 leaves a trail of pain, broken relationships, and human carnage among Gods people. But whereas Gentiles are such by birth, tax collectors are such by choice. Your book on the misuse of apostolic authority-what an eye opener! The law said there was to be no ruling without the presence of two or three witnesses. (i) The love of God is an individual love. If the person still refuses to listen, take your case to the church. I feel sure that no Christian harbours a doubt about it. . At 18:6 He shifts and talks about interpersonal trespassesoffenses, If a first attempt at peacemaking has been unsuccessful, involve others in the community. It would have saved me years of heartache. How should Christians handle disputes (Matthew 18:15-17)? Particular epochs in Luke are noted with great care; but, speaking now of the general course of the Lord's life, a little attention will discover, from the immensely greater preponderance paid to the consideration of time in the second gospel, that there we have events from first to last given to us in their consecutive order. 1. The Spirit of God has been pleased to cull and class facts otherwise unconnected; for here follow conversations that took place a long time after any of the events we have been occupied with. Where private admonition does not prevail, there public censure must take place. 16 "But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every fact may be confirmed. Only the person who has the humility of the child is a citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven. Not that "tell it to the church" would have meant to original audiences "send messages to every community of believers in the world", but it has to mean that the issue is now not something involving the personalities or experience level of a few people directly involved, but a decision by the church in general (probably communicated better/wider than in our Internet Age!). Now He brings out not the kingdom merely, but His Church; and this not merely in view of hopeless unbelief in the mass, but of the confession of His own intrinsic glory as the Son of God by the chosen witness. God I am bitter. We need not dwell upon it. The question fairly arises, Why it is that the Holy Ghost has been pleased so remarkably to leave time out of the question in this chapter, as well as in the next? Josephus calls hell an everlasting prison. What Should Christians Do When Church Leaders Gaslight Them? Jesus said, "Look, if you don't forgive them from your heart, your Father won't forgive you your debt. This verse is a tough pill for Protestants to swallow. Jesus Christ teaches His disciples principles that will help them lead the Church. Now it is a great honour which Christ here puts upon the church, that he will condescend not only to take cognizance of their sentences, but to confirm them; and in the following verses we have two things laid down as ground of this. We are not meant to pray only for our own needs, thinking of nothing and no one but ourselves; we are meant to pray as members of a fellowship, in agreement, remembering that life and the world are not arranged for us as individuals but for the fellowship as a whole. Such is His grace, such His wisdom. The proper step is to tell the elders of the church directly to let them handle the situation since they are the authority over the pastor. If they listen to you, you have won them over. Paul tells the Thessalonians to admonish the sinner as they would a brother (2 Thessalonians 3:6-15). If he has indeed done thee a considerable wrong, endeavour to make him sensible of it, but let the rebuke be private, between thee and him alone; if thou wouldest convince him, do not expose him, for that will but exasperate him, and make the reproof look like a revenge." Set up a meeting with the person in a private setting and allow the pastor to confront that person with at least one witness present. It was the place into which everything that was useless was cast and there destroyed. To the end the events are put together, just as in Matthew 8:1-34, without regard to the point of time when they occurred. But if he neglect to hear the church: the advice they should give unto him, the reproof they should think proper for him, or the censure they should pass upon him. In life it is all a question of what a man is aiming at; if he is aiming at the fulfilment of personal ambition, the acquisition of personal power, the enjoyment of personal prestige, the exaltation of self, he is aiming at precisely the opposite of the Kingdom of Heaven; for to be a citizen of the Kingdom means the complete forgetting of self, the obliteration of self, the spending of self in a life which aims at service and not at power. 8, could not deny what was done in the case of the leper, who showed himself duly, and brought his offering, according to the law, to the altar. That is God's commandment! Thanks to your prophetic mind seminar, I now understand why people respond to me the way they do. Nor was it only a difference in the forms the truth took; but the vital principle which Christ was diffusing could not be so maintained. If there were, so to speak, a justification of circumcision by faith, undoubtedly there was also the justification of uncircumcision through their faith. That is fatal. In Judaea it was tragically easy for sheep to go astray. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. Thus the old link with the flesh, with Israel, is now disowned; and the new relationships of faith, founded on doing the will of His Father (it is not a question of the law in any sort), are alone acknowledged. shall be put to death; he shall not be put to death on the evidence of Effective prayer must be the prayer of agreement, from which the element of selfish concentration on our own needs and desires has been quite cleansed away. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. When he began to make a reckoning one debtor was brought to him who owed him 2,400,000 British pounds. (ii) Second, there is the quality of responsibility ( Matthew 18:5-7). For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost ( Matthew 18:11 ). 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. The ten thousand talent debt would take to carry it an army of about 8,600 carriers, each carrying a sack of sixpences 60 lbs. If there be no liberty and opportunity for large and numerous assemblies, yet then it is the will of God that two or three should gather together, to show their good-will to the great congregation. He is in the midst of them, that is, in their hearts; it is a spiritual presence, the presence of Christ's Spirit with their spirits, that is here intended. Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers. This is the way differences are to be resolved and settled within the church. As to any one else, even the most liberal gift that ever was given of God to fallen man on earth, to the golden head of the Gentiles, exempted the deep and its untamed inhabitants. Matthew 18:15-20 The New King James Version (NKJV) 15 "Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL c. 14. sect. He, on the contrary, insists not only that He was bound for the cross, but that its truth must be made good in any who will come after Him. How should be translated in 1 Corinthians 14:34? I mean, He is straight. Exegeses of Matthew 18 frequently overlook the fact that Jesus is not speaking to the multitude, but to the disciples (18:1), whose successors were the hierarchs and presbyters of the Church. It literally means belonging to the ages; there is only one person to whom the word aionios ( G166) can properly be applied, and that is God. He was then present, a man despised, yet with title to forgive sins, proved by immediate power to heal. "Tell him his fault, elenxon auton--argue the case with him" (so the word signifies); "and do it with reason and argument, not with passion." Jesus' words are carefully chosen to show the fate that awaits a man who teaches another to sin. Of course, this forces them to determine what Church this is. The forgiveness is from the heart. The sheep might be foolish but the shepherd would still risk his life to save it. That is what He wanted His disciples to do regarding the erring brother or sister. "Oh, I forgive you, but you do that again, you're going to get it. At last they got him to tell why. The point is, Matthew 18 is not a biblical mandate in such cases. This was done at home; and in any cottage such a mill could be seen. Having left Nazareth, as we saw, He takes up His abode in Capernaum, which was henceforth "His own city." (vii) There is the spirit of forgiveness ( Matthew 18:23-35); and the Christian's forgiveness of his fellow-men is founded on the fact that he himself is a forgiven man. Josiah had made it a place accursed. II. (ii) It stresses the terror of the punishment of those who teach another to sin. God could not be limited by a question of place; His word was enough. The first step is for the one who is wronged to go and speak privately with the one who has sinned in hopes of restoring the relationship. It is important Christians take the necessary steps to promote reconciliation and peace rather than strife and tension. If a first attempt at peacemaking has been unsuccessful, involve others in the community. Get the BEST VALUE in digital Bible study as you prepare for Easter. Numerous times Paul calls out people in his letters: 1 Corinthians 5:1-13; 1 Timothy 1:20; 2 Timothy 1:15; 2 Timothy 2:17; & 2 Timothy 4:10,14. . It is true to say that no man sins uninvited; and the bearer of the invitation is so often a fellow-man. 18:21-35 Then Peter came and said to him, "Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? But, yes that question is the basis for wanting to ask the question I have here. Since the Protestant Reformation in the 16 th Century, a plethora of interpretations have developed surrounding the famous passage of Matthew 16:18-19, where Christ declares that Peter is the "rock" upon which He will found His Church and is the one to whom He will give the . This is the only way of kindness. It spares him from the possibility of judgment from the wider community. And Jesus wanted it to be. I never thought it would happen to me. Or thou mayest, if thou wilt, break off thy friendship and familiarity with him; though thou must by no means study revenge, yet thou mayest choose whether thou wilt have any dealings with him, at least, in such a way as may give him an opportunity of doing the like again. They can manipulate a group of individuals and thus control and shape a community's experiential reality: a reality that too often accrues to the material, social, or psychological benefit of the church leadership. Answer Christians have often turned to the principles of Matthew 18 for guidance in handling disputes. There am I, not only I will be there, but I am there; as if he came first, is ready before them, they shall find him there; he repeated this promise at parting (Matthew 28:20; Matthew 28:20), Lo, I am with you always. But to talk matters over with some wise and kindly and gracious people present is to create a new atmosphere in which there is at least a chance that we should see ourselves "as others see us." So rather than Matthew 18:20 proving that the church is merely invisible and thus denying the visible aspect of the church, the verses right before it actually reveal the contrary, that the church is visible in nature. (iv) There is individual care ( Matthew 18:11-14). It was the Father's revelation of the Son; flesh and blood had not revealed it to Peter, but, "my Father, which is in heaven." Then comes the boast of Peter, though for others as well as himself. Note, Church discipline is for church members. It is an awful thing to receive a reproof from a church, from a minister, a reprover by office; and therefore it is the more regarded by such as pay any deference to an institution of Christ and his ambassadors. Jesus said unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven ( Matthew 18:22 ). Thanks to your prophetic seminar I am now free to be an authentic blessing to others, instead of always feeling like there is something wrong with me, because I can never seem to fit in., The residents in our recovery facility love your articles, so thank you your writings become part of their discipleship and recovery, This is an unfortunate and illegitimate understanding and application. It is true that in this particular instance Mark no more surrounds the leper with notes of time and place than do Matthew and Luke. They even went the length of saying, very beautifully, that every blade of grass had its angel. Private admonitions must always go before public censures; if gentler methods will do the work, those that are more rough and severe must not be used, Titus 3:10. However, it seems that if the whole church gets involved in reproving the offender, some sort of communal, as well as individual, punishment would be involved. He talks about offending these same little ones. The evil spirits asked leave to pass into the herd of swine, which thus typify the final condition of the defiled, apostate mass of Israel; their presumptuous and impenitent unbelief reduces them to that deep degradation not merely the unclean, but the unclean filled with the power of Satan, and carried down to swift destruction. I think that that 5 dollar book could save people a ton of hurt. There is no point in refusing to face the facts of the situation, and nothing but harm can result from teaching people to expect what does not happen. These are all legal terms. I feel like Ive been spinning my wheels for years and now like a babe relearning everything fresh n new.