Today’s Podcast
Today’s Bible reading plan:
Read it in a year – 2 Samuel 1-4
see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)
Today’s Devotional
Matthew 18:15-17
Jesus: This is what you do if one of your brothers or sisters sins against you: go to him, in private, and tell him just what you perceive the wrong to be. If he listens to you, you’ve won a brother. But sometimes he will not listen. And if he does not listen, go back, taking a friend or two friends with you (for, as we have learned in Deuteronomy, every matter of communal import should be testified to by two or three witnesses).Then, if your brother or sister still refuses to heed, you are to share what you know with the entire church; and if your brother or sister still refuses to listen to the entire church, you are to cast out your unrepentant sibling and consider him no different from outsiders and tax collectors.
What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?
Man, if we would just put these words into practice in our churches, what a difference it would make in the love people felt for each other. What a difference the outside world would see in the sense of community with our churches and in our mission to the greater community around the facilities that hold our worship services. If your church is like every church I’ve attended in the last 62 years (by the way, that’s nine months before my birth for those that are wondering). People gossip, backbite, tell tales, exaggerate, talk about each other behind their backs, and all sorts of things that run contrary to these biblical principles.
And the world outside our doors know it goes on, because they hear the stuff around the water fountain at work, over the fence in the neighborhood, and now plastered all over facebook, instagram and twitter. We don’t even pretend to hide our failures to do the right thing in confronting the sins of one of our brothers and sisters. We’re afraid we might hurt their feelings, I guess.
But there’s a reason Jesus says to first go to the brother or sister who sins against us in private. Let me enlighten you after years of attending a lot of different churches in a lot of cities, states, and countries. Several years ago, good friend put this verse in great perspective. When you’re thinking about a brother or sister in Christ saying or doing something that hurts you, sins against you as Jesus starts his example, what do you have to think about that brother or sister to think they would purposely, intentionally, viciously do what ever it is they did against you a fellow brother of sister in Christ? Then ask yourself, knowing what you know of that person, do you really think they would do that? Usually, normally, most of the time if you’ll take the time to ask yourself those two questions, your answer to the second will be an emphatic no.
So what happened? The answer can usually be found in an illustration I used with soldiers about communication. If I gave the order to secure the building. It might seem clear at first. But what outcome would you expect? If you’re a Marine, you’d storm the building and nothing would be left of it. Not even a cockroach would survive. If you’re an Army soldier, you’d put up fighting positions around it, concertina wire, perhaps a few landmines, so nothing within 300 meters could come close without you knowing about it first. If you’re an Air Force pilot, you’d lock the door and turn out the lights. If you’re a Navy submariner, you’d pull out your checkbook and buy it. So what did I mean when I said secure the building?
That’s what happens in most of the events brothers and sisters in the church get most riled up about. What they heard is not what was said. I wanted the doors locked and the receiver of the information blew it up. Same words, but the outcome, the interpretation of those words were so totally different because of our different experiences, backgrounds, the lens through which we understand information, that what I wanted was completely missed.
That’s what happens usually, normally, most of the time between brothers and sisters in Christ. So Jesus says, go to that person in private. Find out what was really done. Maybe she said, “Secure the building” (lock the door) and what you heard was, “Secure the building” (blow it up). Getting together in private suddenly defuses the situation. You find out the words were meant to help, not hurt because you left the door unlocked and she was trying to save your stuff! You’ve won a friend.
If you still can’t communicate, if there is still tension between you, Jesus says take two or three people with you. The broader experience in the group helps sort that stuff out. Remember, the first two questions my friend asks, what do I have to believe about my Christian brother or sister to think they would really do what you think they did? Then, knowing what you really know about them, do you believe them to be that person? Three or four heads together can straighten things out and get everyone on the same sheet of music. If not, Jesus says, bring the sin to the whole congregation. If there is no repentance, no contrite heart, no brokenness, throw them out of the congregation before the infection of brothers and sisters failing to try to find unity in the body of Christ spreads to others. That’s what Jesus is telling us.
It’s a shame we don’t go to Jesus’ formula first. It really does work. There’d be a lot fewer squabbles in the church if we did. We see a lot fewer churches split over silly issues. Visitors would find and feel more love when they walked in the door. We would get along a lot better month after month and year after year if we would just do what Jesus told us to do. Try it. It works.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved. In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.