Today’s Podcast
Today’s Bible reading plan:
Read it in a year – Psalms 48-50
see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)
Today’s Devotional
Matthew 18:18-20
Jesus: Remember this: whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. And this: if two or three of you come together as a community and discern clearly about anything, My Father in heaven will bless that discernment. For when two or three gather together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.
What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?
We quote the last sentence of this paragraph often. “When two or three gather together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.” We talk about it when there are small numbers gathered for prayer. We use it when small numbers gather to worship. We use it to motivate small numbers that come together for a task that needs larger numbers. We use these words to remind us that when God is with us we always have a majority. Using these words in this way does motivate us and they are true, but…
Look again at these words in context. Jesus just talked about the way we should approach a brother or sister who wronged us. He just talked about how we should first go to that person in private and if that doesn’t work, go to the person with one or two others, and if that fails to remedy the situation, then take the matter to the congregation. If the sinner remains unrepentant, then Jesus says remove the person from the fellowship in hopes the harsh punishment will wake them up and bring them to their knees in repentance at some point. But in the meantime, their actions will not pollute the church, the bride of Christ.
So, just after giving the instructions on how to deal with the wrongs of a fellow member in our congregation, He gives these words. “What you bind on earth will be bound in heaven and what you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” He refers back to the resolution of issues in the church he’s just been discussing. He hasn’t broken His chain of thought. He’s still in the middle of this fourth sermon and continuing to expound on His instructions to His bride, the church.
He tells us two or three or four heads are better than one in discerning the right course of action to take when issues come up in the church. And He says we should pray and talk with each other when He says, “if two or three of you come together as a community and discern clearly about anything…” It’s important that we get the perspective of others when issues pop up in the church, and they will, before we damage the reputation or character of another member. When we deal with relationship issues with brothers and sisters in the body of Christ, they get messy. Discerning the right path, the right actions, often takes two or three heads.
When those two or three people earnestly seek God’s counsel, His will, and find consensus in the right path to take in a particular issue with their brother or sister who has strayed and needs correction from the body of Christ. When those two or three find agreement in God’s presence. Jesus says, “the Father in heaven will bless that discernment.” What does that mean? Does it mean they will be happy with the decision and no tears will be shed when they mete out some punishment on a friend? No. Does it mean everything will go back to the way it was before the incident? No. Does it mean God will be present as you carry out His will and ensure the results work for the good of His church? Absolutely!
Why is this true? Because Jesus gave us the promise we quote so often. “When two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.” What a powerful promise. We can know the actions to take when difficult issues arise in the church. We can take the appropriate actions to keep the name of Christ clean and pure. But today, there is a difference between being the member of Christ’s body, His church, and being the member of an earthly denomination.
My daughter told me recently of a young woman who sincerely announced that she was a Christian, but followed the ways of Buddha because he was such an enlightened teacher. I would invite her to attend my church, the building where I worship and teach, but I would not let her become a member of my church. At least not until she stopped following anything or anyone but Jesus. But that’s the problem in many of our congregations today. We fail to confront the false teaching and wayward living that exists within the four walls of the institutions we call the church and let outsiders think we are Christian when we clearly are not. When we allow individuals like this young woman to come into our institutions and truly believe they are right with God, there is something wrong with our teaching.
There is but one way to heaven and that is through Jesus, the Son of God. There is but one Savior, Jesus. There is but one Redeemer, Jesus. There is but one perfect sacrifice for our sins, Jesus. There is only One capable of forgiving our sins, Jesus. There is only One who will plead for us at the final judgment, Jesus, the Son of the living God. Following after, worshiping, obeying, focusing your devotion on anything or anyone other than Him is idolatry and violates His commands. If you violate His commands, you cannot call yourself a Christian. Well, you can call yourself a Christian, but I can call myself a martian, too, but that doesn’t make me one.
Do you do more than just believe in Jesus? Remember, He said even the demons do that. You must truly follow Him if you desire to carry His name.
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