Last week we looked at forgiveness and how important forgiveness is to God.
We touched on:
• Where asking for forgiveness was first mentioned in the bible. Found in Exodus 9:27
• We also looked how Adam and Eve blamed others instead of asking for forgiveness.
o A friend commented to me this past week that maybe they didn’t know they needed to ask for forgiveness.
? Here’s my take: They knew they disobeyed God, and in their shame, covered themselves with fig leaves.
? Shortly after God found Adam and Eve hiding in the garden after they ate of the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, He cover them with the skin of an animal.
• This is the first mention of animal sacrifice in the bible.
• God offered a sacrifice to man to cover man’s sins, before man began offering sacrifices to God for sinning against Him.
• We took a look at Matthew 18:21-35
o Jesus said, and I paraphrase “The Kingdom of Heaven wants to settle accounts with it’s servants.”
o In this passage Jesus teaches us the importance of forgiveness, so important in fact, that scripture says this:
o Read v34-35 from my bible
• Today we are going to look at Matthew 18:15-20. So I’ll ask you to turn there and stand with me as we honor God while reading His word.
• Set it up: 10-14
o Parable of the sheep
? Jesus has come to save us
? God does not want anyone to perish
• Don’t miss this key point:
o This is also a message of unity
o One is separated and brought back to the flock
• Read Matthew 18:15-20
I think it might be easy to see this only as a conflict resolution message, but it is much more than that.
Let me illustrate:
• A while back, I got wind that someone wasn’t happy with the ways things were going at CPC. I didn’t hear about it from the person who was upset, but through another source.
o I contacted this person, and said I hear you aren’t happy with some things at church.
? He expressed his dissatisfaction
? We visited a bit.
? There was a conflict, but I had not sinned against this person. There was nothing biblically that I had done wrong against him or God.
• Although I believe Jesus gives us a recipe here for conflict resolution, it is directed at sinning against another, not simply a disagreement in format or procedures.
V15 And if your brother sins, go and reprove him in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother.
This is the NASB. Ask others to read theirs.
I looked at the Greek transliteration of a few words.
Sins (Ham-ar-tan-o) In the context of this verse it means “offend” or “wronged”
Reprove- Greek transliteration is: disapprove of their behavior.
If your brother has wronged you, go and tell him you disapprove of his behavior.
Notice Jesus doesn’t say, “send him an email or text or call him on the phone, he says “go and show”(several translations)
Do we always know when we wronged someone? If that person doesn’t tell us, how can he be sure we know?
For many personally, there have been many times when I see a subtle change in my relationship with someone, I approach and ask “Have I offended you in some way?”
It’s funny, but according to scripture, that is backwards, or as my grandfather used to say “bass ackwards”.
Jesus instructs us to approach that person, and in the ideal world, in the end we have, won our brother!
Keep in mind, Jesus is addressing believers.
Unfortunately, it is not always that simple, and Jesus knows this, so He gives us step 2.
V16. But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so the by the mouth of two or three witnesses, every fact, may be confirmed.
Ask others to read their bible.
Second time Jesus uses the word “listen”. I had a mentor that taught me “God gave us two ears, and one mouth, for a reason. So we could listen twice as much as we speak.
Listen- the Greek means “hear you, as in perceive what you are saying.”
Witnesses- in this context the Greek literally means “in a judicial sense.” About to get real huh?
Fact- Greek=accusation
Confirmed- Greek=established
Restate verse
• But if he does not perceive what you are saying, take one or two more with you, so that by the mouth of two or three of those who will testify to the accusations, and will establish what was said.
V17 And if he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile, and tax-gatherer.
• In each of these 3 verses the word “listen” is used by Jesus.
• Church-Ekklesia (ek-klay-SEE-ah) The called out ones.
o There’s a whole nuther sermon right there.
o Jesus is speaking about the leadership in the church.
• Gentile- Greek transliteration means “heathen”.
o Jesus is saying “if they are NOT going to listen, they can’t be a part of this body of Christ”.
o Here’s why He is so adamant about this point. The church will implode within if we don’t handle the situation in this way.
? Give my personal experience with Mike Nelson.
• Handled wrong
V18 Truly I say to you, whatever you shall bind on earth, shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
• Perhaps to have a better understanding of what of what Jesus is saying we need to go back to Matthew 16:18-19
o Jesus asks the disciples “who do the people say I am?” They gave various replies, then He asked
o “Who do YOU say I am?
? Peter replied “thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
? Jesus said “Blessed are you Peter, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.”
? Then He says this “And I will give thee the keys of the kingdom of the heavens. And whatever thou shalt bind on this earth, shall be as having been bound in the heavens, and whatever thou shalt loose on the earth shall be as having been loosed in the heavens.
? I believe this is huge. Here is what I believe Jesus is saying “those things decided by the King in the kingdom of heaven, are to be emulated by the church on earth. “The church” being the true believers.
? I also believe Jesus is speaking of a binding of “things”, not a binding of people. He says “whatever”, not “whoever”.
• For me, it is easy to see how this gets lost in translation, but as believers we must declare this over our lives!
• V19-20- Jesus is once again teaching us on the power of prayer!
o This is why I felt led to pray over the body of Christ last Sunday.
This week I was reminded of a scene in Charlie Brown when Lucy tells Linus to change the channel to something she wants to watch.
He asks, “what gives you the right”?
She replies “See these 5 fingers? Individually they are nothing, but curled up together in a single unit, they form a terrible weapon to behold”
Linus replies “what channel do I change it to”
And as he turns away, he says to his fingers “why can’t you guys get organized like that?”
Church, as the body of Christ, we have to grab hold of the idea, that in a unified state, guided by the Holy Spirit, we are unstoppable!
There’s always going to be conflict in the church y’all.
It’s our attitude and approach to handling it, is what will determine our growth. I’m not talking about numbers, but our growth in our walk with Christ, as we become mature in the stature of Christ! This is what creates unity, and that unity, creates strength to do what we are called to do.
Although v17 is harsh, Jesus doesn’t say we:
Are to lash out on one another
Or be indignant to one another
Or be condescending to one another
I mentioned that in Genesis 3, God makes a covering of animal skin for Adam and Eve.
That covering was the first mention of sacrifice in the bible.
It doesn’t mention what animal was sacrificed as atonement for their sins.
He made another sacrifice thousands of years later!
That sacrifice was through the blood of Jesus our Lord and Savior!
I’d like to mention one other verse about forgiveness as I call the worship team up.
That passage is found in Matthew 5:23-24. This is part of His sermon on the mount.
Read from my bible.
A couple final thoughts about forgiveness.
Ephesians 4:26
This is a chapter about unity, but listen to 4:26
NLT- and don’t sin by letting anger control you. Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry.
Don’t let your anger fester! Address it now!
Say goodbye to online viewers.
One final thought;
We are called to live in unity, not uniformity.
There are times we might just need to agree to disagree.
It doesn’t make you a lesser person, it actually makes you a better person.
