Wednesday after the Fourth Sunday after Trinity Sunday
Posted on June 30, 2021 by under
Scripture: St. Matthew 18:15-20 (NKJV)
18:15 “Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. 16 But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that ‘by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.’ 17 And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector.
18 “Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.
19 “Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”
Devotion
There is a difference between “forgiving” and “ignoring”. As fallen sinners, it is not always possible to separate them correctly, but God does. Through faith in Christ, God forgives our sins, but He does not ignore them. He no longer condemns us for our sins, but He does work to remove our sins and to keep them from hurting us.
Christians will sin against each other. But, when we do sin, God uses our fellow Christians to limit the damage of sin and to bring about healing. In particular, Christ is speaking of private sins against you, personally, for He says, “If your brother sins against you, go…” This does not apply to public sins, or to sins against someone else. If one Christian sins privately against another, it is that Christian’s responsibility to speak to his brother privately and respectfully before passing judgement. In so doing, God works to limit the damage of sin through that Christian.
If, ultimately, the sin comes to the authority of the Church, God still chooses to work through Christian men. Christ says, “Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” He is speaking of the Office of the Keys—that special office given to the Church in the persons of the called ministers. Through the Ministry of these men, God works healing for His Church, either by removing the cancerous sin of being unrepentant, or declaring forgiveness and reconciliation to the one who has faith in Christ.
Prayer: Grant, O Lord, we beseech Thee, that the course of this world may be so peaceably ordered by Thy governance that Thy Church may joyfully serve Thee in all godly quietness; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
