He was going to build His Church "upon this rock" Himself, the Son of God. For he figures it's better to be a free muskrat with three paws, than having four paws be tacked on a fur board.So Jesus is saying much the same thing here. Of what phrase is this reminiscent? "If he shall hear thee" --that is, "heed thee--if he be wrought upon by the reproof, it is well, thou hast gained thy brother; thou hast helped to save him from sin and ruin, and it will be thy credit and comfort," James 5:19; James 5:20. In the time of Jesus the Jews had a very highly-developed angelology. And so with the other conversation: "Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father;" it was after the glory of Christ had been witnessed on the holy mount, when man's selfishness of heart showed itself in contrast to the grace of God. Take notice of the care with which the Spirit of God here omits all reference to this: "And a certain scribe came." The objective of all discipline is ultimately restoration, not exclusion. The child's humility is the pattern of the Christian's behaviour to his fellow-men, and the child's dependence and trust are the pattern of the Christian's attitude towards God, the Father of all. 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. Since Jesus uses Church only one other time (in Matt 16:18), it is obvious that this Church must mean the one He built upon St. Peter. All of 18:15-20 pertains to the Apostles and their successors and not anyone whosoever claims to be a Christian, including His teaching regarding what they should bind on earth should be bound in heaven (18:18), as well as that when two or three of them are gathered in His name, he would be in their midst (18:20). There is a Rabbinic tale of Rabbi Jochanan ben Zaccai who wept bitterly at the prospect of death. A child does not wish to push himself forward; rather, he wishes to fade into the background. Such a sinner shall suffer a fate worse than death. After this, in the chapter we have the positive hindrance asserted of what man counts good. Fourthly, The unanimous petitions of the church of God, for the ratification of their just censures, shall be heard in heaven, and obtain an answer; "It shall be done, it shall be bound and loosed in heaven; God will set his fiat to the appeals and applications you make to him." This includes forbidding all forms of social or human contact with the shunned one and their family. Though a testimony to them, still it was in the result a recognition of what Moses commanded. God proves what He is by the revelation of Jesus. note, Christians should see their need of help in doing good, and pray in the aid one of another; as in other things, so in giving reproofs, that the duty may be done, and may be done well. One passage, "And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church" (16:18), has become the basis of Roman Catholic belief in the divine institution of the papacy. Here is one of these sayings of Jesus, whose meaning we need to probe or we will be left with heartbreak and great disappointment. This sets forth not at all the way in which the Christian stands related to Christ; for even though we had known Him after the flesh, henceforth know we Him no more. Treat Them Like a Tax Collector: Reflections on Matthew 18, Church God bless them. Our Lord then answers, with perfect dignity, as well as grace; He puts before the disciples of John the real state of the case; He furnishes them with plain, positive facts, that could leave nothing to be desired by John's mind when he weighed all as a testimony from God. Then, alas! Matthew 18:17 - Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary - StudyLight.org Such a man must be guided and corrected and, if need be, disciplined back into the right way. Though the fact is plain, and the fault too, yet they must be put together with application. And the same day, when the even was come, He saith unto them, let us pass over unto the other side. It is not a temporal power to be wielded with a heavy hand, personal agenda, or political intent. No doubt it is a tie of nature for this life only. Beyond the technicalities of the text, I think God is a realist when it comes to human beings and their interactions with each other. The Lord, no doubt, knew the heart of His servant, and could feel for him in the effect that circumstances took upon him. Churches that want to follow Jesus Christ desire to follow the tenets of the Bible. I enjoy the way you put Truth into words! It does not mean taking two or three shills with you who are on your side, to beat the other person down until they agree with you. However, you do have your local chapter where there is a group of members you are vital with and have a relationship. It may be taken purely personally. More trouble has been caused by the writing of letters than by almost anything else. There is far more in aionios ( G166) than simply a description of that which has no end. Wretched we, that we should need such proof of it; wretched, that we should be so slow of heart to answer to it, or even to feel its immensity! Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. 18:15-18 "If your brother sins against you, go, and try to convince him of his error between you and him alone. Where does the Baptist take his Pentecostal brother? "Let the reproof be private, between thee and him alone; that it may appear you seek not his reproach, but his repentance." Better to go through life maimed, than into hell whole. The woman of Canaan, out of the borders of Tyre and Sidon, appeals to Him; a Gentile of most ominous name and belongings a Gentile whose case was desperate; for she appeals on behalf of her daughter, grievously vexed with a devil. He tells them that they should not have gone over (or finished) the cities of Israel till the Son of man be come. Pass no sentence, which you cannot in faith ask God to confirm. This, I believe, is a great lesson, and too often forgotten. Ask students to silently rate each offense on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the easiest to forgive and 10 being the hardest. The warning in this passage applies specifically to one who causes the loss of a human soul. Note, 1. The fact is, in judging others we judge ourselves. Our human pictures, and our human time-scheme, fail; this is in the hands of God. let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican: To illustrate His point regarding unrepentant sin, Jesus uses two classes of people who are particularly despised in His day. Christian reproof is an ordinance of Christ for the bringing of sinners to repentance, and must be managed as an ordinance. i) Simon Peter knew that he was not the foundation. "When we were boys at play," he said, "one day at a cross-roads we reversed a signpost so that its arms were pointing the opposite way, and I've never ceased to wonder how many people were sent in the wrong direction by what we did." Note, Church discipline is for church members. Your book brings it altogether in depths I had not yet seen. We have noted that the terms "lord," "disciple," "apostle," and others came to have more specific meanings as Gods kingdom plan unfolded. Well, you may be right. Be careful that you do not offend one of those little ones, who believes and trusts in Him. Suppose they were paid in sixpences. Next is the one pearl of great price, the unity and beauty of that which was so dear to the merchantman. Verse 4 seems quite adverse to the idea that great multitudes were witnesses of the cure; for why "tell no man," if so many knew it already? "Tell him his fault, remind him of what he has done, and of the evil of it, show him his abominations." If thy eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire. THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW: >Discourse #4: The Sermon on the Life of the Homily LX on the Gospel According to St. Matthew. It was the rule that, if a sheep could not be brought back alive, then at least, if it was at all possible, its fleece or its bones must be brought back to prove that it was dead. It is enough to meet a difficulty which many feel by the simple plea that the reason assigned is in my judgment a valid explanation, and in itself a sufficient solution of the apparent discrepancy. Then the master summoned him, and said to him, 'You wicked servant! Heats and animosities, among those whose work it is to remove offences, will be the greatest offence of all. He that humbles himself shall be exalted"( Luke 14:11 ). [2.] But by following the steps in Matthew 18, you can have a clear, biblical approach and how to confront someone, point out their sin, and achieve the reconciliation God desires for all of us. Christ and believers have twisted interests; what is done against them Christ takes as done against himself, and what is done against him they cannot but take as done against themselves. I love Jesus; He is a man's man. My soul may have been spared a great deal of malarkey. Matt 18:17-18 is, or should be used, when defending the Church. We just need to forgive, and move on. How should Christians handle disputes (Matthew 18:15-17)? The Lord then had been shown such as He was towards Israel, had Israel in their leprosy come to Him, as did the leper, even with a faith exceedingly short of that which was due to His real glory and His love. Next, we find Him confessed by the centurion, no longer as the Messiah, when actually with them, confessed according to a faith which saw the deeper glory of His person as supreme, competent to heal, no matter where, or whom, or what, by a word; and this the Lord Himself hails as the foreshadowing of a rich incoming of many multitudes to the praise of His name, when the Jews should be cast out. This chapter 18 conversation took place in private, in a house (see commentary on Matthew 18:1-5). And the fellowservant fell down at his feet, and he begged him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything. This ministry is sustained by the freewill offerings of those believe in the message of a radical grace in a new covenant understanding. Matthew 18:17 In-Context 15 "If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. Having said that, I believe the Church in your question simply refers to a group members in your local fellowship. Video for Matthew 18: Matthew 18:15-20 - Agreement in Prayer. It is critical that we keep this in mind when someone tries to implement Matthew 18. How Is Harry Potter a Literary Christ Figure? If we have a difference with someone, there is only one way to settle it--and that is face to face. Note, We should think no pains too much to take for the recovering of a sinner to repentance. Most the commentaries I've read agree that "the church" refers to the local church as compared to a universal church. They may also take their concern to a pastor or other superior, shirking their responsibility to deal with it directly. I read Silent Killers Of Faith and it has changed my pastoral life from legalism to New Covenant preaching. Make sure the person has been confronted by all the members of the elders before taking it to the next level. We are dependent, therefore, for determining this case, on the fact that Mark does habitually adhere to the chain of events. So now we have, in the healing of Peter's mother-in-law, another fact containing a principle of great value, that His grace towards the Gentile does not in the least degree blunt His heart to the claims of relationship after the flesh. It is the fine thing for you to enter into life with one eye, rather than to be cast into the Gehenna of fire with two eyes.". That is an incredible debt. 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. In Judaea it was tragically easy for sheep to go astray. 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." "No man putteth a piece of new cloth unto an old garment; for that which is put in to fill it up taketh from the garment, and the rent is made worse." ", 2. "Can a woman forget her sucking child? In what sense did Jesus, our Lord, take their infirmities, and bear their sicknesses? It amplifies it a little further.Now Jesus said. Nor is this all. If you want me to explain it away, I can't. If your . Matthew 18:17-18 NIV - If they still refuse to listen, tell it - Bible Treating the sinner as a tax-gatherer or Gentile would be difficult for only leadership to carry out as the rest of the church (without being briefed on the circumstance) may wonder why he/she is being treated that way. I cant tell you how much your blog posts have meant to me. In the opening chapters of Amos there is a series of condemnations on the various nations for three transgressions and for four ( Amos 1:3; Amos 1:6; Amos 1:9; Amos 1:11; Amos 1:13; Amos 2:1; Amos 2:4; Amos 2:6). Your life depends on it, you got to cut it out." To satisfy the physical needs of a child, to wash his clothes and bind his cuts and soothe his bruises and cook his meals may often seem a very unromantic task; the cooker and the sink and the work-basket have not much glamour; but there is no one in all this world who helps Jesus Christ more than the teacher of the little child and the harassed, hard-pressed mother in the home. Evidently it is the change of dispensation that is in question and at hand, the cutting off of the fleshly seed for their unbelief, and the bringing in of numerous believers in the name of the Lord from among the Gentiles. Jesus called a little child and made him stand in the middle of them, and said, "This is the truth I tell you--unless you turn and become as children, you will not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. Thirdly, If he neglect to hear them, and will not be humbled, then tell it to the church,Matthew 18:17; Matthew 18:17. (2.) So take heed that you despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven [and I love this] their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven ( Matthew 18:8-10 ). All these passages use the word aionios ( G166) ; but we must be careful to remember what it means. The design is, I think, manifest: the Spirit of God is here giving a vivid picture of the manifestation of the Messiah, of His divine glory, of His grace and power, with the effect of this manifestation. In Matthew 18:15-17, Jesus is giving instructions in how to correct a local church member who has fallen into a sin. He was ignorant of himself, because ignorant of God, and imagined that it was only a question of man's doing good for God. (i) It teaches that lesson which runs through all the New Testament--a man must forgive in order to be forgiven. What Is the Biblical Way to Confess Your Sins to One Another? Now let us see. At its best, the pasture is sparse. But when we come to see what this saying means, there is a precious depth in it. What does Matthew 18:15 mean? | BibleRef.com To help a child to live well and to know God better is to help Jesus Christ. In the next discourse we may hope to have the rest of his gospel. Matthew 18 and the Universal Church - g3min.org
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