Friday February 22, 2013

Read Matthew 18:15-35.

 

Yesterday we saw what conflict resolution looks like from the point of view from the aggressor. Today we look at conflict resolution from the point of view of the victim.

 

If you have been sinned against, the Bible is clear about what you have to do. First and foremost you must go to the person who has sinned against you to seek reconciliation. You must go alone and humbly with a spirit of reconciliation, seeking to win your brother over. If he repents and apologies you are to leave the matter at that. It must not go any further.

 

If your brother does not agree with you and is hesitant to take you seriously then you take two or three others along because the testimony is to be settled by two or three witnesses (Deuteronomy 17:6, 19:15).  If the brother listens to you and the small posse, then the matter is settled. Offer your forgiveness and then leave it and move on with your life.

 

If however, the matter is not settled you are to tell it to the church and if the brother is not willing to listen to the church then the church is to remove that person and treat them as a ’pagan or tax collector’. While some have argued that this means they are to be loved (often evangelistically) and cared for in such a way that they repent and come into the kingdom, that is hardly the point. The point is that they are rebuked for their sinfulness and the love and companionship and camaraderie that is missed, urges that person and pulls them to repent and to be reconciled to the person they had earlier wrong. You can see this entire process working to perfection in the background of 2 Corinthians 2:1-8. Read it carefully and you’ll Matthew 18:15-18 working as it should.

 

But the focus on the passage is not on the one who has wronged the other. It is on the other. The focus is on forgiveness, as opposed to holding onto anger. At every stage of the process the victim must be ready and willing to forgive as he himself has been forgiven by Christ. The one who has been forgiven the greater debt must be ready and willing to forgive the far smaller debt.

 

Are you ready to forgive those who have sinned against you? Are you ready to let go of the past hurts and to love with the love of Christ Jesus? While you hang onto the hurt and the pain and the unforgiveness, the only person you are destroying and hurting is YOU.

 

Prayer:

Write down your prayer points in the space provided. Use today’s reading to help you get ideas.

Adoration:

 

 

Confession:

 

 

Thanks:

 

 

Supplication:

¥ Pray that your church would be oozing forgiveness and love. Pray that the world would see the forgiveness of Christ in your church and be drawn to the love of Christ.

 

Discussion Questions For Families and Groups

1. What should you do if you are a victim to someone else’s sin in the church?

2. What issues can arise if you follow Matthew 18?