"Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican."
This lesson is directed specifically to the members of the Church. It addresses and, if obeyed, settles, one of the most outstanding failures that can be found within today's "Christian" community.
Today, just as did the Pharisees and Sadducees of Jesus day, the vast majority of those who claim "Christianity", instead of simply teaching the amazing grace of God through Jesus Christ crucified, continually rail out against the horrible "sins of the world". Folks, the "sins of the world" are not the problem of Christian people! The "sins of the world" are God's problem! We are not responsible to change what "the world" does or does not do. We don't even have the capacity, nor the authority to even recognize whether or not much of what we condemn is truly "sin". We are to simply live our lives in a manner that is obedient to the two "great" commandments. "Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." (Matt. 22:37-39)
From every instruction I've been able to find within the pages of the New Testament, Christian people are to ignore the "sins" of those around us (Except within the Church) and simply separate ourselves from them.
Jesus said, "No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day."(John 6:44)
We are not here to force the lost to come to Christ. We are absolutely and positively unable to "draw" the lost to Christ! Getting the lost to Christ is the job of the Father, as is clearly stated in John 6:44!
Now, getting to what today's lesson actually instructs Church members to do when they are personally offended by another member of the Church. Remember, Jesus said, "if THY BROTHER shall trespass against thee", He did not say if ANYONE trespasses against you. This lesson applies ONLY to those within the Church.
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