Unexpected Truth – I Am My Brother’s Keeper, is something that has probably crossed your mind. The problem is that we think – boy, I really don’t want to do this. Why would the person caught in a sin listen to me?
Highest Act of Love
One question I get frequently is how is this process from Matthew 18, also known as church discipline, and if taken to its end – removing the person from the church is excommunication – how is this the highest act of love? It looks like torture for all parties involved. My answer is simple. When I go and visit people and I invite them to church once in a while I meet people who are Christian, but they want nothing to do with a church. First that’s not God’s plan for his church. He says let’s NOT give up meeting together as some are in the habit of doing. Rather let’s encourage each other – all the more as you see the day approaching. I tell them, you can be a Christian all by yourself, but who’s going to come after you when you fall, when you get sick. Who will call you to repentance when you get caught in a sin. You think, you’re going to be able to do that all by yourself?
Dangerous To Do Alone
There are many activities you should not do alone. I was fishing on the Shenandoah river this week. Incredible stretch of God’s creation. It’s dangerous to do alone. There are many hazards to your soul in this life. These are spiritual problems that demand spiritual solutions. When we go through church discipline and yes, maybe even excommunicate someone, it is the highest act of love because if we do nothing, there is a very good chance that the person would be lost.
Want to hear more? Watch this week’s message taken from Matthew 18, Unexpected Truth – I Am My Brother’s Keeper.
Book(s): Matthew
Series: Unexpected Truths
Tag(s): Confession
Speaker(s): Fred Guldberg