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. Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Matthew, Chapter 18, verses 15-18.
God doesn’t want us to give up on people easily, but we are to follow a progression from approaching them privately to publicly, if necessary. First, we are to have a confidential talk with the person who is going down the wrong path. If that doesn’t work, we are to get others to help. It reminds me of something that I’ve seen on TV where loved ones gather together for an “Intervention” to tell a drug user that they need to go through drug rehab for their sake and all those who care about them. If that doesn’t work, we are to turn to the church for support to confront this person. If nothing works, we have to cut our losses, disassociating ourselves from that person so that we don’t inadvertently get caught up in their lifestyle.
Because this is an example of how I’ve applied this Bible passage to my life, it doesn’t necessarily reflect the whole meaning of the passage.
This is a connection I've made from this Bible passage. Please
share your connections.
