Matthew 18:15-20 Fighting, Loving, and Praying Together
Format for Your Devotions
Instructions: Do not read my example devotion until you have completed your own devotional time in the scriptures. Reading my thoughts first may limit your own understanding. Let the Holy Spirit speak to you alone before looking to see what anyone else has to say, whether it is me, a Bible commentary, or a friend. Let God speak to you before you let another person speak to you. I have provided a format, but modify it to fit your needs. For example, I usually combine my application and prayer together talking to God about the application to my own life. You can go through this devotion process mentally, speaking out loud, or in writing as you wish. Don’t worry if you are not following this process exactly. Sometimes, I add extra information and sometimes I emphasize one part more than others. However, you should always think about what you learn about God from this passage.
Step 1: Pray–Ask for the Holy Spirit’s guidance first of all and that God may reveal the lessons that He wants you to have that day. Request that God protect you from Satan’s distractions (and the devil will try to distract you whether it is pinching the baby or putting you to sleep). Ask to see God more clearly as you read and think about the passage.
Step 2: Read the passage–Read to get an overview of the information first. Then start looking at specific parts after the first reading. You may read a larger or smaller section than I have here because you do not have to follow my organization at all.
Step 3: Understand the passage–You can summarize, ask and answer your own questions about the passage, visualize the story, analyze the characters, and relate this passage to other scriptures and personal experiences.
Step 4: What does this reveal about God?–What do you learn about the Father, Son, and/or Holy Spirit from this passage?
Step 5: Apply this to your own life.
Step 6: Prayer
My Example Devotion: May 19, 2019 Matthew 18:15-20
Note: In the devotion examples, I leave my questions and thought processes in the text because I am trying to demonstrate that a devotional time is a dialogue with God about what you are reading from His word. As such, any questions or ideas that you have should be explored by talking it out with God. These example devotions are not my attempts to teach you what the meaning of a particular scripture is. They are an attempt to teach you the process of devotions, which is a combination of prayer and Bible study where you explore ideas with God as you read His word.
“If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”
(Understanding the Text) I like the Message’s version of this: “If a fellow believer hurts you, go and tell him—work it out between the two of you. If he listens, you’ve made a friend. If he won’t listen, take one or two others along so that the presence of witnesses will keep things honest, and try again. If he still won’t listen, tell the church. If he won’t listen to the church, you’ll have to start over from scratch, confront him with the need for repentance, and offer again God’s forgiving love. ‘Take this most seriously: A yes on earth is yes in heaven; a no on earth is no in heaven. What you say to one another is eternal. I mean this. When two of you get together on anything at all on earth and make a prayer of it, my Father in heaven goes into action. And when two or three of you are together because of me, you can be sure that I’ll be there'” (Matthew 18:16-20).
I was trying to think about what kind of sin a fellow Christian could do to sin against me. It would have to be something serious for it to eventually involve the whole church, so I don’t think it’s something like being rude at potluck or picking an apple off of my tree. I guess stealing and cheating me in a business transaction might do it. Maybe, some kind of immorality towards me like sexual harassment.
The idea of taking witnesses and putting it before the church and treating the person as if he/she is not a believer in fellowship are based on Deuteronomy. “One witness shall not rise against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin which he sins. At the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses a thing shall be raised up to judgment” (Deuteronomy 19:15). As such they are a kind of legal proceeding and this advice in many ways has been treated as the steps of a legal process that leads ultimately towards disfellowship. However, the Message’s version makes it more personal. Take the two witnesses so that the situation stays honest. The witnesses are to act more as mediators trying to bring both sides into harmony. Yes, they are to be witnesses if there is actually any wrongdoing by the one brother, but they are also to be witnesses to the fact of no real wrongdoing if this is so. If there is no real wrongdoing, they should be attempting to bring the brothers together in the harmony of Christ.
The second legal proceeding that the Message makes clearer is disfellowship. We think of disfellowshipping someone as permanently kicking them out of the church, but in reality it is starting over with them trying to lead them to Jesus. It is not giving up on them, but instead it is saying that they do not belong in church at present because they are in rebellion, but they can change sides again if they choose and be welcomed back.
Jesus says that we have a power to determine things as a church. I am unclear as to what those things are. What are we binding and loosing here on earth? Are we judging others and that judgment remains true in heaven? That is the context of the previous lesson, but this seems to be much broader than that.
The prayers of two people or three people who agree to pray for the same thing are powerful. God listens to one person’s prayers, but somehow when Christians pray together and agree on what they are praying for, it is more binding. I’m not sure how that works because I am still unclear how to worship God with others. I tend to focus on the people rather than God unlike when I worship alone. The same thing happens with prayer. I have a hard enough time focusing alone, but when it is public prayer, my mind really wanders. I think there is a third intimate kind of prayer that this may be talking about when two or three Christian friends become close in their worship and pray in a united way that comes from their bond of love as friends, but I’m not sure. My boundaries against intimacy are so strong that I have not experienced this.
(Revelation of God) Could it be that the very love the two or three have for each other allows Jesus to be present more strongly while the estrangement between two or three acquaintances does not allow for Jesus to work with them as closely? Does our love for each other open us up to God more so that He can be more present when we are together than when we pray alone? It’s not about God choosing to be present, but about opening ourselves up more fully so that it is possible for Him to be present more fully. Love requires someone else or more than one someone to be present strongly. Our love opens us up to receiving the Spirit. Is the latter rain about having us love each other enough to be open enough to receive the Spirit more fully?
(Understanding the Text) I think maybe many in the church that speak of unity have it all wrong. Unity is not about walking in lockstep. It’s about loving each other so much that we value the other person’s diversity. It’s about loving the whole person even if he/she has errors and flaws and wrong beliefs. In the end, that kind of love will bring about a meeting of the minds.
(Application / Prayer) My application for myself is that I need to love my fellow church members and on a wider scale, the Christians that I come into contact with. Please give me that love because I don’t have it in me to love others. A lot of times, I don’t even like them. Give me Your love.