Anchor My Faith

Sin Must Be Controlled

Scripture: Matthew 18:15-17; Luke 17:3

With our previous lesson we finished the section in which we were warned not to cause a “little one” to stumble in their spiritual walk or we would face severe judgment. The importance was also stressed to search for lost sheep and bring them to salvation and to search for those who have gone astray and help restore them in the faith. With this lesson we start a new section titled, “Sin, Repentance and Forgiveness”.

^{Lk 17:3b} “If your brother sins, rebuke him, ^{Mt 18:15} go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. ^{Lk 17:3} Forgive him. ^{Mt 18:16} 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. ¹⁷ 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.”

Luke 17:3a, “Pay attention to yourself!”, was covered in the previous section and was a warning for us not to cause another believer to stumble in their walk with the Lord. After being sure our walk is proper, we are then in a position to help our brother who sins. We are to rebuke him as sin cannot be overlooked; we must go to him, one on one, and tell him his fault and encourage him to repent so as to be restored into fellowship.

If the matter can be resolved without getting others involved there will be less opportunity for rumors and misunderstanding from multiplying and will keep the matter from spreading. ⁹ “Argue your case with your neighbor himself, and do not reveal another’s secret, ¹⁰ lest he who hears you bring shame upon you, and your ill repute have no end” (Proverbs 25:9 – 10 ESV). If the matter is resolved and the brother or sister repents, forgive them.

If the one who has sinned does not listen to you then we are to take one or two others and go back. This follows the guideline given in Deuteronomy 19:15 ESV: “A single witness shall not suffice against a person for any crime or for any wrong in connection with any offense that he has committed. Only on the evidence of two witnesses or of three witnesses shall a charge be established.” These additional witnesses have not necessarily eye witnessed the original offence but are those who can witness of the original confrontation of verse 15.

If the one who has sinned still does not repent, then the matter must be brought before the church and if that one still does not listen and repent, then he or she must be excluded from the fellowship and thought of as an unbeliever; described here as a Gentile and a tax collector, who were seen as being deliberately rebellious against God.

Conclusion

We must first deal with any sin in our own life before we attempt to point out the sin in another’s life: 3 “Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye” (Matthew 7:3 – 5 ESV).