Go and point out their fault

Go and point out their fault

Scripture:-

“If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.

Matthew 18:15-17

Observation:-

Go and point out their fault! No way! Offend them? Lose my friend? What? Bring one or two more to criticize them? My own brother? My best friend? Tell the church??? No… Tell on my best buddy, my BFF? Wait, doesn’t it say “Don’t judge, or you will be judged?” Phew! That lets me off the hook. Or does it?

Concerning the issue of judging, there has been much confusion which basically stems from translation issues. Basically, the one English word “judge” can mean several different things ranging from simple reasoning (I judge that this team is better) to passing off an opinion on someone (I judge this boy has a bad upbringing) to pronouncing a sentence (a court judge passing off a judgment on a case). However, sometimes it is necessary to look further into the Greek text to understand a Scripture better. This webpage http://www.deceptioninthechurch.com/judgenot.html has a good analysis on the subject.

For example, earlier the Lord preached “Do not judge”, and “Do not condemn”. However, in this passage, the Lord says that if your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. There seems to be a basic contradiction.

However, the Greek word used for “judge” in “Do not judge” is actually “hupo-krites”, which means do not judge like a hypocrite, or like the pot calling the kettle black. Later, Jesus confirms this meaning by saying “You hypocrites, take the plank out of your eye before removing the speck of dust from your brother’s eye”. In other Scriptures, we are actually commanded to judge, and this not from our own human wisdom, but to judge according to the Word of God.

In this passage, the meaning is the same. If we see a brother or sister sin, we are commanded to go and point out their fault. Of course, before we do that, we must check ourselves that we don’t have a plank in our own eye. This takes wisdom and courage. How do we know he or she has sinned? Based on the Word of God! If a man is abusing his daughters, can we close a blind eye and refer to the Scripture, saying “Do not judge”. Of course not! Not to point out his fault would be a great sin on our part.

The first round is private, a matter discussed between just the two individuals. However, often time due to pride, the party who sinned may not listen. This leads to the second round, where you bring one or two others so that every matter may be established by two or three witnesses. If the perpetrator is still stubborn, the third round is bringing it to the church leadership, and finally, if he or she still won’t listen, we are to treat them like a pagan (unbeliever) or tax collector.

How are we to treat unbelievers and tax collectors anyway? Unbelievers are those who do not believe in the same faith. Tax collectors were seen as pariahs of Jewish society because by collecting taxes on behalf of the Roman government and even overcharging was like being traitors of your own people. How did Jesus treat them? He accepted them as they were, encouraged them to turn towards the truth, to accept God’s way. He loved them as they were, in spite of their many imperfections. Therefore, to treat a fallen brother as an unbeliever means to pray for him to return to God’s way, to show love and respect and patience to him, just like the Lord would, who came not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.                           

Application:-

Know for certain that while we must never judge like hypocrites, we are called and commanded to point out sin according to the Word of God. Our action in doing so is purely out of love, as stated in the Proverbs “better is open rebuke than hidden love”. Therefore, where we see sin in even a close family member or friend, it is our duty to point it out, to plead with them to come back to correct ways of living. To hide behind “Do not judge” is not a valid excuse as the context is only in regard to hypocritical judging. We must get our own act right and then still do our best to bring our friend back to right living. Some may refuse to do so because of the shame of their past, but in Christ, we are a new creation, we are to look forward, to live by the Word of God. In Christ, our past sins are forgiven, and we look forward to life anew in Him.

Suppose our friend does not listen to us, as is often the case. Then, we are called to take one or two more with us to reason with him. This takes a lot of effort, and is emotionally draining, but if we love our brother or sister, and we love the Lord, we need to do what has to be done. If the friend after all this is still unrepentant, then we have to tell it to the church. Ouch! We probable would lose a friend or brother or sister in acting for his or her own good, but only if we do so are we a true friend!  Even after all this there is still no effect, we are to still respect and love that person, praying for him or her to come back to the right way.

Prayer:-

We praise You, Lord, that You forgave us. In You, Lord, our sins are forgiven, we are made righteous, not by our righteousness but in Your righteousness! How difficult it is, Lord, to point out the faults of others, what more face to face! Where I am called to do so, give me strength and courage to go through these painful steps, to meet them one to one, to even bring one or two with us, and to even bring it to the church. Lord help us, for it is very hard as we hate to offend, and we want to avoid conflict even if it is necessary. Give us wisdom and discernment and courage in this, we pray. In Jesus name, Amen.