CONFLICT RESOLUTION

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com.
In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

“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

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Conflict happens. It’s just a truth of life.

Enter into any form of relationship with another person or persons, personal or professional, and you can bank on differences happening from time to time.

This is why there is always plenty discussion out there about conflict resolution because it’s something everyone has to deal with and so a person had better know how to handle it properly when it occurs.

This matter of conflict can happen anywhere - within a family, inside the home, in the workplace, and yes, even in the church. We see it in worship places today and as we see in today’s scripture passage, it was something that had to be addressed in Jesus’ time as well. Look again at His words here:

“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

It should come as no surprise that the matter of sin comes to the forefront here because it definitely can become the instigator for so many kinds of conflict.

Note here the obligation of the church to address sin head on. It will never be appropriate to allow it to continue when it is known. And so Jesus commands that any brother or sister who sins should be confronted, first by an individual who should air the matter in private with that person. The hope would be that the one-on-one counsel, presented in a way that is meant to lead the sinner to repentance, should result in resolution of the conflict, the sinner listening and being won over.

But what if it wasn’t? What if the sinner, confronted by the sin they were committed, chose to shrug off the words of the person trying to turn them from their wrongs?

Well, Jesus provided guidance as to how that was to be handled as well.

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.

Here we find Jesus commanding a follow up visit with the sinner by the church, this time by two or three witnesses.

Why this number?

You need to go back into the Old Testament and the established guidelines of the law for the answer. Look at this verse from the Book of Deuteronomy:

One witness is not enough to convict anyone accused of any crime or offense they may have committed. A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses. Deuteronomy 19:15

If the church is going to move toward a sin conviction of someone within their ranks, it can’t come simply from the testimony of one person. This is because it’s too easy for someone to twist a testimony and possibly get away with speaking mistruth about another. The call for two or three witnesses serves to validate the issue at hand and thus validate the transgression.

Again, the hope would be that in sending more than one person into the second addressing of the sin, the sinner may be more apt to listen and turn from their ways.  

But if they still chose to continue living in their sins, then Jesus calls for things to be taken to yet another level.

If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church.

If the sinner refuses to listen first to an individual counsel, and then two or three people who confront their sin, then Jesus instructs that the matter needs to be brought to the attention of the entire church. The hope would be that the propensity of people knowing of the sin and possibly confronting the sinner would lead to the transgressor listening and turning from their wicked ways.

If they didn’t, then they could be treated as no better than a non-believer because anyone who would choose to live in sin over turning from it back toward righteousness was choosing to live in conflict and opposition to the Lord, and doing so stubbornly after so many attempts at resolution.  

Through Jesus’ words, we find a primer for dealing with the conflict of sin within the church, each step trying to work toward the end goal of resolution. It’s needed because this is a problem that invades churches today and so we had better have an effective way to deal with it. Thanks be to God for the scriptures and the guidance they always provide.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com