Matthew 18:17

“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 18:17. Several of our earlier posts discussed how some manipulative pastors use Matthew 18:15-17 incorrectly when they apply it to conflict resolution. It is sometimes misused to silence anyone in opposition to the Pastor’s ungodly plan in his quest for total authority. As stated earlier, Matthew 18:15-17 is correctly used as a step by step process to deal with unrepented, personal, and serious sin. It is a process of church discipline always to be used with love in hopes of repentance. Today we will examine the third step in the process. What happens if the person in question doesn’t listen to you and the witnesses? (Matthew 18:16). We must move on to Matthew 18:17, “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.” Many people today wrongly believe that this means that you expel them from the church never to return unless they repent. Let’s take a closer look. Who was the writer of Matthew’s gospel? Matthew, of course. What was Matthew’s occupation before he became a follower of Jesus? He was a tax collector. How did Jesus treat tax collectors? How did he treat Matthew, the tax collector? In fact how did Jesus treat any non-believer? Could it be that Matthew 18:17 means that we should treat this person with love and continue praying for them? Would Jesus really want us to forbid them from attending the church, not hear the Good News of Jesus' love where they may become convicted of their sin? Didn’t Jesus come to seek and save the lost? Yes we can no longer have the same fellowship with them as we once did but our love for them should not wane. If your pastor want to expel such a person could it be that they have been a problem to him and his personal agenda? Image credits: http://everydaywithgrace.com