Matthew 18:15

“Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother.” 

Matthew 18:15 

I wonder if there’s a verse in the Bible that is less followed than the one above. Jesus, speaking to His disciples, tells them that if a brother, a fellow believer, sins against them, they are to go talk to that person face-to-face. The reason He says to do this is so that you can save the relationship to gain your brother. 

Unfortunately, what happens so many times is when someone sins against us or offends us in some manner, we go to everyone but that person. We’ll gossip about them to our friends, put social media posts about them without mentioning their name, and either hold a grudge against them or fake friendliness towards them without dealing with the situation.  

Jesus understands the way to keep Christian relationships strong, and thus, the church united, is to have honesty towards one another. We already have the enemy, the world, and our flesh against us; we shouldn’t make more enemies in the church. 

Praying for honest and loving brothers and sisters, 

Pastor Ron Kitchell