HUMBLE OURSELVES AS A LITTLE CHILD (Matthew 18:1-5)
While the disciples fought over who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven, Jesus stressed that the greatest are those who are like little children, humble and innocent. If we want to be greatly rewarded in Heaven, then we must have the heart of a humble servant (Mark 9:33-35).
True spiritual greatness is 1) recognize that we are sinners; recognize the sins that we commit; 2) seek forgiveness of our sins.
True spiritual greatness is not being religious with ceremonies. Just because we go to church every week does not make us spiritually great. If we go, but our heart is somewhere else, then we are just being religious, just doing things to be doing things. We must devote our heart fully to God – That is the beginning of spiritual greatness.
DO NOT BE A STUMBLING BLOCK (Mark 9:38-42)
John was about to discourage a Christian from doing God’s will, and Jesus stopped him.
Mark 9:39-40
Do not forbid him, for no one who works a miracle in My name can soon afterward speak evil o Me. For he who is not against us is on our side.
The key concept here is that as Christians, we are all part of the body of Christ. We may not attend the same church -- we may even differ in opinions about certain details not explained completely in the Bible -- but as long as we are all doing God's work, we should not get into each other's way. Let us all move forward doing God's work as God has called us to do.
Romans 14:19-21
Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another... It is good neither to eat meat nor drink wine nor do anything by which your brother stumbles or is offended or is made weak.
Not one of us is perfect -- we all have weaknesses and faults. For example, alcoholics have a weakness for liquor. As friends of alcoholics, while it is not sinful for us to have a glass of wine with dinner or to chat over happy hour at a bar, we can help our alcoholic friends out a lot by avoiding gatherings at the bar, to help them keep the temptation to over-drink (which is a sin) at bay. Hence, Paul's idea here is when it comes to helping others, focus not on defining what this and that is sin but on promoting each other in doing God's will. The worst that we can do is to become a stumbling block to another fellow Christian.
TAKE DRASTIC ACTIONS AGAINST SIN (Matthew 18:6-9)
Matthew 18:8-9
If your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life lame or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet, to be cast into the everlasting fire. And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire.
This may seem overkill, but is it? Learning from the Israelites, when we fail to take sin seriously and deal with it drastically, sin overtakes us and pushes us down a path away from God. The entire book of Judges details how sin runs rampant in the lives of the Israelites when they failed to nip it in the bud. We must realize that when we allow our lives to be controlled by sin, we head down the path away from God. If we must take drastic measures to keep sin at bay, then do it. Anything we need to do to ensure our eternity with God is worth it. What is the point of having both eyes when we have to spend eternity apart from God? And so what we lose one eye to ensure we can stay on the path of God when we will receive our resurrected body?
REJOICE OVER THE RETURN OF A LOST SOUL (Matthew 18:10-14)
God rejoices for every one of us and will reach out to every one of us to find us.
Matthew 18:12-14
If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to seek the one that is straying? And if he should find it, assuredly, I say to you, he rejoices more over that sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray. Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.
LOVINGLY REBUKE OUR BROTHERS/SISTERS (Matthew 18:15-20)
As mentioned above, we are all a part of the body of Christ. If we cannot carry our own weight, if we cannot do our job, we become a liability to the body of Christ. Similarly, any sin we cannot deal with, it seeps into other parts of our lives, affecting others. One person’s sin can make the church become less effective. If we don’t all help using our
abilities, the church would be incomplete. It would become disabled, like a person who is missing an arm or a leg.
In order for us to be effective, we must be willing to give and listen to constructive criticism. In some ways, it may be harder to give it than to listen, because we often have to disrupt the false peace on the surface in order to dig up the root of the problem. Relationships may not be the same after such a "confrontation." Despite how difficult this process may be, we have to think about the long run. If we do not lovingly rebuke, are we really doing any good? If we do not try and pull friends and family away from the path of destruction, who will?
Whatever we gain on Earth, we will also take with us in Heaven; such as, eternal life; our relationship with the Holy Spirit.
Whatever we lose on Earth, we will lose in Heaven. So, if we do not have a relationship with Jesus on Earth, we will not have a relationship with Jesus in Heaven.
Knowing the above, if we stand by and do nothing in fear of disrupting the false peace, can we really rest knowing what lays ahead? Thus, when we sin against others and vice versa, we should follow the example set in the Bible:
1. Go personally to tell him that he has sinned -- When we are the sinner, listen, reflect, and repent.
2. If the sinner doesn't listen, then bring in elders to help with the conversation.
3. If the sinner still refuses to listen, then let him go -- We can only preach and pray so much. The rest, that's between the listener and God.
When rebuking and when being rebuked, be in God's love. We are all sinners. It is much easier to see the faults in other people than to see it in ourselves. And so, when we see others sin, we shouldn’t judge and be unforgiving. Instead, we should know that we, too, make mistakes. And if we would like grace from others when we make mistakes, then we should also give grace when others make mistakes.
Hence, instead of judging, let us approach people with love. We should help each other get back on the path of God. Encourage. Don't point fingers and discourage.
FORGIVE AND BE FORGIVEN (Matthew 18:21-35)
Matthew 18:21
Peter came to Him and said, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him?"
Peter asked that question because he had serious questions about forgiveness. In the previous passage, Jesus said that if someone sins, we need to rebuke them. And if that person won’t listen, then eventually, Jesus told us to leave them in God's hands. So, it’s understandable that Peter would have this question for Jesus. After all, if people who are in sin don’t listen to loving rebuke, do we just keep on forgiving them?
Jesus told us to forgive, to not hold a grudge. When people make a mistake, we should rebuke them, because that would help them grow. We rebuke with LOVE, not with hate, because we want to encourage growth, not inject guilt and hate. When we rebuke with love, and people still won’t listen, Jesus tells us to leave them. This does NOT mean that we do not forgive them. Instead, we forgive them always. We then first try to help them get back to the Path. If they don’t want the help, then we let them go. Regardless of what they choose to do, we always forgive. Why? Because we, too, were forgiven and are continuously forgiven for the countless number sins that we commit throughout our lifetime!
Matthew 18:35
So My heavenly father also will do you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.
There is no big or small sin. In God’s eyes, sin is sin. We should never have the attitude of “I am a better person than you. At least I don’t do this or this.” We need to realize that in God’s eyes, we are all sinners. He doesn’t think one sin is lighter than the other; He definitely doesn’t “love” someone more just because his sin is “lighter.” God forgives us all because God is love -- He sacrificed His only Son to provide eternal salvation. How can we receive such grace from God only to turn around and judge others harshly?
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