How close is our life experience to the way God created it to be? Men came to Jesus asking about divorce and Jesus responded in Matthew 19:8 “from the beginning it was not like this”. Why is divorce so prevalent? Jesus answered in this same verse, “Moses, with reference to your hardness of heart, permitted you to divorce”. We read the Bible and recognize God’s eternal power as if everything around us is the way he intended and we gloss over or skip past the authority he has given us in Matthew 18:19 “Again, truly I say to you that if two of you agree on earth about any matter that they ask, it will be done for them from my Father who is in heaven”. God’s will is one Church, the body of Jesus Christ operating in the love and joy and peace of one Holy Spirit. Jesus told his disciple in Matthew 18:15 “Now if your brother sins against you, go correct him between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother”. He also knew there would be times when hardness of heart would result in separation. How much could we gain if we could find a way past our differences, if we could find love for each other and come together? From the beginning, it was not like this, or as Paul said in
Ephesians 4:1–6 Therefore I, the prisoner in the Lord, exhort you to live in a manner worthy of the calling with which you were called: 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, putting up with one another in love, 3 being eager to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace; 4 one body and one Spirit (just as also you were called with one hope of your calling), 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all, and through all, and in all.
If Your Brother Sins Against You
Matthew 18:15–20
Jesus said that offences would come, and they don’t just come from the unsaved. We also have differences of opinion and sometimes we are just wrong in our thinking. Jesus did also say in
Matthew 18:19 Again, truly I say to you that if two of you agree on earth about any matter that they ask, it will be done for them from my Father who is in heaven.
There are things that God has spoken and that we are to follow and there are doctrinal truths that govern the kingdom of heaven and there also are many things for us to choose and decide in our own lives.
We have enough trouble sorting out doctrinal differences even though we are all reading the same book and have the same Spirit. It becomes a real problem when we act in self will and become hard hearted and hard headed about what we want to do and how we want to do it. It is good for us to speak up when a brothers actions cause an offense as Jesus said in
Matthew 18:15 “Now if your brother sins against you, go correct him between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother.
Sadly though, sometimes people don’t listen so he also said in
Matthew 18:16 But if he does not listen, take with you in addition one or two others, so that by the testimony of two or three witnesses every matter may be established.
and if it can’t be corrected, and they continue with division then in
Matthew 18:17 And if he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses to listen to the church also, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.
and as difficult as this is, we are to separate ourselves from them. It is this very thing that has caused rifts in the Church. Here is a truth though, God able and willing to love people on either side of a dispute. Do you remember that God loved the tribes of Israel even though each was different? Do you remember that God will have people from every tribe and nation and tongue? But when we have a division, we have lost the love and relationship of our brother in our life.
How Many Times Will I Forgive
Matthew 18:21–27
Should You Not Also Have Shown Mercy
Matthew 18:28–35
The Two Will Become One Flesh
From the Beginning It Was Not Like This
Matthew 19:7–12
We are born into this world as it is. For us, it is normal, it is the way we have always experienced it. But, there are things in the world that are not the way God created them to be. Jesus said it this way in
Matthew 19:8 He said to them, “Moses, with reference to your hardness of heart, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not like this.
Divorce, which is so prevalent in our generation, was never part of Gods plan. Divorce doesn’t happen because you fall out of love. Divorce doesn’t happen because two people are incompatible. Divorce doesn’t happen because you two just grew apart. Divorce happens because of hardness of heart.
If you have suffered the loss of a relationship through divorce, hear what Jesus says, “from the beginning it was not like this”, God never wanted you to suffer that hurt or loss. God has a better life for you ahead as you renew your mind in
Romans 12:2 And do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, so that you may approve what is the good and well-pleasing and perfect will of God.
and as you are conformed to the image of Christ in
Romans 8:29 because those whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, so that he should be the firstborn among many brothers.
Allow the Children to Come to Me
What Good Thing Must I Do So That I Will Have Eternal Life
Matthew 19:16–23
This is the eternal question,”What must I do?” and we know that there is a way for us to live as Jesus said in
Matthew 19:18–19 He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “Do not commit murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, 19 honor your father and your mother, and love your neighbor as yourself.”
but this alone was not enough. Jesus told him to do two more things in
Matthew 19:21 Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give the proceeds to the poor—and you will have treasure in heaven—and come, follow me.”
Jesus told him to let go of all of his possessions and give them to the poor because his treasure would then be in heaven. And, Jesus told him “follow me”.
Study Verses
- Matthew 18:15–20 If Your Brother Sins Against You
- Matthew 19:7–12 From the Beginning It Was Not Like This
- Matthew 19:16–23 What Good Thing Must I Do So That I Will Have Eternal Life
Today’s Reading
- Matthew 18:15-35
- Matthew 19:1-23