"If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. But if he 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 he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector. - Matthew 18:15-17
When Jesus tells us how to confront each other (notice that he knows it will happen among believers), he coves all the bases we’ve talked about so far. First, he shows us that sin shouldn’t go unchecked; it needs to be confronted by the church. Second, he talks about our brothers. This isn’t an academic exercise; it’s a chance to love our brother (or sister) and him (or her) back into a right relationship with God and the church. Third, he suggests that we include others in the process. By doing so we make sure that we’re not confronting someone out of spite. Having others there who are objective about the situation keeps our emotions in check. Is this process easy? No! But this is the kind of game plan that works.
Have you ever tried this method when dealing with a conflict? How did it go?
Ask God to show you how to walk through each step of the process correctly and prayerfully when you’re confronting someone.
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