Matthew 18:15 KJV
Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.
There is no problem that we will ever run into that the Word of God does not have a solution for. As Dr. Kenneth Hagin used to say, “Where we have questions, the Bible has answers.”
In our “love” society today we are told to just accept everything and everybody. This mentality, which is against the gospel, has caused many people unnecessary damage in their lives. While we are definitely instructed to love everyone, our first love is for God. The Bible tells us that if we love him we will keep his commands as laid out in the Word (John 14:21, John 15:10). So if we will handle life’s challenges in line with the Word, we will always be in love.
Last week we talked about how love covers sin. Love does not talk about and expose the sins of others. That is sin within itself. That message alone brings confusion to many who have legitimate issues with other people. They say, “How can I address it if I can’t talk about it?” The answer is found in our text for today. Matthew 18:15 says, “If thy brother trespass (sin) against thee, GO AND TELL HIM HIS FAULT BETWEEN THEE AND HIM ALONE.” Do you see that? Godly confrontation talks to the person, not about the person! One is biblical, the other is sin.
A good example of this is found in marriage. We see this too often. The husband is upset with his wife. He says nothing to her, but has plenty to say with his buddies at work. This is sin and solves no problem. The wife is upset with her husband. She says nothing to him, but has plenty to say about him to her girlfriends. This is sin and solves no problem.
Godly confrontation is God’s way! If you are at odds with someone today, pray, and then go talk with them. God’s desire for his children, his church, and our homes is unity! It can be achieved if we will follow God’s plan!