Does Matthew 18:20 promise that if a brother or sister is in agreement, then God guarantees the outcome?
Remember that archaic church practice that
our forefathers called, Prayer Meeting? I grew up in a home where attendance at
Prayer Meeting was not an option. Even as a young pagan destined for perdition
I was required to make a stop-over at The Prayer Meeting. Even the day of the week was sanctimonious.
Wednesday! But as the years went by
numbers decreased in proportion to its fervency. Hence today it is but a symbol
of days gone by. Few churches, including
my own, practice the habit of gathering en mass to pray.
While the death throws were still being
heard in the habit of the weekly call to prayer, I remember the oft cited
verse, used to encourage the faithful: “For where two or three are gathered in my
name, there am I among them.””
(Matthew 18:20, ESV) Indeed there were times
when this was no wooden literalism.
There were but two or three. But
comfort of all comforts: God was present.
Is there a place that God isn't present? Answer: No!
At least David didn't think so. He
teaches that in Psalm 139:7–12 (ESV),
7 Where
shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? 8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you
are there! 9 If I
take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, 10 even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold
me. 11 If I
say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,” 12 even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the
day, for darkness is as light with you.
So I'm guessing that that Wednesday night,
so many years ago, that I came to church for (and no one else
showed up) was a night when I wasn't alone.
God was here. So why did we need
to have two or three? The context ought
to tell us.
In my ESV Bible I see the heading to this
paragraph tells me that this is about If Your Brother Sins Against You.[1] Jesus
is apparently applying an application to the parable He just told in verses
10-14. Jesus is showing His concern for straying sheep; and what are we to do about an errant
brother. If a Christian offends someone or refuses to
forgive someone, what must be done? Three basic views have been given here for
the church (Greek: ekklēsia). The
responsibility of action is threefold:
(1) personal, “go
and tell him”;
(2) “two or three
witnesses”;
(3) corporate,
“tell it to the church.”[2]
Sometimes, even after the best of efforts
the wandering Christian refuses to hear and respond to the exhortations and
warnings of well-intentioned Believers.
Then what? “But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you,
that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses.” (Matthew 18:16, ESV). The concept of the two or three
witnesses is a judicial institution. Decisions of a legal nature should not be
resolved in private according to God's Law (““A
single witness shall not suffice against a person for any crime or for any
wrong in connection with any offense that he has committed. Only on the
evidence of two witnesses or of three witnesses shall a charge be established” (Deuteronomy 19:15, ESV)).
Where such a hearing
produces repentance, those in attendance representing the Church are granted
authority from Heaven to "loose" the offender from the condemnation
of his or her sin. Where the person
remains stubborn the "two or three" have Heaven's authority to
"bind" the person to the consequences of his or her sin. In this context our Savior says, “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among
them.”” (Matthew 18:20, ESV)
In context,
"there am I among them" is stated somewhat euphemistically to imply "My
blessing, my authority, my sanction is there with you." Whenever the Church is busy about the
business of restoring the errant they can be assured of God's approval. This is not a blank cheque where Christians
can assume that if any two or three Christians come together and agree that God
will bless and honor every one of their decisions. No,
the context is in relation to seeking to restore the wayward sheep. God's heart is to bring back the rebellious.
When loving members of Christ's body seek
to restore the lost sheep they can be assured that they are acting on behalf of
their Savior. To extend this promise to
other aspects and experiences is to wrench it from its context and presumptuously
claim what God has never guaranteed.
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