The Keys

Good morning and welcome in everybody.  Today, we are going to take a look at a passage of scripture from the book of Matthew.

Matthew 18:15-20  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.  But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.  And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.  Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.  Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.  For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

This passage teaches us that confessing faults to God and others is a huge part of the Christian faith.  If someone expresses displeasure in something that you have done towards them, genuine charity will humbly and quickly seek their forgiveness. Even letting a day pass without apologizing, reveals the hardness of one’s heart.  Some people actually believe that they can confess faults to God, and reject apologizing to a brother that they have wronged. This belief is heresy, and unless one repents of it, it will only lead down the road to damnation. Jesus gives certain commands concerning confession in the passage.  It teaches us that people must confess fault, otherwise they are completely closing themself off from forgiveness with others.  Confession must happen before the healing process of forgiveness can even take place.  Refusing to admit fault only reveals an impenitent heart that is filled with pride. If people don’t seek forgiveness with others, then they are not going to find forgiveness with others.  To obtain forgiveness with God we too must confess our faults to Him.

1 John 1:9  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Psalms 32:5  I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah.

Just as one acknowledges his faults to God, they must also confess faults to each other.

James 5:16  Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

In the church, once apologies are made, and forgiveness is mercifully granted, we can join together and wash our sins away by having Holy Communion with each other.  This is the outward sign of complete reconciliation to a brother and with God, a fulfillment of biblical requirements from scripture. The failure to admit fault is caused by a lack of genuine charity for those whom you have wronged. When you are aware that you have hurt others, the Christian response should be to immediately seek forgiveness.  You should feel sorry for those you have wronged, even if what you did was unintentionally.  

Psalms 38:18  For I will declare mine iniquity; I will be sorry for my sin.

The refusal to confess fault results from inner pride, which is one of the snares of the devil, and as we learn today it can cause a huge rift in relationships.  The Lord Jesus commands that if someone continues on a course of impenitence towards a brother, and they simply refuse to seek reconciliation and forgiveness, they must be shunned.  Some people in certain churches feel that shunning is wrong, but to refuse to follow the commands of Christ in this passage would only prove that you don’t love Him, and would turn you into a heretic as well. Within the church group, others need to be aware of someone’s repetitive refusal to reconcile. Once it is well established that their heart is too proud to reach out and apologize, then they need to be completely rejected.  After all, the same thing is going to happen to the impenitent on judgment Day. People such as these deny what Jesus teaches in the New Testament. They are not even to be treated as a Christian anymore, but like unto a heathen, which is somebody who really doesn’t believe in scripture.  They may claim to be a follower of the Lord, but they are outside the doctrines of our faith.  That’s why I’ve always taught that if you are aware that a brother is upset with you for something you have done, you need to apologize as quickly as you possibly can. This is so the requirement of confession is obediently completed in the sight of God.  Responsibility for the rest is then transferred unto them, and if they choose not to forgive and reconcile, God will not forgive them of their sins, for which they will receive eternal punishment.

Impenitence is not feeling sorrow inside of your heart. An impenitent person can be described as unrepentant, ruthless, cruel, remorseless, evil, reprobate, shameless, hard-hearted, heartless and unfeeling. A heathen is very much like an infidel who is someone who doesn’t believe in the central doctrines of our faith such as confession of faults.  They need to be treated very much like a heretic, which is someone who claims to be a believer in Christ yet they maintain religious opinions completely contrary to those that are found in Holy Scripture.

Titus 3:10-11  A man that is an heretick after the first and second admonition reject;

Knowing that he that is such is subverted, and sinneth, being condemned of himself.

As I’ve always taught, pride is a killer.  It can cause somebody to completely close off their heart when they hurt someone. The church is supposed to be a place filled with love, and when confession isn’t happening, love isn’t happening.  Sometimes people will refuse to apologize because certain events seem trivial or unimportant in their own mind, but the truth is that it mattered to the person who was offended.  Instead of humbly lowering oneself, and being sensitive to somebody else’s concerns, they loft themselves over them in pride.  Unless they seek reconciliation as commanded by Christ, it can result in the loss of their soul.

Matthew 5:23-24  Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee;  Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.

The unwillingness to reconcile is a precursor to God’s wrath.

Romans 2:5  But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;

Matthew 16:18-19  And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.  And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

Peter was given the ability to bind and loose, as is given to the body of Christ.

For some people, forgiveness will never happen because of their own arrogance.  If they refuse to apologize and seek reconciliation, then they clearly are outside the teachings of Christ, and abide in His wrath.  Their willful disobedience to the will of God only proves that they hate Him.  Like eternal separation on judgment day, there is only one thing that you can do with these types of people.  Look away, close the doors, and turn…..

…….The Keys

Let’s think about these things for right now.  We can be found on your web browser by searching, tlkjbc where you can find our diaries distributed through various platforms. We are not associated, nor affiliated with any other religious groups. You can get our entire podcast feeds directly, along with transcripts at tlkjbc.com or I suppose that you could find us somewhere up here, in the Great Northern Minnesota woods. Peace to you, and Lord willing, we will talk with you some more tomorrow. Till then, bye bye everybody. ❤️

tlkjbc.com