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. I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them. (Matthew 18.15-21)This morning I delighted in listening to Keith Jones, the rector of IBTS, preach from this passage. Because he preached it in a way true to Christ. I’ve heard people talk about ‘binding and loosing’ as if it was about how to get spiritual. But Keith, as always, brought us to focus on how the spiritual is only truly such when it is profoundly physical and ethical.
The Christian life is not believing about Jesus. It is believing like Jesus. Without forgiveness and reconciliation leading into life together that expresses love to others, there is neither Christian message nor mission.
To ‘bind on earth’ is to bring into concrete expression the love of God in human lives, thus bringing the presence of heaven to earth in a way that makes sense and that really affects the lives of those around us.
Has someone offended you or caused problems in any way? Seek them out. Don’t run away. Be reconciled and go forward in love. This is the way of Christian discipleship.
