You hurt me! ...Now what?

 

"If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector."
 
Matthew 18:17 ESV

But what does this mean...?

(The following is partially a personal interpretation)

Matthew 18:17 is a passage that speaks of how to handle situations between believers, wherein one believer has committed a wrong. It is a fairly serious passage.

The point that I am going to write on is not the process of trying to correct a believers wrong, but on what does 'let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector' mean?

How should you treat a Gentile or Tax Collector?

Tax Collectors in the NT were not held in the highest regard. Some held to, lets say, unethical business practices, and were frowned on by society. 

Jesus still went to them. Remember it was those who were in sin that needed Him the most.

This is what I believe is an important difference here. While Matthew 18:17 clearly speaks of correction to take place through the Church, I hold that this does not mean to abandon this believer. They need the faith just like everyone else. While they may be excluded from Church affairs, we should still be kind, and a witness to them.

We can still lovingly try to lead them back on the right path. And we can still pray for them.

Luke 15:3-7 goes even further:

“So he told them this parable: “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.”

Luke 15:3-7, ESV

The point is this: Don't abandon a lost believer. We should all be here for each other, even when that means holding our brothers and sisters lovingly accountable.

Interested in Christianity? The Gospel in a Nutshell can be a good place to start! And Church of course :)

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