I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Matthew 18-20

I love this passage, from beginning to end it contains teachings which should guide our lives.  Near the beginning is a verse which I have recently seen taken out of context to claim that followers of Christ do not need to concern themselves with dressing modestly.  People take the phrase, “And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away.” And use it to say that it is OK for someone to dress in a manner which inspires lust in others.  Now, they make a point that is relevant: Jesus’ teachings are directed for us to apply to ourselves, not to others.  However, shortly before He says the phrase they like to quote, Jesus says, “Temptations are inevitable, but what sorrow awaits the person who does the tempting.”   So, we should think carefully about how we dress and act so as to not tempt others into sin.

From there Jesus speaks about the lost sheep and what to do if a fellow believer sins.  These all tie together.  Let’s see if I can explain how in a way which makes sense.  The first bit discusses how we should take responsibility for our own actions and go to extreme measures to avoid sin, but also indicates that we, and others, will sin.  Then He tells us of the effort which God will go to in order to redeem those who do sin, and effort which we should also be willing to exert.  From there, Jesus speaks of how we should act when we observe our fellow believer sin.  It is a three step process, go privately, take one or two others with us, and only if we still believe they are sinning after that, take it to the Body of Believers.  I am convinced from Jesus’ choice of words that at each step of the process we should listen to the person’s explanation of their actions while being open to the possibility that they had not acted in the manner which we thought.  The one or two witnesses should not have decided in advance that the person had sinned.  The Body of Believers should not have decided in advance that the person had sinned.  They should listen to what both parties have to say and reach a judgement only after hearing the “sinners” explanation for their actions.