FROM warning the one who offends against his 'little ones', that is against the ones who with childlike faith trust in him, Jesus moves to directing the 'little ones' how they were to deal with those who sin against them and cause them to stumble.

I have found in reading commentaries on this 18th chapter of Matthew that the verses before us are interpreted with little connection to the teaching Jesus has been giving in the previous verses, and speak of these verses 15-20 as speaking of church discipline, and how the church deals with members who are seen to be sinning in some way. I believe these verses have nothing to do with church discipline, but as I have indicated are instruction to those humble believers who find themselves criticized and put down and offended in some way by other members of the church family.

When Jesus speaks in verse 6 of causing those who believe in him to sin, the word in the Greek for 'sin' is skandalizo, meaning offending. Here in verse 15 where Jesus speaks of the action or attitude of some people to those who believe on him, Jesus uses the Greek word amartese which means sins. Another thing which needs to be established is the rightness of the words 'against you', indicating that what Jesus is advising about is a particular sin against one of his childlike believers. Two of the best Greek manuscripts leave out 'against you', and simple says 'If a brother sins'. Most manuscripts have 'against you' included, and this I am sure in best in tune with the whole chapter, and particularly when we hear Jesus responding to the words of Jesus in verses 15-20 by asking how often he must forgive a person sinning against him (verse 21).

From verses 21ff it is plain that we deal with people who sin against us with a spirit of forgiving love. We do not come in a spirit of self-righteousness and judgementalism. The purpose of our coming to them is to sort out the problem which not only hurts ourself but also causes dissension in the church fellowship.

Jesus directs us first of all in love to talk about the problem with the person concerned in order to try and get that person to see what they are doing, and the pain and harm they are causing, and seek to gain their friendship and agreement that their actions are not good. In doing this my experience tells me that it is important to come ready to say we are sorry for anything we have said or done which may have caused this sinning attitude of the other against us. I have found it good to say we are sorry even if we can't see what we have to be sorry about, but appreciate that this other person sees some fault in us. If this works then we have gained a friend, a brother and sister in Christ. However difficult this action may be I can testify how rewarding it is in the end.

However this approach does not always bring a good result. This may be because we have not approached the one who has sinned against us in the right way, and so because it is difficult for us to be objective about the problem, Jesus gives us the next step to take. We must speak to other Christians and ask them if they will come along with us to try and win over this one who has harmed us. These friends will be able to be more objective as they hear the way we approach the one who has sinned against us, and how that person responds to our approach. They will be able to point out to both of us where we are going wrong or being unhelpful, and perhaps suggest a way of approach that will be more acceptable, and gain a resolution. This is the whole wisdom of counseling in disputes between people. This often brings success.

If this is unavailing then Jesus tells us to bring the matter into the open with the whole church fellowship, so as all see the whole matter, and not just bits and pieces of it gained by hearsay, the whole church fellowship will at least know all the facts, and so be able to relate to the problem in a prayerful and Christlike way.

If in the end of all this the one who has sinned against you is unmoved and refuses to listen, then Jesus tells us to treat the person as an unbeliever, who is not truly a Christian even though they claim to be. How do we treat unbelievers? We seek to love them and win them for Christ. We pray for them, and do all we can to be their friend. I am sure Jesus is not speaking here of excommunication.

All this is very difficult to do. It must be done with prayer and humility, and being ourself in a repentant and humble spirit before the Lord. Jesus encourages us in verse 18 by saying that heaven will be behind us as we try to act rightly with the one sinning against us. Heaven will affirm our faltering overtures for resolution and reconciliation. The world may condemn, but heaven will not.

Then in verse 19 Jesus assures us that as we pray for a resolution of the problem, prayer will be answered as Christians join together as one seeking for the Lord's guidance and sorting out of the problem.