Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that ‘BY THE MOUTH OF TWO OR THREE WITNESSES EVERY WORD MAY BE ESTABLISHED.’ And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector. (Matthew 18:15-17 NKJV)
In the past, I have seen people who claimed to be Christians post all kinds of evil thoughts on the Internet against other brothers and sisters in Christ and even Christian ministries too, which they disagreed with. As a result of spreading their venom they stirred up a lot of controversy and even encouraged people to gossip.
They claimed that they were doing this to expose sin to the light for all to see; but were they following Jesus’ instructions?
Obviously not!
Instead, they were doing the work of the evil one who is both an accuser of the Brethren and a troublemaker to God’s people. And what made things even worse was when they were shown to be in error they refused to cease fire and repent! Indeed, they disclosed that they were divisive to the core!
The LORD is Listening
Now then, do you think they will be held accountable for this kind of behavior?
They most certainly will be if they don’t repent!
For Jesus said,
A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” (Matthew 12:35-37 NKJV)
Sparing Reputations
I think it is important to note here that a person doesn’t even have to be guilty of sinning against you in order for Jesus’ words to apply to your situation. You see, even if you have something against a brother or sister in Christ you should take your issue to them in private. For this is what it means to exercise love and integrity as it gives people an opportunity to clear up any misconceptions that may be afloat between those who are directly involved with the issue. Moreover, it gives people a chance to reconcile relationships without causing harm to each others reputation which could lead to people having a deep and profound hatred for one another.
More importantly however, it protects the reputation of the Church before unbelievers who would likely use such controversy as an excuse to reject Jesus Christ. After all, what do you think unbelievers are going to think about Christians when they see us talking about how we ought to love one another while we’re stabbing each other in the back so to speak? That is not love at all! And believe me when I tell you this, Satan jumps at the opportunity to capitalize on this kind of thing. He basks in it!
The Misery of False Accusations
Something else that should be considered here is what if you are wrong? What if you are in error and you have spoken evil against someone, and even went as far as to publish it abroad; do you think you will be able to undo the damage that you have caused to that person’s reputation? Even if you say you are sorry you won’t be able to undo all of the harm that you caused that person. And guess what? God will hold you accountable for all of it!
Furthermore, you should also keep in mind that you can control your behavior; but you can’t control how others behave. If you share something with someone else that ought to be dealt with in private between you and the person with whom you have an issue, there is no guarantee that that person won’t share it with someone else too. And before you know it, it could be all over the place and turn into something very ugly fast!
Now don’t get me wrong here; I am not suggesting that we should not expose error to the light. What I am saying is that we need to use extreme caution when doing it, because we won’t be able to undo any harm that we may have caused to a person or a ministry as a result of being in error and foolishly publishing opinions about people and their respective ministries without getting the facts straight first.
A Command not Casual Advice
This is a very serious matter. Please do not take it lightly. Jesus isn’t giving us friendly advice here. This is a command. And if we refuse to adhere to it as He has instructed, then it will be a sin to us.
By the way, if you see someone gossiping about another person’s personal life or making false accusations against what they really believe, then warn and rebuke them in the name of Jesus Christ. For this is what the Bible refers to as divisive behavior. And those who are guilty of this and refuse to repent should be rejected.
Reject a divisive man after the first and second admonition, (Titus 3:10 NKJV)
So the question that remains is: the next time you have an issue with someone else who is a brother or sister in Christ, are you going to do the work of Satan by publishing it abroad for all to see, or are you going to follow the instructions of Jesus Christ and serve God with integrity?
I hope that we will all choose wisely when that time comes.
By the way, if you are guilty of causing harm to others in this way and feel that there is no hope for you, then you need to read: An Opportunity to Forgive and Be Forgiven
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