To Encourage You

Matthew 18:19 “Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.”

Have you ever been taken out of context regarding something you’ve said?  Have you ever had a snippet of what you’ve actually said used in a negative way against you, for though you may have said the thing alleged, it was taken out of a much larger narrative, and, when taken in context, the meaning of what you had said was something entirely different?  It doesn’t feel very good when this happens, for it’s a lie about what you’ve actually meant by what you’ve said.  The media does this all the time.  They take a sound bite from someone whose reputation they want to attack, and use it out of context to support their position.  But do you realize that people can do this with God? 

Recently I watched a video clip in which televangelist Kenneth Copeland said that God had told him that he would live 120 years, and he referred to the Bible to support his claim. Which text?  Genesis 6:3, where God did say of man, “his days shall be 120 years.” But what was the context?  It was a prophecy of judgment that God spoke against the people who were then alive.  It was a prophecy that in 120 years He was sending the great flood upon the earth to destroy everything that breathed.  You see, although God did say these words, they had absolutely nothing to do with Kenneth Copeland and his lifetime.  What a bizarre example of taking God’s Word out of context. 

You see, context is extremely important in understanding what God has told us in His Word.  Another example is the verse above from Matthew 18 which was spoken by Jesus.  At first glance and viewed in isolation from the context, the verse seems to say that if two believers agree in prayer on any request, it will be done.  It seems so straightforward and simple.  All one has to do, it seems, to face any problem or need, is to find another believer, pray with them, and God will do whatever we ask.  But is that what this verse means?  Is this verse – or any other verse, for that matter – to be viewed in isolation? If this is the case, wouldn’t it seem the cure for cancer would be a simple problem to address?  What about the next hurricane that threatens the east coast?  And think about the thousands languishing in hospital beds around the world from  heart disease, kidney failure, and who knows what else?  Is there anyone who wouldn’t want any of these things to change? All a believer would have to do, it seems, is find one other Christian to pray about any of these situations, and just like that, the problem would be gone. But again, is that what this verse really means? 

To answer this question, let’s simply look at the context in which Jesus said these words.  This verse is pulled from a narrative that begins in Matthew 18:15 and ends in verse 35.  Throughout this section of Scripture Jesus is teaching about what believers should do when another believer sins against them.  He commands us to confront such a situation in a very specific way. We are to first go to the person who has sinned against us and confront them, and we are do it alone. It is to be a one-on-one discussion, as opposed to what seems to be our natural tendency to tell everyone else who will listen to us about how we’ve been wronged except the person who has wronged us.  It is only if the other person won’t listen to us that we are to take one or two other believers and speak to him again.  The next step, if the person still won’t make it right is to “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. Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven (also words often taken out of context). again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them (this last sentence, is also often taken out of context).”  In its context, then, the verse above is speaking solely about the matter of church discipline.  It is one of the most difficult matters that the church has been commanded by our Lord to address.  Because of this, it’s something that many churches never do – not because there’s no sin in the church, but because it’s such a disconcerting thing to deal with.  Jesus knows this, and thus He assures us that when we do this, when the church follows His commands, He is with them and He will help them. He wants us to know that when we deal with sin in the church in the specific way in which He has commanded us, He has not left us hanging. No, whatever is bound (in the context, a judicial action taken by the church against a sinning brother) on earth is bound in heaven, and whatever is loosed (i.e., forgiven) on earth is loosed in heaven.  In other words, the church’s disciplinary actions have the authority of God behind them. Such actions are to be done prayerfully by two or more believers when the incident has escalated (thus the issue of two agreeing on the thing asked), and when the painful matter of discipline is addressed in this way, i.e., the specific way in which Jesus has commanded us, then He is there with us. 

Then in the verses from Matthew 18:21-35 Jesus also addresses the matter of the repenting brother or sister, the one who seeks forgiveness in the face of the actions taken. Jesus tells us that when the sinning brother seeks forgiveness, we are to give it to him or her, and not just once, not just “seven times, but seventy-seven times.”  He is telling us that we should be forgiving as God is forgiving. Discipline within the church is to be redemptive in nature.  Though for a time the church may need to isolate the sinning brother, it is always with the desire that that believer will repent and be restored, rather than be condemned. 

So, again, we should always be mindful of the context wherever God has spoken to us in His Word. Just as we don’t appreciate being taken out of context in the things we say, neither should God be taken out of context in the things He has said.  Our Lord is a clear communicator. He created language and He knows how to speak.  But our listening must be in context if we ever hope to understand what He has said.