Matthew 18:15-22
“If your brother sins, go and show him his fault when the two of you are alone. If he listens to you, you have regained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others with you, so that at the testimony of two or three witnesses every matter may be established. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. If he refuses to listen to the church, treat him like a Gentile or a tax collector.
“I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven, and whatever you release on earth will have been released in heaven. Again, I tell you the truth, if two of you on earth agree about whatever you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you. For where two or three are assembled in my name, I am there among them.”
Then Peter came to him and said, “Lord, how many times must I forgive my brother who sins against me? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “Not seven times, I tell you, but seventy-seven times!
The Scriptures quoted are from the NET Bible® http://netbible.com copyright ©1996, 2019 used with permission from Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. All rights reserved.
COMMENT & QUESTIONS
If someone sins against you, who does Jesus say is responsible for initiating reconciliation? Is it their job to come to you or your job to go to them?
As a follower of Jesus, it is my responsibility to seek peace with everyone, even if the other person initiated the argument. After all, Jesus initiated reconciliation with us even though we were the guilty party.
This discussion on sins leads onto a discussion about forgiveness. Why do you think Peter asked the question about how many times he had to forgive?
Forgiveness is hard to do once, let alone to continue to show it. It's a sign of true Christlike love to continue to forgive a brother or sister who sins against you.
PRAYERS
Pray for reconciliation between anyone who you know is disagreeing Pray for those who you may have offended in some way