Tuesday, April 28, 2009

"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. Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them" (Matthew18:15-20).

IDEA: We misread the Bible when we look for the "hot" passages and ignore what we think are the cold sections.

PURPOSE: To help listeners avoid taking isolated verses from the Scripture which can lead us to false applications of those Scriptures to our lives.

Do you find the Bible an easy book to read? 

How would you respond to the statement, "The Bible is a very easy book to read if you don't read it well." 

I. We don't read the Bible well when we jump to the "hot" passages and ignore what lies around them.

By a "hot" passage I mean those that are familiar or say something that we want to hear.

Read Matthew 18:15-20.

There are several hot passages within this reading.

II. What verse or verses are the ones most readers gravitate to?

Probably Matthew 18:20. It is a promise that preachers use for a midweek service when no one shows up. Or it's used to show the power of a small group prayer meeting.

Matthew 18:19: What do people think that verse is talking about?

Matthew 18:18: This is often preached as being about binding Satan.

III. These verses are not talking about small group prayer meetings or binding Satan. This passage is about restoring a sinning Christian.