Good Morning Everyone,
Our theme for this month: “Conflict”
Our Bible verse for today: “If your brother sins against you, go and rebuke him in private. If he listens to you, you have won your brother. But if he won’t listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that by the testimony of two or three witnesses every fact may be established. If he pays no attention to them, tell the church. But if he doesn’t pay attention even to the church, let him be like an unbeliever and a tax collector.” Matthew 18:15-17
Our thought for today: “Jesus instructed us on how to deal with conflict”
Matthew 18:15-17 is the classic New Testament instruction on how to properly – Biblically – deal with conflict. The instruction comes from Jesus Himself. Let’s take a closer look at the three steps the Lord tells us to take in order to effectively deal with conflict.
First, if there is a conflict between you and another person, you are to go to that person privately and attempt to resolve the issue one-on-one and face-to-face. This is the first and most important step in conflict resolution and unfortunately it’s the step that is most often skipped. Many people don’t have the courage to deal with an issue in this manner. This kind of face-to-face encounter can be uncomfortable and therefore people commonly avoid it. But Jesus tells us this is the first step we are required to take in order to attempt to resolve a conflict.
Second, if the personal one-on-one encounter did not resolve the issue, and if it really is important enough to warrant continued action, then one or two other people should be brought into it to act as mediators. These should be mature Christians who are impartial and therefore unbiased.
Finally, if it is a serious situation and still has not been resolved, then it’s time to call the church together and prayerfully have the entire body deal with the issue. If it turns out that the person who is the source of the serious conflict is resistant and unrepentant, and therefore is the cause of disunity and strife within the body, and if the person refuses even to submit to the correction and guidance of the entire body of believers, Jesus says we are to treat that person as if they are unsaved. They would then have their membership in the body revoked and our attention would shift to trying to win them to genuine faith in Christ.
This is tough stuff, but that’s how important conflict resolution is to the Lord. However this approach to conflict resolution has to be employed in the context of, and in conjunction with, all of the other Biblical guidance we’ve learned so far this month. Our words are to be well chosen and spoken in love and kindness. We are to be careful not to give offense and we must be slow to take offense. We must limit our efforts at conflict resolution to issues that really matter, and be prepared to simply shrug off unimportant matters. And we must do our best to live at peace with everyone.
If our interpersonal relationships are conducted according to Biblical principles, there will be little conflict to begin with. When there is conflict, if it is addressed Biblically, the chances resolution and reconciliation are very good.
God Bless,
Pastor Jim
Oak Hill Baptist Church 