Amen, 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. Matthew 18:18 NABRE
Jesus is teaching in this section for disciples to imitate God and care for His people by seeking the lost. Jesus describes a three stage process for dealing with those in the community who are in serious sin, so as to prevent them from persisting with unrepentant hearts. The extent to which a person is addressed and the involvement by the community indicates this is about a grave matter. The three step process includes: 1) speak to the person privately about the error or sinful matter, 2) if this fails bring the person and the matter before the assembly (or at least take 2 or 3 others to witness the conversation), 3) if the sinner refuses to correct the matter then they must be expelled. The essence of the quoted verse is the judgement of the assembly will be ratified in heaven by God. The terms bind and loose were associated with the authority to teach and to grant or withhold forgiveness of sin. In this passage the terms denote juridical authority to include or exclude the person from the faith community. This was an authority given to Peter specifically (see Matthew 16:19) it is now given to the disciples as a whole. Where this authority is limited with the community is not specifically stated though certain church beliefs see the passage as directed toward church leaders and therefore the authority to bind and loose on earth is held by today’s church leaders.
Today we prefer to ridicule others in public when we disagree. Social Media has become the forum where we can point our finger at others yet remain separated and not personally involved. Speaking to people is always the Christian way, never speaking about them.
How do you wish to be corrected? How to you correct?
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