Stress Test Devotional May 18
May 18, 2024
Matthew 18:15-16 | 15 “If another member of the church sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone. If the member listens to you, you have regained that one. 16 But if you are not listened to, take one or two others along with you, so that every word may be
confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses.
Jesus too makes us responsible for one another. When a brother or sister harms others, or themselves, we have a responsibility to help them face the issue, repent, and change. Notice the sequence. First we confront in private, then with others if necessary. This is to avoid the tendency to gossip about others’ failings, thus harming their reputations and making repentance harder. Gossiping undermines our capacity to help others confront their negative patterns, since it casts doubt on the genuineness of our concern for their welfare.
The early Christians had a sense of collective responsibility for each other that grew from their sense of collective identity and witness. Correction and realignment of one person strengthened them all as a body.
Do you have a collective sense of Christian identity?
