In Mathew 18:15-20 Jesus outlines the process for dealing with a brother when he has sinned against you. The process is to go and reprove him in private (vs 15), if he will not hear go back to him and take two or three witnesses with you to confirm the facts (vs 16), if he refuses to listen to them tell it to the Church and if he refuses to hear the Church he is to lose fellowship (vs 17). A short discussion then follows about the binding and loosing in heaven (vs 18-19) before Jesus says: “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am in the midst of them” (vs 20).  Though this verse is often cited in order to justify other things, in its context the message is simple: when our actions follow the scripture, Jesus is with us. This truth is confirmed concerning our wisdom (James 1:5-6), our lives (James 4:13-15), our contentment (Heb. 13:5-6) and our walk (Prov. 3:5-6).

In response, what must we do to secure these blessings?  We must be wise “understanding what the will of the Lord is” (Eph. 5:17) or as written in 1 Samuel 12:24, “only fear the Lord and serve Him in truth with all your heart: for consider how great things He hath done for you”.

How God Saves —  Keep the Faith