METHODIST CHURCH NIGERIA
DIOCESE OF OSOGBO
TWENTY-THIRD (23RD) SUNDAY
IN ORDINARY TIME/THIRTEENTH (13TH) SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY 6TH
SEPTEMBER 2020.
GOD’S WORD TO GOD’S
PEOPLE.
THEME: Honest Fellowship
Idapo ododo
TEXT:
Matthew 18:20
"For
where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of
them"
"Nitori
nibi ti eni meji tabi meta ba ko ara won jo ni oruko mi, nibe ni emi o wa ni
aarin won"
No
human being is an island to him/herself. We are created to be relational
creatures and as such we are bound to offend and misunderstand one another, no
matter how spiritual we may be. Quoting Rousseau, Stanley Hauerwas notes that
"war (conflict or misunderstanding) is an unavoidable by-product of our
(human) cooperation." He went further to say, "While in itself
(conflict) morally ambiguous, as a by-product of cooperation, its elimination
would as well mean the extinction of cooperation" which in my own view
contradicts the idea expressed by Jesus Christ in his prayer for the Church
when he said, "that they may all be one" (John 17:21) Jesus Christ
wants his Church to promote unity and peaceful co-existence in the world
through its honest fellowship one with another. Misunderstanding among brethren,
therefore, does not mean disunity in the Church until it escalates to a level
which is beyond settlement or management. I mean the level of "To your
tents O Israel..." (1kings 12:16) We can then say emphatically that this
is not the mind of Christ for his Church. He wants to see the Church in honest
fellowship where brethren are living together in truth and love. It is however
unfortunate to note that there are so much division and dissension among
professing Christians these days, and such, we desperately need what Matthew chapter
18 has to teach, not only the Church but the world at large. In this chapter,
Jesus Christ rebuked his followers for their pride and quest for worldly
greatness. He as well taught them three essential qualities for unity and
harmonious fellowship in the Church. These three qualities are: humility,
honesty and forgiveness, but for the purpose of our meditation today, we shall
focus on the second; honesty among the people of God as we concentrate on
Matthew 18:15-20.
It is obvious from this short passage or
text (Matt. 18:15-20) that there are times when Christians unconsciously or
consciously offend or hurt one another. The Old Testament even talks about
"sins of ignorance" (Num. 15:22) and the Psalmist as well prayed God
to deliver him from "secret fault" (Ps. 19:12). How then can we have
honest fellowship and united Church in the face of sins of ignorance and secret
faults? How can brethren dwell together in unity and peace when we deliberately
or unconsciously offend one another? Here are some of our Lord Jesus'
instructions to guide the present Church out of disunity and dishonest
fellowship. Quarreling members of a church should follow the following steps
to make peace:
1. Keep the matter
private (Matt. 18:15) Conflict cannot be
completely eliminated among human beings, no matter how closely related they
may be. "Are mo ja kan o si" But where there is honest relationship
and true fellowship, either of the persons involved in quarrel, according to
Jesus Christ, should approach the other and speak with him/her alone as a way
of making peace in love. It could be that the offender does not realize that
he/she has offended someone. Even if he/she knew that he/she did was
deliberate, the submissive and loving attitude of the other part who came for
peace may help him/her to repent and beg for forgiveness. The mind of Christ on
one to one peace talk among the quarreling brethren is not about winning an
argument, but winning ones’ brother or sister back to Christ from the side of
the devil which does not want brethren to live in unity and peace. No wonder
the Bible says "follow peace with all men (Heb. 12:14) and let brotherly
love continues (Heb. 13:1). It is important for us to note that we must have a
spirit of meekness and gentleness before we can really seek to restore a
brother or sister (Gal. 6:1) To ensure honest fellowship in our Church, therefore,
we have to sincerely seek him/her with love and not to gossip around about what
happened between two of them.
2. Request for the
intervention of other believer(s) (Matt. 18:16) Bringing in one or two trusted and honest believer(s) to
make peace between two conflicting members is never a gossip, but a divine
recommendation by our Master, Jesus Christ. (Matt. 18:16) If one of the parties
involved in the quarrel had tried on his/her own to reconcile privately and the
other party refused to make things right, then one is free to share the burden
with one or two reliable Christian(s) for their honest and prayerful
intervention and counsel. They may also become witnesses of the fact of what
had happened between the two parties before the Church (Deut. 19:15; 2Cor.
13:1) Brothers and sisters in Christ, please note that when sin is not honestly
dealt with in any fellowship or Church, it spreads. That means any bone of
contention between two members which is not properly handled may grow to
involve many more members. Yes, quarrel spreads like yeast if not managed with
love and honesty in a fellowship. "Owe no one anything except to love one
another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law." (Rom. 13:8).
3. Ask the Church for help (Matt. 18:17) The third step we
can take to resolve conflict in a Church is to bring the issue before the
council or meeting of the leaders of the Church. It is important for Christians
to remember that our goal in conflict resolution is not to win a case, but to
win our brother or sister back to Christ, and ensure that our fellowship is an
honest one. The word gained in Matthew 18:15 when compared with its usage in
1Corinthians 9:19-22, it refers to winning the lost. But it is also important
to make sure that the saved dwell together in love and truth, and maintain an
honest fellowship so that the gate of hell does not prevail against it. (Matt.
16:18). What we are saying here is that Church discipline must not be neglected
among us, and every member, high or low, must be ready to accept the discipline
of the Church. Anyone who fails to accept discipline should be treated like a
sinner who needs the love of Christ and must be discipled.
Finally,
brethren, we must make efforts to keep the local church spiritual (Matt.
18:18-20) through honest fellowship. The local church must first of all be at
its best spiritually before seeking to discipline any members. Exercising
discipline of members in a church simply means self-evaluation and
self-discipline of such local church. It also means that individual member of
the local church is self-controlled and self-disciplined. Someone who is not
disciplined cannot be able to discipline others (Matt. 7:5) The church
(individual members) must therefore be under the authority of the word of God
in order to remain disciplined. It is than that God will be able to restore his
erring children through the church. The power of prayer is another important
thing in our fellowship as a Church through which we know the will of God in
any matter with our members. This agreement in prayer is important in our
fellowship as we seek to win erring members in love and truth. Our fellowship
must be devoid of hypocrisy and pretense. Our fellowship must as well recognize
the presence of God in our midst even as we worship and pray together in the
unity of mind and purpose (Matt. 18:20) The Holy Spirit can convict both the
offender and the church, and as well judge sin in the midst of the brethren as
he did to Ananias and Sapphire in Acts chapter 5.
Men
and brethren, there is a desperate need for honesty and sincere love in the
Church today. Christians must be able to speak the truth, and settle their
rifts amicably and in love (Eph. 4:15) According to Jesus Christ, addressing
conflict and healing offenses should be a priority for Christians. He even asks
us to postpone our worship, especially giving of offering, if we remember an
unsettled quarrel (Matt. 5:23&24) From now henceforth, let us be open to
one another, resolve all our misunderstandings, tell one another truth in love
and follow peace with all Christians everywhere. Let us bring our worship to
God in a honest fellowship, enough of pretense and hypocritical attitude. Let
brotherly love continues that we may have honest fellowship in our Churches.
Let us pray
Rt.
Rev. A.K.O. Ogunrinde, JP, FICT.
Bishop, Diocese of Osogbo.
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