Aloha, brothers and sisters in Yeshua!

Yeshua talked of a time when people would be offended (by one another), betray each other and hate one another (Matthew 24:10). If I recall correctly, John Bevere, in his book entitled, “The Bait of Satan,” asserted that, in this passage, Yeshua was referring to believers in Him; that is, that believers in Yeshua would be offended by, etc. one another. I am not sure that I grasp this meaning from the text, but it does seem that many believers in Yeshua are easily offended by one another and others (i.e., non-believers), as well. That said, it is clear that many non-believers are also easily offended by anything and everything, especially things related to God, these days.

Yeshua also said that offenses will come (Luke 17:1-4, Matthew 18:6-7 and Mark 9:42). He also gave us clear instructions about how to deal with the inevitable situations that arise when a brother or sister sins against us or when we offend or are offended by another.

Dealing with Offense

Since I really appreciate the knowledge provided by Lou Priolo in his book entitled, “The Complete Husband,” I am quoting from pages 80-81 of it:

I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Ephesians 4:1-3, NKJV).

God does not want conflicts between His children to go unresolved. He places the responsibility squarely on the shoulders of each Christian to be at peace with each other. If you have offended someone, you are to go to that person and be reconciled to him.

Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift (Matthew 5:23-24, NKJV).

If you’ve been offended by someone, you are to go to him with the intent of granting him forgiveness (thus restoring your relationship with him) once you’ve convinced him he’s sinned.

Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him (Luke 17:3, NKJV).

If you’re not able to get the issues resolved between you, you must seek the assistance of other Christians.

Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that “by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established” (Matthew 18:15-16, NKJV).

I implore Euodia and I implore Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. 3 And[a] I urge you also, true companion, help these women who labored with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the Book of Life (Philippians 4:2-3, NKJV).

Now, if these rules are binding on you as a Christian who’s having conflict with another Christian in your church, how much more binding are they on you as a convenantal member of a Christian marriage! You must see all the resources God has given you to maintain the unity between you and your wife. You must “not let the sun go down on your anger” toward her (Ephesians 4:26), but instead you should “pursue peace” with her (Hebrews 12:14; cf. Romans 14:19). If, after doing everything within your power “so far as it depends on you” to “be at peace with” her (Romans 12:18), you’re unable to resolve your conflict with her biblically, you’ll need to enlist the help of another Christian.

So, as a follower of Yeshua, if we sin against or offend someone, we must go an try to reconcile with that person. Beyond that, if someone else sins against us, we are to go and tell him or her of the wrong that he or she has done to us, and if he or she repents, we are to forgive him or her; as many times as he or she repeats the offense and repents, we are to forgive him or her. (We are not to be unnecessarily offended by others; that is, we are not to be offended by others for behaviors that, while potentially annoying, are not sinful.)

This seems simple and may even be “common sense” to some, yet it seems to be rarely practiced by individual believers, and I do not recall ever observing Biblical “church discipline” (e.g., Matthew 18:15-17) being practiced in any church that I have been to. However, if put into practice, we can expect God’s Word to bear fruit (Isaiah 55:11).

God’s Feasts

Israel

United States

San Diego

Miscellaneous

  • HaYesod: looks potentially interesting, but we have not studied it, yet
  • Migdal Eder (Mike L. Short): contains a few precious gems and pearls; if you have difficulty getting through the body, you can skip ahead to read the last two paragraphs, but you might, then, miss some precious insights.

 

Have a great weekend.

God bless, and shalom,

Darwin and Ani