Holiness and Sin
I have been thinking a lot lately about the approach that the Church and Christians have to biblical concepts and themes and about the difference between the words of Christ and Paul.
I have severe problems with some Pauline theology such as Paul’s response and reaction on dealing with sin.
In the search for holiness Christians have tended to seperate themselves from both the world and from Jesus.
Taking Matthew 18 into consideration as the way to deal with sinful behaviour within a church. Traditionally the church view of treating a fellow believer in a state of sin after mediation and confrontation has failed , has been to exclude that person from community, but is that a correct interpretation?
Matthew 18:14-17: 14 In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost. 15 “If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. 16 But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ 17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector.
What exactly does Jesus mean by “treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector”? Looking at how Jesus related to sinners in the four Gospel accounts a picture begins to emerge of Jesus not just encountering but socialising and spending time with those who were viewed as emeshed in sin.
More on the way
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