Why is it important that Christians hold each other accountable for our profession of faith and our promises of obedience to Christ? Because even after we are saved, the remnants of sin within us continue to twist our hearts and minds. Because of this, other Christians can often see our sin more easily than we can.

But that doesn’t mean we need to be in the business of swatting flies with sledgehammers. Matthew 18:15 says that when a sin arises between two Christians it should first be dealt with privately and tactfully. Speaking the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15) necessarily involves trying to shield our brothers and sisters from embarrassment. And let’s face it: such a personal conversation also allows any potential misunderstandings to be cleared up. After all, you could be just as wrong about what your brother actually did as you think he was wrong to do it.

So what if such a private conversation doesn’t go well? Because of every Christian’s vulnerability to deception, the next step is to gather other witnesses, to gain more points of view. This is why Presbyterians always have more than one ruling elder to help guide each congregation: the greater the number of honest, earnest, knowledgeable Christians trying to find the truth, the more likely it is that the deceptions of sin will be revealed. Before anyone’s sin is confronted publicly, it should always be dealt with privately by the elders.

But what if things blow up? What if someone is engaging in obvious, scandalous sin and refuses to be corrected by any of his fellow Christians? Matthew 18:17 says we are to treat such a one as a Gentile or a tax collector.

Now, at first glance, that seems quite harsh. We might read this verse and come to the conclusion that Jesus is condoning the practice of shunning, as some congregations have done in the past. But remember: Jesus ate with tax collectors and sinners. So, for a Christian to treat people as tax collectors or Gentiles doesn’t mean we should have nothing to do with them. It just means we need to consider them to be in need of evangelism. Just as Jesus never gave up on sinners like us, we must never stop trying to be reconciled with those whose sins have separated them from us and from God.

It is into that context, the effort to discover and root out the remnants of sin within ourselves and others, that the promise of Matthew 18:20 comes. Jesus promises to be with us, to help us see things clearly, to help us make good and righteous decisions, to help us all grow closer together and closer to Him.

So, do you want to make real progress in the Christian life? Seek out the honest advice of another Christian whom you love and respect. And if someone points out an area of your life that isn’t yet in complete agreement with God’s Word, be willing to listen. After all, even your worst critic just might have a point. For it is only when we humble ourselves before each other that we can ever truly become the body of Christ.

Matthew 18:15-20 (NASB)

15 “And if your brother sins, go and reprove him in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother.
16 “But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every fact may be confirmed.
17 “And if he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax-gatherer.
18 “Truly I say to you, whatever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
19 “Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven.
20 “For where two or three have gathered together in My name, there I am in their midst.”