Matthew 18:15 “Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.”
There are more instructions as the passage continues, but this is a good place to pause. It is where many of us falter.
When a brother misses the mark, committing a sin that is against us, sometimes we tell other people, or we keep it to ourselves and let it ruin our attitude or cause bitterness to grow.
It’s difficult to look a person who sinned against us in the eye. To tell them without hesitation their actions were wrong. But this is, more often than not, where the offense is settled.
A growing believer, who is committed to Jesus will often recognize their wrongdoing immediately and ask forgiveness.
This is the best outcome. We walk away brothers, often with a stronger bond than we had before.
It will take a certain amount of character to follow this initial instruction to go and tell them. But it must be done.
There are some that won’t hear us. In that case, move on to verses 16 and 17.
Matthew 18:15 “Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.”