October 6"Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering." Matthew 5:23-24 I can't count the number of people I know who have unresolved issues with brothers in Christ who are daily violating this instruction. Countless numbers of those who call themselves Christians completely ignore this and other verses like it that make it clear we are to be peculiar in that we interact with one another in a totally transparent way, hiding nothing from brothers and sisters whose welfare depends on that honesty. I would like to suggest the reason this issue is so critical for us to understand is that it is one of the major reasons the church is so incredibly impotent. Israel’s problem after the battle of Jericho is a perfect example for us to compare with what is going on in the church today (Joshua 6 & 7). Thirty six Israelite warriors died because of the sin of one man. God is holy and does not dwell in the midst of a people who refuse to be holy. Christians are not perfect, but we are expected to live in the power of God’s perfect love for us by confessing our sin to one another as the need arises. If I have offended a brother or he has offended me, we are expected to go to that brother or sister and seek reconciliation. God is not interested in the gifts (financial support for ministry) we bring to His altar, if we are not living transparently before our brethren. Isaiah 59:1-3 tells us, “Behold, the Lord’s hand is not so short that it cannot save; nor is His ear so dull that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear.” Psalm 66:18 tells us, “Íf I regard wickedness in my heart, the Lord will not hear;” I John 1:8, 9 tells us, “If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” And finally James makes it clear that a great deal of the illness and problems in the church are the direct result of sin when he tells the ones suffering to call for the elders and to be confessing their sin so they may be healed (James 5:13-16).
If you are aware of unconfessed sin in your life, I urge you to deal with it immediately. Your situation will only get worse until you do so. Israel regained the power of serving the living God the moment they dealt biblically with the sin of Achan at Jericho. The church can regain the power it is supposed to have for serving the living God if her members live with one another in harmony with their sin against one another always being confessed and dealt with biblically. Until or unless that happens, the church will continue to be the listless, impotent, ungodly, self-serving body of unbelievers most of them have chosen to be for the past sixteen or more centuries. And that’s today’s word from God’s book. And now, “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face shine on you, and be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His countenance on you, and give you peace.” Numbers 6:24-26
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