Matthew 18:15-20 “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. 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 collector. Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”
One of the characteristics of God is His Justice, which flows out of His Righteousness. He treats all others rightly, and has passed on this trait to those He created in His image. Of course, due to the Fall, none of us possess that perfectly. Having created the church, He also wants justice to prevail there as well. He wants us as imperfect followers of Christ to gather together, and when we do, there will be conflict. We will do and say unrighteous things against one another. We will offend others. When that happens, He has built into the Church a process to handle that, which will contribute to the transformation He wants to be working in our lives. He has shown us how to fight fair, to pursue justice, to demonstrate His character to one another and the watching world. That is true love.
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