Whatever Shall Be Loosed, Whatever Shall Be Bound

In Matthew 18 Jesus speaks of discipline and prayer.  Specifically in verses 15-18 he speaks of brothers sinning against brothers and how to deal with it among the body of believers.  The process for restoration is laid out, and as each step is taken in the process, there is another step laid out in case there is a failure to repent on the part of the sinner.

In our current culture the concept of "live and let live" is widely spread and greatly adhered to, having been given credence by the twisting and misapplication of scripture; specifically scripture that deals with the concept of judging.  One of the most often quoted scripture passages is Luke 6:37.

"Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven"

The vast majority of Christian churches in the world take this verse along with Romans 2:1, Matt 7:1 and Luke 6:42 and have instituted the standard of non confrontation regarding sin among the believers.  Most have equated accountability with condemning stone throwing and because of this, sin and the willfully sinful are rapidly taking over local churches.  "Do not judge" has become a vice to hold God's people in captivity to sin.

The Apostle Paul, in his letter to the Corinthians, spoke of sinfulness being accepted in the Church there.  In 1 Corinthians 5 Paul both rebukes and admonishes the church to expel the immoral brothers from amongst the congregation.  He says,

"You have become arrogant and have not mourned instead, so that the one who had done this deed would be removed from your midst." (5:2)

 This chapter shows that the practice of judging was expected to be the norm within the body of Christ.  Jesus said, "Be holy as I am holy".  The expectation and teaching of the early church fathers was that the Church would be a body of holy people pursuing holiness privately and publicly.

But because we no longer mourn over it, shameful behavior is excused, even condoned as a culturally and morally acceptable way of life.  There is no shame in having premarital sexual relations, living together and having children out of wedlock, divorce is no longer considered shameful but rather excused and acceptable, remarriage after divorce is actually officiated by pastors and allowed in the church, provocative dress, foul language and the viewing of filth in the name of entertainment are all accepted and openly practiced by those who call themselves the body of Christ.

Matthew 18 speaks of confronting sin amongst the brethren.  Matthew 18:18 reveals an even greater depth to this passage than what might be considered at first glance.

" 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."

When sin and sinfulness are no longer confronted but accepted, there is something more than we see that is happening.   As sinfulness is loosed in our churches, wickedness is being loosed in the heavens.  In our failure to bind on earth what is shameful, we have unbound in the heavens that which was formerly restrained and we are given over to sin.  By failing to stand firm in the holiness God desires, we have been given over to evil.  No longer does the Church stand as a witness and a refuge to lost souls.  It stands as a place of hypocrisy.  We speak of a God we do not serve.  But the same is true for the Church as is true for the individual.

"Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap."  Gal. 6:7

Today, we are reaping what has been sown.  The church is filled with abhorrent teachings that silence the call to holiness and scream the message of tolerance within it's walls.  The love of Christ is twisted to be a message of permissiveness.
What we've done is swing from one end of the pendulum to the other.  We've gone from hyper exclusiveness to all out inclusiveness.  But the man (and Church) of God will avoid all extremes!  We are not to judge those who are outside of the church.  But if a sinner repents and is numbered among the believers, they are to be held accountable to the standards of holiness God has put in place.  Permissiveness has no place in the Church.  And condemnation is not to be on our lips.  But the one who does not believe stands condemned already, so we are not to condone their behavior as if there is no condemnation for the one who is not "in Christ".

What we loose on earth is loosed in Heaven.  We've loosed permissiveness and effectively given our Church over to the will and whim of evil.  We need to take it back and bind on earth what should be bound in Heaven.  Our battle is not with flesh and blood, so don't go out and start bashing others in a condemning sort of way.  What we must do is stand for holiness and truth and bind in Heaven the forces that should be restrained, in the name of Christ Jesus and by the power of His shed blood.  Jesus has already won the victory.  It is our joy to uphold the ground that was already won.  Unity in the church will once again be the norm, rather than the exception, because evil and divisiveness will no longer feel at home within our ranks.

Let God be praised in our obedience to His word!