Luk 17:1 Then He said to the disciples, “It is impossible that no offenses should come, but woe to him through whom they do come! Luk 17:3 “Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. Luk 17:4 “And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him.”
It is discouraging to note the number of believers who stop giving their services to God ( church) just because they have been offended. Others go to the extreme of even not coming for fellowship/ services while the last category abandon the faith all together because of a friendly fire – being injured by people who are supposed to be protecting you.
While it is true that true believers are responsible for the well being of their brothers or sisters, it will be impossible that none of them should be found without fault. As it is in other dockets, there will always be conflict in the body of Christ caused by perception, maturity level, culture or even satanic manipulation
The Bible gives us practical wisdom on how disputes are supposed to be settled ( mat 18: 15-17, 1Co 6:1-11)* The bottom line , as taught by Jesus is genuine confession which is followed by forgiveness. The Christian community must be one that practices Godliness , forgiveness and fellowship. We must also take care of our wounded soldiers .
Further readings:
Mat 18:6,7
Eph 4:31
Col 3:13
🙏 Blessed Weekend 🙏