Matthew 18:18-20 “Truly I say to you, Whatever you bind on the earth will be, having been bound in Heaven. And whatever you loose on the earth will be, having been loosed in Heaven. Again I say to you, If two of you agree on earth as to anything, whatever they shall ask, it shall be to them from My Father in Heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in My name, there I am in their midst.”
In the first and second pages of this topic we looked at the process of dealing with an offending believer. First, the two parties meet privately with each other. If that didn't solve the problem one or two witnesses are brought in to reason with the person and to be a witness to all that is said. If that also didn't solve the problem, then the church is brought in. They pray, the situation is presented to the Church officers, the witness testify to all they heard, and once again they try to reason with the offender in hopes that he will repent and be restored into a relationship with Jesus. Now the Church has a decision to make.
The Church showed the offender how he is in error and have tried to help him make things right with the person he sinned against and to make things right with God again. But he has refused. By refusing to admit his sin, ask for forgiveness, and correct the problem, he is refusing to obey the will of God. There now must be some kind of action on the part of the Church. Whatever the Church decides, they must be in agreement with each other.
Matthew 18:18 talks about binding and loosening. When a Church disciplines a person, that would be the binding. If the person repents and the Church removes the discipline, that would be the loosening. In this verse Jesus said that what is bound on earth will be bound in Heaven, and what is loosed on earth is loosed in Heaven. This means God takes note of the decision made about the believer who refuses to repent, and that same decision is made in Heaven. This is a serious matter and must be handled with much prayer. So let's back up a bit.
Notice in verse 17 Jesus said, “Let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector. Jesus did not say to let the person be to you like a devil, or someone who is unforgivable. A heathen or tax collector, are people who can be restored and accepted again. Look at how Jesus treated these people. Matthew, a tax collector, was asked to be a disciple.(Matthew 10:3) Jesus ate with sinners and tax collectors. (Matthew 9:10-13) He was a guest at the home of Zacchaeus, a tax collector. (Luke 19:1-10) When hanging on the cross Jesus forgave the thief who was hanging on a cross next to him. He also asked God to forgive those who beat Him, mocked Him, and put Him on the cross. (Luke 23:33-43)
Therefore, when we are to consider the unrepentant believer as a heathen or tax collector, we are to think of them as someone who still has the possibility of being restored. We don't cut them off from us, or think of him as an enemy. Instead the Church officers prayerfully decides on an appropriate form of discipline. The Church must be in agreement and pray about the decision. Whatever they decide is noted in Heaven. Should that person repent, the Church officers then can remove the discipline and restore him back to the church position he formerly held. Again they must be in agreement and they pray about the decision When they pray about it God notes their decision and restores the person's place in Heaven. This is what verse Matthew 18:18-20 is talking about.
Verse 19 is referring to the decision of the Church and their prayers about the unrepentant person. When Jesus said, “Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven.” He was talking about the situation with the offending member. Whatever they agree upon and then tell God their decision, God will do it for them in Heaven. This particular text is not talking about healing an illness, or anything else other than the decision made by the Church about the church member. It is inappropriate to use it as a promise to solve our problems, and it is inappropriate to get angry at God and accuse Him of not keeping His promise if things don't happen the way we want. It is better to go to 1 John 5:14. “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will He hears us.”
When we pray according to His will, we are asking God to do what is best. What we think is best is not always what is God sees as best. A good example of that is my own situation with my epilepsy. I would love to be free of it, but not if, by being free, I would become too busy for God and no longer have the relationship with Him I have now. God saw me in my mother's womb. He saw the malformation develop in my brain. He made plans for me which included the malformation. The malformation is not a birth defect. It is exactly as God planned and designed it. It is because of the malformation, brain surgery, and the epilepsy that I am able to have the time to study the Bible, develop a relationship with God, and be able to write these messages. I will be glad for the day I am free from these seizures, but until then I'm going to serve Him the best I can and enjoy this interesting life He has given me. Living in His will is not boring. It is interesting, joyful, fulfilling, and sometimes downright exciting. Pray according to His will. Live according to His will.
“The thief does not come except that he may steal, and kill, and destroy. I came that they may have life and may have it abundantly.” John 10:10