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Comparing Matthew Chapter 18:15-17 With Leviticus Chapters 13 And 14



Comparing Matthew 18:15-17 and Leviticus chapters 13 and 14

Matthew 18:15 Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. 16 But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. 17 And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.

Notice that after this process has occurred and been confirmed, the called out ones are required by God to let such “be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.”

1 Jo:8 Also gives us information on how we must treat those who disregard God’s laws. “Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward. 9 Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. 10 If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: 11 For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.”

We need to with loving care attempt to win our brother and in love follow Matthew 18. But after this is done and we have failed to gain our brother, we must withdraw our fellowship from them. If we continue in fellowship with them after this point we become a partaker of their evil deeds.

Therefore, what God requires of us to keep the purity of the Truth is to first carefully go through the process of Matthew 18. Struggle diligently to head those who would disregard His Commands in the correct path. In agape love show them God’s commands and attempt to direct them aright. But if after all of this, they insist in continuing in their violation, and justify it as correct, we have no choice but to withdraw our fellowship from them. Not to do so is in and of itself a violation of the laws of God. We in continuing with them after this process is complete, ourselves, become a partaker of their evil deeds.

The word partaker, as used in this instance means, according to Strong’s:

2841 koinwnew koinoneo koy-no-neh’-o

from 2844; TDNT-3:797,447; v

AV-be partaker 5, communicate 2, distribute 1; 8

1) to come into communion or fellowship with, to become a sharer, be made a partner

2) to enter into fellowship, join one’s self to an associate, make one’s self a sharer or partner

Thus to continue in fellowship with unfaithful brothers and sisters after Matthew 18 has been fully followed, is to be in “communion”, in “fellowship” with their evil deeds.

Biblically speaking, leprosy is the Divine parable of sin. In Leviticus Chapter 13 1-7 it speaks of three inspections of a leper, each time shutting him up seven days before the next inspection. This gives time for the leprosy to be cured, to remain, or in very serious cases to spread in the body. After the third inspection, if the leprosy remains, and particularly if it continues spreading, such a one is pronounced by the priest, as unclean and placed without the camp. The leper then must remain without the camp until he is cleansed. There is no exception; Even with Moses beloved sister Miriam or King Uzziah, the king of Israel.

Leviticus chapter 13 then speaks of the New Testament process of Matthew 18. Matthew 18:15-17 requires three attempts to correct the sin before we withdraw fellowship from our brother, placing him without the camp.

Here in Leviticus, the priest examines and washes the apparent leper 3 different times in an attempt to cleanse him. Lev 13:46 says, “All the days wherein the plague shall be in him he shall be defiled; he is unclean: he shall dwell alone; without the camp shall his habitation be.”

A leprous house is spoken of in Lev Chapter 14. Again three inspections and cleansings are made until finally it says in verse 45, after the leprosy is uncured, “And he shall break down the house, its stones and timber and all the plaster of the house; and he shall carry them forth out of the city to an unclean place.”

In Leviticus chapter 14 we see that in the beginning of the chapter it treats of the purification of lepers, and the rules to be observed therein. This would compare now, in our times, to someone who has been confirmed to be disobedient to the laws of God after completing the three steps of Matthew 18. If a confirmed sinner wants to come back into our fellowship, we must use the following quote as a pattern for ourselves. Leviticus Chapter 14, beginning in verse one says:

1 ¶ And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

2 This shall be the law of the leper in the day of his cleansing: He shall be brought unto the priest:

[notice this is a “law”, given by God – it must be followed or we ourselves become guilty]

3 And the priest shall go forth out of the camp; and the priest shall look, and, behold, if the plague of leprosy be healed in the leper;

[the priest job at this time is not to heal, but to examine, and to make a determination. Even though the leper is pronounced clean he is still not allowed back within the camp. The priest does not attempt any healing process. It is known that he is a leper. The question now is he healed or not. Again – and the priest shall look, and, behold, [if] the plague of leprosy be healed in the leper; the priest was determining if all the signs of uncleanness are removed, the swelling, the scab, or bright spot, and the white hair in them, and, instead of that, black hair is grown up.]

5 And the priest shall command that one of the birds be killed in an earthen vessel over running water:

6 As for the living bird, he shall take it, and the cedar wood, and the scarlet, and the hyssop, and shall dip them and the living bird in the blood of the bird that was killed over the running water:

7 And he shall sprinkle upon him that is to be cleansed from the leprosy seven times, and shall pronounce him clean, and shall let the living bird loose into the open field.

[here an elaborate procedure is carried out by the priest using two clean birds cedar wood, scarlet, and hyssop in an earthen vessel over running water]

Surely now the cleansed leper could come back within the camp and rejoin fellowship. But no,

8 And he that is to be cleansed shall wash his clothes, and shave off all his hair, and wash himself in water, that he may be clean: and after that he shall come into the camp, and shall tarry abroad out of his tent seven days.

The shaving, according to tradition was done by the priest. Most certainly this was done so that without hair and washed a more careful examination could be made. He would stand naked and hairless, cleansed clothes and body, and could only then come into the camp.

But notice even when within the camp, he was not granted fellowship. He had to tarry abroad out of his tent seven days.

The RSV, in harmony with others says, “but shall dwell outside his tent seven days.” Further time was needed – a complete time period as indicated by seven days.

9 And on the seventh day he shall shave all his hair off his head; he shall shave off his beard and his eyebrows, all his hair. Then he shall wash his clothes, and bathe his body in water, and he shall be clean.

He must again completely shave all the hair off of his body that had grown in the previous seven days, and wash clothes and body again.

10 ¶ “And on the eighth day he shall take two male lambs without blemish, and one ewe lamb a year old without blemish, and a cereal offering of three tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil, and one log of oil.

11 And the priest who cleanses him shall set the man who is to be cleansed and these things before the LORD, at the door of the tent of meeting.

12 And the priest shall take one of the male lambs, and offer it for a guilt offering, along with the log of oil, and wave them for a wave offering before the LORD;

13 and he shall kill the lamb in the place where they kill the sin offering and the burnt offering, in the holy place; for the guilt offering, like the sin offering, belongs to the priest; it is most holy.

14 The priest shall take some of the blood of the guilt offering, and the priest shall put it on the tip of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the great toe of his right foot.

15 Then the priest shall take some of the log of oil, and pour it into the palm of his own left hand,

16 and dip his right finger in the oil that is in his left hand, and sprinkle some oil with his finger seven times before the LORD.

17 And some of the oil that remains in his hand the priest shall put on the tip of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the great toe of his right foot, upon the blood of the guilt offering;

18 and the rest of the oil that is in the priest’s hand he shall put on the head of him who is to be cleansed. Then the priest shall make atonement for him before the LORD.

19 The priest shall offer the sin offering, to make atonement for him who is to be cleansed from his uncleanness. And afterward he shall kill the burnt offering;

20 and the priest shall offer the burnt offering and the cereal offering on the altar. Thus the priest shall make atonement for him, and he shall be clean.

Notice that great care and loving concern is used to try to cleanse an leper. Three inspections were made either on a person, or on a whole house. But that after leprosy was confirmed, the leper was placed without the camp. He was completely out of fellowship. No contact whatsoever could be had with him. And when he claimed to be cured the priest needed to go without the camp to examine him. The process of examination, cleansing, and sacrifice, was of the most careful and detailed nature imaginable.

Look at the detailed care given in bringing a leper back into fellowship. To disregard God’s commands here would be to place the entire congregation at risk. Worse yet, what if a confirmed leper was ordered without the camp by one priest, and another priest rejected this saying, no, stay in fellowship with us while we continue trying to heal you. This would have been a specific violation of the laws of God.

This would correspond in type to an Ecclesia withdrawing fellowship from a brother, and another Ecclesia, saying, remain in fellowship with us, and we will try to correct this sin. We will ourselves once again the process of Matthew 18 and try to correct the sin.

The significance of this in our time is:

2 Thes 3:6 Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us…14 And if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed.

15 Yet count him not as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.

[we are required to “withdraw”, and have “no company” with them. This indicates the necessity of withdrawing fellowship from them that they “may be ashamed.” AFTER we have withdrawn fellowship from we must “admonish” them.] Thus, we admonish him as a brother – while he is without the camp. No effective admonishment can occur while we remain in fellowship with him.

Brother Roberts in his Ecclesial Guide (Items 41 and 42) says, “We ought, therefore, to respect the withdrawals of other ecclesias until we have proved them unjustifiable.”

“In the majority of cases the withdrawal of one ecclesia is practically the withdrawal of all, since all will respect it till set aside, and since, in most cases, a concurrent investigation would lead to its ratification.”

Although Brother Roberts is speaking of a withdrawal of fellowship by an Ecclesia from an individual, he also says, “And this yields this general rule that no ecclesia ought to receive into fellowship a brother or sister who has been withdrawn from elsewhere.”

Certainly after it has been confirmed that one did violate the scriptures, and refused to correct the matter, and to justify the sin, we have no excuse whatsoever of remaining in fellowship with them. To continue our own Matthew 18 while remaining in fellowship with them is unscriptural.

Brother Roberts also said in April of 1891, “The time for withdrawal is when men drift into unscriptural attitudes of faith or practice…unless we observe this…the Truth would soon be suffocated and disappear.”

It is natural for a family member to desire the fellowship of their mother, father, sister, brother, son, daughter, husband or wife. Still, if they were confirmed to be a leper, they were required to remain outside the camp. No fellowship was permitted. Touching them or touching anything that they touched was forbidden. Certainly they were not treated as an enemy by loving family members, but rather as a brother beloved. Still they must remain without the camp and no contact could be made. If anyone came near the leper they were required to hold them back, with clothes rent, and head uncovered, crying, “unclean, unclean”. Human wisdom must never be substituted for the commands of God.

In Brother Robert’s The Law of Moses, chapter 27 he deals with this cleansing process.

Let us look as several quotes from this section. He comments first on Leviticus Chapter 13. says,

“The great test of uncleanness was the spreading or not spreading – the affecting or not affecting of other parts…A man with “the plague in his head” was pronounced utterly unclean. A hopeless leper was to be put out of the camp (vs 46); a hopelessly infected garment was to be burnt (verse 52); a house to which plague returned after affected stones had been removed, and the rest of the house scraped, was to be “broken down” (verse 45).

He then speaks of post Mosaic times in reference to Corinth. He says, “the post baptismal sins which the Corinthian brethren who were forgiven. He says that they were “sinners forgiven –lepers healed.”

“Not only a leper, but any man having a running issue out of his flesh, was to be regarded as unclean till he was cured – unclean in himself and defiling to others (Lev 15). All contact with him in any way was forbidden…”Avoid them” says Paul: “turn away” – “have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them”…Their company – their very touch – is defiling.”

In Brother Roberts Ecclesial Guide he also comments on this as it applies to an Ecclesia.

In his item 41, “Involved in another Ecclesia’s Trouble” he says,

“Let us suppose, then, that some other ecclesia has withdrawn from a brother on grounds that seemed just to the majority thereof; is it right that the brother so withdrawn from should be received by you? You can settle this by considering: How would you like the said ecclesia to act towards a brother or sister you have withdrawn from? Would you like them to receive such? There is only one answer – No. And this yields this general rule that no ecclesia ought to receive into fellowship a brother or sister who has been withdrawn from elsewhere.

“If a withdrawn-from brother comes to your ecclesia and alleges the injustice of the withdrawal, if you are disposed to listen to the case, your duty is (meanwhile withholding fellowship) to apprise the ecclesia that has withdrawn from him, that he applies for your fellowship on the ground of the withdrawal being unjust, and that you wish to investigate the case concurrently with them.”

Brother Roberts confirms the scriptures. We cannot ignore a withdrawal – especially after the sin is confirmed. To ignore the withdrawal and start over again with our own Matthew 18 is unscriptural, as well as defiling. All who remain in fellowship with the error become partakers of the evil deeds, and they additionally bring harm to the very brethren they claim they are trying to help. The way to help is to withdraw from them, that they might be ashamed, and then from without the camp, admonish them.

Matthew chapter 18 must carefully and lovingly be followed in an attempt to regain any erring brother. But if the brother refuses the process, and even in the face of a fellowship split refuses to correct the matter, and justifies his sin, we have no choice but to withdraw our fellowship from him. This brother then must be recognized by us as being unclean. He must remain without the camp until a very careful and rigorous inspection take place, with many washings of the water of the word, and sacrifices before fellowship is resumed.

Once it has been determined that Matthew 18 has been followed, and fellowship has been withdrawn, that brother is then without the camp until such time as a full and certified cleansing has occurred. To continue in fellowship with him violates scripture and makes those who do so unclean themselves. One cannot then go to a sinner outside of fellowship and say, I am going to try again to start the process of Matthew 18. This is unscriptural. Nor can we remain in fellowship with a leper and try to help him without becoming unclean ourselves. If we remain in fellowship with a sinner who is outside of fellowship we become sinners ourselves, and a partaker of his evil deeds. Rather we must go “without the camp” and very carefully examine the brother, with many washings of the word, and absolutely confirm that the brother is completely cured before admitting him back into our fellowship.

We have Christ’s sacrifice before us. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat.

Brother Calvin Yutzy

SOME ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS

When to Withdraw

Titus 3:10 A man that is an heretick after the first and second admonition reject; 11 Knowing that he that is such is subverted, and sinneth, being condemned of himself. (heretic – rom ; adj schismatic, factious, a follower of a false doctrine, etc.).

Mt 18:17 And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.

2 Thes 3:14 And if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed.

15 Yet count him not as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.

1 Tim 6:3 If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness; 4 He is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings, 5 Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself.

2 Jo 1:10 ¶ If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed:

11 For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.

These quotes clearly show that we are “commanded” to withdraw ourselves from unfaithful brethren. We must do this after the steps of Matthew 18; after the 1st and 2nd admonition. These are God’s appointments, and “We are not at liberty to relax the appointments of God. The exercise of “charity” must be confined to our own affairs. We have no jurisdiction in God’s matters.” Bro Roberts

If we do otherwise we do them harm; they will not be ashamed and repent (2 Thes 3:14). We harm ourselves being disobedient to God’s commands, and will become a partaker of their evil deeds 2 Jo 1:10). We harm the Truth through our laxity and it will soon be suffocated and disappear.

“The time for withdrawal is when men drift into unscriptural attitudes of faith or practice…unless we observe this…the Truth would soon be suffocated and disappear.” Brother Roberts

CY