Discuss Matthew 18 Page 3

Your Angel

Matthew 18:10 Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.

11 For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost

12 How think ye? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray?

13 And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray.

14 Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish

Charlene,

I don't know of any place in the bible that says that. There are several places however that tell us that we are to forgive our enemies. Also, forgiveness does go both ways. Here are a few verses that might help you out:

Luke 17:3-4

Matthew 18:21-22

Matthew 18:15

Matthew 6:14-15

Ephesians 4:32

Dave,

I'm not sure if your question was about GOD or man. I will try my best to answer it. Ironically " ambiguous " meaning double meaning._._

I think that GOD's WORD the Bible is clear, when we study, & pray for wisdom. James 1:5,

1st GOD gave people dominion: Genesis 1:26,27,28, = power, dominion ect. Within 2nd Generation & continued; 1st crime: Genesis 4:6-9, & Genesis 4:23, dominion with disregard for others, even anothers very life. Genesis 6:5, Exodus 1:8,13,16,22, even disregard for life of children

Even then though GOD doesn't disregard HE repayed. Exodus 12:29, Exodus 13:15, notice the whole chapter of Exodus 12, points to John 3:15,16,17, Again people with dominion & power disregarding life of innocent: Luke 22:1,2,7,20,54,63,64, continued; Luke 23:1,2,15,21,33,34,

Also: they killed their own children, Leviticus 18:21, Leviticus 20:1-8, that GOD had destroyed nations for that sin! 1Kings 11:7, 2Kings 23:10,

Jeremiah 32:35, ( how? ) it's unimaginable even to GOD ALMIGHTY ! Jeremiah 7:31, Jeremiah 19:5, 2Chronicles 33:9, 1Kings 11:1-12, Deuteronomy 6:14, Deuteronomy 7:1-8, why? Was it because they destroyed the children, had disregard for innocent lives of their own offspring? Images of GOD

Psalms 82:6, in context Psalms 82,

GOD will Judge: Matthew 25:31-46, Matthew 18:5,6,10,14, Matthew 19:14, Mark 9:42, Luke 17:2, 2Peter 2:7-9, Psalms 9:7,

If your question is regarding "us" "believers" Luke 12:32, Revelation 21,

There will be suffering here on Earth but promises to those who endure, Matthew 24, Mark 13, Revelation 10, 2Timothy 2:3, Revelation 6:9-11,

Hopefully these are helpful

Here are scriptures to help you, Haley & for your twin daughters Bonnie & Baylee. I know & pray that GOD is faithful to HIS promises, when times are difficult I pray these encourage & give you strength.

Isaiah 40:11,31, Matthew 18:2,10, Psalms 68:5, Jeremiah 49:11, Psalms 146:9, Psalms 18:27, Psalms 140:12,

Hopefully there are some within these scriptures that you'll find helpful

Thank you bro Giannis for the clarification on 'doulos'. The Gk Lexicon I use does show that 'slave/bond slave/bond servants' are used in the Bible, but it refers to Matthew 18:23,26 (also 'doulos') and it specifies that 'servant' can be used here instead of slave.

It's possible the question could be asked, 'would a king actually loan or entrust money to a slave, considering the nature, cruelty & limitations that a slave is bound to?' Maybe, what you're saying is that even in this reference, it should be read as the 'king's slaves'. If that is the case, then I do apologize for an incorrect rendering of 'doulos' & hope that Jewelgh can take note of this & any further remark by yourself. Thank you for this clarification brother.

A lifetime of struggle under the poverty line. All min wage jobs, one after another, paycheck to paycheck, never enough to save. I live in dangerous apt complex with murder, hijackings, etc. I have no savings to retire. Stamina, energy, health waning as I get older. Bad back, over exhaustion. Got fired from another crap job and find myself unemployed yet again. Rent got raised by 25 percent. Car troubles. Tired of the struggle. I want the American dream. I want to buy a house and retire. I want to win the lottery. And if I do I will pay it fore-ward. As I'm pushing 60, with brain fog, severe exhaustion, I just want things to get easier. The easy yolk of which Jesus spoke. I've done the hard yoke. I want the bitter cup removed. I drank 3/4 of it. No more, please. Matthew 18:19-20 - Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. Please agree with me in Christ's name that my health, finances, improve. And for that matter, relationships improve, or lack thereof. I suffer social phobia. I have no friends, wife. I could go on and on. I just want to be happy. That isn't a sin, btw, to want to be happy. John 10:10- I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." Jesus said, "I wish that you may prosper and be in good health even as your soul prospereth." 3 John 1:2. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.-- Mark 11:24.

Dear Dr. Bill

Not all the scripture below are totally relevant, but I think they will help:

Matthew 18:15-18

1 Corinthians 5:1-5

1 Corinthians 5:9-13

Galatians 6:1

1 Timothy 1:3-4

1 Timothy 1:20

1 Timothy 5:1-2

1 Timothy 5:19-20

1 Timothy 6:3-5

2 Timothy 4:2-4

Titus 1:10-11

Titua 3:10-11

Philemon 1:8-9

2 John 1:9-11

Rev 2:14

Rev 2:20

Psalms 139, Deuteronomy 4:30-40,

Words of Jesus : John 10:15,16, Matthew 15:24, Matthew 18:10-14, John 3:16, Romans 8,

Matthew 3:2, Matthew 4:17, Mark 1:15, Acts 2:38, Acts 3:19,

Hopefully these are helpful

Dear all, i explain myself as a regular person here on this web page. Stop by every day, lift up the prayer topics to our God in Jesus holy name. All are prayed for, rest assured. When a prayer is to be written down, it may not be the way you want it to be. I understand we are a group we pray in here and that comforts me. Much thanks to your all. And gives great thanks to God for all the answers to prayers that someone says they have received. Hallelujah Amen! Then we all understand that this is not a one-man/woman job, but together we are strong enough to proclaim. And that's not all, dear friends. We stand together in prayer even though it may be at different times of the day. It is not difficult for God to hear prayer. Because He already knows what we need. And in the Holy Spirit we know each other as the Father and the Son do, that is comfort! Amen.

Matthew 18:20 John 17

Stay strong in the word and in Jesus all God loves u and Jesus loves u and i loves u in Christ.

Hi Chrys, that is a good question and one I have mulled over. I don't claim to be any authority on the subject, but happy to share thoughts.

Jesus said if you pray in faith to move mountains you can. I don't know if that's literal or figurative. But I believe when we pray, I believe that we can pray in faith, and the answer may be no. Jesus even prayed to the Father to 'let this cup pass from me' to avoid the gruesome murder He was about to receive in order to pay for you and my sins. Matthew 26:39. Considering the outcome I speculate that the answer from God the Father to that prayer was 'no'. And I have no doubt that Jesus prayed in faith. So, my thinking is that if even Jesus can have prayer requests not fulfilled, then its likely that I won't get everything I want either.

So, I don't think God is a magic genie to give us wishes. Instead I think we exist for God's pleasure.

More evidence seems to support this, which is other characters in the Bible who had faith and prayed but still had disabilities, hardships. Like Paul had a thorn in the flesh, probably a physical disability. Moses had a speech impediment of some kind and felt insecure about leading the Israelites. God used them all anyway. Remember the verse of Paul saying God's strength is made perfect in our weakness? 2 Corinthians 12:9-10.

We aren't promised health, wealth, and for perfect lives here. Those who teach prosperity stuff aren't preaching out of the Bible I'm reading. We're promised challenges, hardships, persecution. There are plenty of verses supporting this. Plus this life is extremely short and we don't take anything with us. We won't have these disabilities in the afterlife.

I'm sorry to hear about your ailment. If its prostate cancer proton therapy actually works.I believe we should continue praying in faith and trusting God for whatever outcome He decides or allows. I also believe more people praying helps. Matthew 18:19-20. God bless.

Dwayne Nickson,

Beautiful! Thanks for sharing your personal experience! Thank you for trusting us with that. Several people have unique visions & experiences. Please pray for wisdom & understanding, if that's what your seeking. James 1:5,6,7,

It seems though, you said "smiling" was it comforting to you? Encouraging?

Here's another scripture if you feel warning: Matthew 18:10, in context Matthew 18,

Hopefully these are helpful

Hi Barb, I don't think it must be one or the other.

The Bible is full of metaphors to explain things like our relationship to God. I see T. Levis shared scriptures for "sons", so I'll share different ones:

Be like children:

Matthew 18:3

Romans 8:17

Galatians 4:6

Be people and sheep:

Psalms 100:3

John 10:11

Jeremiah 50:6

We're clay:

Isaiah 64:8

We're branches:

John 15:5

We're salt:

Matthew 5:13

I'm sure there's more.

matthew 18:18

Anyone who has an active relationship with God has been saved from the sting of sin. No believer "lives in sin". God can speak through anything and anyone he pleases-- he spoke through a burning bush, and he even spoke through a donkey. Does this pastor display the fruits of the spirit? Are people at her church accepting Christ as their Lord and savior? If so, you have your answer. Hint: Satan does not compel people to Christ. We can judge the works and deeds of someone and determine whether their works or deeds are good or evil, but only God will render the judgement of the soul.

"He that is not against us, is for us" -- Matthew 18:50

Dear Gaynell Smith on 1 Corinthians 14, you have received so many nice answers here. What do we define by sinning? It is easy if there is something we see. But Jesus mentions the scribes and the Pharisees many times. As a pointer to where we should look not just once but twice. (We've been given two eyes, haven't we, two ears. And fortunately only one mouth. If there were two of them, we'd be constantly talking into each other's mouths, smileys). Why did He warn us about these people?

2 Corintihans 3:6 Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.

What does it say in Exodus 20:17 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.

Lord Jesus: Matthew 18:9 And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire.

When it is so important and not See error? According to Jesus and the Holy Scriptures. So when we feel envy, longing, greed, etc. WE MUST ALWAYS be satisfied with what we have, the life we live, everything that belongs to it, is put there for a reason: Because you as a Christian can help people repent from dead works to faith in the Living God Jesus Christ.

Don't look at other people, how they are dressed, how many nice things they have mm

Ephesians 2:1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; 2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: 3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. GB

John 21:16,17, Jesus said this directly to one person, Simon, Son of Jonas, called Peter. To understand more deeply, you would have to follow the scriptures that happened prior.

Please read: John 10:1-18, Psalms 100:3,

Luke 12:22-32,

Matthew 26:31-75, Mark 14:27-72, Matthew 26:26-29, Mark 14:22-25, prophecy from Old Testament: Isaiah 53, Zechariah 13:7,

Example of people lovingly referred to as sheep : 2Samuel 24:17, 1Chronicles 21:17, 2Chronicles 18:16, Psalms 74:1, Psalms 78:52, Psalms 79:13, Ezekiel 34:6,

Matthew 9:26, Matthew 18:12,13, Mark 6:24, 1Peter 2:25, compassion,

Deuteronomy 8:3,

John 6:47-69, notice in that moment "Simon Peter"'s reply: John 6:68,

Hopefully these are helpful

Medically abortion is more harmful to girl, woman than birth. One person is killed during abortion, sometimes two.

What GOD says= Mark 9:42, Matthew 18:6,7,10,14,

Hopefully these help answer

Thank You, Giannis.

Hi bro Giannis,

I enjoyed your comments on this Holy Sabbath Day, and thanks for sharing!

I also observe many people in the world choosing to ignore Jesus Christ and His Gospel of the Kingdom. It is very sad to see the rejection, but it coincides with much of the scripture which tells us so many times that "few people will enter into God's Kingdom".

Matthew 22:14

"For many are called, but few are chosen."

Luke 13:23-24

"Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said unto them," "Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able."

Matthew 7:14

"Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it."

The emphasis coming directly from the mouth of Jesus saying "few there be that find it". If these bible verses don't move a Christian to "take notice" of themselves, nothing well.

Are we truly picking up our crosses and following Christ? Are we living our lives as part of this world? Jesus tells us that we can't do both!

Matthew 16:25

"For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it."

People need to take the bible to heart and NOT be lulled into thinking/believing they are (forever saved) while at the same time living their worldly lives.

Matthew 16:26

"For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?"

There are many false teachers, and preachers out there telling others that you can still live a worldly life and still have a "free ticket to heaven".

Any wonder why Jesus tells us over and over that FEW will be saved!

GB You

Hellow Dgjot.

Only God knows what is in the heart of people, we cannot judge since many times we have been proved wrong.

When I actually believed in Jesus, God opened my eyes to see the truth, it was like there was a cover around me and somebody pulled that away and suddenly a bright light turned on and saw the world as it actually is, not how I thought it were, with a different perception. Although I knew all those things about faith and Jesus and eternal life and the Hebrew history from school, we get tought them in school over here, actually it was like we were learning some kind of mythology or ancient tales and stories, nothing really got inside our heart. We had a sort of vague belief about God. There are lots of people here that love Jesus Christ but they never heard of new birth, baptism in the Spirit, or they consider these were only in the early times, don't take place in the church any more. They worship saints and angels and Mary and many other things just because they were taught that this is the proper way to serve God. Many of them are born again but don't know it. Others think that they are OK since they don't steal, don't kill, as if only these are sins. Others especially the new generations follow the corruptive ways of the world because they think this is progressive now, Christianity is a past thing. If one tries to talk to them about Jesus the way they don't know, they reject him thinking that all those strange things coming from abroad are going to spoil their true(?) faith. I think its the same in all the southern Europe, Italy, Spain, southern France, Portugal, the Balkans etc. People love God but they are trapped in their traditions and denominations. In the North people are completely atheists. I once lived in England for a while and I was surpised that people never even mention God in no case. They don't know Jesus even as a story. How sad. People think they move forward but are moving toawards their distraction. God help us.

Blessed w/e.

I understand and I appreciate your honesty. You seem like a very dear soul and I respect and honor your beliefs. Thank you for your reply.

I know it's difficult to see. And perhaps more difficult to accept. But I was raised on the campus of a fundamentalist Christian university. We were required to memorize and hand write in cursive and sometimes calligraphy entire passages of scripture. The Mandela effects are plentiful in scripture. Research the twelve tribes of Israel. And, yes, it will show the changed text in every translation you can find. But you will find the original passage in books, like I did in John Eldridge's and Henri Nouwen's. The effects go beyond scripture. Do you recall the children's series "The Berensein Bears"? My sister married and had three children with someone whose name was almost identical to that and also ends in "stein." Of course I would remember that correctly as my two children do. But if you research it, you will be told that you are "misremembering" it if you disagree. That's what makes it so mysterious and unexplainable. Perhaps God is trying to get our attention to not make assumptions about everything we've been led to believe from the pulpit about The Bible. Perhaps God is disappointed with The Church, it's divisiveness and "othering." Perhaps it is God's subtle message to us to ultimately check our hearts for truth. To be still. To "go within" to find the Kingdom of Heaven. I can't speak for others, but for me, when I was an active member of my church, there was very little time for contemplation and inner work. And I believe that is why the pandemic was allowed. It forced us into solitude. Many have been awakened because of it. I'm only saying that it's always wise to keep an open mind in our search for truth. But Christianity is the only religion that I'm aware of where questioning is disallowed. Think of the implications of that. What other systems do you see that playing out in in the world? It's time for sober reflection and wisdom IMO. Thank you for your reply.

Susan, You ask why I don't think we can have a meaningful conversation on Scriptural matters and I stated if we do not agree that the Scriptures are accurate and without error.

If we cannot agree on an objective source of truth, then everything discussed would be considered subjective. There is no "plumb line" to test what each others says. I do not think that "everyone has their own truth".

I believe that, when it comes to spiritual matters, the Bible is the source of absolute truth and is reliably accurate and the measure for which all spiritual viewpoints are held up to. It doesn't seem that you believe this, so unless we can agree on what we accept as the fundamental and objective measure of truth, then I think it is unfruitful to engage in Scriptural conversations with another person.

Perhaps there are some others on this forum who would want to engage with you, but I have a check in my Spirit on this matter and so will go with the lead of the Holy Spirit. I wish you well. I encourage you to seek the Lord Jesus Christ with all your heart and take hold of Him by faith.

Hi Susan,

Just noticed your reply. The Bible is correct. It never said the hearsay of "2 or more" as you believe. People's memories are subject to error and often people memorize hearsay which is wrong to begin with. Just because something was repeated many times during someone's upbringing doesn't mean it's correct. There are other examples of this where people have misremembered verses in the Bible. Example is people saying "Money is root of all evil" instead of "Love of money..." People may hear it in songs or movies, but doesn't mean its correct. What's interesting is people are more trusting of their own flawed teachings than the Bible itself. People are so quick to discredit God's Word and that's hard to see.

There is proof that the Bible has never changed- all someone has to do to prove the KJV hasn't changed is compare the text today to what it was 400+ years ago at its first printing. That is actually on this website and I checked and that verse hasn't changed. It's always said 2 or 3 and never 2 or more. It also shows many other translations which say the same thing. God's truth never changes; people's flawed memories and flawed hearsay does. But one aspect I do agree with is that this is a living Word, that God can reveal new things to us each time we read it through. His Word hasn't changed though and any time someone tries to attack its reputation or claim it has errors I will fight to defend God's word. God bless.

Can I respectfully ask why? I hope you are able to hear the sincerity in my reply. That is the reason that it's so important.

An example would be the current narrative surrounding the pandemic. There are many insightful physicians and scientists with differing perspectives. But those with perspectives that don't fit within the popular and allowed narrative, regardless of their peer reviewed research, are censored and worse. If we cannot have discourse about religion because the "other" disagrees with our views, we cannot grow.

Susan

I do understand and I am not offended. I just don't think we can have a meaningful conversation about Scriptural matters if you do not believe it is accurate and God inspired.

GiGi I truly did not mean to offend. I was raised on the campus of a fundamentalist Christian university and believed exactly everything that I was told. I taught it to my children as well. During a particularly dark season of my life, I began to question my faith. Those questions led to deep dives that eventually led me to appreciate the religion of my childhood. But to ultimately recognize that I could no longer believe what I was taught. The work of Delores Cannon, Neville Goddard, Eckhart Tolle and many others resonated too much to be ignored. I think it's very important that all faiths encourage spending much time in quiet stillness, nature and meditation. Going within. That's why Jesus said the Kingdom of Heaven is within. But I greatly respect others beliefs. I hope that we can have deep, honest and respectful discourse because so much depends on it right now. On almost every subject. Thank you for your reply. And I hope you understand.

Dear Susan,

It seems that we are miles apart as to the inerrancy of Scripture and it being irrevocably inspired by God. Therefore we cannot

have a conversation concerning spiritual matters concerning Jesus and salvation when one party does not believe that the

Scriptures are inerrant and irrevocably inspired by God. this view inevitably leads to one choosing which Bible passages they will

accept as truth and what they will reject as truth according to their own individual criteria, life experience, and subjective

knowledge. I do not follow that viewpoint that you express, so I am exiting this thread.

However, that is going on the assumption that Scripture has never been translated or altered by human beings. And we know, for instance, that several testaments were suppressed including the Gospel of Thomas and The Gospel of Mary, among others. The Dead Sea Scrolls cannot be ignored in this discussion. So we've been told our entire lives that the Scripture is literally THE word of God. I would say that it is man's translation of events that occurred. It's a history book. And history has changed many times over the centuries. We can see it playing out in our own world right now. Everything is politically driven to control the masses. And religion is a very powerful mode of control. Many people believe that that's why these Mandela effects are occurring. To awaken us to the fact that we have been deceived. Jesus was trying to remind us who we are. Which is why he could perform miracles and said that we could do the same. He had to speak in parables because of the threat of censorship and worse. His very life. People worshipped him even though he didn't want them to. It's much like any well known spiritual teacher today. Or a pastor. Or political leader. People can do radical things when they pedestalize someone. Jesus tried to warn against that.

Dear Susan, God bless you tonight.

In reading your post, you said that what everything that is living changes. However, God is ever-living and the Bible clearly says that He is changeless (immutable), the same yesterday, today, tomorrow, eternally so. Just wanted to clarify that.