Moment of Meditation: A Gentile and a Tax Collector (Matthew 18:17)

''And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. (Matthew 18:17)''

What does Jesus mean that we should treat those who refuse to listen to the Church and remain in their sins "as a Gentile and a tax collector"? Are we to hate them? Absolutely not. We are to continue to love them. We are to continue to pray for them. Pray that they turn from their sins and be reconciled to their heavenly Father.

This is how Jesus treated Gentiles and tax collectors. He called them to believe in Him. To renounce their sins and follow after Him. Matthew and Zaccheus were tax collectors. Luke and the Philippian jailer were Gentiles. Where would Christianity be if Jesus' followers did not love Gentiles and tax collectors? Almost everyone listening to this meditation wouldn't care. There wouldn't be the churches in our towns if the Apostles did not seek out and pray for the Gentiles and the tax collectors.

How are we to treat those who refuse to repent of their sins? We pray to our Lord Jesus Christ that He will grant them the Holy Spirit so that they might see and believe their need for His forgiveness. The forgiveness that is the same for all of us. Amen.