Deu 17:6 | KingComments | STEP | Deuteronomy 13 is about those who want to seduce others to idolatry ( ). In these verses it is about those who are seduced. If the accusation is made that someone has been tempted to engage in idolatry, inquiry must first take place. The same happens also in Matthew 18 when someone is accused of sin. Only on the evidence of two witnesses or three witnesses, can justice be done ( ; ). If someone sees that someone else is sinning, he should not take the matter to others to talk about it, but seek first to speak about it with the person in question. If I’m the only one who knows anything bad about someone, I must not talk about it with others. There may be no case brought before the church if we have not first spoken to the brother and then we have been with him with witnesses. If the charge is well-founded, the hand of the witnesses will be first against him. This gives the witnesses a great responsibility and urges great caution when making an accusation about evil. This rule will therefore ensure that witnesses are extremely certain of their case and of the seriousness of the crime committed. When the hand of the witnesses turns against the culprit, the death sentence is executed. states that they “put him to death”. Afterward the hand of the all people must be against him. In this way they make it clear that they join the witnesses and confirm their testimony. This is how the evil must be removed from the church. Evil may not have a place in the people of God. This applies both to Israel then and to the church now. Before the church reaches a decision on a case brought to it, the person who does so must be convinced of the case. If a case is brought before the church, it is not the same as a decision by the church. The church has yet to reach a verdict, a decision. This situation corresponds to what we read in Matthew 18: “If he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector” ( ). This means that the individual believer progressing the matter, must view the person in question as a Gentile and a tax collector, even before the church removes him as an evil one from among themselves. Conversely, this also applies to a brother’s or sister’s proposal to receive a believer who is unknown to others at the Lord’s Table. The brother or sister must himself be convinced of the correctness of the proposal. But only when two or three witnesses make clear to the church the correctness of this proposal, the church will receive such a person at the Table of the Lord.

‏ Deuteronomy 17:6

Penalty for Idolatry

Deuteronomy 13 is about those who want to seduce others to idolatry (Deu 13:1-18). In these verses it is about those who are seduced. If the accusation is made that someone has been tempted to engage in idolatry, inquiry must first take place. The same happens also in Matthew 18 when someone is accused of sin. Only on the evidence of two witnesses or three witnesses, can justice be done (Mt 18:16; Num 35:30).

If someone sees that someone else is sinning, he should not take the matter to others to talk about it, but seek first to speak about it with the person in question. If I’m the only one who knows anything bad about someone, I must not talk about it with others. There may be no case brought before the church if we have not first spoken to the brother and then we have been with him with witnesses.

If the charge is well-founded, the hand of the witnesses will be first against him. This gives the witnesses a great responsibility and urges great caution when making an accusation about evil. This rule will therefore ensure that witnesses are extremely certain of their case and of the seriousness of the crime committed.

When the hand of the witnesses turns against the culprit, the death sentence is executed. Deu 17:7 states that they “put him to death”. Afterward the hand of the all people must be against him. In this way they make it clear that they join the witnesses and confirm their testimony. This is how the evil must be removed from the church. Evil may not have a place in the people of God. This applies both to Israel then and to the church now.

Before the church reaches a decision on a case brought to it, the person who does so must be convinced of the case. If a case is brought before the church, it is not the same as a decision by the church. The church has yet to reach a verdict, a decision. This situation corresponds to what we read in Matthew 18: “If he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector” (Mt 18:17). This means that the individual believer progressing the matter, must view the person in question as a Gentile and a tax collector, even before the church removes him as an evil one from among themselves.

Conversely, this also applies to a brother’s or sister’s proposal to receive a believer who is unknown to others at the Lord’s Table. The brother or sister must himself be convinced of the correctness of the proposal. But only when two or three witnesses make clear to the church the correctness of this proposal, the church will receive such a person at the Table of the Lord.