Establishing the Truth in God's Word

[Ms.Honey]

God is so good. He protects us through His word by protecting us from those who willfully misuse or mistakenly misinterpret His word. How?? By requiring all truth to be established by two or more witnesses(By the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established.2Cor13:1). Here are the scriptures about needing two or more witnesses using two or more witnesses.

Mat 18:16
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. ​

They needed two witnesses to accuse Jesus falsely

Mat 26:60
But found none: and, though many false witnesses came, [yet] found they none. At the last came two false witnesses,




2Cr 13:1
This [is] the third [time] I am coming to you: By the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established.




Deu 17:6
At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall he that is worthy of death be put to death; [but] at the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death.



Num 35:30
Whoever killeth any person, the murderer shall be put to death by the mouth of witnesses: but one witness shall not testify against any person [to cause him] to die.



Deu 19:15
One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sinneth; at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established.



Isa 43:9
Let all the nations be collected, and let the people be assembled: who among them can declare this, and show us former things? let them bring forth their witnesses, that they may be justified: or let them hear, and say, [It is] truth.



1Ti 5:19
Against an elder receive not an accusation, but before two or three witnesses.



Hbr 10:28
He that despised Moses' law, died without mercy under two or three witnesses:





Rev 11:3
And I will give [power] to my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred [and] sixty days, clothed in sackcloth. ​

 

[meka]

Thanks!!!! I really needed this.

 

[Nice & Wavy]

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[momi]

Great post! Will be making note of this.

 

[Ms.Honey]

bumping for GN

 

[Ms.Honey]

God also requires us to have two or more witnesses of Himself. The written Word(holy bible) and direct confirmation from Him (He has to tell you HIMSELF).

We can't have one without the other. We can't say well I read it in the bible so....or God told me......Nope. The bible instructs us to pray also. God the Father said IN His word to seek His face. God said I and my word are ONE and I will destroy myself before I go against my word. They're inseparable.

We have to have both for the truth to be established. We need to hear from both Him AND His word.

 

[discobiscuits]

Thanks for this thread. Great reminder.

The only thing I'd like to add is that the passage referenced in Matt. 18:16 is only partial. I'd like to add it in its full, complete context. If a believer has a problem with another believer, handle it one on one then if that does not work do it with 2-3 witnesses, if that does not work get the whole church involved.

Mat 18:15-17 "If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over.But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that 'every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.' If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector.

Matt 18 is one of my favorite chapters but specifically those passages because that is how I handle all of my believer-to-believer conflicts. That plus Matt 18:21-22 and v.35 are my conflict resolution rules of thumb.

It saddens me that when believers do go to their so-called brother or sister in Christ and they are genuine and sincere they are still turned away from the hardness of the heart of his or her brother or sister in Christ. I feel so badly for some because their sincerity is called into question but it is not up to us to decide if someone is sincere, that is God's job He looks at the heart.

We are instructed to forgive. Period. Even if the Holy Spirit reveals something to a believer's spirit, that revelation does not negate or absolve the believer from the requirement of forgiving his or her brother or sister. That is v. 35. The Holy Spirit will never instruct a believer to do something in conflict with God's word. That means the HS may reveal that the other person is not sincere, but one must obey the word and forgive anyway 70 x 7 but one does not have to reestablish a relationship, they must only forgive from the heart or else God will not forgive him or her.

I made the mistake of asking another sister in Christ for her opinion on a matter of forgiveness and I ended up being wrong for taking her advice even though I believe it was well intentioned. When the Holy Spirit corrected me, I immediately went to the person that I needed to communicate with and made sure that person knew that they were forgiven and I apologized for my part.

You gotta love God and His Word, I know I do.

 

[Ms.Honey]

Thanks for this thread. Great reminder.

The only thing I'd like to add is that the passage referenced in Matt. 18:16 is only partial. I'd like to add it in its full, complete context. If a believer has a problem with another believer, handle it one on one then if that does not work do it with 2-3 witnesses, if that does not work get the whole church involved.

Matt 18 is one of my favorite chapters but specifically those passages because that is how I handle all of my believer-to-believer conflicts. That plus Matt 18:21-22 and v.35 are my conflict resolution rules of thumb.

It saddens me that when believers do go to their so-called brother or sister in Christ and they are genuine and sincere they are still turned away from the hardness of the heart of his or her brother or sister in Christ. I feel so badly for some because their sincerity is called into question but it is not up to us to decide if someone is sincere, that is God's job He looks at the heart.

We are instructed to forgive. Period. Even if the Holy Spirit reveals something to a believer's spirit, that revelation does not negate or absolve the believer from the requirement of forgiving his or her brother or sister. That is v. 35. The Holy Spirit will never instruct a believer to do something in conflict with God's word. That means the HS may reveal that the other person is not sincere, but one must obey the word and forgive anyway 70 x 7 but one does not have to reestablish a relationship, they must only forgive from the heart or else God will not forgive him or her.

I made the mistake of asking another sister in Christ for her opinion on a matter of forgiveness and I ended up being wrong for taking her advice even though I believe it was well intentioned. When the Holy Spirit corrected me, I immediately went to the person that I needed to communicate with and made sure that person knew that they were forgiven and I apologized for my part.

You gotta love God and His Word, I know I do.

Thanks for posting but the point of this thread is about needing to confirm God's word with two or more witnesses not Christian forgiveness. Maybe you can start a separate thread on that.

 

[Aveena]

I'm really going to look into this over the weekend.
Thanks

 

[discobiscuits]

..........

 

[discobiscuits]

Greetings to all in the matchless name of Jesus Christ, whose I am and whom I serve. I delight to have an opportunity to share and discuss God's Holy Word with my fellow believers in Christ. Selah.

I finally had the opportunity to read all of the scriptures in the original post. It is correct that the facts of every case are established by the testimony of more than one witness (there must be at least two).

Believers are also instructed to correctly explain the word of truth.

2 Timothy 2:15​

Work hard so God can approve you. Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth.

(aka "rightly divides" this is not about interpretation of scripture, it is about explaining the scriptures one uses.)

In context, these scriptures are not about "protecting us from those who willfully misuse or mistakenly misinterpret His word".

One of the referenced scriptures is about one believer having an issue with another believer and how to handle that disagreement according to God's word. Most are about trials and punishment for breaking the law and how these things cannot or should not take place with only one witness particularly as it relates to putting someone to death. One is about Jesus' false trial (again, courts and justice) and in this case they found people willing to bear false witness against Jesus but they could not use the testimony.

The following are the scriptures in context and are not my opinion or my interpretation(s), just facts as stated in God's inerrant, infallible, inspired word.

My desire with this post is to simply place the scripture references in proper context (I am not choosing pieces or snippets of verses to support any particular pov). I hope that I have done so in this regard.

I look forward to kind, positive input or comments.

Matthew 18:15-20​

Correcting Another Believer​

15 “If another believer sins against you, go privately and point out the offense. If the other person listens and confesses it, you have won that person back. 16 But if you are unsuccessful, take one or two others with you and go back again, so that everything you say may be confirmed by two or three witnesses. 17 If the person still refuses to listen, take your case to the church. Then if he or she won’t accept the church’s decision, treat that person as a pagan or a corrupt tax collector.

Matthew 26:59-66​

Jesus before the Council​

59 Inside, the leading priests and the entire high council were trying to find witnesses who would lie about Jesus, so they could put him to death. 60 But even though they found many who agreed to give false witness, they could not use anyone’s testimony. Finally, two men came forward 61 who declared, “This man said, ‘I am able to destroy the Temple of God and rebuild it in three days.’”

62 Then the high priest stood up and said to Jesus, “Well, aren’t you going to answer these charges? What do you have to say for yourself?” 63 But Jesus remained silent. Then the high priest said to him, “I demand in the name of the living God—tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God.”

64 Jesus replied, “You have said it. And in the future you will see the Son of Man seated in the place of power at God’s right hand and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

65 Then the high priest tore his clothing to show his horror and said, “Blasphemy! Why do we need other witnesses? You have all heard his blasphemy. 66 What is your verdict?”

Deuteronomy 19:15-21

Concern for Justice​

15 “You must not convict anyone of a crime on the testimony of only one witness. The facts of the case must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.

16 “If a malicious witness comes forward and accuses someone of a crime, 17 then both the accuser and accused must appear before the Lord by coming to the priests and judges in office at that time. 18 The judges must investigate the case thoroughly. If the accuser has brought false charges against his fellow Israelite, 19 you must impose on the accuser the sentence he intended for the other person. In this way, you will purge such evil from among you. 20 Then the rest of the people will hear about it and be afraid to do such an evil thing. 21 You must show no pity for the guilty! Your rule should be life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.

2 Corinthians 13:1​

Paul is discussing his confronting sinning saints and this confrontation is supported by Matt 18 and Deut 19.

1 This is the third time I am coming to visit you (and as the Scriptures say, “The facts of every case must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses”[a]). 2 I have already warned those who had been sinning when I was there on my second visit. Now I again warn them and all others, just as I did before, that next time I will not spare them.

Deuteronomy 17:4-7​

This is again about crime accusations, witnesses, trials, convictions and punishments for breaking the law.

4 When you hear about it, investigate the matter thoroughly. If it is true that this detestable thing has been done in Israel, 5 then the man or woman who has committed such an evil act must be taken to the gates of the town and stoned to death. 6 But never put a person to death on the testimony of only one witness. There must always be two or three witnesses. 7 The witnesses must throw the first stones, and then all the people may join in. In this way, you will purge the evil from among you.

Numbers 35:30​

Regarding murders being put to death. This can only happen with more than one witness otherwise, he cannot be put to death.

30 “All murderers must be put to death, but only if evidence is presented by more than one witness. No one may be put to death on the testimony of only one witness.

1 Timothy 5:19

This scripture is specifically about the Elders of the church and them being called out about their sin in front of the whole church if in fact there are 2 or 3 witnesses to testify that the Elder has in fact sinned.
19 Do not listen to an accusation against an elder unless it is confirmed by two or three witnesses. 20 Those who sin should be reprimanded in front of the whole church; this will serve as a strong warning to others.

Hebrews 10:26-31​

This is comparing judgment under the law of Moses with the judgment of God which should be feared more than the former. It strongly discourages believers to stop sinning after knowing the truth which will bring a greater, more fearsome judgment and punishment than the testimony of 2-3 witnesses.

26 Dear friends, if we deliberately continue sinning after we have received knowledge of the truth, there is no longer any sacrifice that will cover these sins. 27 There is only the terrible expectation of God’s judgment and the raging fire that will consume his enemies. 28 For anyone who refused to obey the law of Moses was put to death without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29 Just think how much worse the punishment will be for those who have trampled on the Son of God, and have treated the blood of the covenant, which made us holy, as if it were common and unholy, and have insulted and disdained the Holy Spirit who brings God’s mercy to us. 30 For we know the one who said,

“I will take revenge.
I will pay them back.”[h]

He also said,

“The Lord will judge his own people.”

31 It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

Revelation 11:3 appears to be about two witnesses sent by God to prophesy (or give testimony) about the things to come.