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Acts 19:21-41  Our Craft is in Danger to be Set at Nought

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Acts 19:21-41  Our Craft is in Danger to be Set at Nought

[Study Aired July 15, 2023]

Act 19:21  After these things were ended, Paul purposed in the spirit, when he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, to go to Jerusalem, saying, After I have been there, I must also see Rome.
Act 19:22  So he sent into Macedonia two of them that ministered unto him, Timotheus and Erastus; but he himself stayed in Asia for a season.
Act 19:23  And the same time there arose no small stir about that way.
Act 19:24  For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith, which made silver shrines for Diana, brought no small gain unto the craftsmen;
Act 19:25  Whom he called together with the workmen of like occupation, and said, Sirs, ye know that by this craft we have our wealth.
Act 19:26  Moreover ye see and hear, that not alone at Ephesus, but almost throughout all Asia, this Paul hath persuaded and turned away much people, saying that they be no gods, which are made with hands:
Act 19:27  So that not only this our craft is in danger to be set at nought; but also that the temple of the great goddess Diana should be despised, and her magnificence should be destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worshippeth.
Act 19:28  And when they heard these sayings, they were full of wrath, and cried out, saying, Great is Diana of the Ephesians.
Act 19:29  And the whole city was filled with confusion: and having caught Gaius and Aristarchus, men of Macedonia, Paul’s companions in travel, they rushed with one accord into the theatre.
Act 19:30  And when Paul would have entered in unto the people, the disciples suffered him not.
Act 19:31  And certain of the chief of Asia, which were his friends, sent unto him, desiring him that he would not adventure himself into the theatre.
Act 19:32  Some therefore cried one thing, and some another: for the assembly was confused; and the more part knew not wherefore they were come together.
Act 19:33  And they drew Alexander out of the multitude, the Jews putting him forward. And Alexander beckoned with the hand, and would have made his defence unto the people.
Act 19:34  But when they knew that he was a Jew, all with one voice about the space of two hours cried out, Great is Diana of the Ephesians.
Act 19:35  And when the townclerk had appeased the people, he said, Ye men of Ephesus, what man is there that knoweth not how that the city of the Ephesians is a worshipper of the great goddess Diana, and of the image which fell down from Jupiter?
Act 19:36  Seeing then that these things cannot be spoken against, ye ought to be quiet, and to do nothing rashly.
Act 19:37  For ye have brought hither these men, which are neither robbers of churches, nor yet blasphemers of your goddess.
Act 19:38  Wherefore if Demetrius, and the craftsmen which are with him, have a matter against any man, the law is open, and there are deputies: let them implead one another.
Act 19:39  But if ye enquire any thing concerning other matters, it shall be determined in a lawful assembly.
Act 19:40  For we are in danger to be called in question for this day’s uproar, there being no cause whereby we may give an account of this concourse.
Act 19:41  And when he had thus spoken, he dismissed the assembly.

Act 19:21  After these things were ended, Paul purposed in the spirit, when he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, to go to Jerusalem, saying, After I have been there, I must also see Rome.

“After these things” means after the twelve men had received the holy spirit and had been given the gift of speaking in other languages, “for a sign… to them that believe not” (1Co14:22), and after the evil spirit had acknowledged Jesus and Paul but did not acknowledge the seven sons of Sceva as having any authority over that spirit. These two events were such a powerful witness to the Truth of the gospel that our last study ended with these words:

Act 19:17  And this [demonic spirit overpowering the seven sons of Sceva] was known to all the Jews and Greeks also dwelling at Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified.
Act 19:18  And many that believed came, and confessed, and shewed their deeds.
Act 19:19  Many of them also which used curious arts brought their books together, and burned them before all men: and they counted the price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver. [Five and a half million dollars]
Act 19:20  So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed.

It was after these two powerful witnesses and after spending three years in Ephesus on this third journey that Paul “purposed in spirit” to go back to Macedonia and Achaia before returning to Jerusalem, and then he wanted to “see Rome.”

Act 19:22  So he sent into Macedonia two of them that ministered unto him, Timotheus and Erastus; but he himself stayed in Asia for a season.
Act 19:23  And the same time there arose no small stir about that way.

Christ is “that way.” He is the only way to know God and the only way to obtain life eternal:

Joh 14:4  And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.
Joh 14:5  Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?
Joh 14:6  Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Contrary to the ‘New Age’ doctrine Christ did not say ‘I know the way’. He rather asserted “I AM the way”.

Thomas was just being honest. He was not yet converted, and he knew that of himself he had no idea what Christ was saying about where He was going or the way to get there. Nevertheless, it all happened for our sakes so Christ could let us know that He is the way, the Truth, and the life, and that no one would ever know God without first accepting Christ as the Father’s sacrificial exemplary propitiatory Lamb, to atone for the sins of all men of all time.

Joh 17:3  And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.

The gospel made Christ and His Father known to the Ephesians, and it makes Christ and His Father known to us.

Act 19:24  For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith, which made silver shrines for Diana, brought no small gain unto the craftsmen;
Act 19:25  Whom he called together with the workmen of like occupation, and said, Sirs, ye know that by this craft we have our wealth.

The idol making industry, just like its antithesis, the ‘body’ and ‘household’ of Christ, is a multifaceted body with many members each contributing to the health and success of that industry. There are men who make the molten images. Others are carvers of wooden images which are then covered with gold and silver. Others are polishers of the idols, and yet many others built shrines in which the idols are housed. There is a lot at stake if the Truth “that they be no gods, which are made with hands [and] God dwells not in temples made with hands” became too acceptable to the people of “Ephesus [and] throughout all Asia”:

Act 7:48  Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; as saith the prophet,

Act 17:24  God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;

Act 19:26  Moreover ye see and hear, that not alone at Ephesus, but almost throughout all Asia, this Paul hath persuaded and turned away much people, saying that they be no gods, which are made with hands:
Act 19:27  So that not only this our craft is in danger to be set at nought; but also that the temple of the great goddess Diana should be despised, and her magnificence should be destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worshippeth.

All physical idols spiritually signify “idols of the heart”, which are false doctrines of men which twist and “wrest… the… scriptures… unto their own destruction”:

Eze 14:4  Therefore speak unto them [those leaders who teach false doctrines], and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Every man of the house of Israel that setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity [self-righteousness (Eze 33:13)] before his face, and cometh to the prophet; I the LORD will answer him that cometh according to the multitude of his idols;

Eze 14:7  For every one of the house of Israel, or of the stranger that sojourneth in Israel, which separateth himself from me, and setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to a prophet to enquire of him concerning me; I the LORD will answer him by myself [according to the idols of his heart]:

We all by nature identify with our own mind and our own thoughts. When those thoughts and doctrines conflict with the doctrines of Christ they constitute an “idol of the heart”, which is nothing more or less than an evil spirit from the Lord placing lies within our hearts.

1Sa 16:14  But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him.
1Sa 16:15  And Saul’s servants said unto him, Behold now, an evil spirit from God troubleth thee.

1Ki 22:21  And there came forth a spirit, and stood before the LORD, and said, I will persuade him [King Ahab].
1Ki 22:22  And the LORD said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Thou shalt persuade him, and prevail also: go forth, and do so.
1Ki 22:23  Now therefore, behold, the LORD hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and the LORD hath spoken evil concerning thee.

Here are two examples of how the Lord answers us “according to the idols of [our] heart.” The first is right here in this same chapter of 1 Kings 22:

1Ki 22:15  So he came to the king. And the king said unto him, Micaiah, shall we go against Ramothgilead to battle, or shall we forbear? And he answered him, Go, and prosper: for the LORD shall deliver it into the hand of the king.

Of course, Ahab died at Ramothgilead as Micaiah went on to foretell, after he first answered him according to the idol of his heart.

Here is another example of where the Lord answers us ‘according to the idols of our heart’.

Mat 25:24  Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed:
Mat 25:25  And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine.
Mat 25:26  His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed:

The Lord had ‘sown’ a talent, a year’s wages, with this man, yet he answered him “according to the idol of his heart.”

Demetrius and all his companions in the idol-making industry had lived for many outwardly-prosperous years with their idols of Diana. Through the preaching of Paul, the hedge around that industry was beginning to come down just as our own idols of our hearts feel so very threatened when we first begin to hear the Truth of the words of Christ:

2Pe 3:15  And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you;
2Pe 3:16  As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.
2Pe 3:17  Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness.

“All Asia” of Acts 19:26 signifies ‘all the earth’ (Psa 83:18, Rev 18:23). “All nations… and the merchants of the earth” are made rich by the multitude of the idols of the heart of the churches of Babylon:

Rev 18:3  For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies [Her false idols of the heart (Eze 14:1-9)].

The day is coming when all the lying false doctrines and “idols of the heart” of all the religions of all mankind will be judged, and they will indeed all “be set at nought… at the appearing of… The Lord and His Christ” to rule over the kingdoms of this world. The scriptures foretell that day when they reveal the fate of all our false doctrines and of all who, like Demitrius, fabricate those false idols and false doctrines:

Jer 25:34  Howl, ye shepherds, and cry; and wallow yourselves in the ashes, ye principal of the flock: for the days of your slaughter and of your dispersions are accomplished; and ye shall fall like a pleasant vessel.
Jer 25:35  And the shepherds shall have no way to flee, nor the principal of the flock to escape.
Jer 25:36  A voice of the cry of the shepherds, and an howling of the principal of the flock, shall be heard: for the LORD hath spoiled their pasture.

Act 4:26  The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ.

Just as each of us have had to endure the humiliation of acknowledging that we had been deceived by all the lies of all the false prophets of Babylon, those false prophets themselves will come to that same point by the Words of the Lord and those Words in the mouths of “His Christ”:

Eze 34:1  And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Eze 34:2  Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD unto the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks?
Eze 34:3  Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock.
Eze 34:4  The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them.
Eze 34:5  And they were scattered, because there is no shepherd: and they became meat to all the beasts of the field, when they were scattered.
Eze 34:6  My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill: yea, my flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth, and none did search or seek after them.
Eze 34:7  Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of the LORD;
Eze 34:8  As I live, saith the Lord GOD, surely because my flock became a prey, and my flock became meat to every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, neither did my shepherds search for my flock, but the shepherds fed themselves, and fed not my flock;
Eze 34:9  Therefore, O ye shepherds, hear the word of the LORD;
Eze 34:10  Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require my flock at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more; for I will deliver my flock from their mouth, that they may not be meat for them.

Joh 20:21  Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.

Rev 11:15  And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.

That day is not yet here, and in the meantime, those who “love His appearing” are nothing less than “sheep among wolves” and must be “wise as serpents and [at the same time] harmless as doves”:

Mat 10:16  Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.
Mat 10:17  But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues;
Mat 10:18  And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them [church leaders] and the Gentiles.

2Ti 4:1  I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom;

1Pe 1:7  That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:

Here in Ephesus, Paul’s faith is being tried as the holy spirit guides him and helps him to be “wise as a serpent but as harmless as a dove.” His message of the loving gospel of Christ is cutting into the profits of the idol-worshipping Ephesians, and the idol worshipers understand that when the people have their eyes opened to see that “they be no gods which are made with hands” their means of staying physically wealthy will vanish:

Act 19:28  And when they heard these sayings, they were full of wrath, and cried out, saying, Great is Diana of the Ephesians.
Act 19:29  And the whole city was filled with confusion: and having caught Gaius and Aristarchus, men of Macedonia, Paul’s companions in travel, they rushed with one accord into the theatre.

Luke makes Paul the center of attention in telling of his travels and all the holy spirit does through this apostle. However, from time to time it is revealed by the use of pronouns like ‘we’ and ‘us’ and in a few cases the names of “Paul’s companions in travel” that Paul had an entourage who traveled with him much of the time and who were under his direction and supervision. Silas and Timothy see what the Lord has done in Paul’s life, and they are more than willing to go where Paul feels they are needed to feed the Lord’s sheep and to oversee their continued welfare and to prepare for Paul’s arrival.

In this incident it is “Gaius and Aristarchus, men of Macedonia” who are revealed to be there in Ephesus as Paul’s “companions in travel.” In our next chapter we will learn from exactly which city in Macedonia some of these men originate. We were just told there was a ‘Gaius… of Macedonia’:

Act 19:29  And the whole city was filled with confusion: and having caught Gaius and Aristarchus, men of Macedonia, Paul’s companions in travel, they rushed with one accord into the theatre.

In our next study, we will learn that Aristarchus was of Thessalonica, and we will be introduced to another “Gaius of Derbe”:

Act 20:4  And there accompanied him into Asia Sopater of Berea; and of the Thessalonians, Aristarchus and Secundus; and Gaius of Derbe, and Timotheus; and of Asia, Tychicus and Trophimus.

There is also a third ‘Gaius’ of Corinth:

1Co 1:14  I thank God that I baptized none of you [Corinthians], but Crispus and Gaius;

The men apprehended by this mob were “Gaius and Aristarchus, men of Macedonia, Paul’s companions in travel”. Paul, by the Lord’s provision is out of the reach of this angry mob so they catch Gaius and Aristarchus, and the mob drags them into the theatre.

Act 19:30  And when Paul would have entered in unto the people, the disciples suffered him not.
Act 19:31  And certain of the chief of Asia, which were his friends, sent unto him, desiring him that he would not adventure himself into the theatre.

Paul was led of the holy spirit to be persuaded by “his friends… of the chief of Asia” not to attempt to reason with a mob, and the Lord worked “all things after the counsel of His own will… for good to them who love Him and are the called according to His purpose” (Eph 1:11, Rom 8:28) as He is always doing in “all things”:

Eph 1:9  Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:
Eph 1:10  That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:
Eph 1:11  In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
Eph 1:12  That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.

Act 19:32  Some therefore cried one thing, and some another: for the assembly was confused; and the more part knew not wherefore they were come together.

Verse 32 is the perfect description of most of us when we were still in the churches of Babylon. We have no idea why we believe as we do, but we nevertheless loudly proclaim the doctrines we are familiar and comfortable with.

Act 19:33  And they drew Alexander out of the multitude, the Jews putting him forward. And Alexander beckoned with the hand, and would have made his defence unto the people.

This ‘Alexander’ may well be “Alexander the coppersmith”, who later did Paul “much evil.” Paul had left Timothy in Ephesus when he went into Macedonia, and this is the last we hear of Alexander until Paul mentions him again to Timothy:

1Ti 1:3  As I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus, when I went into Macedonia, that thou mightest charge some that they teach no other doctrine,

It is in his second epistle to Timothy from his prison house in Rome that we learn that “Alexander the coppersmith did [Paul] much evil” and withstood Paul’s doctrines:

2Ti 4:14  Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil: the Lord reward him according to his works:
2Ti 4:15  Of whom be thou ware also; for he hath greatly withstood our words.
2Ti 4:16  At my first answer no man stood with me, but all men forsook me: I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge.
2Ti 4:17  Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion.

This Alexander was apparently a Jewish convert to Christianity. The phrase ‘a Jew’ or ‘the Jews’ in the New Testament, spiritually signifies the Christians of today who claim God’s name but “do not the things [He] sayeth” (Luk 6:46). Alexander may have been a Christian, but he was also a Jew, and the one thing Jews and Christians had in common at that time was that they both agreed that physical idol worship was a sin. When the Ephesian idol worshippers learned that Alexander was a Jew, they were enraged:

Act 19:34  But when they knew that he was a Jew, all with one voice about the space of two hours cried out, Great is Diana of the Ephesians.

The Jews looked down on idol worshippers because they could not see the spiritual idols of their own hearts. We have all had idols of our own hearts because we all at one time believed the many false doctrines of the churches of Babylon the great. The fact is that ‘the Jews’ with idols of the heart are just as culpable before the Lord, or more so, as the pagan idol worshippers who do not claim to know the God of the scriptures. The Lord used “the powers that be”, the government of Rome, to step in and “appease the people” with the reminder that the proper way to handle the situation at hand was through the court system:

Act 19:35  And when the townclerk had appeased the people, he said, Ye men of Ephesus, what man is there that knoweth not how that the city of the Ephesians is a worshipper of the great goddess Diana, and of the image which fell down from Jupiter?
Act 19:36  Seeing then that these things cannot be spoken against, ye ought to be quiet, and to do nothing rashly.

Notice the truth of what this ‘townclerk’ [G1122: ‘grammateus’, scribe] told this mob, and let it be a lesson for each of us:

Act 19:37  For ye have brought hither these men, which are neither robbers of churches, nor yet blasphemers of your goddess.

I wondered whether the word translated as ‘churches’ here was the Greek plural of ecclesia. It is not. The Greek word here is hierosulos. Thayer defines this word as “guilty of sacrilege’, and Strong’s defines it as “a temple despoiler.”

The “townclerk” spoke the truth. Neither in Athens, where Paul preached Christ to the pagans on Mars Hill, nor here in the pagan city of Ephesus, does Paul directly attack the religion of his audience. Rather, he gently reasons with them and persuades them to consider that they themselves are the source and the creators of their gods, and therefore it is obvious that “they be no gods which are made with hands”, and ‘God does not dwell in temples made with hands.’ Then the town clerk appeals to the legal ramifications of “this… uproar” and this demonstration against the Truth of the gospel:

Act 19:38  Wherefore if Demetrius, and the craftsmen which are with him, have a matter against any man, the law is open, and there are deputies: let them implead one another.
Act 19:39  But if ye enquire any thing concerning other matters, it shall be determined in a lawful assembly.
Act 19:40  For we are in danger to be called in question for this day’s uproar, there being no cause whereby we may give an account of this concourse.
Act 19:41  And when he had thus spoken, he dismissed the assembly.

Matters of offense within the body of Christ should be settled within the body of Christ and not before judges of this world:

1Co 6:1  Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unjust, and not before the saints?

“Any of you”, according to the previous chapter, refers to “any man who is called a brother [in Christ]”:

1Co 5:11  But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat.

That is the “any of you” referred to here in this sixth chapter of 1 Corinthians, and we are specifically admonished against “going to law with [“any man that is called a brother”] before the unjust”.

When we are forced into going to law with those who are not “called a brother”, then we can rejoice in the provision the Lord has made for our own good and our own safety as is demonstrated in this story of this uproar against the apostle Paul by the idol worshippers of Ephesus. “Wicked… men which are your hand” are often used of the Lord as His sword both to judge and to be deliverers of the Lord’s elect:

Psa 17:13  Arise, O LORD, disappoint him, cast him down: deliver my soul from the wicked, which is thy sword:
Psa 17:14  From men which are thy hand, O LORD, from men of the world, which have their portion in this life, and whose belly thou fillest with thy hid treasure: they are full of children, and leave the rest of their substance to their babes.

I had a brother ask me what he should do about his children being bullied at school. I told him to go to the principal and tell the principal what was happening to his children. He did just that and the bullying stopped. That is how the Lord’s elect deal with the wickedness of this world:

Rom 13:1  Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.

Rom 13:2  Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.
Rom 13:3  For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same:
Rom 13:4  For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.
Rom 13:5  Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake.
Rom 13:6  For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God’s ministers, attending continually upon this very thing.
Rom 13:7  Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour.

“It shall be determined in a lawful assembly” is the Biblical formula for how “any man who is called a brother” deals with those who are not called a brother and who withstand the Lord and His Christ. It was the threat of ‘a lawful assembly’ that delivered Paul and his companions in travel in Ephesus. It was also Paul’s appeal to Caesar that kept him from being tried by the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem.

Act 25:11  For if I be an offender, or have committed any thing worthy of death, I refuse not to die: but if there be none of these things whereof these accuse me, no man may deliver me unto them. I appeal unto Caesar.
Act 28:19  But when the Jews spake against it, I was constrained to appeal unto Caesar; not that I had ought to accuse my nation of.

Mat 5:25  Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison.
Mat 5:26  Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing.

Christ is not telling anyone to agree with a liar. What He is telling us is to confess to our sins before those sins are proven in “a lawful assembly”, which is “ordained of God” to settle disputes with those who are not called brothers.

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