“If
your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you,
you have won your brother. But if he
does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every
fact may be confirmed.”
“If
he refuses to listen to them, tell the church; and if he refuses to listen even
to the church, let him be to you a Gentile and a tax collector.”
Matthew
18:15-17
Nobody
likes to be corrected. However, we are
not serving God if we stand by and watch people do things which can disrupt the
business and fellowship of the church. Jesus
does not say we are to punish those who do wrong, but He makes it clear; that
there are steps we are to take to help them right themselves.
So,
what if when the steps are followed the person does not correct the fault in
question? Well, at that point we may
have to ask that person to leave our fellowship. Some may think this is harsh, but it does not
prohibit the person from finding another church that is a better fit for them.
One
last thing, I am not talking about correcting people who violate of the laws of
the land. We individually have an
obligation to report and report and report those things until police action is
taken, because the church is not a haven for criminal behaviors.
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