How to One Another

Most in the church today think that church discipline starts when Matthew 18 begins.

Matthew 18:15a, “And if your brother sins, go and reprove him in private…”

Now as this involves conflict, most initially don’t have the heart to do this, much less “tell it to the church” where the person could be excommunicated!

Yet we’ve seen that the process of discipline does not begin with the Matthew 18 confrontation. Rather, discipline is an extension of our fellowship as a body. Formal church discipline is intensified, personalized fellowship; which is why we are studying the topic of biblical fellowship. Now, one of the working purposes of formal church discipline it, when an excommunication takes place, is the depriving of the disciplined member of the care, protection, and love of the body of Christ.