Church Discipline
In dealing with erring church-members, God’s people are carefully
to follow the instruction given by the Saviour in the eighteenth chapter
of Matthew. [See
Matthew 18:15-18
.]
Human beings are Christ’s property, purchased by Him at an in-
finite price, bound to Him by the love that He and His Father have
manifested for them. How careful, then, we should be in our dealing
with one another! Men have no right to surmise evil in regard to
their fellow-men. Church-members have no right to follow their own
impulses and inclinations in dealing with fellow-members who have
erred. They should not even express their prejudices regarding the
erring; for thus they place in other minds the leaven of evil. Reports
unfavorable to a brother or sister in the church are communicated
from one to another of the church-members. Mistakes are made and
injustice is done because of an unwillingness on the part of some one
to follow the directions given by the Lord Jesus.
“If thy brother shall trespass against thee,” Christ declared, “go
and tell him his fault between thee and him alone.” Do not tell others
of the wrong. One person is told, then another, and still another; and
continually the report grows, and the evil increases, till the whole
church is made to suffer. Settle the matter “between thee and him
alone.” This is God’s plan.
“Go not forth hastily to strive, lest thou know not what to do in the
end thereof, when thy neighbor hath put thee to shame. Debate thy
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cause with thy neighbor himself; and discover not a secret to another.”
[
Proverbs 25:8, 9
.] Do not suffer sin upon your brother; but do not
expose him, and thus increase the difficulty, making the reproof seem
like a revenge. Correct him in the way outlined in the word of God.
Do not suffer resentment to ripen into malice. Do not allow the
wound to fester and break out in poisoned words, which taint the minds
of those who hear. Do not allow bitter thoughts to continue to fill your
mind and his. Go to your brother, and in humility and sincerity talk
with him about the matter.
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