Date

8-6-2025

Department

Rawlings School of Divinity

Degree

Master of Arts in Biblical Studies (MA)

Chair

James A. Mann

Keywords

Matthew 18, exegesis, repentance, sexual immorality, abuse

Disciplines

Religion

Abstract

Sexual immorality (πορνεία) is mentioned twenty-five times in the New Testament. In one of the earliest cases of church discipline, Paul addresses a particular example of sexual immorality, namely incest, where a member of the Corinthian church is engaging in consensual sexual relations with his father’s wife (1 Cor. 5, New International Version).1 Church discipline can be viewed with a negative connotation; however, disciples of Christ understand He rebukes and disciplines those He loves (Heb. 12:6; Rev. 3:19) through His Word (“rebuking” and “correcting” in 2 Tim 3:16).2 Thus, the scriptural basis for church discipline practices are the instructions Jesus gives His disciples on how to deal with sin amongst fellow disciples in Matthew 18:15–17. The NIV translated verses are as follows:

If your brother or sister3 sins4, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. But if they 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 they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.

The church discipline laid out in these verses is notably corrective discipline and can be defined as “the confrontive and corrective measures taken by an individual, church leaders, or the congregation regarding a matter of sin in the life of a believer.”5 Thus, in this capacity, the correction by the community of faith as noted in Matthew 18:15–17 is the visible expression of the manner in which the Heavenly Father corrects His children.

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