Church Discipline While Avoiding Gossip and Slander

Friendly Man Greets You

The concept of confronting others in order to help them stop sinning is called church discipline. Some believers are supportive of doing church discipline, and others are not. The critics contend that church discipline is unloving, unkind, lacks mercy, is judgmental, causes shame, and therefore should not be practiced at all. Their response is well intentioned, but it is not a biblical response. It is the result of our culture’s influence. Our culture currently tells us not to judge other people, but to just let them live their own life as they desire. The culture believes that we have no business calling one another to stop sinning. James Twitchell has captured the sentiment and error of the critics of church discipline with this statement,

“Go and sin no more” has been replaced with “judge not lest you be judged.”¹

Unfortunately, that is not a biblical concept. Albert Mohler, stated this in his book, The Compromised Church,

The absence of church discipline is no longer significant, it is not even noticed. Church discipline is to many church members no longer a meaningful category or even a memory. The present generation of ministers and church members is virtually without the experience of biblical church discipline. As a matter of fact, most Christians introduced to the biblical teaching concerning church discipline, confront the issue as an idea they have never before encountered. At first hearing, the issue seems as antiquated and foreign as the Spanish Inquisition and the Salem witch trials. And yet without the recovery of church discipline firmly established upon the principles revealed in the Bible, the Church will continue to slide into moral decline.^q

He is right. Unfortunately, the critics have missed the most obvious reason for doing church discipline. It is simply that Jesus told us to do it. That is the best reason for doing it. Disappointingly, there are some advocates of church discipline who view church discipline as a license to satisfy their own desire for revenge, to hurt someone, to gain a sense of justice, or even to comfort a heart that is hurting—their own heart. Such a view is a violation of Romans 12:19, which tells us to never take revenge. We are supposed to leave revenge to God. Church discipline is not about revenge-taking. Church discipline is not about sticking it to someone else because you were hurt, or someone else was hurt. We discovered in our last study that there are three reasons why we should not confront others who personally offend us.

The first reason we should not confront others who offend us is that the best Greek manuscripts of Matthew 18:15 reveal that the phrase “against you” should not be included in the verse. It is important to notice that the parallel passage in Luke 17:3 does not contain the phrase either. Here is Matthew 18:15,

If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother. Matthew 18:15 (NASB)

So, if the phrase “against you” is not included, as indicated by the best manuscripts, then the meaning of the sentence dramatically changes. Then the verse is no longer a license to confront someone who offends us. There is no basis to confront someone because you were personally offended. Good biblical interpretation tells us that we should never base a doctrine on a passage of Scripture that is in question.

The second reason why we should not confront someone who has offended us is that Jesus does not include the phrase “against you” in Luke 17:3; but He does include it in Luke 17:4 when he commands us to simply forgive the person. So, it would be inconsistent to tell us to confront someone in the first verse, and then tell us to just forgive the same person in the next verse for the same cause. In both instances it becomes very clear that He is calling for unconditional, unilateral forgiveness.

The third reason we should not confront someone who has offended us is that there are many examples, as we saw in our last study, where forgiveness was unilateral and unconditional. The most obvious and most significant example is that Christ Himself, while on the cross, asked the Father to “forgive them for they know not what they are doing” while they were in the process of putting Him to death.

Therefore, we call this Principle 1. That is, when you have been offended personally, you are to forgive the person unconditionally and unilaterally. Yet it is clear in Scripture that there are times when we must confront someone. Those occasions occur when you are not the individual who has been offended.

Show Him His Fault Alone

In our study we are going to discover when we should confront someone because they have sinned. It is called church discipline. The process of church discipline is outlined in Matthew 18:15-18. In Matthew 18:15-18, we are given the outline or the process of church discipline. Verse 15 is the starting point. It tells us,

If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother. Matthew 18:15 (NASB)

The first thing we are told is that if our brother sins, we have a responsibility to help him or her. If you have a King James Bible (KJV) or the English Standard Version Bible (ESV), you will see the additional words “against you.” They should not be there. As we have already pointed out, the best Greek manuscripts do not include those two words.

But as we have already pointed out, we do find those two words in Matthew 18:21-22 where Peter asked Jesus, “How many times should I forgive someone? Up to seven times?” Jesus replied, “No! Up to seventy times seven.” The point is we are to forgive, forgive, and forgive. We are to forgive unconditionally and unilaterally. So in verse 15 it says, “when your brother sins,”  he has personally committed a sin against himself. Then we are told “go and show him his fault in private.”

It is interesting that the Greek text does not include the word “fault,” but yet it is implied. So we are told that “if your brother sins, you go and show him his fault in private.” The word “private” in the Greek is a summary of five words. The literal meaning of the five Greek words is “between you and him alone.” The Greek word for “alone” is monos, and it can be translated as “only” or “left alone” or “isolated from others.” The idea is only you and he-no one else. This does not refer to a committee. It is not a group of people. It is just you and the person together. Some people have spoken with a whole group of people before they go to the sinning believer. A whole committee talks to this person. It is important to notice that it tells us to talk alone with this person. The conversation is to be in isolation, just you and the person. Both of you talk about the sin. What is not permitted is gossip and slander. What is not permitted is getting advice from someone else and dropping the name of the sinning brother. There is nothing wrong with getting advice; but if you do, you must be careful to not reveal the “who” you are talking about. The goal is restoration of your fellow sinning believer. That is what it is all about.

The Goal Is Restoration

It is very important to understand that the goal of church discipline is not condemnation, vengeance, or punishment. The goal is not to try to make the individual feel badly. The goal is not to share your conclusions about what you think they have really done or said. Church discipline is a process of lovingly sharing with a believer what you witnessed based upon your perceptions of what you think they did, and acknowledging that you might be wrong. No one knows for sure another person’s attitude or inner thoughts. The goal is not to be subjective about what you think has happened. The goal is to investigate and be objective in the process. Maybe you completely misunderstood everything you saw.

Some believers have been seriously wrong in the manner in which they have confronted other people. Sometimes the person doing the confronting was hurt by the individual, and so they speculate about what they thought the individual was thinking or feeling.

Sadly, our conclusions are often based on how we know we might have behaved, or what we would have thought. What we need to do is to be serious, objective, and evaluate the various possibilities about what really might have occurred. If objectively we conclude that what they did was a sinful act, then we need to call them to repentance.

The goal is to communicate forgiveness if they repent at that point. The goal is restoration. The goal is to love them even if they are guilty and unrepentant. That is the goal. Galatians 6:1 tells us the following,

Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted. Galatians 6:1 (NASB)

The first thing we are told to do in this verse is to determine if a brother has been caught in a trespass. It says, “If anyone is caught in any trespass.” The Greek word for “trespass” has the idea of sin. It also has the idea of a false step—that is, a misstep. The person did something that was wrong. They should have done one thing, but instead did something else. It has the idea of a fault or a sin. It is important to notice that they are caught in a trespass. Most of us do not intentionally sin. The idea here is that the person was trapped into a sin.

Then the verse states, “you who are spiritual.” The “who” is someone who is spiritual. If you are the one who was offended, then it is highly unlikely that you qualify as an individual who is spiritual enough to talk to the person about their sin. Why? The answer is that because you have been offended. You are hurting inside. You are emotionally struggling about this person. So it is not very likely that you are the spiritual one who should try to help the individual. So that is the “who.”

Then we are told to restore the person. This is the first step in church discipline. The goal is “to restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness.” The Greek word for “restore” is terrific. It has the idea to make someone complete. I just love that idea. Think about that with me. The idea is not condemnation or to destroy the person. The goal is not to intentionally try to make them feel badly or to cry. The idea is not to cause them to perform some kind of penance, or be remorseful. Now that might be the result, and Lord willing, if they did sin, then they will be sorrowful. They will be repentant. Repentance is the goal, but we are not supposed to work to make that happen. True repentance is the work of the Holy Spirit. It is simply to say, “You sinned, you violated God’s standard, and I am calling you to repentance.” Then the Holy Spirit brings the conviction. That is the goal.

Did you notice what else Galatians 6:1 adds? It says, “in a spirit of gentleness.” The Greek word for gentleness is prautes. Sometimes it is translated as “meekness,” “humility,” and or “mildness.” Think about that. If you were to go to another brother who is caught in a trespass with the goal to make him complete, you are to do it in a spirit of meekness, gentleness, mildness, or humility. You are not to approach him or her with a superior attitude. You are to go to them in humility, pleading with them, begging them, trying to encourage them to turn from their way. What is the goal? The goal is to make them complete. The goal is to rescue them. This is a rescue operation, that is what it is. It is a rescue operation to bring them back to a right relationship with our God. Matthew 18:15 tells us,

If he listens to you, you have won your brother. Matthew 18:15 (NASB)

It is interesting that the idea is winning your brother.

John Chrysostom, who lived from AD 347 to 407, wrote this in his commentary on Matthew—written a long time ago. He says,

He did not say, Thou hast sufficient revenge, but, “Thou hast gained thy brother.”³

I thought that was an important comment. Church discipline is not revenge. Church discipline is not to make them feel badly because they hurt someone. The goal is to win your brother to a right relationship with Jesus Christ. Grant Osborne wrote this in his commentary on Matthew,

The idea of “winning” (κερδαάινω) them goes beyond the personal restoring of a brotherly or sisterly relationship, but connotes also bringing them back into a right relationship with God, thus reconciliation.⁴

The goal is to restore them to a right relationship with God, not to you. The goal is not to restore them to you. That is not the purpose of church discipline. The purpose is to restore them to a right relationship with our God.

Take Two or Three Witnesses

Throughout the first step of church discipline, gossip and slander must be avoided. Why? There are two important reasons. First, gossip and slander is condemned in Scripture. The ninth command of the Ten Commandments prohibits bearing false witness about anyone. That is, gossip and slander are sins. At times, the supposedly “spiritual” person sins by gossiping and slandering the very person they plan to rescue from sin! The second reason gossip and slander must be avoided is that perhaps you are wrong. You won’t discover that until you talk with that person.

But what happens if the person is guilty and does not repent? Matthew 18:16 gives us the next step. It says,

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. Matthew 18:16 (NASB)

This is the second step in church discipline. It is important to notice that now you must inform some other people about the situation, and then ask them to go with you on the rescue mission to the sinning brother. Obviously, if you are going to take someone else with you, you must tell them something about the situation. You must tell them the “who.” You have to tell them the “what.” So the question is, how much do you tell them, and what do you tell them? At this point, the negative information is not sin for God has commanded that we do this. It is not gossip or slander because God does not call it that. So, you share the minimal information that is required, and not more than that. Then you take them with you to meet with the sinning believer in private. Throughout the entire process you must remember that the goal is restoration and not condemnation. The goal is restoration and to make them complete—not to sit in judgment on them.

Now, the one or two people you invite to join you have a very important role in the meeting. Their first purpose is to determine the truth. Their purpose does not begin with a call to repentance. Their role is to be objective evaluators and to verify the accuracy of your concerns. They are to look for objective statements that verify what it is true. If they agree the accusations are accurate, then they are to call the person to repentance. That is the second step of the process of church discipline.

It is interesting to listen to Nicodemus when he was talking to some Jewish leaders in John 8. The leaders were being critical of Jesus. Nicodemus said, “Does it not tell us in the law that we need to listen to the person?” Nicodemus was absolutely right! That is the process that is being called for here. Two or three people are to go and to listen to hear if the report that their fellow believer has been caught in sin is accurate. Then if they agree, they are to call the person to repentance. If the person repents, then they have won the believer. We have made the believer complete. We have restored him or her to a right relationship with God if they have repented.

Tell It To The Church

Now the third step occurs only if the person refuses to listen and repent. Verse 17 says,

If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. Matthew 18:17 (NASB)

The third step is really important because it says, “If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church.” So, if the two or three men verify that their fellow believer has committed a serious or a habitual sin and is unwilling to repent, then the church must be told. Now the question is, who is the church? At this point, it must first include the elders or the leadership of the church before the congregation is told about the situation. So the situation must go to the church leadership, so that they can get involved and hopefully work with the sinning individual to bring them to repentance.

Now, Jesus is somewhat ambiguous in verse 17. He does not tell us when the leadership, that is the elders, get involved. By tradition and practice, most church leaders get involved at the third step. When the elders get involved, it is assumed that the elders will contact the person and again call them to repentance. If the individual does not repent, then the elders are to tell the congregation about the individual’s sin and that their membership has been canceled. The purpose of telling the situation to the congregation is to encourage those members who know the sinning individual to then admonish them to repent.

Now what happens if the individual does not repent? Jesus said they are to then treat the individual as a Gentile and a tax collector. Both Gentiles and tax collectors were hated by the Jews. But Jesus is not telling us to hate them. Jesus is telling us to ignore them just as the Jews ignored the Gentiles and tax collectors. The idea is for the congregation to ignore or to leave them alone. Unfortunately, today most unrepentant individuals whose membership has been canceled just move to and attend another church. Many churches do not ask potential members if they left their last church in good standing.

Back in the days of the apostles, they had total control over what happened. The person would not have been allowed to attend another church because the apostles would have known what they were doing.

Verse 18 is interesting. Some people have wondered what it is all about. It says,

Truly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven. Matthew 18:18 (NASB)

Some people seem to think this is a special judgmental act, or some kind of special power that the disciples possessed from God. But Jesus was referring to a Jewish phrase that the religious leaders of His day used. It said if the Jewish leaders followed a biblical principle, their decision was then affirmed. The important point is that the leadership’s decision had to be in agreement with a divine principle. So, if the leadership’s decision was biblical, then it was bound in heaven, and or loosed in heaven. Heaven agreed with them! So, Jesus applied that same principle to church discipline. This has been the general process of church discipline.

Now we must ask if the church leadership is guilty of gossip and slander when they communicate the individual’s sin to the congregation. That is, did they sin in the process of exposing the individual’s sin? The answer is “no” since God commanded that they do this. But they should only state what is necessary to expose the sin. The purpose of exposing the sin is revealed next.

Church Leaders Are Not Exempt

First Timothy 5:19-20 is very important now. It outlines church discipline as it relates to elders. Someone might be wondering if elders are exempt. Are elders beyond reproach? 1 Timothy 5:19-20 reveals that elders are not exempt. Here is verse 19.

Do not receive an accusation against an elder except on the basis of two or three witnesses. 1 Timothy 5:19 (NASB)

The verse is interesting because it assumes that Step 1 of Matthew 18:15-18 has already occurred. The verse takes us immediately to Step 2. That implies two or three people have already taken the issue to the elders. Here is verse 20,

Those who continue in sin, rebuke in the presence of all, so that the rest also will be fearful of sinning. 1 Timothy 5:20 (NASB)

This verse reveals that elders are not beyond church discipline. These verses also indicate that a sinning church leader is to first be given an opportunity to stop sinning for we are told that about elders “who continue in sin.” That is, they were already confronted at least once, just we saw in Matthew 18:15-18 that non-leaders were confronted at the first step.

Believers Will Fear Sinning

Notice what verse 20 says. It says, “Those who continue in sin…” The idea is if a sinning elder continues sinning, then he is to be rebuked in front of the congregation. In other words, the church leaders have confronted the individual already. They are trying to restore the individual to a right relationship with God, but the individual does not stop sinning. What does that imply? “Continuing in sin” implies that you are working with them. Perhaps you keep pleading with them, maybe even for months. It depends upon the person and the situation. But the clear message is that the leadership is not quick to implement church discipline. The idea is that those who continue in sin after repeated calls to repentance are to be rebuked in the presence of everyone if they refuse to listen and repent.

There is a second benefit for doing church discipline whether it is for a leader of the church or any member. It causes the rest of the church to “be fearful of sinning.” That is, to make the rest of the church fearful of committing a sin. Consider this. What would it be like if a church just tolerated every sin in the church? Should the leaders just look the other way? If that occurred, everyone in the church might eventually start behaving like the world.

Remember Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5? They lied to Peter. They pretended they were giving everything to the church from a piece of real estate they had sold. They said, “We are giving everything to the church.” But Peter knew the truth because the Holy Spirit had told him that they were lying. They ended up dead. Some church members who complain about church discipline say, “People will not come to your church if you practice church discipline.” But that is not what Acts 5 says. At first, Acts 5 says that some people were fearful of attending the early church, but the very next verse tells us that people were coming in mass to the church. Why? The sinners did not want to go to the church, but the people who desired to be holy and were looking for something that was God honoring joined the church. They saw that the church was different than the world.

When to Implement Church Discipline

So, that is the process of church discipline. But now let us ask an important question: When do you implement church discipline? There are two situations that must be considered. The first one I am going to call Principle 2, and it goes like this: We are to confront a brother when he sins against someone else and the sin is serious. The reason I say the sin must be serious is that can we can imagine what it would be like in a church if we confronted everybody for every more offense? Can you imagine what the church would be like if this occurred Sunday after Sunday, or even all week for every sin? No one would want to attend that church. Jesus must be talking about serious sins.

What are some serious sins?

Let me give you an example. 1 Corinthians 5 gives us a classic example, and it illustrates the process of church discipline at the same time. In 1 Corinthians 5:1 we read,

It is actually reported that there is immorality among you, and immorality of such a kind as does not exist even among the Gentiles, that someone has his father’s wife. 1 Corinthians 5:1 (NASB)

Some people have wondered what is significant about the statement “father’s wife.” Notice that it does not say “mother.” Instead it says, “father’s wife.” That refers to a step-mother. So this is about the son of a man who has married a second wife. That seems to be the implication. So the son of the first wife was having sexual relations with his father’s new wife. Then Paul says, this kind of thing does not even happen among the Gentiles. Here is verse 2,

You have become arrogant and have not mourned instead, so that the one who had done this deed would be removed from your midst. 1 Corinthians 5:2 (NASB)

Paul adds, “You have become arrogant. You have not done anything about it.” I can imagine that someone would say, “We need to be sympathetic. We need to be loving. All of us have sinned, right? I have been through something like this before, and you should not be so judgmental. Just be considerate.” But that was not Paul’s attitude. Look at verses 3-5.

For I, on my part, though absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged him who has so committed this, as though I were present. In the name of our Lord Jesus, when you are assembled, and I with you in spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus, I have decided to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. 1 Corinthians 5:3-5 (NASB)

Paul’s response was, “You failed to perform church discipline and stop him from sinning. So, I am going to do it as an apostle. I am going to use the power of an apostle to discipline the person.” Verse 6 continues with,

Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough? Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed. Therefore let us celebrate the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people; I did not at all mean with the immoral people of this world, or with the covetous and swindlers, or with idolaters, for then you would have to go out of the world. 1 Corinthians 5:6-10 (NASB)

Paul adds, “If you were not going to be associated with sinners, then you would have to disappear from the world.”

But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler—not even to eat with such a one. For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Do you not judge those who are within the church? 1 Corinthians 5:11-12 (NASB)

And the answer to Paul’s question is yes.

But those who are outside, God judges. REMOVE THE WICKED MAN FROM AMONG YOURSELVES. 1 Corinthians 5:13 (NASB)

Here the apostle Paul is very clear. If someone has committed a serious sin or a habitual sin and refuses to stop sinning, then exercise church discipline and remove them from the church. You might say, “That does not sound very kind.” If that is your view, then you missed the message. The church is to not tolerate sin. The goal of the church is holiness. The ultimate goal is to motivate this person to repent and stop sinning. Hopefully he or she will want to return to the congregation. The goal is restoration.

2 Corinthians 2 tells us about another church discipline situation. It appears that a man had been claiming that he was an apostle and had been attacking Paul’s apostleship. Let us begin reading in verses 5-6. It says,

But if any has caused sorrow, he has caused sorrow not to me, . . . 2 Corinthians 2:5a (NASB)

He was referring to the same man.

. . . but in some degree—in order not to say too much—to all of you. Sufficient for such a one is this punishment which was inflicted by the majority. 2 Corinthians 2:5b-6 (NASB)

Notice two important things about verse 6. First, the apostle is talking about the fact that church discipline had been performed and the man had been expelled from the church membership. He said, “Sufficient for such a one is this punishment.” Verse 7 continues,

So that on the contrary you should rather forgive and comfort him, otherwise such a one might be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. Wherefore I urge you to reaffirm your love for him. 2 Corinthians 2:7-8 (NASB)

In these verses, Paul is calling the church to love this man, and to let him know that they rejoice he is repentant.

Restoration Includes Love and Acceptance

2 Corinthians 2:1-11 reveals a sin that churches have sometimes committed in the process of church discipline. Churches often fail to welcome those they have disciplined back into the church. The goal is to make the person complete and to restore them to a right relationship with God and with fellow believers. The goal is to not make things worse for him. How bad would it be to have someone repent, and then the church leaders and congregation refuse to accept them back? That is apparently what the church in the city of Corinth was doing to this person. Paul rebuked them for it.

The second example of church discipline is found in 1 Timothy 1:20. I will not read it, but it is an important example of two men named Hymenaeus and Alexander. Apparently, they had been blaspheming God, and Paul turned them over to Satan for the destruction of their flesh.

2 Timothy 1:17-18 is another example of church discipline where two men were teaching false doctrine about the future.

Let me give you another example. In Titus 3:10 we read a very short sentence. It says this:

Reject a factious man after a first and second warning. Titus 3:10 (NASB)

The word for “reject” has the idea of refuse. There is a sense of urgency to it. “Factious” is the key word. This verse refers to someone who causes divisions, schisms, or trouble in a church. Then we are told,

Knowing that such a man is perverted and is sinning, being self-condemned. Titus 3:11 (NASB)

What does that imply? It implies habitual sin. It implies that the man did not listen to you the first or the second time. So, on the third time the church is to reject him.

In 2 Thessalonians 3:6-14 it is very clear that Paul tells us not to have anything to do with someone who is living an unruly life. In Romans 16:17-18 we are told that we are not to have anything to do with someone who causes trouble and dissension. The idea is repeated. In Philippians 4:2-3, two ladies named Euodia and Syntyche were not living in harmony. So, Paul says,

I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to live in harmony in the Lord. Indeed, true companion, I ask you also to help these women who have shared my struggle in the cause of the gospel, together with Clement also and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life. Philippians 4:2-3 (NASB)

Paul tells us that these two ladies were involved in ministry. They were believers and active in the church. He said, “I urge you ladies.” He asked someone to help these two ladies end their conflict. Paul called for an initial step in church discipline. Apparently, these two ladies were well-known in the church. So, Paul wrote an open letter to the church as everybody knew of the situation.

Church discipline should also be practiced for sins that include criminal acts, a variety of sexual sins, doctrinal heresies, stealing, anger, obesity, gossip, and slander.

Conclusion

So, how do we respond? The first response is if you know you have offended someone, Jesus told us in the Sermon on the Mount that if you are at the altar, you are supposed to leave and go to that person and make it right. If that requires an apology, then apologize. In other words, you leave church and go to the person and try to make things right. Now some people will refuse to accept your apology. If you know that you have tried to make things right but they refuse to accept your apology, then you are no longer obligated to continue to pursue the situation. The second response is if you are offended by someone, forgive unconditionally and unilaterally.

The third response is if you know a believer is caught in some sin, then rescue them. Help them to restore their fellowship with the Lord. The ultimate goal is to glorify God in all that we have done.

The fourth response is if you need to be involved in church discipline, then do it remembering the goal is restoration.

Finally, do not gossip or slander anyone. Show your love and protect the individual. Sharing his or her sin is only permitted by our Lord at the last step of church discipline. The goal is not condemnation but restoration. It is an act of love.

References:

1, R. Albert Mohler, Jr., “Church Discipline: The Missing Mark.” John Armstrong. The Compromised Church. Crossway Books. 1998. p. 174.
2. Ibid. p. 171.
3. John Chrysostom, “Homilies of St. John Chrysostom, Archbishop of Constantinople on the Gospel according to St. Matthew,” in Saint Chrysostom: Homilies on the Gospel of Saint Matthew, ed. Philip Schaff, trans. George Prevost and M. B. Riddle, vol. 10, A Select Library of the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church, First Series (New York: Christian Literature Company, 1888), 372.
4. Grant Osborne. Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament. Zondervan Publishing. 2010. footnote 4. p. 685.