Win Your Brother. Don’t punish him
““If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over.” (Matthew 18:15 NIV)
D.A. Carson comments on Matthew 18:15.
“The aim must be to win your brother over, restoration, not punishment. To that end, the minimum of publicity must be used. The erring brother must be approached alone or at most with one or two others. Only if that fails is it necessary to involve the church (the local congregation); it is to be expected that the offender will listen to the united conviction of his fellow-disciples. If he does not, the only course open remains a severing of fellowship, though presumably still with the hope that this will jolt him into repentance and restoration.”[1]
[1] Carson, D. A. (1994). New Bible commentary : 21st century edition (4th ed.) (Mt 18:15–20). Leicester, England; Downers Grove, Ill., USA: Inter-Varsity Press.
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