The Narrow Path Ministries

"Treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector." - Matthew 18:17 Does this mean expel him from the chuch, repeat the process over again or neither?

excellent question-- i have never really considered what it meant by treating them like tax collectors or pagans. i always assumed it meant "shunning."

TK

Aren't we supposed to love and pray for pagans and tax collectors?

I think he means they are not active participants in the fellowship.

agreed, but paul "shook the dust from his sandals" when people rejected the gospel, and Jesus told his disciples to do the same. so i am not really clear what Jesus meant in the above verses. perhaps shunning a person will have the effect of ultimately bringing them back into the fellowship.

i listened to a book on tape with my kids a while back called "the great brain." its an excellent story for kids-- good lessons, etc. in that story, the punishment that the two boys in the story dreaded most was "the silent treatment." if they did something really bad, their loving parents would simply not speak to them for a couple of days. the boys said they'd rather get a whoopin' than the silent treatment.

TK

I was just wondering if anyone has seen this principle worked out in a church setting. I was at a church one time that put someone out of the fellowship but they didn't follow the steps of Matthew 18.

As I understand it, Jesus was saying to treat him as being unsaved, lost or unconverted. If he would listen, you could conceivably start at the beginning with evangelism assuming he missed the point of what the Christian life is. If he would not listen, you could do as Paul did with the assumption that the man had rejected sound teaching.

1 Tim. 1:19-20 NIV Some have rejected these and so have shipwrecked their faith. Among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan to be taught not to blaspheme.