Matthew 18 and the Priesthood of all Believers

Matthew 18 is often used as the basis and blueprint for church discipline. This article looks at how the priesthood of all believers is called to carry out this mission, not the clergy or professional priests. In Christ and by his command we can forgive one another sins. This also means, at times, admonishing those who feel no remorse for sins.

The following is a flow chart using Matthew 18. Feel free to copy, print, and use this flow chart. In Proverbs we are told "as iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another." This is one reason why Peter encourages us "not to give up meeting with one another, as some are in the habit of doing."

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Matthew 18 has often been cited as the blueprint for church discipline. At the heart of Matthew 18 is action taken by people, by individuals. It begins, "If your brother sins against you, go and speak to him alone. If he repents, you have won your brother over." Notice what that says. You and a fellow Christian have a dispute. Do you go and tell pastor? Do you tell others in the faith community-or the community at large? No! Jesus says, "Go and speak with your brother alone."

There is a very practical method to this madness. First, a congregation can run a pastor ragged if every crime and incident were reported to him for him to rectify. And a pastor will be a ragged mess if he allows himself to be caught up in each dispute.

It has also been my experience that often disputes come about because of a misunderstanding. If such is the case, and you express your concerns, then the offending party will realize what he has inadvertently done. He can ask forgiveness, the offended party can grant such forgiveness, and the matter is settled and it is done privately. Only the two principles and our Lord and Savior above know what has happened.

But what if the brother refuses to acknowledge his error? Then you are to bring "one or two witness, so that the matter can be verified by witnesses." Again, there is privacy, but now the offending party is confronted by more than one person. There is a record of witnesses. God's Word is used in pointing out sin, leading to repentance, and hopefully relaying forgiveness when repentance comes.

If the group of witnesses cannot, with God's Word, lead to repentance, then the matter is taken up before the church. In the Greek we have the work "ekklesia," "those called out." This refers to the group called out from this world and sanctified by grace. You and I make up the church. The church is a collection of believers. Hence this process calls for all believers to call for repentance, seek repentance in the individual, and forgive the individual when repentance comes. This is not a matter that the pastor carries out, although he may write and send any correspondence. This is not solely the purview of a Board of Elders. In fact, congregations in the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod require that at this stage the matter is made known at Voters Meetings and, if necessary, any process of excommunication be unanimous. Each and every member must be convinced that every step and every avenue has been pursued with no positive outlook for repentance for this process to proceed to excommunication. This stipulation has prevented an abuse of the principles, abuses found throughout church history.

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