A believer’s wife is badly beaten by a believer’s husband. She runs to safety and enters the home of the pastor. What should the pastor do? Or if a Sunday School teacher comes to know about domestic violence in a home from a child, what should she do? Confronting sinners is an important and noble task for the Church. Sadly, many churches neglect this aspect of ministry. A woman or a child may express the sad situation in the home, directly or indirectly. The pastors and elders should be able to ‘smell’ such sins and confront them.
Method of Confrontation: The Church has the authority to confront sin among believers. Lord Jesus Christ taught this: “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell 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 18:15-17) An abusive husband or a wayward child should be confronted directly as per the pattern provided by the Lord.
Different people: Paul also writes that pastors like Timothy should be able to confront the sins and mistakes of people in the congregation. “Do not rebuke an older man but encourage him as you would a father, younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, younger women as sisters, in all purity.” (I Timothy 5:1,2)
Authority to judge: Paul writes that he had the authority to judge within the church, and saints of God will judge angels. (I Corinthians 5:12; 6:2) Hence, pastors and church leaders should have courage like John the Baptist and Nathan to confront evildoers.
Today, a church should be like a city on a hill, shining bright. (Matthew 5:14) Sin inside the church makes the light dim.
Am I a disciplined disciple?