While sin should usually be confronted privately, there are some occasions in which public rebuke and correction are required.
Lecture Outline Detailed Outline Remember It• In the case where one’s sin is already widely known (1 Corinthians 5). • In a case where the Gospel or some fundamental doctrine is at stake (Galatians). • In a case where a leader sins and thereby sets a bad example for others, encouraging them to sin (1 Timothy 5:19-21).
Paul’s rebuke of Peter, Barnabas, and others for avoiding fellowship with Gentile believers (Galatians 2).
- Suppose a man stands up at the Lord’s Table or during the preaching service and says something doctrinally wrong or otherwise ill advised. How might our study and the texts we have dealt with provide some guidance as to whether correction should be done immediately, in public, or later, in private?
- Someone in your church accuses an elder of wrong-doing. How would this currently be handled in your church? How should it be handled?
- How do Paul’s words in 1 Timothy 5:17-21 underscore the importance of having a plurality of elders in relation to the practice of church discipline?
- Discuss among the elders whether the office of elder is a lifetime position, or if one might expect an elder to step aside (or be removed) from time to time? In what circumstances might this be necessary?
- Outline a process for your church which facilitates the ongoing evaluation of elders, to determine their continued qualification to lead. Discuss this among the elders.
A Further Word About Elders (1 Tim 5:17-25), by S. Lewis Johnson
Peter’s Capitulation and Paul’s Correctipon, by Bob Definbaugh