In the previous video, we established that dealing with sin in the congregation is not accomplished through the rigid application of rules, but through the loving application of biblical principles. Central among those principles is agapē, a Greek term commonly translated as “love.” However, because English uses a single word where Greek employs several, it is important to recognize that agapē represents a distinct and exceptional form of love.
Although agapē appears only rarely in classical Greek literature, it is by far the most frequently used word for love in the Christian Scriptures. What sets it apart from terms such as storgē, referring to familial affection, philia, the love shared between friends, or eros, passionate or romantic love, is that agapē is grounded in principle rather than natural instinct. It is a love that engages both the emotions and the intellect. Loving one’s enemies does not come naturally, but agapē overcomes that instinctive resistance and enables a person to seek what is genuinely best even for those who harbor hostility toward them.
When Jesus outlined the three steps in Matthew 18 for addressing sin within the congregation, he did so with the full expectation that his followers would understand them through the lens of love. They were never intended to function as cold, unfeeling rules, but as principles governed by love. This is a distinction the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses has consistently failed to grasp. Their preference is for rules, and as a result, their elders’ manual, innocuously titled Shepherd the Flock of God, devotes multiple chapters and page after page to cataloging sins and prescribing how each is to be handled.
When the love of the Christ is absent or misunderstood, all that remains is a rulebook. By contrast, Jesus provided only three verses, as recorded by Matthew, to guide us in dealing with sin within the congregation. How could just three short verses possibly address the complexity of human life and the countless circumstances that lead people to stumble? Once again, the answer is love. That may sound simplistic, but it is anything but shallow.
Before we go further, let us take a closer look at what agapē love truly involves.
Love is long-suffering and kind. Love is not jealous, it does not brag, does not get puffed up, does not behave indecently, does not look for its own interests, does not become provoked. It does not keep account of the injury. It does not rejoice over unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. (1 Corinthians 13:4-8)
There is so much depth in those few verses that one could produce an entire series of videos on them and still only begin to scratch the surface. For now, however, let us simply reflect on those words as we consider how Jesus himself exemplified this kind of love.
For example, Jesus concluded his counsel on dealing with unrepentant sinners within the congregation by instructing his disciples to treat such a person as a tax collector or a Gentile. To his audience, all of whom were Jews, the meaning would have appeared straightforward. Jews did not form friendships with pagans, nor did they engage in fellowship or even casual conversation with Jewish tax collectors, whom they viewed as collaborators with the despised Roman occupiers.
Yet Jesus himself associated with tax collectors. He even invited himself into their homes to share a meal with them. He also showed kindness and performed acts of mercy toward non-Jews. Therefore, his words must be understood within the broader context of his own conduct. Jesus consistently sought what was best for others and did everything possible to save people rather than to cast them aside.
With that in mind, let us take one more look at those three verses in Matthew.
“Moreover, if your brother commits a sin, go and reveal his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother.” (Matthew 18:15 NWT)
The purpose of this process is to gain your brother or sister, to lead them to repentance and to bring an end to the sin. But what if the sin involves sexual abuse of a minor? What would agapē love require in such a case? A brother may listen, may repent, and that repentance may even be sincere. Nevertheless, a serious crime has been committed, and the individual may pose a danger to others. In such circumstances, what would Christ do? What should the love of the Christ compel us to do?
The answer to that question is self-evident. Concealing sin does not help the sinner, nor does it protect the congregation from further harm. Love “does not seek its own interests.” Agapē love always seeks the good of those it is meant to protect, in this case not only the individual involved, but the entire congregation, as well as those outside it who may also be at risk.
From this, the conclusion is unavoidable. An organizational policy that maintains a confidential list of thousands of known child abusers, while withholding that information from the authorities and from congregations, is fundamentally unloving. It prioritizes institutional self-interest over the safety of the vulnerable. This stands as further evidence that such an organization does not reflect the love of the Christ.
But how could it be otherwise? Organizations do not love. People love. When individuals submit themselves to the authority of an organization rather than to God, their capacity to love as Christ loves is stunted, if not cut off altogether.
The Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses has not been given any authority from God to create rules. No man has been granted such authority. Our leader is one, the Christ. Anyone who elevates himself as a religious authority and imposes binding regulations on how Christians must deal with sin within the congregation will, in due time, answer for that sin. Jesus was instructing his disciples, not some future governing body, but individual believers, on how to address wrongdoing. He gave us a simple and straightforward three-step process.
If the sin does not involve matters that fall under secular authority, such as murder or child sexual abuse, and we succeed in helping our brother or sister repent at the first step, then the matter is resolved. However, if the individual refuses to listen, we are instructed to go further.
The New American Standard Bible renders 1 Corinthians 13:7 in this way:
“[Love] keeps every confidence, it believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” (1 Corinthians 13:7)
Once again, we are speaking of sins that do not rise to the level of serious crimes. In such cases, our objective is to preserve the dignity of our fellow believer. With that in mind, Jesus instructs us:
“But if he does not listen, take along with you one or two more, so that on the testimony of two or three witnesses every matter may be established.” (Matthew 18:16)
The purpose here is to regain our brother, not to punish or humiliate him. But what if this effort also fails? At that point, we move to the third step Jesus outlined. Notably, that final step involves the entire congregation.
“If he does not listen to them, speak to the congregation. If he does not listen even to the congregation, let him be to you just as a man of the nations and as a tax collector.” (Matthew 18:17 NWT)
There is nothing here that suggests a committee of three elders. What is described instead is something akin to a spiritual intervention. The sinner stands before the congregation, and the congregation reasons with him, appeals to him, and seeks to save his soul.
That this was the practice in the first century is evident from the instructions Paul gave to Timothy:
“Reprove before all onlookers those who practice sin, as a warning to the rest. I solemnly charge you before God and Christ Jesus and the chosen angels to observe these instructions without any prejudice or partiality.” (1 Timothy 5:20, 21)
The word translated “reprove” literally means to prove again. This cannot be accomplished by standing on a platform and announcing that “so-and-so has been reproved.” Such a declaration is meaningless. Rather, the congregation sits with the individual and reasons with him or her from the Scriptures. They demonstrate from God’s Word where the person has gone astray, with the aim of winning them back to the side of the light.
Even if these efforts fail, Scripture does not support severing all contact with the individual. Paul instructed the Thessalonians to stop associating with such a man, yet he also directed them to continue admonishing him as a brother. That would be impossible if one refused even to greet him.
This leads to a crucial question. Is there ever a circumstance in which cutting off all contact with a sinner is appropriate? And if so, on what basis?
“Everyone who pushes ahead and does not remain in the teaching of the Christ does not have God. The one who does remain in this teaching is the one who has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your homes or say a greeting to him. For the one who says a greeting to him is a sharer in his wicked works.” (2 John 9-11)
What we are discussing here is true apostasy. “If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your homes.” This refers to individuals who are actively seeking to draw others away from the teaching of the Christ. Such people are not merely mistaken or struggling; they are pushing ahead aggressively and promoting teachings that depart from what Christ taught.
Can you think of a group today that pushes ahead in this way, has not remained in the teaching of the Christ, and yet goes to people’s homes expecting to be received and listened to?
We should all reflect on that. Yet once again, the instruction given by the apostle John must be understood within the overarching context of the law of love, as exemplified by the love of Christ himself. There were Pharisees whom Jesus openly identified as liars and children of the Devil. That exposure was an act of love, because it revealed the truth to their followers and protected ordinary people from being misled.
At the same time, there were Pharisees with whom Jesus sat down and reasoned. Scripture records the account of Nicodemus, who came to Jesus secretly in order to speak with him. Jesus did not reject him outright, nor did he treat him as irredeemable. He engaged him patiently and truthfully.
The distinction is crucial. Love discerns motive, posture, and intent. It exposes those who actively deceive, while still extending mercy and reason to those who are sincerely seeking the truth.
Thank you once again for giving thoughtful consideration to these matters, and thank you as well for your continued support of this channel.