Holiness indeed characterizes the church and God put church discipline in place not to ostracize his children, but rather to protect the holiness of his Bride, something any husband or wife can appreciate.

In this episode, we share a sermon manuscript on Matthew 18:12-20 titled The Blessing of Church Discipline.

By placing the story of the lost sheep immediately before verse 15, Matthew shows us that one of the ways that Jesus “goes and gets the lost sheep” is through the church – by sending his people who are not presently straying to go and get those who are presently straying to bring them back into the fold.

This issue of denominational identity was a contentious one for the Presbyterians who traced their roots back to Calvin’s Geneva, Knox’s Scotland, and the Puritan nonconformists in the Church of England.