How Could this Be Anything Other than a Single Church

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CHESTERTONRULES

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Matthew 18

17If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector.

Would this verse make sense if there was more than one Church?
 
According to the :

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

[17] The church: the second of the only two instances of this word in the gospels; see the note on Matthew 16:18.

Here it refers not to the entire church of Jesus, as in Matthew 16:18, but to the local congregation. Treat him . . . a Gentile or a tax collector: just as the observant Jew avoided the company of Gentiles and tax collectors, so must the congregation of Christian disciples separate itself from the arrogantly sinful member who refuses to repent even when convicted of his sin by the whole church.

Such a one is to be set outside the fellowship of the community. The harsh language about Gentile and tax collector probably reflects a stage of the Matthean church when it was principally composed of Jewish Christians.

That time had long since passed, but the principle of exclusion for such a sinner remained. Paul makes a similar demand for excommunication in 1 Cor 5:1-13.

usccb.org
 
jakasaki said:
According to the :

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

[17] The church: the second of the only two instances of this word in the gospels; see the note on Matthew 16:18.

Here it refers not to the entire church of Jesus, as in Matthew 16:18, but to the local congregation. Treat him . . . a Gentile or a tax collector: just as the observant Jew avoided the company of Gentiles and tax collectors, so must the congregation of Christian disciples separate itself from the arrogantly sinful member who refuses to repent even when convicted of his sin by the whole church.

Such a one is to be set outside the fellowship of the community. The harsh language about Gentile and tax collector probably reflects a stage of the Matthean church when it was principally composed of Jewish Christians.

That time had long since passed, but the principle of exclusion for such a sinner remained. Paul makes a similar demand for excommunication in 1 Cor 5:1-13.

usccb.org
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That’s fine, but it doesn’t change the point.

The Church was a single entity, whether he was referring to a local Church or the worldwide Church.

This verse would not make sense if there was a dispute between a Baptist and a Methodist.
 
CHESTERTONRULES said:
Matthew 18

17If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector.

Would this verse make sense if there was more than one Church?
Click to expand...
No, it would not, especially if one takes into consideration 1 Timothy 3:15.
 
CHESTERTONRULES said:
Matthew 18

17If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector.

Would this verse make sense if there was more than one Church?
Click to expand...
LOCAL CHURCH!!! :confused: :confused:
 
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