Matthew 18 is one of the most abused verses and yeah, it is used that way often unfortunately because people don't read and hold abusers accountable.
"if your brother sins against you". This scripture is to deal with personal issues, like if another christian has sinned against you, then you should follow Matthew 18. It is definitely not about public teachings. Public teachings are rebuked all the time publicly in scripture and to say its wrong is just retarded.
An easy example, and there are a lot more than this, is in Galatians Paul rebukes Peter publicly, openly, in front of everyone for his behavior (Galatians 2 ish I think?). Because he cares about the impact his bad behavior has on the church as a whole.
Edit: As long as your heart is love for God and love for others, then as a Christian you should go for it, publicly rebuke away.
Ok I can see that now. I got tired of reading it after the first half. That's why pastors make the big bucks.
Depending on your church, you hear that one a lot.
It's the "don't air the dirty laundry" clause that lets them keep it on the down low when pastors have affairs or other corruption gets noticed.
Matthew 18 is one of the most abused verses and yeah, it is used that way often unfortunately because people don't read and hold abusers accountable.
"if your brother sins against you". This scripture is to deal with personal issues, like if another christian has sinned against you, then you should follow Matthew 18. It is definitely not about public teachings. Public teachings are rebuked all the time publicly in scripture and to say its wrong is just retarded.
An easy example, and there are a lot more than this, is in Galatians Paul rebukes Peter publicly, openly, in front of everyone for his behavior (Galatians 2 ish I think?). Because he cares about the impact his bad behavior has on the church as a whole.
Edit: As long as your heart is love for God and love for others, then as a Christian you should go for it, publicly rebuke away.