One common claim is that any disagreement between Christian brothers should always be handled in private. It is said that every disagreement, argument, rebuke, reproof, or correction should only be made public when one has already contacted them privately and they did not listen. This is often based upon a misinterpretation of Matthew 18, and is actually scripturally unfounded.
This practice of not making a disagreement with a fellow Christian public is one that is not consistent with the actions of the Apostles, particularly Paul. In Galatians 2, Paul tells the Church in Galatia about his dispute with Peter. Peter had been very tolerant of a sub-Christian sect known as the “Circumcision Party” (More commonly known as “Judaizers”, these people added Circumcision to Salvation), and this tolerance led Peter to pull away from gentile Christians in order to please these Judaizers. Peter’s acceptance of these false teachers and promoters of heresy led many others to also pull away from the non-Jewish believers, including the missionary Barnabas. Galatians 2:11-14 (ESV) said...
Read more: http://pulpitandpen.org/2017/03/17/is-private-contact-required-before-publicly-rebuking-public-sin/
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A: Dr. Walter Martin answers.Download File
Audio clip excerpted from a message by Dr. Walter Martin titled "Robert Schuller and the Cult of Self-Esteem"