I have neither preached on this passage nor practiced its admonitions in my ministry. Where I have seen it used, I have seen it abused. Matthew 18 was used to throw the book at him. In a polarized society where we are often defined by our differences, in a climate of anger and violence, it is tragic when the Bible is used as a weapon to clobber others. The church discipline recommended in our text assumes a close knit community of committed people of faith.
Few churches can claim that in our age of radical individualism.
In a litigious, sue conscious society, we are apt to solve our differences by going to court. The erosion of community is well documented today. We are not joiners. Believers are not belongers. We are busy doing our own thing.