How does church discipline apply in cases of domestic abuse?

Many victims of abuse are being disciplined / ex-communicated by their churches for separating from the abuser or divorcing the abuser. So we’re putting this page from The Wartburg Watch first on this list: How to resign from a church whether or not you are under church discipline.

Church Discipline and Church Permission for Divorce — How my Mind has Changed — By Barbara Roberts. After publishing the first edition of her book Not Under Bondage, Barbara changed her mind about church discipline in situations of abuse. She used to emphasise Matthew 18; she now teaches that 1 Corinthians 5 is the most important precept to apply in cases of abuse.

What is the basis for saying Christians must obey church Elders?

Our False Notions about Church Discipline Enable the Abuser’s Secrecy

How Abusers Use (Mis-use) Matthew 18 to Escape Church Discipline

Does 1 Corinthians 5:11 apply only if there is common knowledge of the person’s sin? (Part 1)

1 Corinthians 5:11 — does it apply only if there’s common knowledge of the person’s sin? Part 2)

An Abuser is Called a “Reviler” in Scripture, And the Reviler is no Christian

Are all sins equally bad? Are all transgressions of the law equally heinous?

Pastoral Care Has its Limits and Must Allow for the Priesthood of the Believer

The Spiritual and Christlike Discipline of Rejecting Wicked People

Episode 204: How the Bible Describes Wolves (and It’s Not Nice) — Spreaker, from iHeart
Episode 204: How the Bible Describes Wolves (and It’s Not Nice) — YouTube

Church Non-Membership is no Excuse for Not Disciplining an Abuser

The Apostle John Provides us a Model of How to Address an Abuser in Church

A True Church Steps Away from Korah (the abuser), No Matter Who He is!

How the church misapplies discipline onto the victim

God’s Rules of Evidence are Often Misapplied, to the Harm of Abuse Victims

When the Wheels of Church Justice Move Like a Snail, it is a Sign of Injustice

When Matthew 18 Breaks Down — by Persistent Widow, one of our readers

Church Leaders Charge Victims with Sin for Leaving the Abuser

One of the Worst Letters We Have Seen From a Pastor to an Abuse Victim

What does Scripture Really Say? — ACFJ Resources page.

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