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Note 1.—While this Divine rule makes it obligatory on the offended member to go to the offender and seek a reconciliation, yet much more is it obligatory on the offender who knows that a brother is grieved with him, to seek such an one, and try to remove the difficulty.

Note 2.—The matter is not to be made public until these three steps have been fully taken, and have failed; and then to be made public only by telling the church, and no others.

Note 3.—When the case comes before the church, it must not be neglected nor dropped, but judiciously pursued until the difficulty be adjusted, the offense removed, or else the offender be disfellowshipped, and put away.

public offenses

Public offenses are not against any one person more than another, but are such as are supposed to be a dishonor to the church of which the offender is a member, and a reproach to the Christian profession. They constitute a violation of the code of Christian morals, if not of our common worldly morals.

The more common causes of this class of offenses are the following: False doctrine (Gal. 1:9, 2John 10), disregard of authority (Matt. 18:17; 1Thess. 5:14), contention and strife (Rom. 16:17), immoral conduct (1Cor. 5:11), disorderly walk (2Thess. 3:6, 9), covetous spirit (Eph. 5:5; 1Cor. 5:11), arrogant conduct (3John 9), going to law (1Cor. 6:6).