Episode Details

In this episode Lance Smith examines an alleged contradiction about how Jesus treated tax collectors and sinners versus how the church should treat unrepentant believers. Exploring passages from Matthew, Mark, and Luke, he explains the difference between Jesus' outreach to outsiders and Matthew 18's call for church discipline, arguing that the two are complementary: radical hospitality toward nonbelievers and loving accountability within the church.

References to items discussed and/or used on this podcast may be found at the following:

The Bible Difficulties and Answers Website

The Bible Difficulties and Answers Facebook Page

Email Address: bibledifficultiesandanswers@gmail.com 

1. Skeptics Annotated Bible. https://www.skepticsannotatedbible.com/contra/publicans.html 
2. GotQuestions.org. “Why did Jesus eat with sinners?” https://www.gotquestions.org/Jesus-with-sinners.html 
3. Credo Magazine. “Jesus with Sinners at the Table.” https://credomag.com/2018/01/jesus-with-sinners-at-the-table-2/ 
4. BibleRef.com. “Matthew 18:17.” https://www.bibleref.com/Matthew/18/Matthew-18-17.html 
5. Lowery, David. “The Biblical Basis for Church Discipline.” Liberty University Thesis. https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2175&context=masters 
6. Hutton, James. “Jesus Ate with Tax Collectors, Prostitutes, & Other Sinners, and We Can Too.” https://jameslhutton.com/2019/08/05/jesus-ate-with-tax-collectors-prostitutes-other-sinners-we-can-too/