I just wrote my opinion about the scripture in Matthew and to me it seems clear that it is not talking about having witnesses to confirm guilt. This is what I wrote on another forum and would appreciate it if someone could tell me if my understanding is not correct.
<<Matthew 18:15 “If your brother or sister[b] sins,[c] go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. 16 But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’[d] 17 If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector. >>
This scripture is not applied by the JWs, somehow they extract a two witness policy from it. In the first part it authorizes a person who is aware of the other persons sin to go and point out their fault, to discuss it with them in the hope that the sinner will recognize their wrongdoing and correct their ways, that is how they will be 'won over'. But if he doesn't acknowledge his sin as a wrongdoing then the next verse says that the first person needs to bring along another one or two persons so that the sinner now has two or three persons testifying that what he is doing is wrong and needs to correct his way. If the person still does not acknowledge what he is doing as sinful then the matter needs to be brought up with the church. This could mean one of two things. That the leaders of the church, who would be considered the final authority on a matter would then need to also provide testimony to the fact that the person has sinned and needs to correct his way or the second meaning could be that the whole of the congregation should be brought into the matter. Then if he still doesn't listen he is no longer to be treated as a Brother.
How is this different to the establishment of the two witness policy that the JWs apply? Clearly in the fist instance the sin has already been established and even when two or three are brought into the situation and there is no acknowledgement of the sin then there is a third step and that is to bring in the Church, not to establish the sin but to have the sinner acknowledge that what he has done is wrong. Then if he still doesn't acknowledge his sin the matter is to be brought to the Church. If they cannot turn the sinner around from his wrongdoing BECAUSE he has not acknowledged his sin before two or three witnesses even, then the Church should no longer treat him as a brother.
The start of the scripture at Verse 15 sets the scene. "If your brother or sister sins go and point out their fault" It says nothing about establishing the sin, it is already a given. It is the reverse of what the JWs interpret it as. Instead of having witnesses to establish the sin there are witnesses to help make the sinner aware that he is at fault
