I am convinced that if a strict view on divorce and remarriage were taught in our churches, there would be fewer divorces among believers. Marriage would be entered into with more caution, and marriage partners would seek to preserve that union at all cost.
The Divorce Myth, Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1981, p. 123.
“Believing” in Christ does not merely refer to intellectual assent to a proposition about Christ. Rather, the biblical concept of “belief” involves a personal response and commitment to Christ’s Person.
Moody Gospel Commentary: John, Moody Press, 1992, p. 20.
Many people fail to make a clear distinction between punishment and discipline, and there is a very significant difference between these two concepts. Punishment is designed to execute retribution for a wrong done. Discipline, on the other hand, is to encourage the restoration of the one involved in the wrongdoing. Punishment is designed primarily to avenge a wrong and assert justice. Discipline is designed primarily as a corrective for the one who has failed to live according to the standards of the church and/or society.
A Guide to Church Discipline, Bethany, 1985, p. 79.