14. If a wrongdoer fails to confess to the elders, how can Psalm 26:4 help us to decide what to do?

¹⁴ Yet, suppose we have encouraged a wrongdoer to seek God’s forgiveness and confess to the elders, but he keeps putting this off or sees no need to take these steps. Can we just drop the matter? Some might reason that they do not want to become involved. They may not want to risk losing the friendship of the erring one. And they may not want to be thought of as persons who betray a confidence by telling the elders. But this is faulty reasoning. The psalmist David said: “I have not sat with men of untruth; and with those who hide what they are I do not come in.” (Psalm 26:4) Surely, then, we would not want to become accomplices of “those who hide what they are.”

15. How does Leviticus 5:1 show our responsibility after giving an erring individual a reasonable amount of time to approach the elders about his wrongdoing?

¹⁵ Therefore, after we have given the erring individual a reasonable amount of time to approach the elders about his wrongdoing, it is our responsibility before Jehovah not to be a sharer in his sin. We need to inform the responsible overseers that the person has revealed serious wrongdoing that merits their investigation. This would be in harmony with Leviticus 5:1, which says: “Now in case a soul sins in that he has heard public cursing and he is a witness or he has seen it or has come to know of it, if he does not report it, then he must answer for his error.” Of course, we must avoid acting hastily on mere supposition of wrongdoing.

Never may we do anything to dishonor God or his organization or condone the wrongdoing of others in the congregation. Rather, let us encourage wrongdoers to correct their conduct and seek the help of the elders. If they fail to do this within a reasonable amount of time, let us shoulder our responsibility to inform the appointed overseers. In this way, we will avoid becoming sharers in the sins of others and bearing some responsibility for their wrong conduct.