Christian Living

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There is a pattern of thinking today which says: “Never challenge, never confront anyone, never attempt to correct them.” Call it “political correctness” if you will. Jesus told us to love everyone, yes, but not to accept every wayward, unbiblical belief, every sinful act or doctrine people put forward as truth. We must examine and challenge where necessary.

There is a difference between judging and correcting. The Bible (timeless, ageless) makes it clear that regarding correction we are to practise it. Failure to act brings a lowering of standards, a weak, spineless Christianity, and we are seeing that today.

For example, what is happening now with homosexuals. No lessons have been learned regarding God’s destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19:24-25). The homosexuals try to convince us it really doesn’t matter if a person holds a high-ranking position in the church and is a practising homosexual at the same time. It’s because of the accept-everything attitude of too many Christians that such a disastrous situation has come to pass in the USA, Canada and Australia.

The Word has plenty to say about challenging and dealing with every type of sin among members of the body of Christ. It certainly doesn’t say tolerate and ignore what they do. There are times when we must speak out and come to terms with it. The Bible uses the word “rebuke.”

Webster’s Dictionary defines it as “to check, beat back; to put to shame; to reprove sternly; noun—a reproach; reprimand.”

One Timothy 5:19 says: “Do not receive an accusation against an elder except from two or three witnesses.” Verse 20 goes on: “Those who are sinning rebuke in the presence of all, that the rest also may fear.” Again: “Speak these things, exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no one despise you.” (Titus 2:15) [The italics are mine]

We read in 2 Thessalonians 3:14-15 “And if anyone does not obey our word in this epistle, note that person and do not keep company with him, that he may be ashamed. Yet do not count him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.” [itals mine]

That last sentence illustrates how we do the admonishing is important. When Jesus criticized the “religious” Sadducees and Pharisees—calling them hypocrites—no doubt he was non-malicious, non-hostile.

Though the Bible doesn’t tell us, the Lord probably said it with love, compassion, righteous anger if you like.

Evicting the money-changers and merchants, overturning the tables in the temple would appear to be an act of anger, yet Jesus may well have done it calmly, deliberately. It is recorded in Matthew, Mark and John, but the Gospels do not say Jesus was angry.

So we see it is scriptural to rebuke, correct, admonish someone who is part of a fellowship and is not behaving as he or she ought. That isn’t being judgmental.

The weakness in the body of Christ with regard to acceptance of habitually-sinning members can be put down to lack of knowledge of the Word. To be truly in Christ we need to know what God says, and apply it!

[I'm not in "Private Messenger" so I can't read and reply to your emails sent there. You can reach me at saul2_au at yahoo dot com (You know the correct email format—I wrote it that way to confuse the web ‘spiders.’)

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