“He that saith unto the wicked, Thou art righteous; him shall the people curse, nations shall abhor him: But to them that rebuke him shall be delight, and a good blessing shall come upon them.” – Proverbs 24:24-25 KJV
“Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him.” – Luke 17:3-4 KJV
There’s a time to defend what is right and a time to admit to being wrong; a time to stand up for what’s true and a time to sit down and listen to the truth. Unfortunately, many stand up when they ought to remain seated, while few are willing to step up to the plate when the voice of truth is most needed. Do you know what time it is?
Have you ever had a strong inclination to say something to someone whom you knew was in the wrong but resisted the conviction to do so for fear that that person would become angry with you? I think every Christian has wrestled with this at some point. But it’s really not a question of whether we have experienced it or not, but one of how long we will continue to let it happen.
We shouldn’t worry about how people might respond to us when following our convictions. After all, we aren’t here to please people but to honor God. Therefore all that really matters is that we do what He wants us to do…that we please Him. And that won’t happen unless we stop running away from doing what we know ought to be done and show the world what it means to be courageous for Jesus Christ. In other words, we need to stand for truth.
The Sin of Omission
There are many who attempt to look for every possible outlet to avoid speaking of the severity of sin; that is, they look for ways to avoid telling people who are openly living in sin with pleasure that they are on a path that leads to a destructive end. Thus, they allow their feelings to take precedence over the voice of the Spirit, thereby refusing to break the silence of neutrality.
If you know that you ought to speak out against sin and injustice but refuse to do so, then you are guilty of sin. Of course, it’s not that you are guilty of sin because you haven’t sounded the moral trumpet of warning at the sight of every sin that has been made known to you; rather, you are guilty of sin when you ignore the conviction of God to warn someone of their sinful ways.
You see, in keeping silent when you know that God is urging you to speak you are not only ignoring God’s voice, but also giving those who are all caught up in wrongdoing the impression that you support them in their defiance against God. Some might be inclined to think that it is an act of love to be reticent when it comes to such matters, but they are actually proving that they lack love for such people by not warning them of the danger that they are in for living in rebellion against God.
Correction not Condemnation
Many seem to give the impression that it is a sin to call sin by its rightful name. Such people often refer to Jesus’ words, “Judge not, that ye be not judged.” (Matthew 7:1 KJV). They think that they understand what these words mean, so much that they speak with authority when using them; but what they don’t see is context. For according to the Greek the word for ‘judge’ is krino; and it essentially denotes the idea of condemnation. Thus, it has to do with ‘condemning’ or ‘sentencing’ a person for committing a crime. Moreover the context in which Jesus expressed such words has to do with eternal consequences. In other words, when a person judges another person in this way they are essentially attempting to make a ruling on the fate of that person’s life…a ruling that only God has the right to make.
Therefore ‘krino’ should not be confused with the words ‘rebuke’ or ‘admonish’. For when you rebuke or admonish you are essentially correcting people, not condemning them. Unfortunately, people seem to believe that rebuke and condemn mean the same thing. But are you really condemning or sentencing a person to eternal damnation when you tell them that they need to repent? Not at all! You are simply telling them what God doesn’t approve of. And to take it further, even if you were to condemn an action or belief that is contrary to that which is good, that would only mean that you are condemning that action or belief, not the people associated with it. Moreover such condemnation would not derive from you, but from the Scriptures which identify sin.
After all, we already know the fate of sin; the Bible makes it very clear that it will be no more at some point (Isa. 2:4; Rev. 21:3-4). Yet we don’t know what will become of each individual in the Day of Judgment; anyone could change at any point as long as there is opportunity to repent. Only God knows the heart. And frankly, I am certain that some will be shocked to see people in heaven whom they were sure wouldn’t be there, and shocked to see others whom they thought were saints cast into the lake of fire (Matt. 7:21-23).
Indeed, the idea that there is something wrong with calling sin by its rightful name is, in itself, wrong, because it is a blatant misrepresentation of what Jesus really said about not judging. You see, Jesus isn’t speaking to those who are in good standing with God; that is, He is not referring to those who use His word as a means to discern both good and evil. He is speaking against those who think so highly of themselves that they would dare try to usurp His authority by speaking in His stead without His guidance. In other words, Jesus was speaking of hypocrisy; and this can be seen very clearly in the following words:
“And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.” – Matthew 7:3-5 KJV
Note: this should be taken as a warning to those who condemn or speak out against people for doing things that they are also guilty of doing, but not as a warning against those who are walking according to God’s will while speaking out against hypocrisy.
Rebuke as a Sign of Love not Hatred
Do you really love your brothers and sisters in Christ? If so, then prove it by warning them when you see that they are in error. Christianity is not a ‘whatever will be will be’ religion. It serves a definite purpose, to glorify the Living God! If we aren’t doing that then we are in need of a reality check. For as members of the body of Christ we share a moral responsibility to look after each other in this way. This “do not judge” stuff is nothing more than an excuse to deny all accountability to that responsibility.
Listen, we aren’t called to be pacifiers but the salt of the earth. It’s time to get serious about God! We’re standing on the knife’s edge of eternity; the Lord is coming soon! The moral trumpet of warning must be sounded from the rooftops. We must stand up and show the world that our allegiance belongs to Him who takes away the sin of the world, not to those who desire to preserve injustice and corruption. We need to be a voice crying out against sin and hands that are ready to pull sinners out of the fire; we need to be arms that embrace backsliders with the call of love and feet that won’t stop moving until the gospel has reached the world. In other words, we simply need to be faithful to God!
And if anyone is not convinced that rebuke can be a sign of love then they need only to read the following words:
“As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.” – Revelation 3:19-22 KJV
Do you hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches?
