Devotional
Loving with Hard Words
By Nick Price
Young Adult, Life Group Leader
When was the last time someone rebuked you? How did you react? When was the last time you needed to rebuke someone? How did you respond? Did you go through with it?
I want us to consider a topic that I think our Western Church culture really struggles to do well. It is the concept of rebuking a brother or sister. In our society, we are told that everyone can have their own ‘truth’, and people are encouraged to pursue whatever they see as their truth. We try not to say anything that might be politically incorrect or offend anyone, and we certainly don’t go around telling people what they should or shouldn’t do with their lives. But the Bible reveals that there is only one truth. It is called ‘the truth’ and it is authored by God. What is right and what is wrong were never to be decided by mankind. The God who flung stars into space has already given us the truth, His word, the Bible.
As Christians living in our Church community, we have a responsibility to each other and to God, to uphold the truth and to not let our fellow Christians stray from it. You see, it is the truth that sets people free, not the absence of it as our society would have you believe. So when a brother or sister falls into sin, should we pretend like we don’t know the truth? Should we leave them in their sin? Not at all.
In Hebrews 3:12-15 it says:
“See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original conviction firmly to the very end. As has just been said:
“Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts
as you did in the rebellion.” ”
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German pastor who opposed the Nazi regime says this:
"Nothing can be more cruel than the leniency which abandons others to their sin. Nothing can be more compassionate than the severe reprimand which calls another Christian in one's community back from the path of sin."
What a challenge! I suspect Bonhoeffer may have had on his mind Proverbs 27:5,
“Better is open rebuke
than hidden love.”
But what if my heart is not in the right place? What if I only want to rebuke them for the sake of proving them wrong or seeking revenge? Let me be really clear: the purpose of any rebuke should not be rebuke. Rebuke is always a means, not an end. Correction and rebuke should always be for the hope of restoration.
Marshall Segal, in his article, ‘The Grace of Good Rebuke’ says “If restoration is the destination, it will shape and colour what words we use and how we say them.”
Restoration is only effective if we have forgiveness. When we point out people’s sin, we point them to the cross of Jesus, the source of forgiveness. We point them to the truth, that sets us free. And we demonstrate true love to our brothers and sisters in Christ.
Commit to a challenge this week:
Young Adult, Life Group Leader
When was the last time someone rebuked you? How did you react? When was the last time you needed to rebuke someone? How did you respond? Did you go through with it?
I want us to consider a topic that I think our Western Church culture really struggles to do well. It is the concept of rebuking a brother or sister. In our society, we are told that everyone can have their own ‘truth’, and people are encouraged to pursue whatever they see as their truth. We try not to say anything that might be politically incorrect or offend anyone, and we certainly don’t go around telling people what they should or shouldn’t do with their lives. But the Bible reveals that there is only one truth. It is called ‘the truth’ and it is authored by God. What is right and what is wrong were never to be decided by mankind. The God who flung stars into space has already given us the truth, His word, the Bible.
As Christians living in our Church community, we have a responsibility to each other and to God, to uphold the truth and to not let our fellow Christians stray from it. You see, it is the truth that sets people free, not the absence of it as our society would have you believe. So when a brother or sister falls into sin, should we pretend like we don’t know the truth? Should we leave them in their sin? Not at all.
In Hebrews 3:12-15 it says:
“See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original conviction firmly to the very end. As has just been said:
“Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts
as you did in the rebellion.” ”
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German pastor who opposed the Nazi regime says this:
"Nothing can be more cruel than the leniency which abandons others to their sin. Nothing can be more compassionate than the severe reprimand which calls another Christian in one's community back from the path of sin."
What a challenge! I suspect Bonhoeffer may have had on his mind Proverbs 27:5,
“Better is open rebuke
than hidden love.”
But what if my heart is not in the right place? What if I only want to rebuke them for the sake of proving them wrong or seeking revenge? Let me be really clear: the purpose of any rebuke should not be rebuke. Rebuke is always a means, not an end. Correction and rebuke should always be for the hope of restoration.
Marshall Segal, in his article, ‘The Grace of Good Rebuke’ says “If restoration is the destination, it will shape and colour what words we use and how we say them.”
Restoration is only effective if we have forgiveness. When we point out people’s sin, we point them to the cross of Jesus, the source of forgiveness. We point them to the truth, that sets us free. And we demonstrate true love to our brothers and sisters in Christ.
Commit to a challenge this week:
- Is there a brother or sister in our Church that needs some loving with hard words? Would you be brave enough, trusting God, to step out of your comfort zone, to seek restoration?
- Is there a sin in your life that needs to be exposed to the light? Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your heart, just as the Israelites hardened their hearts in the wilderness.
- Are you reading the Bible, the living word of God which judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart, teaches, rebukes, corrects, and trains for righteousness? (Hebrews 4:12 and 2 Timothy 3:16)