HOW DO REBUKING AND FORGIVING FIT TOGETHER?
In Luke 17, Jesus answers this question and makes it very
clear. Verse 1 starts: “Then said he unto the disciples, ‘It is impossible but
that offences will come: but woe unto him, through whom they come! Then
verses 3 and 4 tell us what we are to do:
“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.”
There has been so much emphasis put on the forgive part
that the rebuke part is nearly forgotten. One without the other is not the way of
the kingdom. I had to find out the hard way.
A family member dishonored our mother and, in doing so,
offended two other family members. I was so shocked, I could hardly believe it,
but since it was already a rough patch in family affairs, I chose to try not to
get angry but instead tried to ignore it. I did that for several months and thought
that I’d forgiven the person, but I could feel that something was wrong. Finally,
the holy spirit, my constant companion, led me to Luke 17:3, and I was
compelled to take a closer look. When I did, I learned a lot. Though it was way
too many months after the incident, I did what was right and took appropriate
action to right the wrongs, and everything worked out well.
The Lord was rebuking me, and that was a good thing! Jesus’
very first instruction in verse 3 is that we are to take heed to ourselves. But
what does that really mean? The Greek word here means to take care of, to guard,
and to beware. Ok, so first, the Lord is concerned about our personal well-being
and our right thinking. That’s great,
and what’s next?
Forgive, right? NO! That’s not what Jesus said. But that’s
what most of us Christians believe we are supposed to do; just forgive and move
on. But Jesus said we must first “rebuke him.”
The word “rebuke” means to “charge one with wrong” (Strong’s).
So, when we experience offense from a brother in Christ,
it is our responsibility before God to lovingly point it out, so that the one
committing the wrong can hopefully see the error and repent. If we don’t do our
part, it’s like we are offending our Lord! And not only that, but we are not
helping the one who did wrong; we are harming the well-being of the entire body
of Christ, and we are harming our own lives, too.
It’s better to do our best to face the offense as soon as
possible, but not with emotional anger. We figure out a way to be truthful, but
kind in our rebuke, so the person gets a chance right away to understand what they
did wrong. So what’s next?
This is when the person in error has a choice: repent or
deny. So, what does it mean to repent? To say, “My bad”? “Sorry, sorry”? NO. Flippant
responses don’t cut it.
The Greek word for repent is made up of two words, ‘meta,’
meaning ‘afterwards’ and ‘noeo,’ meaning “perceiving with the mind, to have
understanding, to consider, ponder, and heed’ (Strong’s). Repenting takes some
serious thought. So when you put the two Greek words together, you get “metanoeo,”
meaning “to change one’s mind for the better, heartily to amend with abhorrence
of one’s past sin/s” (Strong’s).
So you can see why a flippant “sorry, sorry, my bad” is
not an appropriate response at all if there’s no heartfelt action to go with
it.
But Jesus’ instructions go on. Jesus says in the last part
of verse 3: “if he repent, forgive him. So our forgiveness is
required of God after one has repented. And Luke 17:4 says: “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.”
We’re all pretty much agreed on that, but here’s where
something changes!
Jesus was talking to the disciples before, but now the
apostles wanted to know more. They could see that if a person, after many times
of repenting and being forgiven, was still unsuccessful in changing their
habit, then it’s probably more than a habit. It’s most likely a demon operating
in them, and the person needs to cast it out themselves or get someone to help
them. The apostles stepped up to the plate.
“And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith.”
They knew that they needed to know more and have faith to cast out demons. And in
the next verse 5, in the same context, is the parable Jesus gave them about
plucking up the sycamine tree from the root and planting it in the sea.
Our God and our Lord Jesus see everything and know how to
get things done. I was happy to find out what the Lord revealed about our
responsibility in the body of Christ to take care of ourselves first, then to
have the boldness and loving kindness to rebuke a brother when they have trespassed
against us, allowing them a chance to heartily repent, change, and receive
forgiveness. And if they err repeatedly, we either ask the Lord for the
increased faith to cast out the demon/s or we can pray that the Lord send
laborers who are gifted in that way already.
Matthew 9: 37-10:1 “Then saith he [Jesus] unto his
disciples, ‘The harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are few;
pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth laborers
into his harvest.’ And when he had called unto him his twelve
disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them
out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.”
I feel the body of Christ is getting more powerful and
more beautiful every day.
Love, Carolyn
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