“Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him.” – Luke 17:3
Isn’t it strange how often in church life we manage to do the exact opposite of what Jesus told us to do? Here, Jesus teaches an important lesson on how to live harmoniously and in holiness as the body of Christ. Yet we often do the opposite – avoiding confrontation while failing to forgive.
Jesus tells us to rebuke our fellow Christian when he or she sins. This, doesn’t mean gossip about them, ignore them, internalize our anger toward them, flame them on social media, ice them out in church, or humiliate them. It means practicing the bold, loving, humble, gentle, direct, honest confrontation described in Matthew 7:3-5. This is something we’re commanded to do – for their good, our good, and the good of the body of Christ (the church)! Rebuking fellow Christians isn’t optional.
Then we’re called to forgive then afterward when there’s repentance. That can be even harder! This isn’t a call to superficial or fake forgiveness where nothing is actually forgiven. This isn’t a call to a forgiveness where you store up ammunition to throw in their face down the road. This isn’t a call to ongoing, low-level retribution. This is a command to forgive the way God forgives you for your sin! This is a call for total, complete forgiveness in which relationships are healed and the wrong is never spoken of again. Gospel forgiveness is hard, but it’s made possible because Jesus died to make it possible!
So, are you ready to rebuke and forgive? Continuing to do the opposite, as we so often do, poisons the body of Christ, poisons relationships, and poisons our own souls. Rebuking and forgiving aren’t easy, but they’re absolutely necessary!