Rebuke, Repentance, Restitution

"The only one who can accuse me is God!"  We have all heard those words at one time or another.  No matter where they come from they are representative of one thing: pride.  This post is about repentance; that little thing which initiates our salvation.  It's an admittance that something is wrong.  Indeed that a person is wrong, broken, in need of forgiveness.

Salvation comes by the confession from one's mouth that they are a sinner (this confession is called repentance) and an additional confession that Jesus is the only one who can forgive the admitted sin.  If this confession is not only confirmed by one's lips but made real in one's heart, then Romans 10:9 says you are saved from hell and given a place in heaven.  "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus," Romans 8:1.  Once one is saved from hell, there is no condemnation to be suffered.  Christ suffered all condemnation on the cross, for we who believe.  Does that mean that we who are saved may sin freely? Absolutely not.  The Apostle Paul writes on this very thing in Romans 6:1.  Do we who are saved sin? Yes we do.  Frequently I might add.  Yes, even I.  Romans 3:23 confirms that much.  The key here is repentance.  Just as at the point of salvation, we are to say...sorry.  Is that really it?  Yes.  Mind you, it is to be accompanied by a corresponding shift in action and attitude (the active portion of repentance), but that really is all that is required.

What of those who won't repent?  May I remind you that real repentance is not merely the feeling of guilt or the admittance of guilt; it is all that AND the action proving reformation of a key part of one's being: the heart. This is called restitution. So those who won't repent, are they simply left in limbo?  Not hardly.  Are they still saved?  I am not the one to say that, but I know what the Bible says to do.  Matthew 18:15-17 prescribes the correct action for this circumstance.  Notice the language of verse 17"...treat him as you would a pagan..."  Other translations use "heathen."  This has some interesting implications.  If we look at 1 Corinthians 5:12-13 we can see that we are not called to judge those who don't believe, but those who do.  So, putting this together; if the church were to treat an unrepentant believer as a heathen then there would be no judgment (also known within the church as accountability, described in Proverbs 27:17 and Hebrews 1:24-25).  At this realization, nobody in the church would be able to say anything to rebuke or correct this person because they would merely be acting in a tolerable heathen fashion.  It is important to remember that before this happens there must be numerous witnesses brought and the end result can only be determined by church elders.

Here I am more concerned with the directions given to believers in Matthew 18:15-17.  As Christians the only right we have is to love.  This is the only correct state of our character; the only condition in which our hearts are to exist. The question then becomes, does love rebuke?  In the verses I have already cited it is clear that the answer is a profound yes.  In Genesis 3 we can see how God rebuked Adam and Eve.  He did not destroy them as He was fully capable of doing.  He loved them, let them live, and yet sent them out of the garden.  Love rebukes its own.  I would argue that where there is no rebuke there is no love.  This is not the only attribute of love but it is the operable one for this text.  Matthew 18:15 gives us clear directions in any situation when believers sin.  We are commanded to bring it to their attention, to confront them in love and call them to repentance.  This is what real love looks like.

When we hear those words, "Only God can judge me," from a believer we must confront them as boldly as is needed to influence true repentance in that person, for something far more sinister awaits them if we do not.  Allow me to explain that last statement.  If one spreads this teaching, "only God can judge me," then they are in fact a false teacher.  False teachers do not merely get kicked out, or declared to be heathen; Galatians 1:8-9 prescribes proper treatment of ones who would teach false doctrine.  The Greek word here is Anathema.  "...let him be DAMNED." (emphasis added).  This is not condemnation from men or the church but God!  This is eternal damnation.

I am not prepared to let my brothers and sisters, for whom Christ died, be eternally damned because I did not have the courage to confront them with their sin and call them to repentance.  That doesn't sit well with me. So what if I am met with threats that my rebuke won't be received well.  It's better to be hated and share heaven with my brothers and sisters than see them cast out of the church, or worse, eternally damned.  I would expect no less than that if I were in sin.

So if this teaching does not come from the Bible where does it come from?  There is an attitude of apathy and glorified depravity that belongs to the world in which we live.  An attitude that shuns others for caring enough to tell a friend they're wrong.  An attitude that is detestably all too common in the church today.  Perhaps this attitude comes from areas of our lives we have not fully given to God?  I don't know.  I do know that God demands that HIS PEOPLE judge each other.  The Holy Spirit does not condemn, nor does He do the job of believers.  He does convict people in their conscience and convince them of the need for repentance but it is nonetheless the job of each believer to hold each other accountable, all with an attitude of love.

I urge all my readers who call themselves Christian, let no sin dwell among you that could be squashed by loving rebuke.  Love your brother or sister enough to obey Matthew 18 and perhaps save them from shame and/or eternal damnation.  Lives are at stake here!  Be courageous, and humble.  Know that you are no better but still must do your brother/sister this service, as scripture commands.  I end this with a solemn prayer that you would sense the gravity of what I say and know that it is not I who made this standard, but God.  I am at peace with the teaching I have presented here so if you somehow disagree I would urge you also to search the scriptures.  If I have sinned I open myself to rebuke and will humble myself before my God and His people.