As I continue to hope for Pambo to be a means of growing good, edifying gospel community, I think it would be good to consider what it means for such community to offer loving rebuke. Firstly, we need to remember Paul’s words to Timothy, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness” ( 2 Tim. 3:16). This means that a community that faithfully gathers around these holy Scriptures will inevitably learn and be rebuked and corrected and trained in righteousness. This means that as women speak truth to each other in love (cf. Eph. 4:15), the word will go to work within their community and they will inevitably need to rebuke each other as they each work to grow in righteousness. This is an act of love in obedience to God’s Word for the good of the believer and the glory of God.
But what does a loving rebuke look like in an age of ‘thou shalt not judge’ and ‘cancel culture’?
But what does a loving rebuke look like in an age of ‘thou shalt not judge’ and ‘cancel culture’? The short answer is that the Word of God equips us to trust God and those he has put in his church to keep pointing us to the truth so that we can be conformed to the image of Christ. But the reason this short answer will not suffice is not because it is not clear or true but that there is a lot of baggage in our hearts that keeps us from wanting to hear or accept it as true.
Let’s begin with what Jesus meant when he said, “Judge not, that you be not judged.” (Matthew 7:1). The context of this verse is the Sermon of the Mount, where Jesus is addressing his disciples in what symbolically seems to mirror the giving of the Law on Mount Sinai. In this section, he is addressing hypocrisy. Jesus tells his followers not to be obsessed with the sins of others but to first give attention to their own sins, after which they can help their sister with the “speck” in her eye. “Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your [sister’s] eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your [sister], ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your [sister’s] eye.” (7:1-5)
Note that Jesus’ command isn’t to ignore a fellow Christian’s sin, but to first apply the truth to ourselves before we become too eager to deal with ‘their’ sin. Truth is not to be applied to others first but to ourselves. When I look into the mirror of the Word, I am not meant to be preoccupied with the reflection over my shoulder of what my sister looks like, but I am to be occupied with what the Word reveals ME to be like. When this happens I will see my sinful self clearly and seek to take in the truth of the Word for myself. But I am not to ignore what it might reveal about my sister. I can point this out to them after I have applied the truth to myself and my many faults and weaknesses.
Unfortunately, this is not the meaning prevailing in our churches. The first verse is read in isolation, apart from the context that gives it meaning. In most places where this call not-to-judge is rehearsed, the understanding is that, “my life is my business” and no one is allowed to come in and tell me that I might be living in sin. But this is a teaching found nowhere in the Scriptures. In fact, the Scriptures advocate that we care for our neighbor and be watchful over them that they are not carried away by sin. One such passage is Jude 1:23, “save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh.” Also, Galatians 6:1-2, “[Sisters], if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore [her] in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”
We ought therefore to be humble and submissive to the Word of God in our lives. As James tells us, “Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.” (1:21). The authority over our lives is not us and what we think but what God thinks and has revealed in his Word. This means that we go to God’s Word with humble, fleshy hearts that will receive his Word as truth and seek to be changed by it!
We are also to be humble and expectant that our (brothers and) sisters in Christ would be watching over our lives, to rebuke and warn us if we are walking down a path of sin. This means casting out pride when we want others to ‘mind their own business’ and not ask questions that probe into our motivations, thoughts and actions. As long as we trust them to be faithful believers submitted to God’s Word as we are, we are to humbly hear them out and consider if there is any merit in what they are saying. If we are truly submitted to God’s Word, we will not be offended when we are called to watch out for sin in our lives. We might even learn to be thankful that others are so invested that we live worthy of the Lord who has died to purchase us for himself.
