REBUKING.... Through several versions of the Bible, some words have also been inter-changed, which further complicates the matter of actually getting a clear-cut explanation of what the Bible says about Rebuking, Correcting and Accusing. Firstly is 2 Timothy 3:16, which talks about the word of God being useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in RIGHTEOUSNESS. Fairly, both correction and rebuking train one towards righteousness, but then, you have cases where Jesus said in Luke, if your brother sins, REBUKE him, and if he repents, forgive him. What immediately comes to mind is that, when someone REBUKES another, the first reaction is always that of being judged, and ordinarily, ones defensive mechanism is activated, and a counter-attack is released, be it in spoken word, bitterness, anger or guilt. This defensive mindset then makes it very difficult to actually hear the message of rebuke, but instead, focus on the method and medium of the rebuke, in simple terms, you hate the messenger and discard the message, resulting in one continuing to do what is wrong, and was rebuked for in the first place. On that note, this proves that we need to have teachable spirits, I have realized that, any offence taken on rebuke, no matter how harsh, or soft, shows you the kind of person you are, if you take it with rage, and question the messenger, the method the messenger was using and become a victim, you lose out, and a spirit of pride starts to erupt, and then the comparison starts. You measure yourself against the messenger, how Holy they are compared to you, how much they know, and start to develop a judging mentality, weighing everything they do, they say, and always having that critique mentality. All of a sudden, the pronunciations start to matter when they preach, what they wear, and start to pass judgement on them, self-proclaimed man of God, poorly-dressed, he doesnt deserve this role he is given, while in the meantime, other people are being blessed by the very same person. Then you appoint yourself as the informer of the congregation and those blessed by this mans teachings, you explain how much of a liar they are, and that youve heard the preaching before (becoming a liar yourself), and before long, a whole season passes by, and youve only increased the level of pride that existed before, being big-headed, and people starting to fear to say a word of correction, all you want is complements, and anyone that doesnt give them to you is automatically against you....AMEND YOUR WAYS ...Stay Blessed.
Posted on: Mon, 07 Jul 2014 10:14:27 +0000