My Friend, the Rebuker > My Friend, the Fool

“It is better for a man to hear the rebuke of the wise than to hear the song of fools.” (Ecclesiastes 7:5)

We don’t like to think of rebuke or admonishment as positive or sanctifying, but it very much is. In fact, one might say one of the most loving ways we can communicate is to speak the truth in love (Eph 4:15). To look at a brother or sister in Christ living in sin that will inevitably damage and harm them and many others and DO NOTHING about it is like walking by a burning house with an exit and not warning the resident of how to get out.

The promise here is that it is better if we have the kind of friends who will not allow us to live in our sin but lovingly come alongside and rescue from our sin and restore us to a right relationship with God and others (Matt 18:15-18; Gal 6:1-2).

Now, some might say, “We aren’t supposed to be judgmental. How can we judge men’s hearts?” Well, it is true that none truly knows the heart of everyone else. However, we can make observations about what is likely in the heart of man, because Jesus said that out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth will speak (Matt 12:34). Our speech and our behavior will often reflect our heart. A bad tree produces bad fruit. A sinful heart will produce sinful fruit. We are to make certain kinds of judgments.

Others might say, “Confronting someone’s sin is going to hurt my reputation.” If done unbiblically, it will, and it should. But keep in mind that our goal is restoration and not punishment or chastising.  In fact, consider this: if we claim the Gospel can deliver and forgive us from any sin and don’t rebuke another’s sin, our claim is questionable. Rebuking another’s sin and helping restore them to fellowship is one of the best ways to show a non-Christian the power of the Gospel. It is good for everyone to show how the Gospel can deliver us from sin…and rebuke is the vehicle by which we can get there.

The pursuit of a professing believer in sin is not optional. We must go after them. We need people to pursue us in this manner as caring shepherds trying to rescue us as wayward sheep.  And then, we will know we are loved by the outpouring of people looking to restore us.