CORRECTION
This morning we are going to examine two aspects of correction.
It doesn’t matter whether you are a educated or uneducated, rich or poor, a mature Christian or a new one, we all need to be corrected from time to time because we all fall short and find ourselves in sin from time to time (Rom. 3:23). Sometimes it is sins of omission and sometimes it is sins commission. Either way, we need to learn to give and receive correction when we find ourselves or other in sin. The Bible certainly speaks of this. For example:
Matthew 18:15 "
Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between
you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother.
Proverbs 10:17 He who keeps instruction is in the way
of life, But he who refuses correction goes astray.
In fact, when you read
you through the Bible, you see it repeated in one form or another the need for
correction. Of course, the source of correction is the Word of God because it
tells us how we should live our lives in order to be found faithful to the
Lord, which is why Paul instructs Timothy:
2 Timothy 4:2 Preach
the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke,
exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.
It becomes quite clear
that we must learn to give and receive correction in our lives. When it comes
to giving correction, there are two general ways to do it.
First, there is
destructive criticism. This is the kind of correction that we want to avoid
giving to others because it is not helpful because it destructive to one’s
being. A person that gives this kind of correction is the kind of person that
can never see good in anything. They are fault finders because that is all they
look for. This is a bad habit to develop because it makes you live a negative
pessimistic life, and it cause people to dread to be around.
Those who live their life
to give out destructive criticism will cause a church to become divided and it
members war against one another. This is why Paul warned the church at
Romans 16:17 Now I
urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to
the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them.
18 For those who are such do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ,
but their own belly, and by smooth words and flattering speech deceive the
hearts of the simple.
Not only can destructive
criticism divide a church it can ruin relationships and respect for that
person. For example, if a parent is constantly negative to their children it
can ruin their self-esteem. Done enough, the child will eventually become numb
to this kind of correction and pay no attention to it. In short, they will not
respect their parents any longer and huge wedge will be driven between them.
No matter how you look
at, this kind of destructive correct must be avoided at all cost and is should
be part of a Christian’s life.
Just opposite of this is
constructive criticism. This is the best approach to correcting someone. This
kind of criticism is not done from a mean spirit, but out of love for the well
being of others. It is the kind of criticism that we would want used on us if
we found ourselves at fault.
Jesus said:
Matthew 10:16 " Behold, I send you out as sheep in the
midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.
When we correct someone,
we must learn to do it in a wise manner. We should never be looking for faults,
but when the rear their ugly head, we need to be willing to have love and
concern for that person to want to help them get of their sin no matter how
uncomfortable it may be.
When we have the right
attitude about correcting someone from their faults, and we approach them out
of love, most of the time they are going to respect us for what we have done.
This will not be the case every time because some people are aware of what they
are doing is wrong and if someone brings it up they will bite your head because
they are not ready to deal with their sin. Sometimes those who do bite your
head off, will later come back and apologize for their behavior because the
more they think about what you told them and how approached them causes them to
deal with their sin.
While correcting someone
can be very uncomfortable, it can also be very rewarding if they heed the
correction and turn away from their sin and back to God. Let as a Christians
always do our best to offer constructive criticism instead of destructive
criticism.
Now let us talk about
taking correction. I have never met anybody that wakes up in the morning
wondering how many times they are going mess up today. Most people do not want
to be wrong and certainly all Christian should strive each day not be at fault,
but it happens and we must be the type of people that humbly accept correction
instead of always thinking we right even when we know we are wrong.
First, we must understand
that there is big difference between matters of opinion and matters of
doctrine. When it comes to matters of opinion, we can certainly respect a
person’s opinion and hear them out, but it does mean that we actually need to
change what we are doing. For example, someone might say, I think you should be
driving a
When it comes to our
worship service, one might say, well I think we should have 5 songs, 3 prayers
one standing, one sitting, and kneeling, and we should have the Lord’s Supper
be last thing we do. Now it might be that we do those things in that exact
order, but again these are simply matters of opinion because the number of
songs we have or how many prayers we have or what position they are done in or
whether we take the Lord’s Supper at beginning or the end of a service is not
that critical as long we sing, pray, and partake of the Lord’s Supper.
While we may take heed to
certain opinions to further unity and the gospel as Paul did:
1 Corinthians 9:19 For
though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all, that
I might win the more; 20 and
to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews; to those who are under
the law, as under the law, that I might win those who are under the
law; 21 to those who are without
law, as without law (not being without law toward God, but under law toward
Christ), that I might win those who are without law; 22 to the weak I became as weak,
that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all men, that I
might by all means save some. 23
Now this I do for the gospel's sake, that I may be partaker of it with you.
Matters of opinion are
something that we have to conform to.
However, when it comes to
matters of doctrine, that is the teachings found in the N.T. the taking heed
and making changes is absolutely necessary, and we must be humble enough to
change our ways when the Word of God say we should. We cannot be stiff necked
like the Pharisees of Jesus’ day. Instead, our approach to taking correction
can be seen by Apollos’ example.
Acts 18:24 Now a
certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man and mighty
in the Scriptures, came to
We do not read him
arguing with them or telling them “who do you think you are, trying to teach me
something.” Instead, is implied that he took correction humbly and accepted it
because after they taught him more accurately, we see him refuting the Jews
publically about Jesus from the Scriptures.
When we someone comes to
us and shows from the Bible that we are sinning or that we are not teaching the
truth in accordance with God’s Word, then we need to take heed to God’s Word
teaches and make the necessary changes. Like Apollos, sometimes we are simply
not aware that we are doing wrong or teaching wrong, but like Apollos, we must
be willing to grow and change our ways.
While Apollos’ correction
was done privately, sometimes correction must be done publically. Usually, when
this is done is because the person that is sinning knows better. A great
example of this comes from:
Galatians 2:11 Now
when Peter had come to Antioch, I withstood him to his face, because he was to
be blamed; 12 for before
certain men came from James, he would eat with the Gentiles; but when they
came, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing those who were of the
circumcision. 13 And the rest
of the Jews also played the hypocrite with him, so that even Barnabas was
carried away with their hypocrisy. 14
But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the
gospel, I said to Peter before them all, "If you, being a Jew, live
in the manner of Gentiles and not as the Jews, why do you compel Gentiles to
live as Jews?
Peter, knew that he
shouldn’t be playing favorites, but it did it anyway. Paul confronted him about
it in front of them all. His sin was public, so he was rebuked publically. Not
only Peter an apostles he was an elder in the church who causing other members
to sin as well, so he corrected publically. Paul tells us in:
1 Timothy 5:19 Do not
receive an accusation against an elder except from two or three witnesses. 20 Those who are sinning rebuke in
the presence of all, that the rest also may fear.
Paul says if an elder is
guilty of sinful behavior that has been confirmed by 2 or 3 witness then he is
to rebuked in the presence of all so that everyone may fear. What does that
mean? It means when the brethren see that even an elder will receive church
discipline that no one is excluded from it. Many times if a leader within the
church is sinning, he is causing others to sin as well as they follow his
leadership, therefore there is the need for public correction.
One thing we learn from
Peter is that he did not pull the apostle card and rebuke Paul for correcting
him, and we go know indication that Peter denied or argued with Paul about the
matter because he knew he was in the wrong. In fact, Peter spoke fondly of Paul
in
2 Peter 3:15 and consider that the longsuffering of
our Lord is salvation -- as also our beloved brother Paul, according to
the wisdom given to him, has written to you,
Every indication from
Scripture tells us that Peter humbly accepted the correction Paul gave him, and
he did not consider Paul as mean man, but was thankful that he was corrected.
This is the same attitude we must have when it comes to taking correction from
a brother or sister in Christ when it comes from the Word of God.
Our last example is going
to show us another way to correct someone in unique way. It has to do with how
Nathan corrected king David after committed adultery with Bathsheba:
2 Samuel 12:1 Then
the LORD sent Nathan to David. And he came to him, and said to him: "There
were two men in one city, one rich and the other poor. 2 "The rich man had
exceedingly many flocks and herds. 3
"But the poor man had nothing, except one little ewe lamb which he
had bought and nourished; and it grew up together with him and with his
children. It ate of his own food and drank from his own cup and lay in his
bosom; and it was like a daughter to him.
4 "And a traveler came to the rich man, who refused to
take from his own flock and from his own herd to prepare one for the wayfaring
man who had come to him; but he took the poor man's lamb and prepared it for
the man who had come to him." 5
So David's anger was greatly aroused against the man, and he said to Nathan,
"As the LORD lives, the man who has done this shall surely
die! 6 "And he shall
restore fourfold for the lamb, because he did this thing and because he had no
pity." 7 Then Nathan
said to David, "You are the man! Thus says the LORD God of
Sometimes this can be the
best way to correct someone because once you can get a person to see how ugly a
sin when think someone else is doing it and then point out that they are the
one this guilty of it, it kind of makes them correct themselves. It is pretty
hard for you to go back on what you just said about yourself and how your sin
should be treated. As we read, David had a humble attitude about it, and he
admitted his sin and repented of it. That is exactly what we must be willing to
do, and we should let David’s example show us how important it is for us to do
our best to keep from sinning in the first place. Yes, we can be forgiven when
we repent, just like David was, but his actions would give his enemies reason
to blaspheme and still lose the child because of his sins.
So, let us be the kind of
people that love someone enough to correct them of the their wrong and when we
are receiving the correction let us be humble enough to hear, think on it, and
make any necessary changes. Of course the best thing would be to abstain from
sin so we do not have to be corrected, but when it happens, let us be eager to grow
from our mistakes and push forward to goal of making it to heaven.
In conclusion,
When we are correcting
someone, let us keep the following in mind:
When we find ourselves on
receiving end of correction, let us keep the following in mind:
If we can follow these
general guidelines when it comes to giving and receiving correction it will
benefit us, those we deal with, and it will help the keep the church strong.
Adapted from Evan Diaz on his sermon Correction as
printed in Spiritual Perspective.