Luke 17:3
Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him.
We tend to think it’s more godly to not rebuke, but just “forgive”.
But Jesus said it’s important to do the rebuking.
For one thing, it opens the door to honest relationships.
And for another, it keeps us real with ourselves. We often think we have forgiven, when we have only stuffed it under the rug. And it rankles, and turns us bitter, and we don’t know why.
It never hurts to first rebuke. If that doesn’t work, Jesus gave several steps to follow. If nothing works, we are to count them as a heathen… and Jesus told us how to treat our enemies. 🙂
Last night I heard the testimony of a man who was murdered by some thugs. He was then raised from the dead and refused to press charges. Instead he forgave them openly. One of the men he forgave is a full time evangelist now.
Timothy K. Wiebe
How about “We forgive you.” :-/
Mary Ellen Nissley
Luke 17:3
Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him.
We tend to think it’s more godly to not rebuke, but just “forgive”.
But Jesus said it’s important to do the rebuking.
For one thing, it opens the door to honest relationships.
And for another, it keeps us real with ourselves. We often think we have forgiven, when we have only stuffed it under the rug. And it rankles, and turns us bitter, and we don’t know why.
Timothy K. Wiebe
I’m assuming the air conditioner wasn’t stolen by a brother.
Mary Ellen Nissley
It never hurts to first rebuke. If that doesn’t work, Jesus gave several steps to follow. If nothing works, we are to count them as a heathen… and Jesus told us how to treat our enemies. 🙂
Timothy K. Wiebe
Last night I heard the testimony of a man who was murdered by some thugs. He was then raised from the dead and refused to press charges. Instead he forgave them openly. One of the men he forgave is a full time evangelist now.
Mary Ellen Nissley
Rebuking doesn’t have to be done in an unloving way.
Mary Ellen Nissley
and I have also heard of taking with you one of HIS friends, to help negotiate.