All Scripture quotations are taken from the New American Standard Bible 1995 Ed. (NASB95)

We westerners live in a generally soft, comfortable, passive, and cowardly society. Although there are plenty of zealots who are willing to call out what they perceive as evils and crimes directly to people, the majority of westerners and Americans strive to avoid ever doing anything that might offend or aggravate others. We want to be liked by everyone, and want opposition from no one. Yet as believers in the Lord Jesus and seekers of reformation, we have been told in Scripture that the world will hate us, and that we will likely even experience mistreatment from our spiritual brethren in Christ. Thus, we should always be ready to suffer the disapproval and ire of people to whom we bring hard messages, just as our Lord did.

In honor of the anniversary of Martin Luther’s publication of his groundbreaking Ninety-Five Theses against what he saw as abuses of Scriptural teaching by “the Church” on October 31st, I’ve been looking at some of the main ingredients for reformation. As I just said, our anti-Christian society is adamantly opposed to calls for biblical reformation, but what’s worse is that much of American Christianity is averse to this as well. So many of us are content with our non-biblical and unbiblical ways of thinking and acting, and have been resisting the calls of the Holy Spirit for us to remember His Word, and start obeying it in major areas. What is needed is a concentrated effort of zealous believers to call out the major faults and false beliefs of portions of the body of Christ, and to show what it means to live more faithfully to His Word in the midst of much apostasy, blindness, and worldliness. Sadly, this will require that men, and even women, confront their fellow believers, and point out their failures to them.

Luther’s Indictments of the Renaissance Church

This shouldn’t come as any surprise or shock. The New Testament Scriptures are replete with apostles rebuking, correcting, and chastising their brothers and sisters for grievous errors. In fact, most of the New Testament letters were written to address abuses and failures on the part of the receiving congregations. But it’s one thing to read these corrections, and quite another to lovingly and courageously approach a brother or sister about sin or error, and disclose it to him. However, if any revival of New Testament, apostolic, Christianity, is to take place, brotherly accountability and correction must be practiced.

Of course, we can see a classic example of rebuking and correcting fellow believers in Luther’s posting of his Theses on a cathedral door in 1517 Wittenberg. What many people don’t know is that these theses, which were mostly corrections of Catholic errors, were really arguments for formal debate. Luther was simply proposing his list of assertions to fellow monks and scholars as points for debate, so that his side could argue against a popular view of salvation and church power that he saw as unbiblical. In our own time, such correction, argument, and debate is needed almost as much as then. Not necessarily formal debate – although they can be very helpful – but serious rebuke, discussion, and conversation about major ways in which American Christians consistently fail to follow the teachings of the apostles.

I believe that there are many brothers and sisters in the West that are engaging in some correction of our unbiblical teachings and practices, but we still need more. The body of Christ in America mostly remains in a languishing, weak, and wayward condition. The main remedy for this will be for the Lord to convict His people with His Word of their sinfulness, and for Him to grant them repentance. But He often does this through unknown, individual, nobody believers, who become persuaded of particular truths from Scripture, and confront their fellow congregant or church member about it in brotherly love. And this kind of accountability and courage is severely lacking in our evangelical culture.

The Wandering Sheep

Let me share some of the catastrophic damage our neglect of rebuking and correcting has done to thousands of Christians. You can think of it in terms of the shepherding metaphor the Lord used to describe His people. We are like sheep, and when we fall into sin or error, it’s as if we’re caught in a large rock, stuck in the mud, or trapped in a crevice. If we happen to break a foot or a leg through our misstep, then we can no longer follow along with the rest of the sheep, and get food. It’s up to a fellow sheep or sub-shepherd (leader) to set us free from our entanglement, and to help us until we heal. If we aren’t helped, then we’ll have a permanent injury that might just kill us.

The same is true of brethren who believe seriously false things about God’s Word, or are living contrary to it. They are in a state of spiritual decay, are no longer growing in their Christlikeness, and are in danger of God’s fatherly discipline. Further, they can no longer consistently fulfill their part in the body of Christ, and help the body grow effectively. Hence, it’s imperative that one of their brethren go to them, explain their fault to them, and urge them to repent. There are several Scriptures that instruct believers to do such a thing, but the very nature of our relationship with each other should be enough to teach us that correcting an erring brother or sister is the loving thing to do.

In Matthew 18, the Lord Himself told His disciples that if any of their brothers sinned, they were to go to them privately and point out their fault. And the end goal that’s clearly given is for the sinning brother to repent. This is what Paul aimed at when he wrote one of his letters to the Corinthians, as described in 2 Corinthians 7. He writes,

“I now rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful to the point of repentance; for you were made sorrowful according to the will of God, so that you might not suffer loss in anything through us. For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death.” – 2 Cor. 7:9-10

Our goal in all correction, rebuke, and discipline should be this repentance, or change of mind. This is key for church-wide reformation. But it will never be engendered if someone doesn’t engage in loving confrontation of error. And this often takes courage. One of the chief things that should move us to love and courage to correct our brother is the consideration of their spiritual suffering from their error. We must remember that sin deceives us, deprives us of the joy of obedience, and distracts us from the goodness of the Lord.

In addition, just as flocks of sheep tend to imitate each other, one wandering sheep can lead a host of others into danger and harm. Paul also writes that “a little leaven leavens the whole lump” (Gal. 5:9). Sin has an expanding and multiplying power to spread from one person to others, like a deadly disease. Whole congregations that go astray often only start with one erring member who spreads his false beliefs or sinful behavior to those around him. Before you know it, a whole assembly of believers is rife with selfishness, pride, foolishness, and strife. And then the Lord’s name is brought into reproach. And so it often is today.

Our Brethren’s Keeper

That’s why each believer ought to see himself as responsible for the spiritual well-being of his closest brethren in Christ, and not ignore any glaring or consistent fault or falsehood in their lifestyles. We must bear each other’s burdens, even when that means bearing each other’s sins. And this fight against sin is absolutely essential if we are to see a truly biblical reformation of Christ’s body in America today.

So, how do you respond to seeing the errors and sins of your brethren? Do you love them enough to humbly and gently confront them? Of course, you must beware of being a hypocrite, or of thinking that you’re somehow inherently better than your brother. Nevertheless, our accountability to each other is essential if we want to consistently grow in holiness, and preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Eph. 4). Pray that the Lord would give you such a zeal for the honor of His name, and the joy of your brethren, that you will be quick to confront the glaring faults and errors that you see in your local fellowship, and in any other brother or sister. There are massive besetting sins and errors that we commonly commit, so let’s fight for the purity, godliness, peace, and joy of the body of Christ to which we belong!