”The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth. It is better for a man to hear the rebuke of the wise than to hear the song of fools.” Ecclesiastes 7:4-5
Fools, the Bible tells us, are blind to spiritual truth (Ecclesiastes 2:14). They see only right now and they’re content in this willful ignorance (Proverbs1:22). They chatter incessantly (Proverbs 18:2)…they can be loud and brash. In all, they’re a menace to society (Proverbs 14:7). They love a good time and parties. So, when struggling, when we’re depressed and low, to go out drinking isn’t a Biblical plan. Foolishness never finds a reward.
The rebuke of the wise is the rebuke that brings us to Christ. It brings us through the great fog of lies and all the struggles of living in this fallen world with the truth of the gospel. Fools focus only on right now; the Bible tells us wisdom is in seeing the big picture and always living in light of it. Fools press their own agenda; the wise stay focused on the gospel of Jesus Christ. Think of David being confronted by Nathan in 2 Samuel 1-12 or Paul’s letter to the Galatians. Think of Jesus commandment of confronting a brother or sister who has sinned against us (Matthew 18:15-20).
All wisdom ends at the foot of the cross. Fools seek answers in loud parties, drugs, alcohol and sex. Fools are angry and insist on their own will being done; men and women of God submit to the law of faith and seek God’s glory, not their own.
There’s another important element that’s easy to miss and that’s the fact that Jesus’ commandment assumes that actual sin is involved and that Christians are to be organized in a church. This is likely the most ignored and broken commandment in Scripture (within the body of believers, that is).
I recently learned of a dispute between two believers. As it went, one was very upset about a personal issue with the other and was quite vocal about how the other person was a liar (amongst other charges). I learned of it when the accused party came to me for counsel. The thing was, the accusing person hadn’t gone to them at all. There was simply a strong disagreement and the next thing the accused knew, he was being slandered. You can imagine how he felt.
I quickly explained that bringing charges against a brother or sister has strict rules set forth by the Lord Himself and that these weren’t being followed. That said, the accusing party – having not gone in Christ to rebuke their brother, nor being rejected on this front, much less then having followed the rest of the procedure – was committing egregious sin. There were no witnesses, no evidence, no attempt to share the gospel and restore all to the love and unity of Christ. It was all anger and pride and, of course, slander.
Such is status quo in the church. Do we expect His grace when we not only don’t follow His instructions nor extend that same grace to others?
Here’s the Lord’s commandment in full.
“If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
Matthew 18:15-18 ESV
Upon further examination I discovered that there was no specific lie in question. There was simply a case of one person being quite agitated with another over a petty dispute which didn’t rise to a sin. We’re commanded, in the name of unity and love, to ignore such things (1 Corinthians 6:7) and to tread carefully when having disagreements with others – especially fellow believers!
Hear what the Scripture says:
“Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; for it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.” So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.” Romans 14:10-12 ESV
What’s tragic about this is that it’s so common even among the church! The commandment is clear for the very reason that we’re ALL sinners. We need these fences so that we don’t fall prey to our base instincts and tear apart the unity and peace of the church. The fact that we’re told this so explicitly and that we routinely ignore it is appalling. It’s perhaps the primary reason why America is being crushed by sin and judgment. If the witness of the church is dissension and lack of love, how can it be a true witness to Christ? Again, we must follow the Lord’s rules for conflict and rebuke exactly because we’re all sinners and His rules/precepts make straight our paths (Proverbs 3:5-6) and make wise the simple (Psalm 19:7).
To bring a charge against a Christian must be done in the Lord’s order or not at all. To disobey this is to be guilty of literally attacking God’s church.
”There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.“
Proverbs 6:16-19 ESV
We see in this that the one who sows discord among brothers is as guilty, if not more so, (due to the principle at play in the proverb that being intensification of the last issue) than the other six sins.
Thus, in all, the rebuke of the wise is always a call to fidelity of the word of the Lord and, if need be, to repentance. If the focus of our rebuke isn’t Christ, then it’s likely just a personal hill to die on. How much does the Lord promise to bless His people when they obey Him and how little we regard His promises! Ours is a church that rails against the easy to see sins of the Woke Left while sowing discord within the church over peccadilloes! How much gossip and slander and how little faithfulness we see. At least the Woke Left is trying to be consistent with their own illogical premises. The church should be so steadfast in seeking to apply the principles of the Word of the Lord.
A rebuke is and must be, therefore, according to the principles of the Lord. That this isn’t obeyed is likely evidence that professing believers have not, in fact, repented of their sins and are not true believers at all. Does this sound like the Lord considers this a trifling issue?
”Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. So the servantfell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’ So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers,until he should pay all his debt. So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”
Matthew 18:23-35 ESV
All of this said, if we are rebuked by the wise – that is, in Christ and according to His word-law – then we must repent of our sins and error. The heart of the wise man is a humble heart and though a rebuke is often hard to hear, it’s a sweet, sweet thing. God does not browbeat His children so we should never approach our brothers and sisters with a critical or condemning spirit either. This is the heart and soul of the new life in the church! It’s the life of the pursuit of wisdom and faith. Where there’s no correction (rebuke), there’s no wisdom. And where there’s no wisdom growing, there’s no faith either. Wisdom provides the fertile soil for the fruits of the Spirit to grow tall. But if we refuse to be mentored, if we refuse true correction, our hearts are like an arid desert all full of sand where no good or green thing can grow.
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