Foundations: Correction Rebuke: Quotes and Comments

Foundations
Christian Beliefs, Teachings, Doctrines, Christian Living, Christian Ethics

Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them ...
is like a [wise] man which built a house, and digged deep, and laid the foundations on a rock:
and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it:
for it was founded upon a rock (Luke 6:47-48)

Let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.
For other foundation can no man lay that is laid, which is Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 3:10b-11)

Correction, Reproof, Rebuke, Instruction

"Jesus' strongest rebukes were reserved for those who were closest to Him. He rebukes most those whom He loves the most (Rev 3:19)" [source].

Love

"Love does not mean allowing anything to happen and not speaking out. Real love is not about winking at evil, overlooking sin, and countenancing that which displeases God. Biblical love is all about speaking the truth, even if it causes offence" [source].

Truth, Offence

"When you're not broken, one small thing will be enough to offend you. But look at the eternal consequences of Judas' reaction. And look at the eternal results of Peter's reaction. Both of them were tested by correction - one failed, while the other passed. Today, we're being tested in the same way ... let's have Peter's attitude to correction at all times - whether the Lord corrects us directly by His Spirit or thorough someone else" [source].

"If a person can claim to have been hurt by what you say, it is assumed by many that you did not act in love. In other words, love is not defined by the quality of the act and its motives, but by the subjective response of others. In this way of relating, the wounded one has absolute authority. If he says you hurt him, then you cannot have acted lovingly. You are guilty. Jesus will not allow this way of relating to go unchallenged. Love is not defined by the response of the loved... This truth is show by the way Jesus lived His life. He loved in a way that was often not felt as love. No one I have ever known in person or in history was as blunt as Jesus in the way He dealt with people. Evidently His love was so authentic it needed few cushions. It is owing to my living with the Jesus of the Gospels for fifty years that makes me so aware of how emotionally fragile and brittle we are today. If Jesus were to speak to us the way He typically spoke in His own day, we would be continually offended and hurt. This is true of the way He spoke to His disciples and the way He spoke to His adversaries... The point of this is that the genuineness of an act of love is not determined by the subjective feelings of the one being loved" [quoted at source].

"When we read the New Testament, we see time and time again Jesus and His followers offending people, angering people, and alienating people, simply by speaking the truth. But Jesus and His disciples did not worry about everyone going off on a pity party. They were too worried about speaking truth. In other words, they loved people enough to offend, when necessary. They did not go out of their way to offend people, but they never for a moment held back from speaking truth out of fear that someone might take offence or throw a hissy fit" [source].

Thus saith the LORD,
Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way,
and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls
(Jeremiah 6:16)