When should a Christian be Corrected.

“To make an apt answer is a joy to a man, and a word in season, how good it is!” (Prov. 15:23). How do we know when to give that word? Thankfully, Scripture provides a trustworthy answer. It tells us when to correct and when to overlook.

When to Correct

Correct when the Salvation of a brother or sister is in question.

The author of Hebrews warns us, “Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God”-Heb. 3:12. Notice that this word is addressed to brothers. It’s those of us who call ourselves Christians who need to closely examine our hearts. But this kind of examination is not merely a call to private, personal introspection. It’s a group project: “But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called ‘today,’ that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin” -Heb. 3:13

When you see a brother or sister persisting in a pattern of unbelief, a pattern that calls into question the genuineness of his profession of faith, you should speak up. It is your word of exhortation that the Holy Spirit may use to soften your sister’s heart, lead her into an attitude of repentance, and spare her from God’s wrath.

Jesus taught us to correct one another because he understood the danger of unrepentant sin. In Matthew 18:15-18 he carefully lays out a process of correcting a brother whose sinned against another brother. Jesus doesn’t reveal the nature of the sin. However, he makes it quite clear that if the sinner doesn’t repent of that sin, he shouldn’t be treated as a brother or sister in Christ. But how will this sinner come to realize his fault? He needs a word of correction. Jesus tells us to confront the sinner individually (v. 15). If the sinner’s heart remains hard, a few others should offer the corrective word (v. 16). And if that doesn’t work, Jesus indicates that the entire church must get involved (v. 18).

We all want to know what kind of sin warrants this kind of repeated confrontation. It’s important for us to see that the fundamental issue isn’t the nature of the sin but the nature of the response when the sin is pointed out.