Rebuking

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Leonard- “You can catch more flies with honey than vinegar.”
Sheldon- “You can catch even MORE flies with manure. What’s your point?”
……from The Big Bang Theory
 
I wonder where folks get the idea that Christians have to be meek and mild, silently enduring mistreatment, tolerating anything anybody else does, and timidly standing by while abusers trample all over them and other innocent victims. Since when is it a sin to speak out against evil? This is what our abusers want us to believe, and they just love throwing it back in our faces anytime we protest their behavior. They provoke us to anger, they cause untold pain and suffering, and then when we finally speak up, they smugly inform us that we’re not acting like “good Christians”. This is hogwash. Abusers would just love for us to back off and be quiet while they do anything they want and get away with murder.
Satan will always try to use our righteousness against us, to get us to question our faith, and to separate us from God. This is just another one of his tricks. What kind of awesome, wonderful, All-Good God would our Father be if he actually wanted us to allow wickedness to operate unchecked in our families and our lives? This concept is preposterous, and contradicts the perfect goodness of the Lord. Our God is All-Good, and the devil is all-bad. They are diametrically opposed for all eternity. God instructs his saints to take a stand against evil and fight the good fight, not to keep silent and hide in the closet. It is God’s plan that good will triumph over evil. We are the Army of God. We must put on the full armor of God and stand against Satan and his army. That is our assignment, and our destiny as a child of God.
 
TAKE HEED TO YOURSELVES. IF YOUR BROTHER SINS AGAINST YOU, REBUKE HIM; AND IF HE REPENTS, FORGIVE HIM….LUKE 17:3 NKJV
 
When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die; if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it; if he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul….Ezekiel 33: 8-9 KJV
Warn a divisive person once, then warn him a second time. After that, have nothing to do with him. You may be sure that such a man is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned….Titus 3:10-11
Answer a fool according to his folly, Lest he be wise in his own conceit….Proverbs 26:5 KJV
Then will I teach trangressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee….Psalm 51: 13KJV
Those who sin are to be rebuked publicly, so that the others may take warning…..1 Timothy 5:20NIV
BEHOLD, I GIVE YOU THE AUTHORITY TO TRAMPLE ON SERPENTS AND SCORPIONS, AND OVER ALL THE POWER OF THE ENEMY, AND NOTHING SHALL BY ANY MEANS HURT YOU. NEVERTHELESS, DO NOT REJOICE IN THIS, THAT THE SPIRITS ARE SUBJECT TO YOU, BUT RATHER REJOICE BECAUSE YOUR NAMES ARE WRITTEN IN HEAVEN….Luke 10:19:20 NKJV
 
***When dealing with Abusers, it is always best not to expect the appropriate reactions to rebuke that you would get from a normal person, such as apologies and improved behavior. Be prepared!- Read the articles in THE ABUSER’S REACTIONS TO REBUKE section.
***For more on this topic, please visit the Sections on SETTING & ENFORCING LIMITS & BOUNDARIES, REPENTING & APOLOGIES, FORGIVENESS, THE SILENT PARTNER, GOD’S WORD, THE WISDOM OF PROVERBS, REPROBATES & CUTTING TIES, and HAPPIER HOLIDAYS.