April 30, 2009
Lightly Seasoned
I was once in a class where the teacher tackled a controversial topic and his point of view was not entirely in line denominationally. Although I can’t say that I totally agreed with all the assumptions he made, with the Scripture he presented, I could understand his reasoning. At the end of the class a church leader firmly and publically corrected what had been perceived as errors. A Jew named Apollos spoke boldly in the synagogue. “He was a learned man, with a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures. He had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and he spoke with great fervor and taught about Jesus accurately, though he knew only the baptism of John.” (Acts 18:24-26 NIV) Fellow believers Priscilla and Aquila heard Apollos teach, but rather than correct him publically, “they invited him to their home and explained to him the way of God more adequately.”
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Gail;
-----At one time I loved Jesus Christ because He promised to give me eternal life. That was cool and really great! Although my love for Him was based upon the correct fundamental, it was shallow. As I continued to live in Him and learn His Word and the ways it applied to the issues of life, I began to love Him for His ideas. They were cool and really great! As I tried to practice them I began to realize what was the substance of this thing He called love. It became obvious to me how one can love his enemy and continue to do battle with him at the same time - love was all about what is good for both the other person and yourself. That is when it became apparent to me that humility is about allowing the Creator of love to also provide the definition for what is good.
----Paul said in Galatians 6:10, “So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all men, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.” Without knowing the Scripture involved or the reasoning of the class’s teacher, I have no idea whether the church leader publicly correcting him was right or wrong about the relevant issue. But granting that he was right, was he careful to not unduly damage the teacher? Our commission is to do what is good, and undue damage to one another is not good.
-----However, is there any instance where public correction of a message is proper? I think there is. When a message has a serious viral effect to the truth, not just a vaguely perceivable truth, but a solid, fundamental truth, then those hearing the viral message, who might buy into it and have their faith twisted by its effect, are in need of having some good done to them as well. But the correction of the message being done for their sake must be the point. The one correcting it must know how to surgically correct it, doing damage to its viral element, but not to either its other elements that are indeed correct, nor to the good character and personage of the message’s deliverer. Again, the purpose must be for the good of those who might be damaged if allowed to be infected by some serious viral principle.
-----Jesus often publicly corrected the messages of the scribes and Pharisees. He did this for the benefit of those who were being led astray by them. But sometimes He went further and publicly attacked their character, too. These were not good men. They were self-righteous. Whether they understood it or not, they were seizing control of the people for their own religious and political ends. One of the prizes Jesus brought for His followers was freedom from undue human constraints. So, of course, He was also going to attack the corruption of the carriers of damaging, constraining falsehoods. Paul also publicly reviled Simon Magus, and he publicly corrected those he said, “…were reputed to be pillars…” (Gal. 2:9), opposing Cephas even “…to his face, because he stood condemned.” (Gal 2:11). And this he did before all the Jews these reputed pillars had swayed. (Gal 2:14).
-----It is then unavoidable that there is place for proper public correction of another, for these godly men did it without violating their godliness. Yet we must also recognize that Jesus was not just godly, He was God. And Paul had not only been moved by the Holy Spirit to write Scripture, but had spent a certain amount of time in heaven observing what he said is not able to be spoken. Their credentials were rather impeccable. I wonder how impeccable were the credentials of this church leader who publicly corrected the class teacher, and I wonder if the “errors” necessitated public correction, let alone even being considered as errors.
-----The more I see the principles of the Word carefully directed towards the good of all, and the more I see those principles unify into a network of beneficial behavior, the more I love Jesus for Whom He is and for what He stands. His principles of love call for careful regard and consideration of all factors involved before an action is taken. Then based on those factors, the action may be surprisingly quiet, or quite boisterous, but always beneficial.
Love you all,
Steve Corey
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