pastor and prophet 2

I talked a bit here about the dual role of pastor/prophet and how the combination of the two can be difficult...

This week I'm preaching Luke 17. In it, Jesus says: "I am warning you! If a brother sins, rebuke him; then if he repents, forgive him. Even if he wrongs you seven times a day and each time turns again and asks forgiveness, forgive him."

I love that this comes as a warning... I also love the disciples' response to what they apparently considered an impossible command: They said to the Lord, "Increase our faith!"

I hate that the New Living tries to soften this and put some distance between what Jesus says and the disciples' immediate response (the NLT says "One day the apostles said to the Lord, 'We need more faith; tell us how to get it'" completely disconnecting the two).

Here's something interesting about this...

In the disciples' day, I have no doubt that the forgiving 7 times 70 (or seven times a day as Luke puts it) part was the issue. That was hard for them (of course, it's not as though it's not hard for us, either... but then again, none of us have ever seen someone stoned for sinning. I think Jesus is being pretty radical here in a society that didn't know a whole lot about second and third chances, much less 70th chances).

But I wonder if it's not the other clause in Jesus' command to us here that we ourselves will get tripped up on: If your brother (or sister) sins, rebuke (admonish, reprimand, reprove) him.

And everyone said... "Increase our faith!"

I think in our context, it's much easier to talk about forgiving, and forgiving prodigiously, than it is to talk about the confrontation God the Holy Spirit often uses to bring conviction, repentance and then forgiveness.

Lord, increase my faith...

But here, Jesus distills the essence of the prophet/pastor dualism; the admonishment and call to repentance, and then the open arms and true forgiving/embracing that follows.

Lord, increase my faith.

I have to be honest and say, I have no idea how this works practically. How do I approach people about personal sin? How do I do so particularly in light of the (perceived) power differential between "pastor" and "lay person"? Sure, we are all for confronting certain sins, but how do we handle the tough wedge issues divinding us as a nation and even as a church... things about which there are differing opinions?

Lord, increase our faith.

"Even if you had faith as small as a mustard seed," the Lord answered, "you could say to this mulberry tree, `May God uproot you and throw you into the sea,' and it would obey you!"

Comments

[Chris Marsden]

I've had a hard time with this concept of rebuke then comfort, even in a less confrontational environment. I always find it hard to speak/preach on an issue, especially one you know people are struggling with, then step off the stage and hang out with those same kids after church. The one part of me wants to hit them in the head and scream, "weren't you listening?" The other part of me understands that it takes time and I want to help them through the process. It would have been much easier to just be that prophet who came and preached to a disconnected audience, but you'd miss the joy of seeing change happen over time.

[brian]

Bob,

The passage about rebuking a brother who sins says it's a "brother who sins against you". I think that's relevant in the discussion of who gets rebuked (at least as it relates to this passage).

Thoughts?

[bob]

Brian-

Good insight. That's what Matthew 18 says, I believe. This passage, Luke 17 simply says "a brother who sins"... no indication as to against whom, though by the context there's a sense of being a source of temptation to others.
Of course, a definitive passage on this is 1 Cor 5 that says:
When I wrote to you before, I told you not to associate with people who indulge in sexual sin. 10But I wasn't talking about unbelievers who indulge in sexual sin, or who are greedy or are swindlers or idol worshipers. You would have to leave this world to avoid people like that. 11What I meant was that you are not to associate with anyone who claims to be a Christian yet indulges in sexual sin, or is greedy, or worships idols, or is abusive, or a drunkard, or a swindler. Don't even eat with such people.
It isn't my responsibility to judge outsiders, but it certainly is your job to judge those inside the church who are sinning in these ways. 13God will judge those on the outside; but as the Scriptures say, "You must remove the evil person from among you."
Persistent, unrepentant sin.
The hard part is that people in persistent, unrepentant sin may or may not acknowledge it is sin in the first place. Some may know it's sin and decide to do it anyway. I've sre been there. Others may simply refuse to acknowledge it as sin. This seems to have been the Corinthians problem, and thus Paul's harsh tone with them over something they should have recognized as obvious sin.

I think the pertinent part here is: It isn't my responsibility to judge outsiders, but it certainly is your job to judge those inside the church who are sinning in these ways.

Tough stuff, eh?