Bible Study Rebuke and Judgement...

[Blazin Bones]

Just curious as to your thoughts.

 

[NRoof]

re·buke
1 a : to criticize sharply : REPRIMAND b : to serve as a rebuke to
2 : to turn back or keep down

1 Timothy 5:1
Do not rebuke an older man harshly, but exhort him as if he were your father. Treat younger men as brothers,

2 Timothy 4:2
Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage–with great patience and careful instruction.

My thoughts here only pertain to people who are or claim to be followers of Jesus.

I have to vote unsure on this one. The reason is the way I define the word rebuke. I see it as a final action to someone who doesn't turn from their sins even after it has been pointed out to them.

If I see a brother or sister not following Gods will it is my responsibility to point out their error and gently guide them back to Christ. If they listen and turn there lives back to Christ then we have the scenario:
Judgment without Rebuke

If (from the above example) the person continues is their sin and does not repent after all avenues have been exhausted then we have:
Judgment with Rebuke


If you define rebuke as the gentile guiding then I don't see how the two can be separated. Then you have the following:

You can't rebuke someone without first judging if there actions are aligned with Gods word.
If you judge someones actions as being against Gods will you have no option but to rebuke them.

I think my dilemma comes from the negative connotations these words imply (at least to me). In order for me to understand what judge means in the Bible I have had to mentally make the following substitution:

judge = hold accountable to Gods standard

I have not done this with the word rebuke but it does appear from the scripture above (and others I looked at) to range from a gentle nudge to separation from the body of Christ.

Regardless of your definition, both judging and rebuking someone must be done in love and in accordance with Gods will. You will only be in trouble if you do either of these with malice in your own heart.

 

[talitha]

In Matthew Jesus tells us to "Judge not, that ye be not judged" (to use the familiar King James version). The word here translated "judge" is krino (Gk), a very broad term which can embrace several concepts, including to have an opinion or preference (beige carpet is nicer than pink) and to esteem one thing over another (say, feeding the hungry over killing them). Obviously, there are things that we are going to have an opinion about and things we should esteem over others, so it falls upon the context of the verse to let us know what is being discussed. Looking at that, it would seem that Jesus is discussing our relationships with other people. One of the possible meanings of the Greek word is to make a decree, or to put it in modern terms, to "label" someone, to write him off as a hothead or selfish or petty,etc, thereby coloring other people's opinions of him, not to mention his opinion of the one who has labeled him. If I do this to people, they in turn will label me as judgmental.

In Timothy, Paul instructs his mentee to "rebuke" when the occasion calls for it. The Greek word here is epitimeo. Interesting word -- has to do with value and can actually mean to honor as well as to chide. Another possible translation of this word would be to evaluate, or better yet, to charge. The prefix "epi" indicates that this is an act of volition, whereas a judgment (krino) is something we can do without even realizing it.

We can make judgments in our hearts against people, judgments that really mostly hurt ourselves. It seems to me that to rebuke someone is an act of commision, and to do so and be in the right you must speak from some position of authority over the one(s) being rebuked. As a teacher I can do little of the students' opinions (judgments) of me, but if one of them rebukes me, he will be punished.

So the short answer is yes.... *grin*

blessings
tal