Previous posts in this series have been incorporated into Part 2 of my online article, “A Comprehensive Church-Based Ministry to Men.”
We have seen how God, in preparing us to do his good works, uses his word to rebuke us when we sin. Sometimes this rebuke is subtle. Sometimes it is not subtle at all. Either way, Paul reminds Timothy that not only is Scripture profitable for rebuking us, it can also restore us after we have been rebuked…if we let it.
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for…restoration. 2 Timothy 3:16
Often translated, “correction,” the Greek word epanorthosin in 2 Timothy 3:16 (επανορθωσιν, which appears only here in the New Testament) refers to a past state of wholeness that has gone bad and needs to be restored to its original condition. Paul is saying that the Bible is useful for restoring believers to their original state of fellowship with God and with others after they have sinned and been rebuked.
Paul knew that there would often be times when Timothy would need to rebuke those he ministered to. For example, Paul instructed Titus, another young pastoral intern, to severely rebuke the Cretans he was ministering to because of their reputation for being “liars, evil beasts, and lazy gluttons” (Titus 1:12).
But Paul wanted to make sure Timothy knew how to follow up a rebuke with restoration, and how to use scripture to accomplish that.
Yes, God loves us, but we have issues
Of course, no one likes to be rebuked, especially by God through his word. It can be a jarring, even convulsive, experience. This is why it is essential that we be restored spiritually, emotionally, and relationally after experiencing a rebuke. Consider, for example, Isaiah’s experience after God rebuked him:
“In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another:
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty;
the whole earth is full of his glory.”
At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke. “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.” Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.” (Isaiah 6:1-7)
In this passage, we see Isaiah’s intense guilt and shame as he realized how far he had strayed from God’s holiness, especially when it came to his speech. But his guilt and shame didn’t end there. They resulted in immediate repentance (“Woe to me!), acceptance of the consequences of his sin (burning coals on his lips), and God’s affirmation of his forgiveness (“Your guilt is taken away and your sin is atoned for.”)
Before God uses us to accomplish his good work, he deals with our issues by rebuking us and then restoring us to full fellowship
The important thing to notice after Isaiah 6:1-7 is what happened in verse 8:
“Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!” (Isaiah 6:8)
Before Isaiah was ready to do God’s good works, his sin had to be rebuked and restoration had to occur. Only then was Isaiah prepared to willingly and joyfully accept God’s commission to do the good work he had for him to do.
What restoration looks like
Restoration, therefore, is critical to the Christian life and to us being able to accomplish the good works God has prepared for us to do. Here are two classic examples of biblical restoration.
The Corinthian church’s restoration with Paul
The first example of restoration after rebuke is the Corinthian church.
The church at Corinth was the problem child of all New Testament churches. What fascinates me is that there are no serious secular or theologically liberal scholars today who doubt the authenticity of 1 Corinthians because they understand that no author in their right mind who had an eye toward winning the civilized world to Christ would make this stuff up: Christians suing each other, someone in the church sleeping with his stepmother, drunkenness at their church pot lucks, treating visiting preachers like they were in some kind of talent contest, church services so out of control they would make holy rollers today blush. Some in the church even doubted the resurrection of Jesus Christ. If there had been newspapers at the time, the church of Corinth would have made the top fold of the front page of The Corinthian Times every day.
So what did the Apostle Paul do? He wrote 1 Corinthians to the Church at Corinth and, addressing each problem one by one in long passages, reproved them “severely” for their behavior.
The problem, however, is that after he reproved them in his first letter, he wasn’t sure how they would respond. Would they be resentful? Or would they genuinely repent? Communication and transportation being what they were in ancient times, it took several months for Paul to find out. In the meantime, he avoided the Corinthian church so as not to “make another painful visit” to them (2 Corinthians 2:1-4).
Finally, word came by way of Titus, Paul’s fellow worker, that the believers at Corinth had indeed repented and its congregation was making amends. Even more, the church had regained its love for Paul, or, as Paul relates Titus’ report in 2 Corinthians 7:7, “He told us about your longing for me, your deep sorrow, your ardent concern for me, so that my joy was greater than ever.”
Then Paul continues his second letter to the Corinthians with this long passage on reproof and restoration:
“Even if I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it. Though I did regret it—I see that my letter hurt you, but only for a little while—yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us. Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. See what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done. At every point you have proved yourselves to be innocent in this matter. So even though I wrote to you, it was neither on account of the one who did the wrong nor on account of the injured party, but rather that before God you could see for yourselves how devoted to us you are.” 2 Corinthians 7:8-12
We can summarize the restoration process with the church at Corinth and Paul this way:
- Paul’s rebuke caused the Corinthians pain and sorrow.
- But Paul became happy because their sorrow led to repentance.
- Their sorrow led to repentance because it was a godly sorrow, not a worldly sorrow.
- Their godly sorrow produced a zeal to resolve the issue.
- Their zeal demonstrated how devoted they were to Paul and his associates.
Thus rebuke, while difficult to give and to receive, is healthy when done properly. And when rebuke is responded to properly with repentance, it results in a restored relationship.
David’s restoration with God
A second classic example of restoration after rebuke is David.
There are two sides to King David: the David whom God called “a man after my own heart” (1 Samuel 13:14), and the David who raped a man’s wife (Bathsheba), got her pregnant, and then murdered her husband Uriah to cover it up (2 Samuel 11).
We read about David’s repentance and restoration in David’s beautiful and poignant psalm of repentance, Psalm 51.
“Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge.
“Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb; you taught me wisdom in that secret place. Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice. Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity.
“Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. Then I will teach transgressors your ways, so that sinners will turn back to you.
“Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, you who are God my Savior, and my tongue will sing of your righteousness. Open my lips, Lord, and my mouth will declare your praise. You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.” Psalm 51:1-17
David’s restoration in Psalm 51 contains many similarities with the Corinthian church’s restoration in 2 Corinthians 7:8-12, with the key difference being that 2 Corinthians’ emphasis is on the Corinthian believers’ relationship with Paul while Psalm 51’s emphasis is on David’s relationship with God (“Against you, you only, have I sinned.”).
Here is a summary of the restoration process between David and God.
- David pleads for God’s mercy.
- David acknowledges his sin and his sinful nature.
- David asks God for forgiveness.
- David asks God to give him a pure heart, joy in God’s salvation, and a willing spirit.
- In return David pledges to teach transgressors God’s ways and to sing of God’s righteousness.
- David fully repents before God with a broken spirit and contrite heart.
This restoration process did not mean that David escaped the temporal consequences of his forgiven sin. He definitely did not. “Whatever a man sows, that he shall also reap” (Galatians 6:7-9). But his restoration did mean that he was fully restored to full fellowship with God.
Rebuke and restoration are normal experiences in the life of a Christian and in the life of a church
I am sure that when I say that rebuke and restoration are normal for Christian men (and women!) that every Christian reading this will agree. We all have issues and God loves us too much to ignore them. “My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline, and do not resent his rebuke, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in” (Proverbs 3:11-12).
We know we have been restored after being rebuked when we have regained a passionate desire to do God’s good works
But as we have seen, the key to rebuke is repentance with “a broken and contrite heart.” Only then will we regain the joy of God’s salvation and an eager desire to accomplish the good works God saved us to do.
“Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”
This post first appeared in NewCommandent.org.
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