Correcting Error With Grace

Opening Prayer:

Father, thank You for Your Word and for the truth You have given us. As we open the Scriptures today, give us wisdom to recognize error, courage to stand for what is right, and humility to examine our own hearts.

May Your Holy Spirit use Your Word to correct us, shape us, and make us more like Jesus. Give us ears to hear and hearts willing to obey.

In Jesus’ name, amen.

Introduction

Take your Bible and turn with me to 2 Timothy chapter 2, and in just a moment we are going to begin reading with verse 24.

We have been studying together what it means to be Anchored in Truth: Growing in Spiritual Discernment in an Age of Confusion.

We have learned that discernment is not simply knowing the difference between right and wrong. Biblical discernment is the ability to recognize truth, identify error, and then respond faithfully according to the Word of God.

Now here is the question before us today:

What do you do when you discover that someone is wrong?

What do you do when somebody has embraced false doctrine?

What do you do when a brother or sister has wandered from biblical truth?

What do you do when error begins influencing a church, a family, or a group of believers?

Do you say nothing because you do not want to offend anybody?

Do you charge into the situation determined to straighten everybody out?

Do you argue?

Do you condemn?

Do you expose?

Do you withdraw?

Friend, there is a right way and a wrong way to be right.

You can have truth in your head and bitterness in your heart.

You can quote the right verse with the wrong spirit.

You can win an argument and lose an opportunity to restore a brother or sister in Christ.

And I want you to understand something today:

God is concerned not only with the truth we defend, but also with the spirit in which we defend it.

Listen to the Word of God.

2 Timothy 2:24–26 NKJV

24 And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, 25 in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, 26 and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.

Now Paul is writing to Timothy, a young pastor surrounded by controversy, false doctrine, foolish arguments, and spiritual confusion.

And Paul does not tell Timothy to surrender the truth.

He does not say, “Timothy, just leave everybody alone.”

He tells him to correct those who are in opposition.

But notice how he is to do it.

Not quarrelsome.

Gentle.

Patient.

Able to teach.

Correcting with meekness.

And why?

Because the goal is not humiliation.

The goal is repentance.

The goal is not victory over a person.

The goal is recovery of a person.

I want us to do today is to see three great truths.

There is the mandate for correction, the manner of correction, and the motive of correction.

I. The Mandate for Correction

First, there is the mandate for correction.

There are times when a Christian must speak.

There are times when a pastor must speak.

There are times when a church must speak.

Some people have the idea that if you love somebody, you will never tell them they are wrong.

That is not love.

Suppose you saw a child playing in the middle of a highway and an eighteen-wheel truck was coming down the road.

Would you say, “Well, I don't want to upset the child”?

No!

Love would COMPEL you to warn that child.

Truth warns because TRUTH LOVES.

The Bible makes this responsibility clear in Titus 1:9.

Titus 1:9 NKJV

9 holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict.

Paul says the faithful servant of God must hold tightly to sound doctrine.

Why?

So that he can do two things.

He can encourage people with sound doctrine, and he can correct those who contradict it.

Do you see both sides?

There is instruction and there is correction.

There is the responsibility to feed the sheep, and there is the responsibility to guard the sheep.

A shepherd who feeds the sheep but refuses to confront the wolf is not a faithful shepherd.

Jude tells us to contend for the faith.

Paul warned the Ephesian elders that false teachers would arise.

Jesus warned about wolves in sheep's clothing.

Peter warned about false teachers secretly bringing destructive teachings into the church.

Why so many warnings?

Because error is dangerous.

Error never announces itself by saying, “I have come to deceive you.”

False teaching does not normally walk through the church door wearing a sign that says, “This is heresy.”

It often sounds spiritual.

It may use biblical language.

It may quote Scripture.

It may appeal to emotion.

It may come through a trusted relationship.

That is why discernment is so important.

And when serious error begins to influence God's people, somebody must have enough conviction and enough love to say, “This is not what the Word of God teaches.”

But now listen carefully.

Not every disagreement is false doctrine.

Some Christians are ready to declare war over everything.

Bible translation.

Music preference.

Clothing.

Church traditions.

Personal convictions.

Methods.

Opinions.

And sometimes we defend our preferences as though they were the Ten Commandments.

We need enough discernment to know the difference between biblical truth and personal taste.

If Scripture speaks clearly, we must stand clearly.

But where Scripture gives liberty, we must not manufacture bondage.

It take some spiritual wisdom to know the difference.

This is why different problems require different responses...

Different Problems Require Different Responses

Not every person who is wrong is wrong in the same way.

Some are confused.

Some are immature.

Some have incomplete understanding.

Some have been badly taught.

Some are stubborn.

Some are divisive.

And some deliberately spread destructive doctrine.

That means biblical correction requires wisdom.

Let me if I can give you a few examples of this from scripture...

Look at Acts chapter 18.

Acts 18:24–28 NKJV

24 Now a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man and mighty in the Scriptures, came to Ephesus. 25 This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things of the Lord, though he knew only the baptism of John. 26 So he began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Aquila and Priscilla heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately. 27 And when he desired to cross to Achaia, the brethren wrote, exhorting the disciples to receive him; and when he arrived, he greatly helped those who had believed through grace; 28 for he vigorously refuted the Jews publicly, showing from the Scriptures that Jesus is the Christ.

Here is Apollos.

He is sincere.

He is eloquent.

He knows the Scriptures.

He is preaching enthusiastically.

But his understanding is incomplete.

Now what do Priscilla and Aquila do?

Do they stand up in the middle of the synagogue and embarrass him?

No.

They take him aside.

They explain the truth more accurately.

Why?

Because Apollos was teachable.

He did not need to be attacked.

He needed to be instructed.

There is a principle here:

Never use a hammer when a shepherd's hand will do.

But now turn to Galatians chapter 2. Here we see a different problem with a different response.

Galatians 2:11–14 NKJV

11 Now when Peter had come to Antioch, I withstood him to his face, because he was to be blamed; 12 for before certain men came from James, he would eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing those who were of the circumcision. 13 And the rest of the Jews also played the hypocrite with him, so that even Barnabas was carried away with their hypocrisy. 14 But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter before them all, “If you, being a Jew, live in the manner of Gentiles and not as the Jews, why do you compel Gentiles to live as Jews?

Here Paul confronts Peter publicly.

Why?

Because Peter's behavior was public.

Other believers were being influenced.

Even Barnabas had been carried away.

A public problem sometimes requires a public correction.

Then Titus 3 tells us something else.

Titus 3:10–11 NKJV

10 Reject a divisive man after the first and second admonition, 11 knowing that such a person is warped and sinning, being self-condemned.

There is a person who repeatedly causes division.

Paul says warn him once.

Warn him again.

And if he refuses correction, separation may become necessary.

Now put these passages together.

Apollos was instructed privately.

Peter was confronted publicly.

The divisive person was warned repeatedly and then separated from.

Here is the lesson:

Biblical correction is not mechanical. It is discerning.

We must ask:

How serious is the error?

How public is the error?

How influential is the error?

Is the person teachable?

Is the gospel at stake?

Are other believers being harmed?

And then we respond according to Scripture.

That is the mandate for correction.

II. The Manner of Correction

Second, notice the manner of correction.

Now lets go back to our main text and read it again. 2 Tim. 2:24

2 Timothy 2:24 NKJV

24 And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient,

Paul says the servant of the Lord must not quarrel. v.24

He must be gentle.

Patient.

Meek.

Now that is interesting.

Because sometimes people who believe strongly in truth seem to think they have permission to be harsh.

They say, “Well, I'm just telling it like it is.”

But sometimes what we call boldness is simply bad manners baptized in religious language.

Some people know how to speak the truth, but they do not know how to speak the truth in love.

Let me give you a principle:

The truth of God should never be defended in a spirit contrary to the character of God.

If Christ is full of grace and truth, then His servants must not choose between grace and truth.

We need both.

Examine Your Heart

So, before you correct another person, you had better examine your own heart.

Galatians 6:1 says:

Galatians 6:1 NKJV

1 Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted.

Notice the word “restore.”

That word carries the idea of repairing something that has been broken or setting something back into its proper place.

You do not restore a broken bone by beating on it.

You handle it carefully and with care.

And then Paul says, “considering thyself.”

In other words, while you are looking at that person's failure, keep one eye on your own heart.

Why?

Because correction can feed pride.

We can begin thinking:

“I would never believe that.”

“I can't believe they did that.”

“How could anybody be so foolish?”

Friend, be careful.

Apart from the grace of God, you and I are capable of wandering too.

Before correcting someone else, ask yourself:

Why am I doing this?

Is it because I love this person?

Am I trying to restore them or embarrass them?

Am I concerned about God's truth or my reputation?

Am I angry?

Am I trying to win?

Have I prayed?

Have I listened?

Have I understood the situation correctly?

Would I still do this if nobody ever knew I was the one who corrected them?

That last question will tell you something about your heart.

Now at the end of v. 24 Paul says we are to “be patient,”

Correction Requires Patience

That means correction is sometimes a process.

We live in a world that wants instant results.

But spiritual growth is not always instant.

Sometimes people have believed something for years.

Sometimes error is tied to relationships.

Sometimes it is tied to emotion.

Sometimes it is tied to pride.

Sometimes someone has built an entire spiritual identity around a false idea.

You may show them one verse and expect everything to change immediately.

But shepherding requires patience.

You teach.

You pray.

You answer questions.

You clarify.

You return to Scripture.

And you trust the Holy Spirit to work.

I learned something about this personally when I became pastor of Ridgemont Baptist Church in October of 2009.

Before I became pastor, the church had been averaging around ninety-five people.

Before I was ever presented to the congregation as a candidate, the pastor search team told me that false teaching had gradually found its way into the church.

It did not arrive all at once.

That is rarely how error works.

It came slowly.

Through relationships.

Through private conversations.

Through spiritual speculation.

Through ideas that sounded convincing but were not being carefully tested by Scripture.

And by the time the problem became evident, friendships had formed.

Loyalties were established.

People were connected.

Some recognized that there was a problem, but they were afraid of what would happen if somebody confronted it.

Would people leave?

Would friendships end?

Would the church divide?

When I accepted the call to become pastor, I knew there was an issue, but I did not yet know how deep it went.

I could have walked through the door and declared war.

I could have started identifying people and issues.

I could have made my first year about confrontation.

But I did not believe that was what the church needed first.

So I preached the gospel.

I taught the Bible.

I loved the people.

I listened.

I watched.

I prayed.

And over time I came to understand something:

Before people can clearly recognize what is false, they need to become deeply grounded in what is true.

That is important.

Sometimes we spend all our time teaching people what to be against.

But if we teach them what the Word of God actually says, error begins to expose itself.

Turn on the light and darkness has nowhere to hide.

So in October of 2010, we began requiring every member to go through a membership class.

We began laying foundations.

The glory of God.

The authority of Scripture.

The nature of God.

The nature of man.

The gospel.

The church.

The basic truths Christians must believe.

And through that experience, I learned that correction is not always an argument.

Sometimes correction is discipleship.

Sometimes correction is patient teaching.

Sometimes correction is simply putting the truth before people again and again until they can finally recognize the counterfeit.

We have seen the Mandate we have seen the Manner now lets look at the Motive.

III. The Motive of Correction

Why do we correct somebody?

Look again at verse 25.

Paul says that “perhaps God will grant them repentance so they may come to the knowledge of the truth.”

There it is.

The goal is not destruction.

The goal is repentance.

The goal is restoration.

The goal is recovery.

We are not trying to defeat an enemy.

We are trying to rescue a captive.

Look at the language of verse 26.

Paul describes people who have been “caught in a snare.”

Think about that.

When you see someone trapped in false teaching, your first thought should not be, “How stupid could they be?”

Your first thought ought to be, “How can they be rescued?”

James 5 gives us the same picture.

James 5:19–20 NKJV

19 Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back, 20 let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.

Someone wanders from the truth.

Another believer helps turn that person back.

That is ministry.

That is love.

That is grace.

And here is one of the most important lessons of all.

We Cannot Produce Repentance

You cannot make somebody repent.

Look at verse 25 again.

It is “God who grants repentance.”

You can explain.

You can warn.

You can teach.

You can plead.

You can reason.

You can pray.

But you cannot open another person's heart.

Only God can do that.

And that should take a tremendous burden off of us.

Our responsibility is faithfulness.

God's responsibility is the result.

Some people will listen to you.

Some will not.

Some will thank you.

Some will resent you.

Some may immediately understand.

Others may not recognize the truth until years later.

But if you have spoken faithfully, graciously, biblically, and prayerfully, then you place that person in God's hands.

Now let me bring all of this together.

Conclusion: Truth With Grace

We have seen the mandate for correction, the manner of correction, and the motive of correction.

The mandate says there are times when truth must be defended.

The manner says we must defend it with gentleness, patience, and humility.

The motive says our goal is repentance and restoration.

Church, we need men and women today who are not afraid to stand.

But we also need men and women who know how to kneel.

We need conviction, but we need compassion.

We need backbone, but we also need a broken heart.

We need truth, but truth must be spoken in love.

There is an old temptation in the human heart to believe that if I am right, everything I do in defense of being right must also be right.

That is simply not true.

You can hold the right doctrine with the wrong disposition.

You can expose another person's error while ignoring your own pride.

You can defend truth while dishonoring the Christ who is Truth.

So before you correct somebody, pray.

Before you speak, examine your heart.

Before you confront, make sure Scripture—not personal preference—is the issue.

Before you correct publicly, ask whether the matter can be handled privately.

Before you condemn somebody as a false teacher, ask whether they may simply need instruction.

And when correction becomes necessary, tell the truth plainly.

Do not water it down.

Do not compromise.

Do not apologize for the Word of God.

But speak with a heart that says:

“I do not want to beat you. I want to help you.”

“I do not want to embarrass you. I want to restore you.”

“I am not trying to win an argument. I want us both to be anchored in the truth.”

Because biblical discernment does not end when we recognize error.

Biblical discernment asks:

How would Jesus have me respond to the person who is wrong?

And the servant of the Lord must not strive.

He must be gentle.

Patient.

Able to teach.

Correcting with meekness.

And trusting God to bring repentance.

Truth without grace becomes harsh.

Grace without truth becomes compromise.

But when truth and grace come together, they reflect the character of Jesus Christ.

And that is how we correct error with grace.

Closing Prayer:

Father, thank You for reminding us that truth and grace belong together.

Help us to stand firmly on Your Word without becoming proud or harsh. When correction is necessary, give us wisdom to know when to speak, how to speak, and what spirit should govern our words.

Keep our motives pure. May we never correct simply to win an argument, prove a point, or embarrass another person. Give us hearts that desire repentance, restoration, and spiritual health.

And when we have spoken faithfully, help us trust You with the results. Make us servants who are gentle, patient, able to teach, and anchored in truth.

May everything we say and do reflect Jesus Christ.

In His name we pray, amen.