Mending Broken Brothers
Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfil the law of Christ.
The Ministry of Restoration is committed to the Body of Christ. This vital ministry is far too important to be entrusted to one particular group or individual within the church, so it is given to the entire community of faith. Pastors may neglect it. Deacons may ignore it. The church, however, must practise the ministry of mending broken brothers.
Perhaps you have noticed that Paul seldom addressed church leaders when he wrote. Usually he addressed his letters to a particular church, or in those few instances where he wrote to the churches situated within a particular region he would address the missive in collective fashion. Though interspersed among the teachings presented within his letters are instructions directed specifically to elders, his instructions are in the main addressed to the entire assembly.
The impact of this observation is to emphasise that whatever the Apostle had to say was intended to be accepted as binding upon each individual Christian. All Christians are responsible to know the Word and the will of God, whether speaking of individual responsibilities or speaking of responsibilities imposed on elders. There are no secret teachings hidden within the New Testament. This point merits emphasis through repetition to ensure that we grasp it thoroughly. There are no secret teachings among the pages of the New Testament. God has spoken openly so that everyone would bear equal responsibility before Him for the knowledge communicated. This is not to say that every Christian bears equal responsibility to implement a particular teaching, but it is to acknowledge that each member is responsible to know the teachings of the Word and each is responsible to hold one another accountable for those truths.
Thus it is that the ministry of restoration is the responsibility of the entire congregation. Each member of the church bears responsibility before God to mend those who are broken. Collectively, whatever we do as a congregation to heal the hurting among us is a reflection of the acceptance of individual responsibility for mending the broken among us. Join me in learning of the ministry of mending broken brothers.
The Ministry of Restoration — Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. Galatians is addressed to the churches situated within the Province of Galatia [see Galatians 1:2]. Paul stresses one great truth in the brief instructions found in the text for our study this day—we are each responsible for others. Refusal to accept this responsibility is rather dramatic evidence that an individual is not spiritual.
The concept that the church is an organisation appears to be the prevailing view among the churches of this day. The church is viewed much the same as any social organisation or fraternal club. The concept bears on the point immediately before us in the perception that the way to join the church is through sitting through a membership class and then making formal application which is approved by an official board. Such a concept fails the test of witness by the Word of God. Where within the Word of God does one find a board? The only boards to be discovered in the Word of God were flotsam and jetsam awash upon the sea following a shipwreck [Acts 27:44]. Not one membership class is to be discovered in the Word of God. Not one instance of formal application for membership occurs in the entirety of the Word of God.
The definitive passage for this point must yet be Acts 2:41. This is the divine record of the first intake of members into the Jerusalem church following the descent of the Holy Spirit. Those who accepted [Peter’s] message were baptised, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. Membership classes as a requirement for addition to the church is a human invention designed to support our models of church polity. Applications for membership and the need for approval by a board are human inventions required by political models of churches which are unsupported by the Word of God. Measures such as these are required when we adopt the political model advocated by the world instead of receiving the biblical concept of the church as a living Body. Under the biblical view those added to the church are responsible to the church to invest their gifts and lives in that Body to which they are added. Instead of accountability to the rules of a board, those who are part of the Body bear accountability to one another.
Let me restate the proposition. If the church is a political entity—solely or primarily—membership classes and formal applications will be required for admission to the assembly. If, on the other hand, the church is a living organisation, God adds those members to the Body as He pleases and those so added are responsible to submit themselves to the greater assembly. Consequently, in the political model accountability is to the board which admits or oversees membership and such accountability is likely to be sporadic and/or casual in administration. If, on the other hand, the church is a living entity—a spiritual Body—accountability is immediate and ongoing. Discipline in the case of the political model falls under the purview of a hierarchy or oligarchy (in this case a board or committee or even the pastoral staff). In the case of the biblical model discipline becomes the responsibility of the entire Body.
The importance of this particular point will become apparent as we continue our study of the text underlying the message this day. The message seeks to present the ministry of reconciliation as a ministry for which the entire congregation bears responsibility, but we must move beyond the political model to reinstate the biblical model in order to fully appreciate this particular ministry of the Body.
Some may argue that since we must meet the laws of the province or of the nation that we are compelled to adopt the political model, but as a church of the Lord Jesus our first loyalty is to Him and to the Word which He has given. Fortunately, because we are situated on Canadian soil we are not compelled to violate our conscience in order to fulfil the will of God as revealed in His Word. However, we must consider the consequences of adopting either the political model or the biblical model especially as it relates to the ministry of restoration.
The political model can only seek to coerce or exclude, whereas the biblical model seeks to restore. It is this latter concept which becomes our focus as we consider the passage before us. Church discipline at its heart seeks restoration instead of punishment. The church cannot punish a member; the church must make every effort to restore errant members. Only when restoration efforts have failed may errant individuals be considered to have demonstrated their lack of relationship to the Body and henceforth be considered to be pretenders and not fellow saints.
I recognise that the Greek word ejpitimiva, translated punishment in most translations, occurs in 2 Corinthians 2:6. Never does the church exhibit a more godly mind than when disciplining the errant. This is chastisement which holds out hope of restoring a fallen saint to a life of godly usefulness, a most divine precept. In submission to Christ the church is to endeavour to seek reconciliation of wayward sheep. The church must always seek restoration of fallen members. When the church ceases to seek restoration, it ceases to be spiritual.
Do listen to this passage from the Theological Dictionary of the New Testament.
EpitimaŒoµ corresponds to the twofold sense of timaŒoµ, “to award honour or blame,” and comes into use for “to blame,” “to reprove.” In the Septuagint it is applied especially to God’s rebuke (cf. Job 26:11; 2 Samuel 22:16; Psalm 106:9; 119:21). In a limited way it is also used for human rebuke (Genesis 37:10; Ruth 2:16), but human reproof is often held to be presumptuous, and only judicial, pastoral, or fraternal rebuke is commended. The New Testament follows the Septuagint in treating human rebuke with great reserve. Thus the disciples are over hasty with their rebuke in Mark 10:13, the crowd in Mark 10:48, and Peter in Matthew 16:22 (Jesus here responds with his own legitimate rebuke). The only acceptable rebuke is that of humility. Thus one of the crucified thieves rebukes the other in Luke 23:41, and one believer may rebuke another if it is done in a spirit of forgiveness (Luke 17:3). Rebuke is especially a responsibility of pastoral oversight in 2 Timothy 4:2. The New Testament also follows the Septuagint in regarding rebuke as essentially a prerogative of divine lordship. Only God may rightly rebuke the devil (Jude 9). Jesus plainly has the right of rebuke (Mark 8:33; Luke 9:55; 19:39-40). In Mark 8:30 epitimaŒn is used to show how strict is his charge to the disciples not to disclose his messiahship at this point. The same term is one of lordship when he commands the demons to keep silence in Mark 3:12. He displays a similar power when he rebukes and expels the unclean spirit in Mark 9:25, when he rebukes the fever of Simon’s mother-in-law in Luke 4:39, and when he rebukes even the elemental forces of nature in Mark 4:39. His unconditional divine power and prerogative are clearly and forcefully revealed in his epitimaŒn.
EpitiméŒa occurs in the New Testament only in 2 Corinthians 2:6 as a technical term in congregational discipline for the church’s “punishment” or “censure.”[1]
With this thought firmly in mind I invite you to explore the verses of our text together with me. Paul deals with a hypothetical case of a Christian who is caught (prolhmfqh`/µ) in a sin, or better, is caught by a sin. The imagery this word created in the mind of Paul’s first readers would be that of someone running from sin but sin, being faster, overtakes and catches him. It is important that you understand that this is not an instance of presumptuous sin, but rather this is a case of an individual who makes a misstep. They are endeavouring to live according to the Faith, but they stumble—they make a mistake which can only be viewed as sin. They were snared through their own lack of caution. Perhaps in their weakness or in the heat of a moment they make a decision which results in sin. This is not an excuse for or a concession to sin, but it is rather recognition of the subtle nature of our adversary and recognition of our own weakness.
Two passages show how the legalists responded to such sin. Listen first to John 8:3-5. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” In this passage we read of an incident when a woman was actually caught in the very act of adultery. Why the man wasn’t also seized is left to speculation. In any case, the Pharisees, together with the Teachers of the Law, drag this hapless woman before Jesus and insist that He make a pronouncement declaring either her guilt or her innocence. You know very well that their concern is less that the land be pure then it is that they believed they would be able to impale Jesus on the horns of a dilemma.
Again, we have the incident which resulted in Paul’s extended incarceration before his first journey to Rome as result of his appeal to Caesar. In Acts 21:27-29 we read how Paul, at the recommendation of the Jerusalem elders went to the Temple to participate in the purification rites of some men who had taken a vow. When the seven days were nearly over, some Jews from the province of Asia saw Paul at the temple. They stirred up the whole crowd and seized him, shouting, “Men of Israel, help us! This is the man who teaches all men everywhere against our people and our law and this place. And besides, he has brought Greeks into the temple area and defiled this holy place.” (They had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian in the city with Paul and assumed that Paul had brought him into the temple area.)
In either instance legalistic individuals endeavoured to force either Jesus or Paul to submit to their own rather selective views. In the case of the woman caught in adultery the Pharisees were quite prepared to have her stoned, especially if they could embarrass Jesus. They imagined that Jesus would be compelled to either agree with them, in which case they could trumpet his lack of compassion, or He would be compelled to disagree in which case they could charge that He had no regard for Moses’ Law. In the other case Jewish worshippers assumed that since Paul fellowshipped with Gentiles he was guilty of violation of the Temple precincts. In either instance the legalists are selective in application though making broad accusations against those whom they dislike or distrust.
Legalists have a field day with selective application of God’s law. Their intent appears to be to impose their own will over others instead of restoring them. Punishment seems more important in the eyes of too many religious people than does restoration. The Pharisees and the Teachers of the Law never considered fairness when they seized the woman. The Jewish worshippers failed to make a proper judgement when they seized Paul. For the purpose of purity wouldn’t you think that restoring a fallen saint would be of greater value to the testimony of the church then punishment of that saint would be? Why, then, do so many saints turn first to punishment instead of seeking reconciliation and restoration as God teaches?
Christians are called to restore the fallen saint. The word katartivzete (translated restore) is used in secular Greek for setting broken bones and in the New Testament for mending fishing nets. The task of restoration is not to be undertaken by fledglings in the faith, however. Rather such a delicate task must be entrusted to those who are spiritual. This vital ministry is entrusted to believers who walk by the Spirit and who are mature in the Faith. Those who walk by the Spirit will exhibit certain recognised spiritual characteristics which are detailed in the Word of God as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control [see Galatians 5:22, 23]. Not only should those who take on the task of restoration be spiritual, but they must also be mature in the Faith. Mature Christians are those who have advanced to solid food and who by constant use of the Word have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil [cf. Hebrews 5:13, 14].
Don’t assume that restoration must routinely be committed to a board or a committee. The church must ensure that those Christians assuming the task of restoration are spiritual. The church must guard against unspiritual and immature Christians undertaking this task of restoration. Permit me to say in clarification of this concept that this restriction is not simply to assign additional work to spiritual people. It should be the goal of every Christian to become spiritual, to discover the fruits of the Spirit in increasing measure evidenced in each individual life. Ideally, any member of the church could undertake the ministry of restoration; and I do encourage each listener to so grow in grace that he or she is able to restore broken brothers.
Ideally, the ministry of reconciliation will be undertaken in openness but without deliberate efforts to embarrass or further injure an otherwise wounded saint. We must acknowledge the power of sin without destroying the one enmeshed in the devil’s snare. The church should act with dispatch in this instance to ensure that the one ensnared is not destroyed but that spiritual men and women come alongside to restore.
We do not destroy our children when they disappoint us in our families. Neither may we reject our brothers and sisters when they stumble and disappoint us in the Family of God. When we reach out in love we will likely discover a penitent soul who rejoices in the knowledge that they are not rejected. Because we love then enough to hold them accountable, despite the fact that they are wounded, they will respond in love to our initiative of love. The entire effort is to build and not to destroy, and the building demonstrates the Spirit of Christ in our midst.
The Manner of Restoration — Restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. This delicate work of restoration must be done gently. As you review Galatians 5:22, you will recall that the eighth and penultimate fruit of the Spirit is gentleness. I contend that these spiritual fruits are progressively dependent. That is, these fruits of the Spirit build upon the previous fruit. Joy follows love and precedes peace. Likewise peace forms the foundation for patience, which in turn is necessary for kindness, and so forth until at last the child of God exhibits gentleness. That word translated gentleness is prau?thto, the very word which the Apostle used in the text before us. The only way to restore a broken saint gently is to be gentle yourself. The assumption is that the spiritual fruit of gentleness is resident thus permitting gentle restoration.
The work of restoration must not be done in anger or with heated emotion. There is too often found within the church some who see a fall as an occasion to promote themselves. They triumph in a brother’s falls instead of responding with humility and mourning over a broken brother. Many needful admonitions lose their efficacy by being delivered with choler or only to punish. When such admonitions are managed with calmness and tenderness, appearing to proceed from sincere affection and concern for the welfare of those to whom they are given, they are likely to make a good impression. Certainly the admonition which proceeds from a heart of love is more likely to be heeded than that which is delivered in the heat of the moment.
The admonition of Proverbs 24:17, 18 is too readily ignored or even forgotten by those of us who name the Name of Christ.
Do not gloat when your enemy falls;
when he stumbles, do not let your heart rejoice,
or the LORD will see and disapprove
and turn his wrath away from him.
How is it that even within the church are some who seek opportunity to injure a fellow saint instead of seeking to lift them up? Can it really be true that some secretly rejoice when a fellow believer stumbles? Shouldn’t we rather grieve and mourn at the loss of spiritual vigour in our fellow Christian? How can we even consider a fellow Christian to be an enemy? Perhaps we need to again hear the Word of God which says let us stop passing judgement on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s way [Romans 14:13].
Whenever an individual comes to you bearing a slanderous report concerning a fellow Christian, whether that one bearing the tale is a fellow worshipper or not they are unspiritual. Whenever a member of this assembly insinuates evil on the part of a fellow believer or questions the motive for the actions of other worshippers, you may be assured that such a person is not spiritual. The best that can be said of that one is that they are earthly, worldly, unspiritual. Focus on the words of James which speak to this very point. My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins [James 5:19, 20]. Turning a sinner from the error of his way is not accomplished through slander and gossip and innuendo, but it is rather accomplished through firm insistence upon doing what is right and through endeavouring to build up the weak instead of tearing them down.
Have we forgotten the words found in the Hebrews letter? Strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. “Make level paths for your feet,” so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed [Hebrews 12:12, 13]. Don’t we have responsibility to build one another in the Faith instead of attempting to injure fellow Christians? My dear fellow worshippers, I am pleading with you to be spiritual, and as spiritual men and women I plead with you to restore broken brothers gently. We cannot afford to permit a single saint to fall wounded and fail to restore them.
I know that some dear Christians have thought that fellow members of this congregation should have been “disciplined” during the trials of this past year. I caution you that discipline has too often become a buzzword meaning punish within far too many of Christ’s Assemblies. Perhaps there did exist grounds for discipline in the instance of those members who were then in attendance, but no one who claimed to have been offended has yet demonstrated sufficient maturity to fulfil the command of the Saviour and thus discipline is a moot point. Whether such should have been carried out or not is no longer an issue; instead, now it is time to think of restoration of broken saints. Recall the words Paul penned to the Corinthian saints when they had at last disciplined an errant Christian. Godly discipline always has the effect both of demonstrating purity and of drawing the errant saint back to the path of repentance.
If anyone has caused grief, he has not so much grieved me as he has grieved all of you, to some extent—not to put it too severely. The punishment inflicted on him by the majority is sufficient for him. Now instead, you ought to forgive and comfort him, so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. I urge you, therefore, to reaffirm your love for him. The reason I wrote you was to see if you would stand the test and be obedient in everything. If you forgive anyone, I also forgive him. And what I have forgiven—if there was anything to forgive—I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake, in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes [2 Corinthians 2:5-11].
Gentleness does not mean that we are given the luxury of ignoring sin, but rather gentleness demands humility before a fellow Christian’s brokenness. Humility is demanded both because it is a fellow saint who has stumbled and also because we ourselves are susceptible to falling. Even in the act of discipline we must always bear in mind that we are dealing with brothers. Otherwise, what do suppose Paul’s instructions in the second letter to the Thessalonians mean? If anyone does not obey our instruction in this letter, take special note of him. Do not associate with him, in order that he may feel ashamed. Yet do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother [2 Thessalonians 3:14, 15]. Do not regard that one being disciplined as an enemy, but warn him as a brother. This is true gentleness which reveals our spiritual maturity.
Even when the Apostle was compelled to warn the Corinthian saints because of their froward attitudes he was adamant that he desired to be gentle toward them. What do you prefer? Shall I come to you with a whip, or in love and with a gentle spirit [1 Corinthians 4:21]? There is no glee in the apostolic threat of sternness toward the very people he loved. Just so, there can be no joy at the thought of the process leading to the restoration of a broken brother. Though the completed act no doubt holds the promise of rejoicing, the need to confront the situation resulting from the victory of sin and the thought of the need to build up that fellow Christian is painful. Extricating the wounded from the morass of sin is painful business, but the results of the restoration hold sweet promise of divine glory.
There is yet another issue which we dare not ignore in this business of restoring broken saints. Those restoring broken brothers must also be aware that no one is immune from falling into sin. A very good reason why all restoration of those wounded by sin should be done with meekness is given in the latter part of Galatians 6:2. Watch yourself, or you also may be tempted.
We must be careful to deal very tenderly with those who have been overtaken in sin because none of us know but that it may sometime or other be our own case which is under review by the church. We also may be tempted and succumb to temptation. Therefore, if we are aware of our own proclivity toward sin we will be disposed to treat others as we would desire to be treated should we ourselves to stumble. Perhaps it is appropriate that we recall the warning of 1 Corinthians 10:12: If you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!
The Magnificence of Restoration — Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfil the law of Christ. I encourage you to associate this particular verse with another exceptional verse. We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves [Romans 15:1]. Isn’t it amazing that those thought of as spiritually strong are frequently the most prone to withdraw from dirtying their hands with the weak and injured among the flock. Grasp this singular truth: those who are truly strong are also those who are spiritual. Those who are strong, those who think of themselves as strong, are responsible to carry the burdens of others.
In a previous message I sought to briefly confront what might appear to be mere babbling, unreasonableness or even an enigma in this particular passage. On the one hand Paul commands that we carry each other’s burdens. Later he will insist that each one should carry his own load. Superficially this seems to be stultiloquy to many of us. However, I urge you to carefully weigh what the Apostle has said. Two separate thoughts are being presented for mature Christians. For review purposes remember that in verse two the Apostle speaks of carrying each other’s burdens [bavro"]. In verse six, on the other hand, he reminds us that each one should carry his own load [fortivon]. The apparent contradiction is clarified through appeal to some contemporary translations. Listen to this passage from two different translations, each of which captures the dynamic contrast between the two thoughts.
First, notice the manner in which the New Century Version translates Galatians 6:1-5. Brothers and sisters, if someone in your group does something wrong, you who are spiritual should go to that person and gently help make him right again. But be careful, because you might be tempted to sin, too. By helping each other with your troubles, you truly obey the law of Christ. If anyone thinks he is important when he really is not, he is only fooling himself. Each person should judge his own actions and not compare himself with others. Then he can be proud for what he himself has done. Each person must be responsible for himself.
This particular translation makes clear that the contrast lies between helping each other with our various troubles and accepting responsibility for oneself. This same passage read from another contemporary translation (the New Living Translation) emphasises that the difference lies between sharing our problems and assuming responsibility for our own actions.
Dear brothers and sisters, if another Christian is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself. Share each other’s troubles and problems, and in this way obey the law of Christ. If you think you are too important to help someone in need, you are only fooling yourself. You are really a nobody.
Be sure to do what you should, for then you will enjoy the personal satisfaction of having done your work well, and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else. For we are each responsible for our own conduct.
Verse two leads us to expect that a serving Christian will lend a hand with heavy loads, whereas verse five teaches that a Christian may test his own actions through pulling his own weight. There is no mystery that some burdens are to be shared—they are so heavy that we need others to help us. When we read the words carry each other’s burdens we understand that this speaks of loads too heavy to carry alone. Who among us has never had a load which we would have gladly shared with a fellow believer if only someone had offered to provide relief and refreshment through sharing the burden?
Each one should carry his own load indicates that there are some loads that we alone can carry. We are to aspire to be mature and carry our own weight. We are to assume responsibility for ourselves. This is the essence of Paul’s words. We are to be a people that reach out to one another to lift and to strengthen one another, but at the same time we are each responsible to assume responsibility for our own lives and our own conduct.
When Paul speaks of the need to carry each other’s burdens, it would be natural to think of him referring to the situation described in verse one of our text. There, you will recall that a fellow Christian has perhaps been overtaken by sin. Now that fellow saint is snared in the devil’s trap. If this is Paul’s intent (and it is likely that this was his intent) verse two is written to teach us to exercise forbearance and compassion towards one another, especially in the case of those weaknesses, follies, and infirmities which too often attend the lives of each one of us. Though we dare not treat sin too lightly neither should we be severe against one another because of sin. Instead, the apostolic instruction directs us to sympathise with one another in the various trials and troubles that we may meet with and to be ready to extend each other the comfort and counsel, the help and assistance, which our individual circumstances may require. To encourage us in this ministry the apostle adds that so we shall fulfil the law of Christ.
Our Lord bears with us in our weaknesses and follies—He sympathises with our weaknesses [Hebrews 4:15]. Because this is true we should maintain the same attitude towards one another. Though as Christians we are freed from the Law of Moses, yet we are under the law of Christ. A characteristic which marked those who attempted to keep Moses’ law was the act of laying unnecessary burdens upon others. As those who have known the reign of Christ, it is much more attractive for us to fulfil the law of Christ by bearing one another’s burdens. Let me emphasise that insisting upon punishment speaks of those who are under Law; insisting upon restoration speaks of those who know the freedom of Christ. I am not pleading for license or antinomy, but I am pleading for wisdom which will result in building one another up in the Faith.
Though the principle would apply to all burdens the context has special reference to the heavy and oppressive weight resulting from temptation and spiritual failure. While the “spiritual” do the work of restoring, all believers are to become involved by prayer and encouragement. This, wrote Paul, will fulfil (ajnaplhrwvsete) the law of Christ, that is, the principle of love. The entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbour as yourself” [Galatians 5:14]. Of course, this command is simply an iteration of John 13:34. There, you will recall Jesus’ words to His disciples. A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.
You cannot carry another’s burden, much less carry your own load, until the weight of sin has been lifted from your life. Until you have been forgiven sin and born into the Family of God, you are struggling against impossible odds. In that instance I plead with you to place your trust in Christ Jesus as Lord. Understand that you must be saved from the sin which has contaminated and from the consequences of all your sin if you would ever have hope of being a godly person. That transformation begins with surrender to Jesus as Master of life. Listen to the plea of God presented in His Word and do what He calls you to do.
If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” [Romans 10:9-13].
EpitimaŒoµ corresponds to the twofold sense of timaŒoµ, “to award honour or blame,” and comes into use for “to blame,” “to reprove.” In the Septuagint it is applied especially to God’s rebuke (cf. Job 26:11; 2 Samuel 22:16; Psalm 106:9; 119:21). In a limited way it is also used for human rebuke (Genesis 37:10; Ruth 2:16), but human reproof is often held to be presumptuous, and only judicial, pastoral, or fraternal rebuke is commended. The New Testament follows the Septuagint in treating human rebuke with great reserve. Thus the disciples are over hasty with their rebuke in Mark 10:13, the crowd in Mark 10:48, and Peter in Matthew 16:22 (Jesus here responds with his own legitimate rebuke). The only acceptable rebuke is that of humility. Thus one of the crucified thieves rebukes the other in Luke 23:41, and one believer may rebuke another if it is done in a spirit of forgiveness (Luke 17:3). Rebuke is especially a responsibility of pastoral oversight in 2 Timothy 4:2. The New Testament also follows the Septuagint in regarding rebuke as essentially a prerogative of divine lordship. Only God may rightly rebuke the devil (Jude 9). Jesus plainly has the right of rebuke (Mark 8:33; Luke 9:55; 19:39-40). In Mark 8:30 epitimaŒn is used to show how strict is his charge to the disciples not to disclose his messiahship at this point. The same term is one of lordship when he commands the demons to keep silence in Mark 3:12. He displays a similar power when he rebukes and expels the unclean spirit in Mark 9:25, when he rebukes the fever of Simon’s mother-in-law in Luke 4:39, and when he rebukes even the elemental forces of nature in Mark 4:39. His unconditional divine power and prerogative are clearly and forcefully revealed in his epitimaŒn.
EpitiméŒa occurs in the New Testament only in 2 Corinthians 2:6 as a technical term in congregational discipline for the church’s “punishment” or “censure.”[2]
Brothers and sisters, if someone in your group does something wrong, you who are spiritual should go to that person and gently help make him right again. But be careful, because you might be tempted to sin, too. By helping each other with your troubles, you truly obey the law of Christ. If anyone thinks he is important when he really is not, he is only fooling himself. Each person should judge his own actions and not compare himself with others. Then he can be proud for what he himself has done. Each person must be responsible for himself [Galatians 6:1-5 New Century Version].
Dear brothers and sisters, if another Christian is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself. Share each other’s troubles and problems, and in this way obey the law of Christ. If you think you are too important to help someone in need, you are only fooling yourself. You are really a nobody.
Be sure to do what you should, for then you will enjoy the personal satisfaction of having done your work well, and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else. For we are each responsible for our own conduct [Galatians 6:1-6 New Living Translation].
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[1] Kittel, Gerhard, Theological dictionary of the New Testament [computer file] / edited by Gerhard Kittel and Gerhard Friedrich; translated by Geoffrey W. Bromiley; abridged in one volume by Geoffrey W. Bromiley—electronic ed.—Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, Ó 1985; Published in electronic form by Logos Research Systems, 1996.
[2] Kittel, Gerhard, Theological dictionary of the New Testament [computer file] / edited by Gerhard Kittel and Gerhard Friedrich; translated by Geoffrey W. Bromiley; abridged in one volume by Geoffrey W. Bromiley—electronic ed.—Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, Ó 1985; Published in electronic form by Logos Research Systems, 1996.
