Our Need for Admonishment

Sounds great, doesn’t it? Who needs admonishment? Not me!

Are you sure?

Most of us try to obey God most of the time. Our percentage would probably be in the 90’s. That’s in the A range, isn’t it? An “A” is defined as ‘above average’ or ‘excellent.’ That’s doing pretty well, don’t you think?

Well, it doesn’t matter what I think; it matters what God thinks. He expects 100% obedience. He doesn’t settle for less. Can you imagine during a wedding if the vows went like this, “Do you promise to love, honor and support this woman?” Groom: “At least 90% of the time – yes.” Would that count as a ‘Yes?’

Let’s look at it another way. 10% of the time you are disobedient, and more than likely, those places of disobedience have been there a long time. You could call them places of habitual disobedience. In that 10%, you (and I) have been habitually disobedient. We have no plans to change because we lean on the 90% obedience and believe that’s enough. ‘It’s better than most.’ But it is does not fulfill God’s standard.

That’s where admonishment comes in. Admonish is defined as “to set right, correct, warn, lay on the heart of someone.” It often involves confrontation, challenge and correction. In the places of disobedience (which is sin), we need to be admonished. We need people to correct, challenge, and confront us on our sin.

“What I become depends on how my Christian friends respond to me when I’m at my worst.” (Sittser, Love One Another, p. 162).

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom . . .”
Colossians 3:16

It is so easy to turn the other way isn’t it? When we see someone choosing to sin, we can easily just rationalize, “it’s none of my business.” Or we like to have this tidbit of information to use against the person in sin. We gossip, judge, belittle – all in an attempt to make us feel better about ourselves. ‘At least, I’m not as bad as __________ who is struggling with the sin of ____________.’

We admonish John daily. We correct his behavior. “John, you can’t hit other people.” “John, you can’t take a toy away from another child.” “John, you can’t talk to your mother that way.” We correct. We challenge. We confront. We do it because we love John and we know he needs to learn how to act appropriately.

Does John like being confronted? No. Does he like it when we correct him? No. Does he respond well to us when we confront or correct? Often, no. Should that change our behavior with him? Should we not correct or confront because he doesn’t like it? No.

The Bible says that this is an important way we love each other. When we see someone choosing to sin, we are called as fellow brothers and sisters in Christ to confront that behavior IN LOVE. The goal is always restoration. The goal is always looking out for the best interests of the one who is stuck in sin. It is in their best interests to get unstuck from their sin, and we show love to each other when we help each other get unstuck.

Your habitual disobedience is hindering you from experiencing the life God has for you. You can’t do it on your own. You haven’t yet. So even though it is hard to admit your failure in front of another – especially when being confronted by them – it is an important way that God grows us and helps us to move away from our places of habitual sin.

If we let John get away with inappropriate behavior, we would not be loving him as we should. If we turn our backs to a friend’s adultery, lying, cheating, gossiping, coveting, unhealthy anger, self-righteousness, etc., it would be because we are more concerned with keeping the peace and not being seen as judgmental, then it would be because we love that person.

Let’s really love one another.