"I know I should say something, but..."

"...but I don't want to offend."  "...but I'm not the one to say it."  Whatever the reason, Christians today find it hard to keep one another accountable to the Word of God.  It is hard to approach your brother or sister in Christ and confront them on something that they have sinned in or in wrong thinking.  Why is it so hard?  Our culture as Americans has bought in to the notion that we are a 'kinder, gentler nation'.  No one is a failure, no one is bad, no one has the authority to tell someone else what to do - our culture says.  Christians can buy in to this as well.  A brother in Christ yells at his kids in anger, a sister in Christ gossips about someone in the body.  We hear it and know that it is wrong, but we don't confront them.  Why?  We don't want to get involved.  That is for the pastor to confront.  I don't want to get them mad at me.  Whatever the reason, it is hard for us to step into someone's messy life and get dirty trying to help them live a godly life.  Yet, we are called to do just that.  2 Timothy 4:2, "preach the Word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching."  Titus 2:15 says, "Declare these things; exhort and rebuke with all authority.  Let no one disregard you."  And Hebrews 3:13 says, "But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called "today," taht none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin."  Does this mean that we jump at the chance to rebuke our brothers and sisters in Christ the first opportunity we get?  Are we to be harsh in our exhortations?  By no means!  Ephesians 4:15-16 says, "Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into Him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love." (emphasis mine)  We are called to exhort and rebuke and we are called to speak the truth in love. 
Dane Ortlund, the senior editor in the Bible division at Crossway Books, gives us some thoughts about this topic and some wisdom from Martin Luther.  By God's grace, may we all step into the messy for His glory.  Please comment about what you think!

Love, Pride, and Speaking Truth

We live in a world, and a Christian world, in which offending another is, in the realm of human relationship, the supreme vice. Confronted with the choice to actively speak what one believes to be true or passively let sleeping dogs lie in the name of love, we often choose the latter.

All we say must be done in love. That is non-negotiable. But even what that means has been hijacked in some ways by the world, softness being mistaken for love. When called for, neither Moses nor the prophets nor Jesus nor Paul nor Peter nor even the gentle-hearted John (see 1 John 2:4; 3:8, or the 'arrogance' of 4:6) refrained from non-subtle, non-manipulating, non-face-saving words of piercing truth, spoken in love yet doubtless perceived as harshness. And note that almost all of them were accused of arrogance, even Jesus. Were they unloving? No; it was their love itself that fueled such penetrating language.

May we examine ourselves? Asking if, at times, what we deem to be kindness on our part is cowardice? 'I don't want to be seen as offensive' can feel like 'I want the best for my brother.' Self-guarding is mistaken for love. It is in fact love of self. The devil smiles.

Luther is a massive breath of fresh air in these things. Such defibrillating clarity. In the letter to Pope Leo X that prefaces Luther's The Freedom of a Christian, Luther says:

Now I will admit to attacking false or unchristian teachings. I have not criticized the bad morals of my opponents but rather their ungodly doctrines. I am not going to repent of this! After all, I am only following the example of Christ, who did not hesitate to call his opponents such things as 'a brood of vipers'. . . . And think of the stinging criticism of the prophets! However, our ears have become more finely attuned to the empty praises of the endless lines of flatterers. As a result, we protest when any of our opinions meets with disapproval. . . .

Therefore, blessed Leo, when you read this letter and understand my intentions, I hope you see that I have never meant ill toward you personally. I have only the best wishes for you. I have no argument with any person with regard to morals. But I am unyielding when it comes to contending about the word of truth. In all other things, I will gladly yield, but I have neither the power nor the will to deny the word. If others view my motives differently, they either are not thinking straight or have failed to understand what I have said. (The Freedom of a Christian, p. 35)

Pride is frightfully pervasive, in my heart and yours. And this is a love-starved world. But let's be sure we understand what it means, truly, to renounce pride and love others.