Proverbs 9:7–9
He that reproves a scorner gets to himself shame: and he that rebukes a wicked man gets himself a blot.
Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate you: rebuke a wise man, and he will love you.
Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser: teach a just man, and he will increase in learning.
All those who will obtain wisdom or be saved from sin must be open to receive wise reproof. In fact, all faithful, God-fearing families and churches will continually exercise the ministry of correction. They will insist upon true repentance, mortification of the flesh, and reformation of culture and life. Such ministries are unpopular today. Who would choose to attend a church with the name of “Repentance Community Church,” or “Reproof Presbyterian Church?” Whereas the first churches in the book of Acts had included repentance and faith as equally defining of the ministry of the Word (Acts 20:21), modern church goers prefer faith without repentance, and the ministry of encouragement over reproof. But, here is presented two groups of individuals—those who receive reproof and those who do not.
The plain fact of the matter is that every person on this earth is commanded to repent. If they do not repent and trust in God’s salvation, they will go to Hell. This is the Gospel of Solomon and it is the plain Gospel of Jesus Christ (Luke 13:3,5; 24:47).
Without exception, pastors and counselors who sign up for this “ministry of reproof ” will subject themselves to a measure of risk. Some people do not want to change, nor do they want to be told “what to do.” They take reproofs as an offense. Yet, the Christian pastor is still called to minister reproofs and call men and women to repentance, as the Apostles patterned it for us in the Book of Acts. There is forgiveness in Christ for those who see their sin and their urgent need for God’s mercy.
But, the scorner has distinguished himself as one who rejects all reproof, and the time comes at which the counselor must cease and desist. He has said his piece and the counsel has been rejected. The Lord actually warned about “casting pearls before swine” (Matt. 7:6). Further igniting the anger of the scoffer has no benefit, but only subjects the counselor to more vehement scorn.
“Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser: teach a just man, and he will increase in learning.”
Contrariwise to the scorner’s attitudes and reactions, the wise man is eager to receive good counsel, and he humbly accepts correction because he knows that these words sustain his very life. Reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness must always accommodate a life of humility, repentance, and ever-increasing faith in Jesus Christ for His salvation (2 Tim. 3:16-17). Those attending “Reproof Community Church” realize their own failings, and they are quite ready to repent when corrected by the standards of God’s holy law. They are perpetually renewing their minds, in order to prove what is that “good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Rom. 12:2). These are the ones growing, repenting, reforming, and ever increasing in learning. Shall the Christian be identified primarily by a one-time experience like a baptism or a profession of faith, or by his following the Shepherd, participating in ongoing discipleship, and by a life of sanctification? The believer is marked by a willing reception of correction and an increase in wisdom and spiritual maturity over the years.
1. Are we a repenting family? Are we open to messages that would encourage us to repent?
2. How can you tell if you are dealing with a scoffer? What happens if you label somebody a scoffer and it turns out that they are willing to receive godly reproof? Reference James 2:20. Might we use this as an excuse for cowardice and refuse to correct a sinner in his ways? “He which converts the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death” (Jas. 5:20).