(This is part 2 in a series. The Intro can be found here. Part 1 here)
“And I myself also am persuaded of you, my brethren, that ye also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another” (Rom 15:14).
Exhorting or admonishing others can be difficult, if not downright uncomfortable.[1] But this is especially the case when spiritual disaster is at issue. When we are made to watch a brother or sister walk dangerously close to the edge of apostasy, that narrow and crumbling rim where the line between life and death is but separated by a hair, we often reel with bewilderment and uncertainty, unsure of what to say or do. Might we simply love them, or pray for them, or plead with them, or brow beat them? Should we warn them? And if so, how? Should we encourage them? If so, how?
These are all admittedly difficult questions, and while the circumstances surrounding each particular case will affect the details, there are, perhaps, a few constants. And the book of Hebrews helps us discern them. Read more