Admonish, Exhort, and Edify
Romans 15
14. And I myself also am persuaded of you, my brethren, that ye
yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also
to admonish one another.
16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; in all wisdom teaching
and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,
singing with grace in your hearts unto God.
Hebrews 3
13 but exhort one another day by day, so long as it is called To-day;
lest any one of you be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin:
I. Definition
A. To admonish is to warn, instruct, or counsel. When we see brethren
erring, we must say something, in the right spirit and manner, of
course, as we shall see.
1 Thessalonians 5
14 And we exhort you, brethren, admonish the disorderly, encourage
the fainthearted, support the weak, be longsuffering toward all.
Galatians 6
1. Brethren, even if a man be overtaken in any trespass, ye who are
spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; looking to
thyself, lest thou also be tempted.
I believe the key word here would be RESTORE. That is the purpose and
intention of confronting another person�s wrong. That must be the
only purpose - and from a heart of love and a spirit of meekness.
B. To exhort is to advise, urge, or encourage. Add this to
good counsel and what you have is a persistent urging of a brother or
sister to get things right. Often, people need to be gently shoved
in the right direction, or at least encouraged to do so.
Interestingly, the word used here is paraclesis, which is the same
word used in reference to the Holy Spirit when Jesus called him the
Comforter. It literally means "to go alongside". Normally, it is not
enough to tell someone what to do, you must lead them - go along with
them in order to encourage.
C. To edify is to build up, or to strengthen. It is not really enough
just to instruct or counsel, and to walk with one, but confidence must
be added to the equation. A person needs to know someone believes in
them. They need to be built up in their faith. They need to be s
trengthened with Godly counsel and encouragement.
And so, we see a multifaceted ministry responsibility here - to
instruct, to help, and to strengthen. If we will all do that, in the
right spirit, we will all be winners.
This is not a casual thing or a brief thing, but a deliberate taking
responsibility for each other. Now before you go too far with that,
I am going to give some detailed instruction on just how to do it in
a way that will be proper - that will be received - and that will not
be intrusive or offensive.
I would also add, at this point, that we must first accept one another,
love one another, be of the same mind with one another, and have a
full understanding of what it means to be members of one another and
devoted to one another before we can undertake to admonish one another.
I would hope at this stage of our relationship, that if I offered a
word of correction to you, you already know how much I love you, and
you could receive it because I have already proven my love and devotion
to you.
I can only offer correction based on my relationship with another
person. It would not, and probably should not be received from any
other stance.
II. Qualifications to counsel others
"- full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish
one another."
A. You must be full of goodness. That is, you must be living a holy,
Christ-like life.
You must be mature enough to remove the log from your own eye before
you try to remove the speck from your brother�s eye.
If we are to grow spiritually, we must be mature enough to admonish
and to take admonishing. If we do this according to biblical guidelines,
it will not spill over into judgmentalism.
The key is to clean up your own act before you try to clean up somebody
else�s.
B. You must be filled with all knowledge. You must have adequate
knowledge and insight into God�s Word.
This is vitally important. We must know the difference between
the absolutes of God�s Word and the non-absolutes of society and our
own interpretations.
Watch out for extra-biblical knowledge and cultural Christianity.
Extra biblical knowledge is those things that we think are
right or necessary, but are not scripturally grounded. It may be
tradition, or simply "what grandpa said was gospel". There are lots
of things we think are biblical which are not, simply because we grew
up hearing or thinking those things.
Cultural Christianity is similar. It is those convictions
which have become generally accepted by a people or a culture, but
have no biblical precedent or foundation.
We must be sure we are on biblical ground and that we are interpreting
correctly, or rightly dividing the scriptures. If it is not specifically
spelled out in the Word of God, don�t confront another on it. If it
is, make sure you use the scripture as your ground.
Most admonishing that goes on in the body is "here is what I think
you are doing wrong and what I think you should do".
III. Requirements of proper admonishing.
A. It must be done with deep concern and with love.
Acts 20
31 Wherefore watch ye, remembering that by the space of three years
I ceased not to admonish every one night and day with tears.
B. It must be done on a personal basis. That means I go to you
personally and privately. I don�t tell others what I think you should
do. I go to you directly.
Neither should it be done with an audience. The goal is to help, not
to shame.
C. It must be a persistent thing - a continual thing. It is a
relationship thing, not a "correction" thing. It is not a one time,
"you got the message, now straighten" kind of approach.
Remember, we instruct or correct, then we help by being there
on a continuing basis (it is a commitment), and as we go, I encourage
or strengthen you. It is not a thing where you give somebody a piece
of your mind and then expect them to get it together. This is a
family thing. We are committed to each other, and we will help each
other to maturity.
D. It must be done with pure motives.
1Corinthians 4
14. I write not these things to shame you, but to admonish you as my
beloved children.
Most of what passes for admonishing today is not done with
pure, biblical motives. That is because we do not understand
correction and because we are afraid of each other. We usually bark
out what should be said with all tenderness.
Let�s remember the purpose of correction:
Colossians 1
28 whom we proclaim, admonishing every man and teaching every man
in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ;
29 whereunto I labor also, striving according to his working, which
worketh in me mightily.
Ephesians 4
13 till we all attain unto the unity of the faith, and of the
knowledge of the Son of God, unto a fullgrown man, unto the measure
of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
14 that we may be no longer children, tossed to and fro and carried
about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, in craftiness,
after the wiles of error;
15 but speaking truth in love, we may grow up in all things into
him, who is the head, even Christ;
Now here is where others fit in -
16 from whom all the body fitly framed and knit together through that
which every joint supplieth, according to the working in due measure
of each several part, maketh the increase of the body unto the building
up of itself in love.
Our goal is to help one another to maturity. That is all.
That is the only purpose that is worthy of Christ.
Admonishment may be -
Corrective - to rebuke sinful practices, or
Preventive - to steer one clear of error, or to warn.
IV. How do I approach Admonishing? How do I do it correctly?
A. Ask yourself, "Is my life full of goodness? Am I living holy
myself? Am I really in a position to confront someone else�s wrongs?"
If you are in sin, or you are not in perfect obedience to God�s Word,
you must not attempt to admonish others.
B. Do I really know what the Bible teaches about holy living and
righteousness? Do I really know what it ways about the matter I am
attempting to correct? Do I have a clear understanding, or am I just
operating on an opinion?
C. Am I doing this for the right reason? Do I really want to help
the other person fulfill their rightful place with God, or do I just
want to feel important, or do I just want them to do it my way?
Do I have a deep concern for the other person? Will I come
across angry, resentful, mean, or loving?
2 Timothy 2
24 And the Lord's servant must not strive, but be gentle towards all,
apt to teach, forbearing,
25 in meekness correcting them that oppose themselves; if peradventure
God may give them repentance unto the knowledge of the truth,
D. Am I going to the person in private? Is this a matter between
that person and me, or am I letting others know about it? Am I making
myself look important at another person�s expense?
E. Am I persistent without being obnoxious or overbearing?
F. Am I truly building up, or am I tearing down?
G. Is my soul purpose to help the other mature in Christ? And have
I attained the same level of maturity I am expecting of them?
V. Christian responsibility
Can we calmly ignore the sin around us and not say anything?
Can we see our brethren plunge headlong into error and not speak up?
Is it your duty to confront and admonish?
If you love them, yes it is! If you are committed to them, yes it is!
Shouldn�t I just tell the pastor and let him deal with it? Maybe, in
some cases, but first ask yourself these questions:
Is this matter really important enough to present to the pastor?
Am I willing to trust the pastor to handle this matter as He
feels led and sees fit, or am I just trying to sic him on somebody? Or
am I just trying to �tattle�?
Am I willing to let it go after I give it to him?
Am I close enough to this person to deal with it myself and
not bother the pastor with it?
Remember, you are your "brother�s keeper", but you are not his "hound
dog". If he/she receives correction and appreciates your help, then
you have the �go ahead� to pursue helping them. If they reject or
tolerate you input, back off. You will do more harm than good to
pursue it.
Matthew 18
15. And if thy brother sin against thee, go, show him his fault
between thee and him alone: if he hear thee, thou hast gained thy
brother.
Matthew 10
14 And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, as ye
go forth out of that house or that city, shake off the dust of your
feet.
Again, your are your brother�s keeper, but you are not his judge. Your
chief guideline must be:
Galatians 6
1. Brethren, even if a man be overtaken in any trespass, ye who are
spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; looking to
thyself, lest thou also be tempted.
The main temptation you may need to be concerned about is the
temptation to place yourself above the person you are admonishing.
But remember, today you may be on the giving end, tomorrow you may be
on the receiving end. We continually help one another out in this
Christian walk!
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