Featured

Browse at Your Own Pace

Begin wherever your curiosity leads. The studies will be here when you’re ready. When I shared my first Matthew study on Facebook today, I mentioned that I planned to post daily, though I might not share every post on Facebook. As I continue setting up this blog, I’ve realized that what matters most to me is making my past studies available for anyone who wants to explore them. For now, I’ll be adding posts to my heart’s content as I work through those studies. Some days that may mean one post; other days it may mean several. I’ll continue reading through and preparing each one before sharing it. There is no need to keep up with everything as it appears. This blog is becoming a place you can browse at your own pace—begin with a book, a question, or a study that interests you, and follow from there. The Bible Books page gathers studies by book, while Study Threads helps connect topics that travel through more than one book. The labels on individual posts also bring related material to...
Post a Comment

109. Ten Commandments: Before We Correct Another


God’s Image • Commandment 9: Do Not Bear False Witness

Our study began by distinguishing rebuke from false witness. Scripture calls for correction, but the person offering it also comes under examination.

Am I applying to myself the truth I am asking another person to follow?

First, Then

Jesus describes someone noticing a speck in his brother’s eye while overlooking a log in his own. The person offers help, yet his own sight is obstructed.

Jesus gives an order:

“first take the log out of your own eye”

— Matthew 7:5, LSB, excerpt

Then the person will see clearly to remove the speck from his brother’s eye.

Both parts matter. Jesus addresses hypocrisy while retaining the action of helping the brother. The correction begins with attending to what obstructs the would-be helper’s sight. Read Matthew 7:1–5.

Applied to our speech, this requires a personal examination: Have I demanded accuracy from someone while misrepresenting their words? Have I condemned their unwillingness to listen while refusing to hear their explanation?

Restore with Gentleness

Paul addresses a person caught in a transgression and instructs those who are spiritual to restore that person with gentleness. He also directs each helper to watch himself because he, too, may be tempted. Read Galatians 6:1.

The wrongdoing is addressed. The person correcting is also accountable.

Paul continues with bearing one another’s burdens, warns against self-deception through an inflated view of oneself, and calls each person to examine his own work. Read Galatians 6:2–5.

These instructions give us questions about the purpose of correction: Am I seeking restoration? Am I willing to examine my own conduct with the same seriousness?

What Must Our Speech Become?

Ephesians 4:25 directs believers to put away falsehood and speak truth to their neighbors, grounding that responsibility in their relationship as members of one another. Paul draws upon Zechariah 8:16, which likewise instructs people to speak truth to one another. Read Ephesians 4:25 and Zechariah 8:16.

The surrounding instructions address speech that builds up according to need, putting away slander and malice, and practicing kindness and forgiveness. Read Ephesians 4:29–32.

Truthfulness and care belong within the same instruction.

For this commandment, that means examining the accusation itself as well as how we communicate it. Gentle delivery cannot make an unsupported charge true. Accurate correction must also be offered with attention to the person receiving it.

Questions Worth Asking

  • Can I describe the actual disagreement without assigning motives I cannot establish?

  • Do I allow another person to clarify their words?

  • If I discover that I misrepresented someone, will I correct what I said?

  • Am I seeking their restoration, or satisfaction in proving myself right?

  • Do I excuse conduct in myself that I condemn in someone else?

Our responsibility remains: discern what is practiced while remaining careful about whom we condemn.

Threads to Follow

  • Truth between neighbors: Compare Zechariah 8:16–17 with Ephesians 4:25.

  • Patient correction: Revisit 2 Timothy 2:24–26 alongside Galatians 6:1.

  • Hearing before answering: Keep Proverbs 18:13, 17 beside every accusation we examine.

The books were opened…

🌿Studies by Maria Emilia ~ 🗺️Continue exploring: Visit Bible Books to find studies organized by book of the Bible, along with related studies and links.

Comments

Post a Comment