The Bible says that as
christians preach and teach the Word of God there will come as a result
a rebuking or censure of evil (2 Timothy 4:2). We must condemn evil
behavior in brothers and sisters in the Lord as well as in the lives of
non-christians (Luke 17:3; Titus 1:13; 1 Thessalonians 5:14; Ephesians
5:11). In the latter of the preceding verse references Paul told Titus
to speak out against the wickedness of the inhabitants of the island of
Crete. Paul said, "One of them, a prophet of their own, said, "Cretans
are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons." {13} "This testimony is
true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in
the faith," (Titus 1:12-13).
The Bible says that
when christians do speak out against evil that many will not hear nor
appreciate their efforts (Ecclesiastes 7:5). When John the baptizer
spoke out against Herod for the open immorality he was practicing in his
own family it led to John's own execution (Luke 3:19-20; Matthew
14:1-12). The same fate befell Stephen when he spoke out against the
hard hearted legalism of the Jews (Acts 7:1-60).
The Bible says that the
aim of speaking out against evil is to help those caught up in it to see
the error of their lives, and to motivate them to repent (Jude 23;
Matthew 18:15-17; Luke 17:3-4). When Peter saw that Simon the Sorcerer
was attempting to buy the power of the Holy Spirit with money Peter
rebuked him in a very sharp and critical way (Acts 8:20-23). As a result
of Peter's rebuke Simon did repent and asked Peter to pray for him (Acts
8:24).
Even though speaking
out against evil is not an easy thing to do the Bible says that those
who do will be blessed for it. In Proverbs 28:23, Solomon wrote, "He who
rebukes a man will find more favor afterward than he who flatters with
the tongue." Just as Jesus spoke out against the evil of His day, we as
His followers must not remain silent (Hebrews 12:5; Proverbs 27:5).