Them that sin rebuke before all, that others also may fear.
Read Chapter 5
Augustine of Hippo
AD 430
Who is the hired hand? One who sees the wolf coming and flees. One who seeks his own things, not those of Jesus Christ. He does not dare openly to accuse the sinner. Suppose someone has sinned, and sinned grievously. He ought to be reproached and perhaps excommunicated. But if he is excommunicated, you imagine, he will be an enemy, he will make plots, he will do harm when he can. Now consider one who seeks his own things, not those of Jesus Christ. He does not lose what he is pursuing, the advantage of a human friendship. He does not incur the distress of human enmities—he is quiet; he does not correct. Look, the wolf seizes the sheep’s throat. The devil has persuaded a believer to commit adultery. You are silent; you do not scold. O hired hand, you saw the wolf coming and you fled.
And here is a dilemma which often occurs: If you punish a man, you may ruin him. If you leave him unpunished, you may ruin another. I admit that I make mistakes in this matter every day.
A feigned kindness to the wicked is a betrayal of the truth, an act of treachery to the community and a means of habituating oneself to indifference to evil…. “Them that sin, reprove before all,” says the apostle, and he immediately adds the reason, saying, “that the rest also may have fear.” The Long ules, Q...
Do not, he says, hastily cut them off, but carefully enquire into all the circumstances, and when you have thoroughly informed yourself, then proceed against the offender with rigor, that others may take warning. For as it is wrong to condemn hastily and rashly, so not to punish manifest offenses is to open the way to others, and embolden them to offend.
Rebuke, he says, to show that it is not to be done lightly, but with severity. For thus others will be deterred. How is it then that Christ says, Go and tell him his fault between him and you alone, if one sin against you. Matthew 18:15 But Christ Himself permits him to be censured in the Church. What then? Is it not a greater scandal, that one should be rebuked before all? How so? For it is a much greater scandal, that the offense should be known, and not the punishment. For as when sinners go unpunished, many commit crimes; so when they are punished, many are made better. God Himself acted in this manner. He brought forth Pharaoh,...
Do not, he says, hastily cut them off, but carefully inquire into all the circumstances. When you have thoroughly informed yourself, then proceed against the offender with rigor, that others may take warning. For as it is wrong to condemn hastily and rashly, so not to punish manifest offenses is to open the way to others, and embolden them to offend…. Let us therefore love God with fear … as I have ever said, the threatenings of hell show the care of God for us no less than the promises of heaven.
