“And concerning you, my brethren, I myself also am convinced that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able also to admonish one another.” — Romans 15:14
As we continue our series, “One Another Christianity: Living the Christian Life Together,” we are being reminded of a simple but important truth: we need one another. God never intended the Christian life to be lived in isolation. He saves us and places us into a body where we worship together, serve together, encourage one another, bear one another’s burdens, forgive one another, and help one another become more like Christ.
Sometimes that means another Christian will need to help us see something we cannot see ourselves. We all have blind spots. We can become discouraged, confused, spiritually careless, or even begin justifying things Scripture clearly condemns. At those moments, one of God’s great gifts to us is a faithful brother or sister who loves us enough to come alongside us, open the Bible, and help us think rightly. That is what Paul has in mind in Romans 15:14 when he says believers are “able also to admonish one another.”
We Need One Another to Help Us Grow
The word translated “admonish” carries the idea of instructing, warning, counseling, or correcting someone for their spiritual good. Notice that Paul does not reserve this ministry exclusively for pastors. Certainly, pastors have a unique responsibility to teach the Word and shepherd the flock, but there is also a ministry of the Word that should take place throughout the entire church. Mature Christians should help other Christians grow. Older believers should pour into younger believers. Friends should encourage friends. Husbands and wives should help one another think biblically. Brothers and sisters in Christ should care enough about one another that when someone begins to wander, we do not simply stand by and watch.
Put simply, we need one another to help us think rightly so that we can live rightly. But Paul does not tell everyone to begin correcting everyone else. He gives us important qualifications for this kind of ministry.
Instruct One Another with Godly Character
Paul says these believers were “full of goodness.” Before we begin correcting someone else, we ought to examine our own hearts. Jesus warned about trying to remove the speck from our brother’s eye while ignoring the log in our own (Matthew 7:3–5). That does not mean we must be perfect before we can help someone else. If perfection were required, none of us could ever say anything. But it does mean that the person giving biblical instruction should be sincerely pursuing holiness.
Ezra provides a wonderful pattern. Ezra 7:10 says, “For Ezra had set his heart to study the law of the LORD and to practice it, and to teach His statutes and ordinances in Israel.” Notice the order: he studied it, practiced it, and then taught it. Before we tell someone else what the Bible says, we should ask whether we are submitting ourselves to what the Bible says. Truth should first work in us before we seek to apply it to someone else.
Instruct One Another with an Open Bible
Paul also says these believers were “filled with all knowledge.” That is essential because we are not called to instruct one another according to our opinions, traditions, personalities, or preferences. We instruct one another according to the Word of God.
There is a tremendous difference between saying, “I wouldn’t do that,” and saying, “Brother, Scripture speaks clearly about this.” We must be careful not to turn our personal preferences into biblical commands. Not every disagreement requires correction. Not everything that irritates us is sinful. The goal is not to make everyone think exactly like us or do everything the way we would do it. The goal is to help one another become more like Christ.
Before correcting someone, then, we should ask ourselves a simple question: Can I open my Bible and clearly show why this matters? If we cannot, perhaps we need to be slower to speak. But when Scripture clearly speaks, love should not remain silent.
Instruct One Another Because You Love Them
Our motive matters just as much as our message. We do not correct someone to win an argument, prove that we are right, embarrass them, or demonstrate how much Bible knowledge we possess. We instruct because we love God, we love His truth, and we love the person standing in front of us.
Sometimes love encourages. Sometimes love comforts. Sometimes love listens. And sometimes love puts an arm around a brother or sister and says, “I love you too much not to talk with you about this.” Paul tells us to be “speaking the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15). We need both. Truth without love becomes harsh, while love without truth becomes sentimental. Biblical love cares enough about another person’s soul to graciously speak the truth.
Be Willing to Receive Instruction Too
There is another side to this command that we cannot overlook. If Christians are supposed to instruct one another, then Christians must also be willing to receive instruction from one another. That may actually be the harder part.
It is easy to see someone else’s blind spots. It is much harder to hear about our own. When a faithful Christian who loves you comes to you with an open Bible and a genuine concern, resist the temptation to immediately become defensive. Listen. Pray. Search the Scriptures. Ask yourself whether the Lord may be using that brother or sister to expose something in your life that needs to change.
One of the marks of spiritual maturity is not that we never need correction. It is that we are teachable when correction comes. A humble Christian should be willing to say, “If I am wrong, show me from the Word of God. I want to change.”
This Is What a Healthy Church Family Does
Imagine a church where people know one another deeply enough to recognize when someone is struggling, love one another enough to get involved, know their Bibles well enough to offer real help, and are humble enough to receive that help when they need it. That is a beautiful picture of the church.
We do not need Christians policing one another. We need Christians shepherding one another. We need older saints patiently helping younger saints. We need mature believers coming alongside those who are struggling. We need friends who will encourage us when we are weary, warn us when we are drifting, and point us back to Christ when our thinking becomes confused.
You need Christians in your life who love you enough to tell you the truth. And there are Christians around you who need the same from you. So know your Bible. Pursue holiness. Build real relationships. Be humble enough to receive correction and loving enough to give it.
Study the Word. Live the Word. Then lovingly help one another obey the Word.
That is One Another Christianity. That is living the Christian life together.