How Do We Admonish?

Southeast Christian Church

Sep 21, 2022

Remember that when you admonish a fellow brother or sister in Christ, the goal is to build that person up. The purpose is to help that other person, not to try to make yourself look better. If we look back at the story of Apollos in Acts 18:26, we read, “He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they invited him to their home and explained to him the way of God more adequately.” Some translations say that they "explained the word of God more perfectly".

So, what's taking place here? Aquila and Priscilla, a Christ-following couple, take this brilliant preacher and they invite him to come over to their home. And through the course of conversation, they lovingly admonish him. They gently correct him by informing him of a different kind of baptism than what John the Baptist had talked about. This is a textbook example of how to admonish. They listened, they observed, and they made a gracious invitation for him to come to their home. They spoke the truth. They gave him wisdom that he didn't already have. And later on, we're going to find that they give him encouragement.

Aquila and Priscilla didn't hold him hostage by his mistake or write him off. No, they actually stood up for him. It's the perfect picture of truth, wisdom, and love. And like a wise passenger in the car who points out something in the blind spot that the driver doesn't see, Aquila and Priscilla didn't ignore the problem, but they also didn't discourage Apollos by being too harsh or criticizing him behind his back. The goal of admonishment is to disciple without discouraging, to counsel without condemning.

Discussion/Reflection Questions: When have you been admonished in the incorrect way to where you felt discouarged and condemned? How did you receive these words and how did you respond?

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