So is it with sins. Some need long exhortation; others need sharp rebuke.
For not all sins need exhortation and counsel; some sins, of their very nature, demand cure by a quick and sharp excision. The wounds we can tolerate respond to more gentle cures; those which have festered and cannot be cured, those which are feeding on the rest of the body, need cauterization with a point of steel.
So is it with sins. Some need long exhortation; others need sharp rebuke. This is why Paul did not enjoin us to exhort in every case but also to rebuke sharply: "Wherefore rebuke them sharply".
Therefore, I will now rebuke them sharply, so that they may accuse themselves and feel shame for what they have done.
Therefore, I will now rebuke them sharply, so that they may accuse themselves and feel shame for what they have done.
St. John Chrysostom
