19:17Leviticus 19:17

Thou shalt not hate a brother in the heart but shall faithfully rebuke a neighbor rather than leave him in sin, making honest corrective dealing part of how people are to treat one another.Ms 56, 1898, par. 18–20+2 It belongs to God's instruction that His people be holy in just and godly conduct, joined to loving one's neighbor as oneself and forbidding revenge and grudge-holding, spoken by Christ Himself as the same standard of love taught in the New Testament.Ms 15, 1901, par. 22–23+3 Failing to warn a sinning neighbor and seek to save him makes the silent one share his guilt and answerable to God, so wrongdoing must be promptly and plainly reproved rather than excused to seem amiable.Ms 47, 1902, par. 18–19+4 The wrong is to be told to the person alone and made right privately, not turned into criticism or gossip to others, which adds its own sin and can turn reproof into revenge.DA 441.1–4+3 Correction is to be given humbly and kindly with Christlike love, pity and prayer, aiming at restoration and healing rather than exposure, without nursing resentment into malice.Ms 16, 1892, par. 2–4+3

Inward hatred held in the heart toward a brother is forbidden, and a neighbor must be faithfully and directly rebuked rather than left to remain in sin.Ms 56, 1898, par. 18–20+4 Honest, corrective dealing with others in this way belongs to the Lord's directions for how people are to treat one another.Ms 60, 1902, par. 31–34+1 Love for one's neighbor therefore requires caring correction rather than indifference, and among believers it forbids neglecting Christian love or using passionate words and overbearing actions that cause pain, create stumbling blocks, and dishonor the truth professed.Ms 34, 1900, par. 11–14+1 Together with the following verse, the command also forbids revenge and grudges and enjoins love for one's neighbor as oneself.Ms 13a, 1891, par. 35–37

The command belongs to God's instruction that Israel be holy and to His laws for holy living and godly conduct toward others.Ms 15, 1901, par. 22–23+2 Holiness in this sense requires justice in dealing with others, forbidding oppression of a brother in any way.18MR 87.3–4 The instruction for godly conduct is not limited to members of one's own community.Ms 66, 1890, par. 7

Christ Himself is the speaker of the command, speaking from the cloudy pillar.Ms 15, 1901, par. 22–23+1 He gave in it the same high standard of love taught in the New Testament.Lt 42, 1894, par. 16–19 It stands as a lasting lesson for future generations, calling those who have received God's great gift in Christ to love one another as Christ has loved them.Lt 42, 1894, par. 16–19 These truths had been taught through Moses but had become obscured by hardness of heart and love of sin. In Christ's day Jewish religious leaders neither taught nor practiced this commandment.Ms 56, 1898, par. 18–20 The command against cherished hatred belongs with the duty to love one's neighbor as oneself, and with the prohibition of vengeance and grudges.Ms 15, 1901, par. 22–23+2 Loving the Lord with all heart, soul, strength, and mind and loving neighbor as self means not hating a brother in the heart, faithfully rebuking a neighbor rather than letting sin rest upon him, not taking revenge and not holding a grudge, but loving neighbor as self because the Lord commands it.Lt 22c, 1890, par. 1+1 Keeping this law is keeping the way of the Lord to inherit eternal life, which requires a converted heart made one with Christ with the human will made God's will.Lt 22c, 1890, par. 1

Failing to warn a sinning neighbor and seek to save him from sin implicates the silent person in his guilt, making him alike guilty with the guilty and responsible as though guilty of the act itself.Ms 47, 1902, par. 18–19+4 To leave sin unspoken upon a brother is to be guilty, and God holds accountable those who stay silent when they see sin and could have checked the evil, with His displeasure as sure upon the silent as upon the guilty.DA 441.1–4+3 This is a plain scriptural duty of faithful stewardship, to deal with wrongs and sins apparent among God's people by reproof aimed at restoration rather than passing by indifferent.Ms 47, 1902, par. 18–19+2 Such personal dealing seeks to make the matter right and settle it easily, clears the way to higher ground, preserves love for brethren with pity and prayer for those in error, and keeps souls from being lost over unsettled grievances.Ms 47, 1902, par. 18–19+2

God's servants must give pointed testimony and promptly and plainly reprove and rebuke wrongdoing rather than remain silent, excuse it, or allow sin to remain unaddressed in a brother.GW92 85.2+4 They must not shield the wrongdoer from deserved correction, especially when wrongdoing dishonors the truth or may harm and contaminate others.1T 213.2–215.2+2 To pass by wrongs indifferent virtually sustains and justifies the sinner, and to excuse wrongs because reproof is disagreeable to feeling in order to seem amiable and lovely in disposition is to shun plain duty and incur God's displeasure.5T 676+1 Love for others requires faithfully reproving wrongdoing rather than overlooking it, because passing wrongs by would sustain them.5T 676+1

Wrongdoing must be addressed without hypocrisy or partiality toward poor or powerful, and those responsible for sacred interests must be especially earnest that no evil principle goes unnoticed.Ms 26, 1896, par. 8 Rebuke may require putting away sins or separation from the church, and if wrongdoers refuse to repent and correct their faults they must be separated from the work because their principles will corrupt those connected with them.Ms 26, 1896, par. 8+1 Sympathizing with one doing wrong or opposing those who reprove him can hinder the correction God intends, encourage self-deception, and make the sympathizer accountable for failing to warn of danger.1T 213.2–215.2 Cherishing iniquity in the heart keeps the Lord from hearing, and wrong may be carried openly into life as well as held in the heart.1T 213.2–215.2 To love brethren is to love them too well to suffer sin upon them, giving faithful rebuke instead of studying self-interest and flattering and dissembling to please unsanctified ears and hearts.5T 299.3 Doing this under criticism requires a face like flint, indomitable faith and courage, and a heart made strong by constant communion with God, without which the minister shapes his testimony to avoid criticism, separates from God, loses the sense of divine favor, and his testimony becomes tame and lifeless and his labors powerless, and faithful men who so love their brethren are few indeed.5T 299.3 Failing to reprove wrong in a neighbor is neglect and unfaithfulness, and this neglect is a great sin before God, and those who praise the unfaithful and flatter the unconsecrated share in that same sin.Ms 3, 1871, par. 1

The wrong is to be taken up directly and privately with the one at fault, going to him alone, telling him his fault, explaining the matter, admonishing him so he can see his wrong, and trying to make it right and settle it easily.Ms 71, 1907+4 Love for a brother rules out both hatred in the heart and silence about his wrongdoing, and requires this humble, sincere dealing rather than letting wrongs stand.Ms 71, 1907+4 Such personal, calm discussion according to God's instruction clears the way to higher ground, heals the difficulty, preserves love for brethren, and keeps souls from being lost over unsettled grievances.Ms 71, 1907+2 Neglecting that plain duty leaves guilt of sin and a burdened conscience.Lt 30, 1868, par. 8

Rebuke is to be directed to the wrongdoer himself, not turned into private criticism, repeated gossip, or spreading the report to others.DA 441.1–4+4 Speaking of his faults to someone else does not fulfill the duty but adds a sin of its own, and excusing gossip as a way to relieve the burdened conscience is wrong.DA 441.1–4+2 Telling faults to another instead of to the brother does not rightly unburden the conscience.2T 53.1+1 Spreading the matter exposes him, worsens the difficulty and the harm to the church, and can turn reproof into revenge.DA 441.1–4+3 In correcting a fellow believer needless exposure is to be avoided.DA 441.1–4+2

Correction is to be given humbly, sincerely, kindly, courteously, and calmly, with Christlike love, pity, forgiveness, and prayer for those in error and wrong.DA 441.1–4+4 Workers are to treat fellow workers with the same earnest concern they have for themselves, showing the pity and forgiveness they themselves need from Christ.Ms 16, 1892, par. 2–4+1 The duty to warn an erring brother is to be carried out with kindness and love, because wrongdoing may come from spiritual blindness and deception, and the erring person is not to be treated as an enemy.RH May 13, 1909 Those who accept Christ's sacrifice are pledged to care especially for a brother who is going wrong.RH May 13, 1909

The aim is restoration, resolving the difficulty, helping the erring person, healing the breach, clearing the way to higher ground, preserving love for brethren, and keeping souls from being lost over unsettled grievances, not exposure or punishment.DA 441.1–4+3 Resentment must not be allowed to grow into malice, and the hurt must not be nursed, further offenses sought, or poisoned speech and railing indulged.7T 260.3–261.1+1 The wrong should be discussed calmly and privately.7T 260.3–261.1

Love for a neighbor does not keep silent when the neighbor does wrong, including departure from strict honesty, but makes the duty to do right clear to him rather than letting sin remain upon a brother.Ms 34, 1900, par. 11–14+1 Speaking up is required even when others call it mean, narrow, or cowardly.Ms 2, 1897, par. 34–37 Neglecting Christian love, or using passionate words and overbearing actions, causes pain, creates stumbling blocks, and dishonors the truth professed.Ms 34, 1900, par. 11–14

Neglecting the commanded reproof tramples God's command, hates the brother or neighbor in the heart, leaves guilt of sin and a burdened conscience, and is reproved by God as a sin of omission.2T 53.1+1 Telling the brother's faults to another person instead is a sin of commission that does not rightly relieve or unburden the conscience.2T 53.1+1