Titus 2:11-15
11 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. 12 It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, 13 while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.
15 These, then, are the things you should teach. Encourage and rebuke with all authority. Do not let anyone despise you.
This is a pretty succinct summary of what the Christian life is all about: saying “no” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and living self-controlled, upright and godly lives as we wait for Jesus. We are to be his people, pure, holy, and eager to do what is good.
Paul’s advice to teaching people how to do this: encourage and rebuke with all authority. In my experience we do pretty good with the encouragement, but not so much with the rebuking. It’s rare that I’ve witnessed or heard of a rebuke which was done with love and sympathy and encouragement as well. That seems to be the thing we consistenly fail at- either by not doing it at all, or by doing it in a way which causes harm.