Proverbs 24:25 But to them that rebuke him shall be delight, and a good blessing shall come upon them.
God promises delight and a good blessing for those people who rebuke those that call a wicked person righteous (v.24). In other words, we don’t call evil good, nor do we call good evil either. We don’t need to judge or condemn people, but we do need to call out sin when we see it.
A spade is a spade. A sin is a sin. A sinner is not a good person, much less righteous, until he is redeemed by Christ. “Call no man good.” “There is not a righteous man upon earth, that doeth good and sinneth not, no, not one.” The Law is not preached to make a person feel bad, but to make him feel terrible, a poor wretched sinner. A sinner needs to be convinced of his sin in order for the Gospel to do its sweet work. Then the wicked sinner is accounted righteous by faith. He is righteous because of Christ, and not because of any good in him. “Nothing good dwells in me. [Romans 7:18].”
Applying Law and Gospel to yourself is not so easy, for it requires timing. Rebuking is a good thing, but it must be done at the right time, for the right reason, and in the right way. The Law is for the smug; the Gospel for the troubled. For this reason the Lord says that the “rebuker” shall have delight and a good blessing. He doesn’t specify here what that blessing will be, but we know that it will be good.