So let's assume that we are hurt by a brother or sister in Christ and we decide to confront that person and rebuke him or her face to face and give the opportunity to repent in accordance with Luke 17:3.
Surely our obedience will be rewarded with smooth conversation where the offender sees the error of his or her ways and then asks for forgiveness. Maybe we will come to understand better how we ourselves contributed to the conflict and we also apologize. We cry together, we hug, and then we move forward with a newfound unity in Christ.
Right?
Although this is the goal, Scripture does not promise it will necessarily work out this way.
Humans are humans.
In fact, Luke 17 itself implies that all may not go perfectly just because of our obedience in confronting the brother or sister: "If your brother or sister sins against you, rebuke them, and if they repent, forgive them. Even if they sin against you seven times is a day and seven times come back to you saying, 'I repent,' you must forgive them."
Jesus implies that at least two major things could go wrong during this confrontation:
1) The person does not repent. Notice that Jesus says "IF they repent..." They might not. Which is logical, really. For example, he or she might very well feel that you are making a big deal out of a minor incident. In general, humans do not excel in seeing each other's viewpoint.
2) Perhaps even worse, the offender might apologize but then persist in repeating the offensive behavior or talk. If so, Jesus keeps us on the hook to continue forgiving him or her - even up to seven times a day!
Human interactions are messy and conflict resolution is not easy.
Nevertheless, that is not a valid excuse for us to disobey Jesus' direct command to rebuke a brother or sister who sins against us.
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