It is important to note that everything we do has to be in conjunction with the fruit of the Spirit. This means that if we see something in someone that needs correction, we need to be kind, gentle and self controlled in the way we approach them. Also, the scripture tells us to correct people with humility and sensitivity.
The trouble is in a lot of church situations, correction is done without kindness and gentleness, with a lack of patience and self-control, and much harm has resulted. I don't see this type of correction is motivated by The Holy Spirit in any shape or form. So you might not care what people think about you if you went and corrected another person on the basis of "law" and used the New Testament equivalent of "stoning", but God will be disappointed in you for not doing it in accordance with the fruit of the Spirit and as a true representative of Christ. In fact, He may the the first one to brand you as a viper and a hypocrite in the same way Jesus branded the hypocritical Pharisees.
The gift of the Word of Knowledge has been widely misused in churches because when a person has received a word of knowledge about a sin in another, they have gone to that person, many times in public, and said (for example), "God has shown me that you are committing the sin of masturbation and you need to repent!" It was most probable that the word of knowledge was for the person receiving it so they could intercede, and then ask for a Word of Wisdom about whether to approach the other person, and if so, what is the best way.
There is the example of a pastor getting a Word of Knowledge in an altar call about a man who was having an affair with another woman. Instead of saying it directly, he was prompted by The Spirit to say, "God wants to enhance your ministry by increasing the bond of love you have for your wife." At that the man broke down and confessed about his affair, and he was effectively dealt with. Another pastor had a word of knowledge about a member who was addicted to inappropriate content. Instead of saying, "God wants to break you of your addiction to inappropriate content" in front of everyone, he said, "God wants to make you entirely clean." At that the man started weeping and told the pastor that he was addicted to inappropriate content and that his constant prayer was, "Lord make me clean."
You see, harshly correcting people on the basis of law without considering how to correct another in the context of the fruit of Spirit, can harm your future in ministry, because if you are considered for a pastoral role in the church, those who have the job of selecting team members may get a word from God not to employ you because He does not support the way you correct people, in that you are doing them more harm than good. Therefore, if you think you are being passed over for ministry responsibility in your church, then you might consider that being one of the important reasons why.
