Confronting Sin - Part 2

(Make sure you read part 1 first)

Now in confronting I am not talking about yelling and condemning. The nature of Jesus was not to condemn yet it was not to ignore sin but to while loving the sinner, confront the sin. Let’s look at a story of how Jesus handled a sinner.

John 8:7-11

"If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." 8 Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.

9 At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. 10 Jesus straightened up and asked her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?"

11 "No one, sir," she said.

"Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared. "Go now and leave your life of sin."

NIV

Jesus sets up two strong examples of how to be Jesus to someone caught in sin. First Jesus did not condemn. He did not attack. The word condemn here is a root of the word punish. Jesus was not out to punish this women, and we are not to try to be the judge that punishes those that sin against us. But he still said to her “leave your life of sin”. Another version says “Go and sin no more”. Jesus does not ignore the sin. He still confronts, lovingly, but calls the life she had been living sin and said leave that life. I believe this is consistent with Mathew 18. The purpose is to win our fellow believer over from sin to righteousness. If we do not challenge each other and confront each other of sin then we are in danger of playing a part of people falling deeper into their life of sin. A sin that at one point might have only hurt a few but when escalating will hurt many more.

This is what I am seeing in our relationships today. We allow sin to occur against us and to others and refuse to address it hiding behind some false spiritual idea that Jesus did things like that. That is a lie and must end now, in all of us. It is a lie based on fear of confronting. A lie based on fear of rejection. A lie based on a fear of others response to us confronting. Fear can never be what defines and determines our actions. One of my most favorite verses in the Bible that has constantly challenged me is in 2 Timothy 1:7:

2 Tim 1:7

7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

Follow that with this next verse on love.

1 John 4:16-18

God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. 17 In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him. 18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

NIV

When we tell our selves that to love someone is to let their sin go and ignore their sin we ignore what real love is. Love was manifested perfectly in Jesus and in Jesus’ love He confronted sin. If you want to truly love someone, die to your fears and love by being Jesus to them in all aspects of Jesus ministry. The loving father, who does not condemn but yet, does not ignore sin. I believe we end up sinning against our brother and sisters, our friends, when we “ignore sin” or just “let it go”

I want to challenge each of you, including me to break away from this lie that I have seen driving our Christian relationships. This lie is hurting us and we don’t even see it. Please seek God on this. Challenge your thoughts and actions against is word. Not just against your personal thoughts on conflict and sin. If you truly want to be Jesus then take action to change the patterns of sin and complacency that is coming so quickly upon us.

I will end with one more verse. One many of us don’t like to hear but if you still think that you can’t confront sin because you are not to judge others. Read the verse below.

1 Cor 5:12-13

12 What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? 13 God will judge those outside. "Expel the wicked man from among you.

NIV

We are not called to judge those outside of the family of God but we are called to judge each other, for two main reasons. The first being all that I have written before but the second being that eventually we have to take strong action against sin and remove it from our body if those sinning refuse to acknowledge their sin and work to change. This is even tougher but my point is to do whatever you can to not let it get to this point. Fight for each other and our relationships in the little things so we can stand strong to not get to the place when we have to deal with the big things. It is all worth it to honor Christ’s with our actions and help keep each other strong in our actions and faith.

God bless all of you!

Your Fellow Servant In Christ,

David Baxley

Confronting Sin - Part 1

Dear friends, brother and sisters in Christ,

I am writing this because I have been noticing a pattern that greatly concerns me. It is a pattern that I see hurting friendships and the ministries I see people being a part of. I have been working in ministry and with ministry people in close relationship for over ten years. I have always seen conflicts come and go but what I am starting to observe more recently really disturbs me. I am seeing people hurt on not talking about. I see people getting angry and not admitting to it. I see friends becoming bitter and not dealing with it. I am seeing people hide there emotions and feelings around some warped false idea that to be Jesus with each other means to ignore the things that people do wrong and act as if all is fine. That is not being Jesus, that is living a lie and ignoring a huge part of Jesus and his teaching on dealing with relationships and conflicts in the body of Christ.

At first I just thought that the situations were rare and unique but as I have become closer with many of those I serve with or live in fellowship with I am realizing that this blinding and ignoring of wrongs done to us and to others in the name of being Jesus is not only a false teaching but a lie form the enemy that he is and will continue to use against the body of Christ until we choose to stop it.

Lest start right from scripture:

Matt 18:15-17

15 "If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. 16 But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that 'every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.' 17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector.

NIV

These words come right out of the mouth of Jesus. So it is very safe to assume that to be Jesus to each other means to follow His teaching, hence, follow this verse. The first line is where it all starts, “if your brother sins against you GO”. This to me appears as a command. Jesus says GO. He doesn’t say if you feel like it go, or if it is worth dealing with go, or if you are hurt or angry enough go. No, it says if someone sins against you go. For what purpose do you go? You go to win your brother over. You go to restore a relationship, not just between you and the person but between that person and God who they have also sinned against. You go to keep the sin from happening again.

Lets say some one I know that I am friends with is having a rough time financially. In this I realize that they stole $20 from my wallet. If they were in need that badly I would have given it to them so what is the point of addressing it, I will be Jesus to them by just letting them have it. That is what I hear so many saying. But the problem is that next week they steel $20 from someone else. Then the next week they steal from someone else. Then they end up stealing a purse or a wallet or even worse. The entire build up of sin that could lead a person to jail could have all been avoided by the first person confronting the sin that occurred. The enemy wins because I hid behind a lie that to be Jesus to them I “let sin go”. My experience with sin, and from what I see in God’s word, is that it does not just stop on its own. It usually takes a bad fall in their sin for people to start to turn. Would it not be better if we would love each other enough to confront sin in the little or big things so that the sin does not begin to consume our brother or sister and cause them or others around them to take that terrible fall?