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I had a wonderful opportunity last week. One that I have been inexcusably negligent in. I went to a mid-week bible study at the home of an elder in my new church. I want to focus this post on a question that consumed a large portion of our discussion about discipleship and believers. It's worth mention that the title of "disciple" in the larger context of new testament scripture is used synonymously with the title of "Christian". I would also ad that all believers are "disciples" of Jesus the Christ.
The question?
How are disciples of Jesus, to relate to a professing Christian who has a habitual problem with a lesser sin?
I don't want to address the obvious sins, but rather the subtle sins. I want you to think about bitterness, resentment, temper, white lies, selfishness, etc.
Not to measure the seriousness of these individual sins, but to consider whether or not a pattern of on-going lesser sin, could or should be recognized as evidence of an un-regenerate faker who wants his peers to think he is a Christian because he thrives on their acceptance and approval.
At what point should true believers, confront these types habitual sins, and what response should we expect from fellow true believers after they have been confronted? I would like to suggest that a major defining characteristic of a true believer, is that he will eventually embrace an opportunity to repent of any sin that could hinder his communion with God. How then should a true believer relate to the professing Christian who denies the truth of his sin and gains only insult from the encounter?
More next time
David
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7 comments:
It's interesting how we try to put levels on or "quantify" sin. A simple example would be looking at the 10 commandments, and then breaking them down even further as Jesus did. Have you spoken ill of your brother? Then you have committed murder. Sin is sin. All the more proof that we need a savior, and that we ALL are sinners. And yes, even what we call the "small sins" are still sin that need to be repented of.
Well, I sent that first post a bit prematurely without answering your question!!!
To continue....
Should we confront those people? Like I said earlier, we have a tendency to quantify sin, therefore going back to the discussion Jesus had regarding the 10 commandments, I would think this be a reminder/conviction to a true believer.
Granted, none of us are perfect by any means, and so we use these different levels to say, "Well, at least I don't do THAT". And realizing that the "small stuff" really isn't just small in God's eye, that sin is sin, may make a person more conscious of their actions as a whole.
Rich,
I hope to continue this conversation over several posts. Thank you for your input. One of the pricipals that I will soon address is the thought provoking "log in my eye, splinter in yours" principal
David
I wonder if the principle "Let he who is without sin, cast the first stone would apply here?
The passage where Christ says "He that is without sin among you, let him cast the first stone" is from John 8:7. Since the context should always be considered to determine the application, it seems important to be aware that Christ was speaking to the Scribes and the pharisees. Though there are other issues that could be discussed from this passage, it seems apparent that Christ was speaking to nonbelievers. Thus I must question whether His comment in this passage should be used as an example for issues in a believer's life. Since other Scripture passages clearly outline procedures to be followed for confronting a fellow believer who is living in sin, it seems obvious that there are some situations where Scripture requires accountability between believers.
I realize this comment doesn't address the question posed in the original post, but I thought it might be pertinent in response to a previous comment.
anonymous,
Thank you for a very wise comment. I sense that you have a fair amount of background and training.
context is king
David
Actually, I chose to respond because I have actually been in a church discipline situation where the "he who is without sin among you cast the first stone" quote was used to argue against church discipline for 2 unmarried people who professed to be Christians who were living together and at the same time were attending a church membership class. In that situation, the Scripture passages regarding church discipline were either completely ignored or discounted by the church leadership and no distinction was made between believers or nonbelievers. I feel that is a crucial error.
The purpose of church discipline is to eventually restore the believer to repentance and his/her place in the body of Christ. Stoning the woman in John 8 would have resulted in her death with no chance of repentance or restoration. That is completely different goal than church discipline.
Here's some more food for thought and discussion. Even though Christians do sin, Scripture tells us that when a believer repents and asks forgiveness, Christ's blood effectively covers that sin and for all practical purposes, positionally, the believer is righteous by God's own decree (or "without sin"). Christ's audience in the John 8 passage were nonbelievers, thus in no way, could they be without sin. Maybe Christ was pointing out their own unrepentant hearts and lost conditions with his statement.
I'm very concerned that tolerance is oft times mistaken for mercy in today's church. But to ignore the Scriptural admonition for church discipline in the case of nonrepentant believers not only would be a sin of disobedience, it would slander Christ's name and pollute His body.
Certainly believers need to search our own hearts prayerfully before God, ask Him to show us sin in our own lives, repent and accept his forgiveness before we approach a professing brother or sister in a church discipline situation.
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