Confronting with Truth

Verse of the day: Leviticus 5:1 If a person sins in hearing the utterance of an oath, and is a witness, whether he has seen or known of the matter—if he does not tell it, he bears guilt.

Here is something we do not often think about as Christians. In the Old Testament, if a person witnessed, or knew about a wrongdoing, and did not act to correct it, by testifying against it, God considered that person just as guilty as the person who committed the crime or offense. Today, society is so far from practicing this principle, even amongst God’s people. We have become of society of “minding our own business” to the point that we allow wrong and evil to flourish because “we don’t want to get involved”. Fear of what might happen if we speak up has caused us to overlook so much of what we should be confronting, as God’s people. Obviously, if we ever find ourselves in a position to have to testify in court, or be a witness in any other proceedings, as God’s children, we should always testify to the truth, regardless of what we think the outcome might be. God hates a false witness (Proverbs 6:19). However, let us bring that even closer to home. What if we witness, or find out, that our brother or sister in Christ, a good friend, or family member, is involved in some type of sinful activity that violates God’s Word; what do we do? Do we just ignore it? Do we continue to fellowship with a person who is living in a way that goes against the holiness of God? The Word of God tells us that as born again believers, we are not only accountable to God, but to one another. Now, this is where we must be careful, and wise, as to how we approach one another when it comes to dealing with sin. Too many Christians use Matthew 7:1, “Judge not, that you be not judged.” As a loophole for not being confronted about sin, and not confronting sin. This is not what the passages is saying. What we are not to do, is approach others with a judgmental attitude when confronting sin. Galatians 6:1-3 tells us to approach with the goal of restoration, but examining ourselves before we approach, so that we do so with humility. James 5:19-20 tells us, “Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.” If necessary, once we have addressed the sin, if the person insists on forsaking it, we have biblical instructions, and options, for dealing with the sinning brother/sister. If the issue is one that can be resolved privately, then, do so (Matthew 18), and if the person refuses, we can bring others with us in an attempt to correct and restore (Matthew 18). If necessary, the guilty party should be rebuked publicly, in love, so that they will turn from their erring ways (1 Timothy 5:20). As a last resort, if the person persists, then it would be appropriate to break fellowship with them (1 Corinthians 5:11; Ephesians 5:11-12; 2 Thessalonians 3:14). Here is where we go wrong in confronting sin. We rebuke in a mean-spirited manner. We fail to speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15), and we outcast the person to the extent that they are pushed further away from God and the church, with no desire of being reconciled. 2 Corinthians 2:6-8 reads, “This punishment which was inflicted by the majority is sufficient for such a man, 7 so that, on the contrary, you ought rather to forgive and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one be swallowed up with too much sorrow. 8 Therefore I urge you to reaffirm your love to him.” The bottom line is that we, as Christians, must not be fearful, and must be adamant about confronting, and testifying to the truth, when it comes to dealing with sin. If we witness it, or know about it, we must do all that we can, in love, to deal with it, and bring whoever that person is, back into fellowship with Christ and the church. It can be a painful process, and sometimes a disappointing one, when the person we are trying to help turns their back on God, and us. If we fail to confront sin and error, the consequences can be devastating, as it will affect others, especially as it pertains to spiritual things. The Apostle Paul confronted the Apostle Peter for his hypocrisy in Galatians 2:11-13. It reads, “Now when Peter had come to Antioch, I withstood him to his face, because he was to be blamed; 12 for before certain men came from James, he would eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing those who were of the circumcision. 13 And the rest of the Jews also played the hypocrite with him, so that even Barnabas was carried away with their hypocrisy.” We are not to ignore, excuse, or justify evil, sinful, or hypocritical behavior. We are to be witnesses to the truth. Let us do so in a way that honors God.

Today, God extends an invitation to you to accept His gift of salvation (Rom 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus, by faith, in repentance, confessing your sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive Him and His gift of salvation today (Rom 10:13).