Articles

A school teacher once commented that when his students misbehaved, the first question he asked was what he could do to encourage the students to behave differently. Instead of saying “nobody acts like I want them to,” the reaction was “what can I do to help?”

Asking how we can help those who “misbehave” is a practice Christians should adopt with regard to sinners.

The Jewish leaders rebuked by Jesus treated sinners with contempt instead of love. They saw sinners as “second-class people” to be criticized and abstained from instead of precious souls in danger (Mark 2:15-16).

Jesus could have become angry Himself when He saw people “scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.” Instead, He “was moved with compassion on them” (Matthew 9:36), and prayed that help would be sent (Matthew 9:37-38).

Perhaps the more common response to those living in sin is merely discussing their actions with others. Discussing sin with fellow Christians does help clarify what sin is and assure one another that it is not something we should have any part in (Ephesians 5:7-8). Yet, helping others goes beyond identifying problems.

Helping to fix the problems of those in sin is not accomplished by merely complaining, but by proclaiming that sinners can be forgiven if we repent and obey God (Acts 2:38-40).

When Paul knew of Jews living in sin, it was his “heart’s desire and prayer to God…that they might be saved” (Romans 10:1). Like Jesus, Paul admonished sinners to change (Acts 26:20), prayed that Christians would not join in evil (Philippians 1:9-11), prayed for sinners (Romans 10:1), encouraged prayers for evangelism (Ephesians 6:18-20), and admonished brethren to be a light for those in darkness (Philippians 2:15).

Like Paul, we must recognize sin as the horrible mistreatment of God that it is. Regarding the sinner, though, we must ask, “How can I help?”

Instead of proudly looking down on sinners, we should pray for them. Instead of gossiping about them, we should exhort them to obey God. Remember, it is not the world, but the church, that is responsible for shining as a bright light.

This is not to say unrepentant sinners will not be held accountable. Every individual must work out his or her “own salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12).

Yet, part of working out our salvation is helping others work out theirs. This was Jesus’ focus (Luke 19:10), and it should be a focus of ours (cf. Acts 8:4; 1 Thessalonians 5:14). Instead of complaining about others for failing to meet their responsibilities, may we focus on how we can help others, and thereby fulfill our own responsibilities.

– Michael Hickox

An excuse some use to justify sin is the claim that “no one will know” we have done something wrong.

In 2 Samuel 11, a man after God’s own heart was deceived by this way of thinking. In that chapter, David committed
adultery with Bathsheba, told lies to “hide” what he had done, and had Bathsheba’s husband Uriah put to death (2 Samuel 11:14-15). Following Uriah’s death, David took Bathsheba to be his wife, and seemed to think his sins were “covered up.”

Yet, God was not fooled. The end of the chapter says “the thing that David had done displeased the Lord” (verse
27). David’s sin did not go unnoticed or unpunished.

As David learned, we can’t hide from Him whose judgment matters most. Hebrews 4:13 says “Neither is there any
creature that is not manifest in His sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with whom
we have to do.”

Hypocrisy leads one to focus only on appearing righteous in the eyes of others. Sincere obedience leads one to be
righteous, no matter how many people are watching. The righteous know that God is always watching.

May we endeavor to have a godly character, and never make the excuse “no one will know” to justify sin.

– Michael Hickox