Touchy- Feely sort of day.

Text: 1 John 2:3-11

Translation: NKJV

All right, so this might sound like beating a dead horse decides to defend itself but I would like to disagree. The first...well all 9 verses of this passage are very pertinent to the church today.

First off, if a person is committing sin time over and again, attends church, appears for all intents and purposes to not be repenting, then it is extremely possible that they are........*gasp* not a Christian. We as Christian are indwelt with the Holy Spirit who convicts us of our sins. If we claim to be a Christian then we are saying (among other things) that we know we are sinners and are uncomfortable in our sin.

But what should fellow believers do about people that claim to be brothers and sisters in Christ and yet repeatedly sin in a public (or at least pretty blatant) manner? Confront them with their sin privately, one on one. Then is confession and repentance are not forthcoming, repeat what you just did, only with a friend. And if this doesn't work, then take them publically before the church, whether the congregation or in front of the elders or deacons.

Now, some of you might be saying, "Hey, Scribe, that isn't very loving! Shouldn't we just be kind and leave those people with God since we can't look into their hearts?"

WRONG,WRONG, WRONG! A) because, if that person is indeed a born again believer, they need to be told that they are sinning so that their walk w/ the Lord is not compromised, they are no longer a bad influence on other Christians within the Church, and that they are not an influence for evil to nonbelievers.

And B) because if they aren't born again believers, then they are simply lying to themselves that they are and this might be what wakes them up to the fact and actually gets them saved. Also, if it doesn't then at the very least one has gotten a wolf in sheep’s clothing out of the fold.

It is always important to remember that true God does not allow us to feel good in our sin, ergo all believers should not feel good in their sin. This is not to say that if a believer falls into a pattern of sin he will not become complacent, because it does and this has happened to me before. The discernment to see sin for what it is comes from the Holy Spirit, and the discernment to confront people about their sin comes from the Holy Spirit. Also, since there is a standard of living expected of Christians, i.e.- 10 commandments, what Jesus commanded the disciples, great commission etc., we as Christian should realize that it is NOT love to let someone continue on in sin and stand by humming in the storm thinking nothing will come of it. (See points A and B above)

We aren't called to be touchy, feely, goody two shoes wimps who cover our eyes hoping that the evil in the world and the evil that from time to time enters the church will go away because we can't see it. We need to realize that because we are Christians we hold ourselves to a higher authority than ourselves and that we hold the rest of the world up to that standard as well. We should confront our brothers and sister with the speck in their eye (AFTER WE HAVE DEALT WITH THE LOG IN OUR OWN---EMPHASIS ON AFTER), so that they will no longer be a stumbling block to others or themselves. At the same time, this is an effective way to remove wolves in sheep’s clothing. We as a church have focused so much on the personal side of our walk w/ God that we have forgotten that there is also a communal side as well, which can easily be destroyed be someone being allowed continuance in sin.