Kingdom Living - The Commands of ChristНамуна

Commands of Christ: 55 

Deal with a brother who sins. 

I think this is one of the most ignored commands of Jesus. So often it seems that within the church, we respond to sin in every way except this. We will ignore it. We will gossip about it. We will avoid contact with the one who has sinned. 

The most loving thing to do for someone in the church who has sinned, is to follow Jesus’ instructions. This is for their sake, the sake of the church, and for God’s sake. Everyone stands to lose if it is ignored or dealt with improperly. It is a serious matter so we need to deal with it directly and decisively. If possible we should limit disclosure of it to others. The process is clear. 

The attitude is important as well. In Galatians 6:1 Paul tells us, “Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted.” 

The purpose of doing this, is the joy and fellowship and restoration of the person who has sinned. Let’s love one another deeply enough to do this for one another.