Confronting Sinners God’s Way

A young Christian I admire very much sent me the attached article summarizing how a local pastor has been gradually distancing himself from parts of the Bible. This young woman is in the trenches every day engaging her peers in discussion on Who Jesus is, why she believes, and how much God loves them and wants to embrace them. It can be a lonely and unpopular stance for her generation. She is uncompromising in her beliefs in Biblical tenets, but she is compassionate and understanding about those whose eyes have not yet been opened to the truth. In other words, she hates the sin but loves the sinner.

I was drawn to the article “The Train Is Leaving the Station” because the tone was not angry or arrogant or condemning of a person. So many articles about pastors who are compromising Biblical principles have a tone that just does not sound like the voice of Jesus as I hear it, but this one is different.  It reminded me of how Jesus approached the Samaritan woman at the well (Mark 4:1-42.) Jesus never told the Samaritan woman her lifestyle was acceptable to Him. He did not condone or wink at sin. But He talked to her in such a gentle way that she could come to the realization for herself that she had sinned.

16 Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.” 17 The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; 18 for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.”

The fact that Jesus would even engage her in conversation and accept a drink from her Samaritan hand  was treating her with more regard than any of His brothers or religious leaders would have. His gentle but firm way of speaking allowed the woman to really hear Him and know that there was something special about Him, something beyond anyone she had ever met before.

But still, she had doubts. She goes back to her town and tells people about meeting this man Jesus. She asks them, “Can this be the Christ?”

Jesus does not condemn her for her doubts. There is no trace of outrage that she would ask the townspeople for their affirmation of His identity, though they have no authority and are incomparable to the Messiah Himself. Instead, He honors her throughout history by allowing her story to be told as a wonderful example to us even today. He gives her the privilege of being used to help build His Kingdom here on earth.

Verse 39 tells us. “Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony...” 

God uses flawed, sinful people. He helps them confront their sin through knowing Jesus and the conviction of the Holy Spirit. His goal is not to condemn but to transform. When our impulse is to condemn someone, we need to remember we may be discouraging a future powerhouse of God. Our judgmental or condescending reaction to a sinner may be a delay tactic of the enemy in the life of a future believer like Paul. No one was a less likely prospect for transformation than Saul. Even Paul himself says, “I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it…” We should all be grateful that Ananias, though naturally reluctant, was obedient to engage Paul in a conversation that was instrumental in his conversion. The Lord used this tempered conversation with Paul that launched the world-changing missionary work of one of the great instruments of the Lord. We would not have as many as 13 books of the New Testament without Paul, books that are invaluable in answering the question most Christians have today, “How, then, are we to live?”

The Lord can see what we cannot. He can see someone in need of transformation whereas we may see that person as hopeless. We all have stood in need of transformation and are still in need of the ongoing work of sanctification. It is impossible for us to know if someone has a reprobate mind and has been given over to their sin nature or if they have a future that includes being used by the Lord (Romans 1:21-32 NASB.

At the same time, we should follow Christ’s example set in his dealing with another woman in John 8:3-11. HIs final words to this woman who also had the sin of adultery in her life was, “Go and sin no more.” He does not accept or condone her sin. The woman at the well publicly confesses her sin in verses 29 and 39, so we know she has experienced conviction and not affirmation of her sin. We should continue to reject heresy, blasphemy, and any departure from the Bible- clearly and firmly. We should stand strong and not allow the Word of God to be tampered with, diluted, or changed a “jot or a tittle” (Matthew 5:18.) We should never affirm anyone in their sin or be dishonest about what the Bible says about sin; rather, we should follow the model of Jesus Christ in how we communicate His Word and His will. When the Holy Spirit shows us sin in our brothers and sisters, His purpose is so that we will pray for them not condemn or gossip about them. In other words, hate the sin and love the sinner.

ARTICLE: R. Albert Mohler, Jr., WORLD, September 18, 2023

https://wng.org/opinions/the-train-is-leaving-the-station-1695036498