How Do You Respond When A Brother Falls. A Response To The Southern Baptist Convention Report

2 Samuel 12 How do you respond when a brother falls?

- Read 2 Samuel 12

This is the sad account of King David when he was confronted by the prophet Nathan after he sinned greatly.

We all know people, perhaps some of them close to us, who have led great lives, who have been great blessings to the people around them, and perhaps to us, who suddenly, for some unexplainable reason, fall from grace. They sin greatly. They do something none of us would have ever believed they were capable of.

Perhaps you have had a personal hero, that you looked up to and admired, who let you down. Perhaps you had a parent who left you, a boss who fired you, or a spiritual leader who discipled you who ended up sinning greatly and let you down.

How does one respond in such a situation? What do you do when a brother falls?

First I’d like to look at a couple of things you don’t do when a brother falls.

I. WHAT YOU DON’T DO WHEN A BROTHER FALLS

1. You don’t emphasize past mistakes.

Had David made mistakes before this? Yes he had.

a) He had pretended to be insane instead of trusting God. In 1 Samuel 17, we find David showing up at a battle, when all of the army of Israel is trembling in their boots, for fear of the giant Goliath. Seeing the giant, this shepherd, this boy, with no military experience or training says, “Who is this godless dog? The Lord has helped me defeat a lion and a bear, and this godless dog will be like one of them.

He didn’t fear the giant. He stood and boldly confronted the enemy of the nation, because of his faith in God. We remember that story.

What many of us don’t remember is when he was hiding in Gath, and he was brought before the king. Did he boldly stand up then? Did he boldly trust the Lord to protect him then? No, he acted like a mental patient. We read in 1 Samuel, “David took this to heart and became very afraid of King Achish of Gath, so he pretended to be insane in their presence. He acted like a madman around them, scribbling on the doors of the city gate and letting saliva run down his beard. “Look! You can see the man is crazy,” Achish said to his servants. “Why did you bring him to me? Do I have such a shortage of crazy people that you brought this one to act crazy around me? Is this one going to come into my house?”

David didn’t act boldly. He acted like a madman to get out of trouble.

b) He tried to move the ark of the covenant in a manner not approved by God, and it cost a man his life.

In 2 Samuel 6, we read about King David attempting to bring the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem. Now, God had earlier commanded that the ark was to be carried on the shoulders of the Levites, but David had it carried on a cart, and when the oxen pulling the cart stumbled, one of the men by the cart stretched out his hand are touched the ark and it cost him his life. Because David had the ark moved in an unapproved manner, a man lost his life.

David did not always get everything right.

Now, when the Lord had Nathan come and confront David about his sin, did the Lord say, “I should have known I couldn’t trust you. I should have known you wouldn’t amount to anything. Look how you’ve failed me in the past”? No He didn’t, and neither should we.

My friends, when you confront someone over a sin or an issue in his life, you address that sin or that issue. You don’t go an list all of the sins and issues in the past and say, “I should have known.” Only ex-girlfriends, or ex-spouses do that foolishness.

When a brother falls, you don’t emphasize past mistakes. Second, when a brother falls, you don’t dismiss the good he has done in the past.

2. You don’t dismiss the good done in the past.

Some of you know, or know of Ravi Zacharias. Ravi Zacharias was an Indian-born, Canadian-American evangelical minister and apologist who founded Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM). He was involved in Christian apologetics for a period spanning more than forty years. Zacharias was the author of more than thirty books on Christianity, He also hosted the radio programs Let My People Think and Just Thinking. He belonged to the Christian and Missionary Alliance, the Keswickian Christian denomination in which he was ordained as a minister.

Ravi died on May 19, 2020. After he died, Multiple sources posthumously accused Zacharias of serious sexual misconduct. (a compilation from Wikipedia). An investigation was done, many of the allegations were shown to be true. As a result, the organization he founded changed its name. Then Alliance Church posthumously revoked his ordination. Zondervan and Thomas Nelson, the publishers of his books said they would no longer print his books, and I know of at least 1 library in a large Christian church that removed all of his books from their shelves.