Sermon Title: The watchman
Scripture Text: Ezekiel 33:7-11
ILLUSTRATION:
Nit-picking — it seems to be almost a national sport the way some folks participate in it so frequently and enthusiastically. It’s sad that sometimes, when people speak, their words seem more spit out hate and misunderstanding rather than thought out Holy Spirit understanding. These “corrector,” “nit-pickers,” and “accusers.” that cause many problems with fellow Christians.
So when we read Scripture like we will today let’s be aware of how we follow the instructions of our LORD and Savior.
Ezekiel 33:7-11 NLT
7 “Now, son of man, I am making you a watchman for the people of Israel. Therefore, listen to what I say and warn them for me. 8 If I announce that some wicked people are sure to die and you fail to tell them to change their ways, then they will die in their sins, and I will hold you responsible for their deaths. 9 But if you warn them to repent and they don’t repent, they will die in their sins, but you will have saved yourself.
10 “Son of man, give the people of Israel this message: You are saying, ‘Our sins are heavy upon us; we are wasting away! How can we survive?’ 11 As surely as I live, says the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of wicked people. I only want them to turn from their wicked ways so they can live. Turn! Turn from your wickedness, O people of Israel! Why should you die?
THE WORD OF GOD
FOR THE PEOPLE OF GOD
THANKS BE TO GOD
SERMON:
It would seem that Christians are to call out the sins of others at first glance in our Scripture today. That’s what it sounds like but should Christians call out sins of others? - in all things.
Before I go any further, I want to add this caveat: sexual abuse, domestic violence, and unsafe behavior are not the kinds of sin I am addressing. All abuse must be reported to the appropriate authorities, immediately. Protecting vulnerable people must be a top priority. Behavior that harms others cannot be tolerated.
I will be addressing sin within interpersonal relationships and how a Christian might go about calling out that behavior in Christian and non-Christians within the context of those relationships.
Should Christians call out sin in the lives of others? And will we die if we don’t call out that sin we see in others.
Our Scripture say that we should. But is this statement that simple? Or should it make us think and pray and meditate with our Father about every situation we encounter.
It makes a difference if we are addressing sin within the context of a relationship.
Relationships matter, context matters, and power differentials matter. We are going to explore these relationships and how sin ought to be addressed within them. We will be looking at other Scriptures also.
One of the best known verses from Scripture on this topic comes from Matthew 7: “Do not judge, so that you may not be judged.” Out of context, this verse makes it sound as though we should never call out sin. If we continue reading, however, we see that it is more complicated than that. It isn't saying not to judge but it’s how the judging is done. The first thing we need to do is get the Log out of our eye before we meddle with the speck in others eyes.
The way we judge others is how we also will be judged. But beyond that, before we call out sin in others, we must first look within ourselves. Jesus taught this in John 8 in his encounter with those who wanted to condemn the woman caught in adultery.
He said to them, “Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” As the people took the time to reflect on the sin in their own lives, they were no longer so eager to sit in judgment over her.
If we believe someone has sinned against us, the first thing we need to do is examine our own lives. We can’t see clearly to deal with others sin until we’ve dealt with our own stuff.
Let’s get inside of what we are talking about:
If, after examining our own lives, it still seems necessary to call out sin in someone else life, we need to back up and examine our relationship with that person.
(1) Do we have a close relationship built on trust with this person? Did the person sin against us or against someone else? Is the behavior we are wanting to address something that is against Scripture, or something that is our own preference?
(2)Additionally, if it is against Scripture, is the person a Christian?
--If we are wanting to call out behavior that is against Scripture, we can only do so if the person is a Christian (1 Corinthians 5:13 - God will judge those on the outside). We cannot hold people accountable to a standard they haven’t agreed to live by. So then our goal shifts to salvation and away from pointing out wrongs or sins in their lives.
---If the person isn't a Christian we can still point out things in their lives mainly when we have a relationship with them. For example: drugs, drinking, dating certain people, driving recklessly and many other things.
(3) If the person is a Christian, but isn’t in relationship with us, we have to be very careful about speaking to them about sin and wrongs.
---We need to earn respect to have a right to speak into their lives. Make sure it’s Scripture and not misunderstanding that we have of Scriptures that we are trying to get them to see. Be open to a conversation and be willing to learn from others.
On social media I say: Stay away from this kind of discussion is my recommendation. It can and most likely will turn into a chaotic mess. Social media gets a bit tricky when expressing thoughts in writing so care with words is really important. Do this if you want to enter a stormy cold and rough sea. The insight and judgments required turns into hate and mean words.
Finally, we have to examine our desired outcome. Is our goal to see someone we care about brought back to spiritual health and wholeness? Is our motivation restoration? In Matthew 18, Jesus says that if the person listens to you, “You have regained that one.” The goal should always be restoration, not alienation. Every thing should be done in godly love and tenderness.
Should Christians call out sin?
Firstly, we have to be very careful before we do. We need to make sure we’ve checked in with ourselves, our own sin, our motivation, and our desired outcome.
---We have to make sure what we’re addressing is scriptural, and not just based on our own preferences or biases or taught understanding that is less than complete understanding of Scriptures.
---Ultimately, we need to have a relationship with the person that is built around trust. In the absence of these things, the answer is almost always no.
Galatians 6:1 NLT
We Harvest What We Plant
6 Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself.
