The Watchman?

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.