"No Condemnation" -- Part 2

First I must say that I stand by yesterday's posting. I think that it is scriptural, but it certainly doesn't deal with every aspect of how we deal with sin -- in ourselves or in others. The prime lessons from the blog are as follows:

1. Jesus didn't come to judge, but to save (John 3:17)
2. He tells us not to judge
3. We are told to work for the repentance and restoration of a brother or sister who is caught in sin

We are to judge sinful behavior. It would be ludicrous if we were not able to make this kind of judgement. We can't however judge the heart of another nor can we make the judgement as to their final destination. This is for God who sees the heart. King David was an adulterer, a murderer and a vicious fighter; yet God's judgement was that David was a man after God's own heart. Does that mean that God is at heart an adulterer or murderer -- heaven forbid -- NO. It does mean that God sees the heart of people even when they sin badly and the judgement may  not be what we would expect by only looking at their behavior.

In my limited experience, people (not just Christians) really are looking for a way out of deep sin. I have on occasion had to tell someone that their action was sinful -- but that is rare. I have never had to tell anyone who came into my office asking about something that had happened or that they had done -- that there was sin involved; what they wanted was a way out. We can help. So many times we want to judge the behavior and through a stone and be done with it. It is hard personal work to help persons out of the trouble that they got into.

Another aspect is the natural consequences of sin. For example, someone caught in adultery can be forgiven; adultery is not the unforgivable sin! That doesn't mean that their marriage might end with all of the ramifications of a messy divorce. That is not punishment; that is a natural consequence. A number of years ago a man who I knew well came into the office complaining, "I don't know why God is doing this to me! I had two flat tires this morning." He went on to tell the whole, sad story. He asked again, if I could tell him why God was punishing him. I asked him how old the tires were. He said that they were quite old and bald and that he had been putting off getting new ones. I then told him that God was not punishing him. The flat tires were merely the natural consequence of driving with rotten tires. In fact I also told him that the fact that this hadn't happened before was a gift of God's grace. Sin is a lot like this -- there are natural consequences that aren't punishment. I have heard the story from people who have gotten in trouble with the law. "I've repented so why hasn't he forgiven me." I told them that they had been forgiven. They then say, "Why do I have to go to jail then?" That is a natural consequence of breaking the law. The good news is that God will be with you.

What about Christian Leaders who sin openly and badly. They must be removed from their position because a natural consequence of a leader who misleads others through their bad behavior is to lose that leadership position. Does this means that they must be kicked out of the fellowship and shunned? Absolutely not. They are a Christian brother of sister and must be loved and restored. God loves them and forgives them. Will they ever be restored to leadership? That depends on what happened in their bad behavior and how things work in the restoration process.

The upshot of it all is that when we sin we must confess our sins, repent of our sins and we will be forgiven -- by God. But we must also deal in grace and forgive our brother or sister. This is not optional. We can judge bad behavior but we can never judge another's heart. That is for God alone. Our job is to love and bless; to nurture; to forgive and to lead them back to God.