Caring Enough to Confront

After observing the behavior of some people, you would think they have a verse in their Bible that says, “Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, go and tell as many people as possible. And then ultimately go and try to drive that person away.” But this is not what Scripture tells us to do.

In Matthew 18, Jesus gave us the steps we should take when it appears someone has fallen into sin (and I emphasize the word appears). First, we must know all the facts. When you hear something about someone, instead of talking about it, determine to go to that person and say, “I heard this about you. Is it true?” Hopefully, you can get the issue resolved immediately.

But to fail to go to someone when you know a sin is being committed is to actually cause that individual, and the church as a whole, the greatest harm. Scripture says, “A little leaven leavens the whole lump” (Galatians 5:9 NIV).

In most cases, you will find that believers rarely approach a sinning believer or allegedly sinning believer. Instead of seeking to help a person who possibly may have never sinned at all, they end up slandering that individual. This is wrong. If you have ever had this happen to you, then you know how painful it can be.

Remember, the devil wants to turn believers against each other. He will attack us from the outside, but many times, when that does not work, he seeks to infiltrate our ranks and divide us.