How can we be for a person, but against their sin? How do we manage these two opposite reactions at the same time? - Against - TouchPoints

Psalm 139:21-24O Lord, shouldn’t I hate those who hate you? Shouldn’t I despise those who oppose you? . . . Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.

1 John 3:4Everyone who sins is breaking God’s law, for all sin is contrary to the law of God.

Romans 12:9Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good.

We are to be motivated by love as we stand against sin.

Matthew 18:15"If another believer sins against you, go privately and point out the offense. If the other person listens and confesses it, you have won that person back.

Jesus’ instructions about confronting sin come immediately after the parable of the lost sheep. He makes it clear that our goal in correcting sin should be to restore relationships and bless our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Galatians 6:1Dear 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.

Our attitude in correcting sin should start with gentleness.

Jude 1:23Sin is like a destructive fire, dangerous to the sinner and those around them. If someone is caught in the fire of sin, we should try to help them escape—yet we must be careful not to be burned by temptation ourselves.

Hebrews 3:13-15You must warn each other every day, while it is still “today,” so that none of you will be deceived by sin and hardened against God. For if we are faithful to the end, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed, we will share in all that belongs to Christ. Remember what it says: “Today when you hear his voice, don’t harden your hearts as Israel did when they rebelled.”

We are to be concerned about the spiritual well-being of others as we warn one another daily against sin and its deception.

Hebrews 12:6, 10-11For the LORD disciplines those he loves, and he punishes each one he accepts as his child." [10] For our earthly fathers disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how. But God's discipline is always good for us, so that we might share in his holiness. [11] No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening-it's painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way.

Proverbs 13:24Those who spare the rod of discipline hate their children. Those who love their children care enough to discipline them.

Ephesians 6:4Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger by the way you treat them. Rather, bring them up with the discipline and instruction that comes from the Lord.

Parental discipline done well is a strong example of hating a sin but loving the sinner. Though discipline is unpleasant for both parent and child, it leads to the blessings of a godly life. Parents should regularly consider how well they are reflecting both ldiscipline and love in their parenting.

Galatians 2:11, 14-21But when Peter came to Antioch, I had to oppose him to his face, for what he did was very wrong . . . When I saw that they were not following the truth of the gospel message, I said to Peter in front of all the others, “Since you, a Jew by birth, have discarded the Jewish laws and are living like a Gentile, why are you now trying to make these Gentiles follow the Jewish traditions? “You and I are Jews by birth, not ‘sinners’ like the Gentiles. Yet we know that a person is made right with God by faith in Jesus Christ, not by obeying the law. And we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we might be made right with God because of our faith in Christ, not because we have obeyed the law. For no one will ever be made right with God by obeying the law.” But suppose we seek to be made right with God through faith in Christ and then we are found guilty because we have abandoned the law . . .  I am a sinner if I rebuild the old system of law I already tore down. For when I tried to keep the law, it condemned me. So I died to the law—I stopped trying to meet all its requirements—so that I might live for God. My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not treat the grace of God as meaningless. For if keeping the law could make us right with God, then there was no need for Christ to die.

James 3:1Dear brothers and sisters, not many of you should become teachers in the church, for we who teach will be judged more strictly.

Teachers and leaders who go astray often drag others down with them. In such situations, public correction and repentance may be necessary. Paul corrected Peter publicly, calling out his hypocritical and divisive behavior. Peter accepted and learned from Paul’s correction, and in a later letter, referred to Paul as “our beloved brother” (2 Peter 3:15).

Matthew 18:15-17"If another believer sins against you, go privately and point out the offense. If the other person listens and confesses it, you have won that person back. [16] But if you are unsuccessful, take one or two others with you and go back again, so that everything you say may be confirmed by two or three witnesses. [17] If the person still refuses to listen, take your case to the church. Then if he or she won't accept the church's decision, treat that person as a pagan or a corrupt tax collector.

Titus 3:10If people are causing divisions among you, give a first and second warning. After that, have nothing more to do with them.

1 Corinthians 5:1-2, 5I can hardly believe the report about the sexual immorality going on among you-something that even pagans don't do. I am told that a man in your church is living in sin with his stepmother. [2] You are so proud of yourselves, but you should be mourning in sorrow and shame. And you should remove this man from your fellowship. [5] Then you must throw this man out and hand him over to Satan so that his sinful nature will be destroyed and he himself will be saved on the day the Lord returns.

Continued unrepentant sin is a serious disease in the church. Left unchecked, it can spread. Jesus describes a step-by-step approach to confronting sin, with increasing discipline after continued offences. Though the goal is to win back a brother or sister, if that individual continues in their destructive patterns, excommunication may be the last hope of getting their attention—and protecting the rest of the church.

Leviticus 19:17-18"Do not nurse hatred in your heart for any of your relatives. Confront people directly so you will not be held guilty for their sin. [18] "Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against a fellow Israelite, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.

If a neighbor’s sin is frustrating us and we chose not to talk it over with them directly, we are not acting in love. Not only will we leave them trapped in their pattern of sin, but we may open the door to sins of our own—bitterness, grudge-holding, and revenge-seeking. Gentle honesty is a wise expression of love.

2 Timothy 2:25Gently instruct those who oppose the truth. Perhaps God will change those people’s hearts, and they will learn the truth.

Titus 1:9He must have a strong belief in the trustworthy message he was taught; then he will be able to encourage others with wholesome teaching and show those who oppose it where they are wrong.

We are to encourage others with gentle, right teaching.

James 5:19-20My dear brothers and sisters, if someone among you wanders away from the truth and is brought back, [20] you can be sure that whoever brings the sinner back from wandering will save that person from death and bring about the forgiveness of many sins.

Our love for the sinner should be what most compels us to confront the sin!