How can we stand for a person, but be against their sin? - Against - TouchPoints

Genesis 1:27So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.

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.

Matthew 5:43-44“You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!”

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

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

God created human beings in his image; therefore, all human beings have value and worth and should be treated with dignity. This includes those who stand against us and God, and who we would consider enemies. We should love and pray for them. 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 his 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 approach to correcting sin in others should start with gentleness.

Jude 1:23Rescue others by snatching them from the flames of judgment. Show mercy to still others, but do so with great caution, hating the sins that contaminate their lives.

Sin is like a destructive fire, dangerous to the person who is sinning and to those around them. If someone is caught in the fire of sin, we should try to help that person 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.

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.

Hebrews 12:6, 10-11“For the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes each one he accepts as his child.” . . . 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. 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.

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 discipline and love in their parenting.

Galatians 2:11–14When Peter came to Antioch, I had to oppose him to his face, for what he did was very wrong. When he first arrived, he ate with the Gentile Christians, who were not circumcised. But afterward, when some friends of James came, Peter wouldn’t eat with the Gentiles anymore. He was afraid of criticism from these people who insisted on the necessity of circumcision. As a result, other Jewish Christians followed Peter’s hypocrisy, and even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy. 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?”

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“And anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf is welcoming me. But if you cause one of these little ones who trusts in me to fall into sin, it would be better for you to have a large millstone tied around your neck and be drowned in the depths of the sea. What sorrow awaits the world, because it tempts people to sin. Temptations are inevitable, but what sorrow awaits the person who does the tempting.”

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. You are so proud of yourselves, but you should be mourning in sorrow and shame. And you should remove this man from your fellowship. . . . 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.

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

Continued unrepentant sin is a serious disease in the church. Left unchecked, it can spread. Jesus describes a step-by-step process for confronting sin, with increasing discipline after continued offenses. 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. 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 choose not to talk it over with them directly, we are not acting in love. Not only will we leave the person trapped in his or her 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.

1 Corinthians 2:14People who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means.

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. And we should pray for the Holy Spirit to open people’s hearts.

James 5:19-20My dear brothers and sisters, if someone among you wanders away from the truth and is brought back, 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!