Fixed vs Growth: Criticism and the Success of Others, Speaking the Truth in Love

In the Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax collector (Luke18: 9 – 14), Jesus clearly describes two separate self-perceptions:  the Pharisee was blind to his own faults and flaws, believing that his personal goodness earned God’s favor and blessing.  The tax collector was acutely aware of his sin and his failings and called on God for mercy and forgiveness.  Jesus clearly says that the tax collector was the one who was justified before God.  In the same way, we stand before God convicted of our sinfulness but trusting completely in His mercy.  The only standard that matters is God’s.  In Christ, we are can be confident that we are justified.  But what do we do when someone calls us out in a sin?  When a fellow believer questions how we are behaving—misusing our time or money; mistreating our children or spouse; abusing our sexuality; making unethical business decisions?  Or even when a non-believer says with raised eyebrows, “wow, I’m kind of surprised you do that as a so-called Christian.”  

God’s word is given to instruct us and His Spirit is present to guide and comfort us, but we are also surrounded by other people who can instruct, guide, convict, challenge and comfort us.  Similarly, we are called on to convict and challenge others who may be straying.  In James 5:20, James says that whoever helps another person see their sin clearly will save that person from death.  In 1John 5: 16 and 17, John reminds his readers to challenge those who are sinning, to pray for them and remind them that being born again means we reject sin (vs 18).  Jude 22-23 says poetically that we are to “be merciful to those who doubt, snatch others from fire and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh”; that is, never hesitate to call sin, sin and to be motivated by love and a desire to save people from eternal separation from God.  If the readers in these epistles are admonished to speak truthfully and clearly to those who sin against God’s holiness, then we can expect—we should expect—that other believers who care for us will point out when we stray.  Paul says in Ephesians 4: 25 through 32 that we are to be truthful with each other, because we are all members of the Body of Christ; we are not to be filled with anger or give satan a foothold in our lives or to engage in ungodly talk, but instead we are to get rid of sinful actions and be compassionate toward each other.  Earlier in verse 15, we are admonished to speak the truth motivated by love.  As Christians desiring to live God-pleasing lives, we will both gently correct other believers and receive that correction with gentleness ourselves, because we are all members of Christ’s Body and all children of one Father.

1)      Read Galatians 6: 1 – 10.  How are we to approach someone who is sinning, according to verse 1?  What warning comes with this instruction; why are we warned?

2)      Paul says two things that appear to conflict:  that we are to carry each other’s burdens and that we should carry [our] own load.  He is reminding us to simultaneously challenge those who sin while humbly recognizing that we face our own temptations, and that our judgement is always in comparison to God’s perfection not to our own standard.  Read Matthew 7:1 – 5.  How does Jesus describe this relationship with other people and sin?

3)      If we are to carry our own load, how should we respond to the successes or failures of others?  How does this concept frame how you view other people?

4)      We are forgiven children of God, yet we are living in sinful flesh on a sin-filled planet.  Each of us will likely find ourselves needing gentle rebuke from a fellow Christian.  How should you receive this rebuke?

5)      Galatians 6: 7 and 8 describe pleasing the sinful self, versus pleasing God.  What is the outcome of each?

6)      We are encouraged to persevere in doing good particularly to other believers (verses 9 and 10).  Why?  See Matthew 9: 37, 38.  How is it “doing good” to challenge those brothers and sisters who are choosing sin?

In 1 Corinthians 5: 9 through 13, Paul tells the Corinthian church that they should not associate with immoral, unrepentant people—specifying that he means unrepentant Christians.  He says that people and who call themselves Christian brothers and sisters but choose to continue in sin should be removed from fellowship with other Christians, not because of their sin but because of their lack of repentance.  He tells his readers that God will judge those outside of the church (vs 12) and that we’d have to leave the world if we tried to avoid associating with all sinful, unrepentant people.  Instead, his focus is on removing sinful influence within the Body of Christ.  This concept fits with Paul’s earlier discussion in chapter 3 about each of us being God’s temple, a sacred temple of the Holy Spirit. This concept of our bodies and lives as temples of God is also covered in 1 Peter 2, where Peter describes us as living stones being built up into a spiritual house on the cornerstone of Christ our Savior.  Paul’s discussion centered around the evil influence of unrepentant Christians; Peter emphasizes the impact of our holy lives on the perceptions of non-Christians.  Peter tells his readers to live such holy, Godly lives that the unbelievers around them praise God because of their good deeds.  Our holy, loving, compassionate, Godly lives are a witness to the world.  If we claim to be followers of Christ but continue to choose sin, we sully that witness.  1 John 3: 7 through 10 says that if we belong to Christ, we will not continue to sin; this does not mean we are incapable of sinning nor does it mean that the sin that we do is no longer considered a violation of God’s holiness; instead, it means that as redeemed children of God in Christ empowered by His Spirit, we actively reject sin and fight against the sinful influences of the world and of our own hearts.

A growth mindset accepts the fact that attaining a goal will require challenge, perseverance and grit.  As Christians seeking to align our lives with and by the Spirit of God, we must persevere as well.  We know that our goal – the salvation of our souls—has already been accomplished by Christ, and at the same time that our perfect holiness is something we will not experience fully until heaven and eternity with God.  Our struggle against sin is real and difficult, even to the point of bloodshed (Hebrews 12: 4), but it is part of the loving discipline God imposes on His children.  It is difficult for us as prideful, sinful people to confess our sins, to recognize that we daily fall short of God’s holy expectations; that is difficult feedback to get.  But we remain confident that God is gracious and merciful, forgiving all of our sins for Jesus’ sake.

1)      Read 1 John 1: 5 – 10.  If we intentionally choose to live in sin, to walk in darkness, we reject fellowship with Christ (vs 5, 6).  If we claim that we are without sin, we lie to ourselves and in fact call God a liar (verses 8 and 10).  Are there sins in your life that you are refusing to repent of?  Have you ignored either the gentle rebuke of another Christian or the prodding of God’s Spirit to repent and reject sin?  

2)      Verse 10 states that if we claim to have no sin, we call God a liar and “His word has no place in our lives.”  The implication is that denying our own sin somehow blunts the power of God’s word in our lives.  What is the impact of losing the power of God’s word and it’s divine ability to teach, rebuke and correct?  

3)      Verse 9 reminds us that in Christ, we have boundless mercy and forgiveness when we repent.  Meditate on this thought.  Come before God with an honest heart and confess both specific sins and the pervasive sinfulness which comes with being human.  God is faithful and just; He will forgive you.