Daily Devotional For Sunday, July 6, 2025
Good morning Southside! Rise & shine and let's all go worship the King of kings and Lord of lords this morning. We have been looking at what it means to follow the Lord. When it comes to the church, there are a few comments by Jesus on it. The first one is found in Matthew 16 when Jesus asked His disciples who people said He was. Peter comes through with this in verse 16: “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God” (NLT). Here is Jesus’ response to that in verses 17-19:
“You are blessed, Simon son of John, because My Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being. (18) Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’), and upon this rock I will build My church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it. (19) And I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. Whatever you forbid on earth will be forbidden in heaven, and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven” (NLT).
That is the first reference by Jesus in the Gospels. The second, is also found in Matthew, in 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” (NLT).
I can almost hear your thoughts. You’re thinking of Jesus’ words in Matthew 7:1 aren’t you? Jesus says this: “Do not judge others, and you will not be judged” (NLT). You may be thinking, “Who am I to point out the sin in another believer’s life when my own life is far from perfect? If we start doing that, people will leave in droves.” We live in a time when the attitude is, “It’s none of my business what people do in their private lives. Their sins are between them and God. Let God deal with them because they are responsible to Him, not us.” So, how would you answer these questions: Does God pursue us when we sin? Does God do what He can to get our attention and bring us back into repentance?”
Let me ask you this: Do you want people in your life who love you enough to come to you when you are engaged in sin to keep you from experiencing destruction and even possible death? Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who left the United States to go back to Germany to stop Hitler and a church supporting Hitler, once said this: “Nothing can be more cruel than the tenderness that consigns another to his sin. Nothing can be more compassionate than the severe rebuke that calls a brother back from the path of sin” (Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together, p. 107).
A church that tolerates sin sounds more like a social club than a church. On this very topic, Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote this:
“If the Church refuses to face the stern reality of sin, it will gain no credence when it talks of forgiveness. Such a Church sins against its sacred trust and walks unworthily of the gospel. It is an unholy Church, squandering the precious treasure of the Lord’s forgiveness. Nor is it enough simply to deplore in general terms that the sinfulness of man infects even his good works. It is necessary to point out concrete sins, and to punish and condemn them. . . . It is essential for the Church to exercise [discipline], for the sake of holiness, for the sake of the sinner and for its own sake. If the Church is to walk worthily of the gospel, part of its duty will be to maintain ecclesiastical discipline. Sanctification means driving out the world from the Church as well as separating the Church from the world. But the purpose of such discipline is not to establish a community of the perfect, but a community consisting of men [and women] who really live under the forgiving mercy of God. Discipline in a congregation is a servant of the precious grace of God” (Source: Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship, p. 288).
Though some are quick to quote Matthew 7:1, and that would be enough if that was all Jesus said on this. Reading further down in Matthew 7, after telling His followers not to judge the “speck of sin” in someone else’s life, while they have a plank sticking out of their own, Jesus then said this in Matthew 7:5, “Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye” (NLT). Notice, we first take care of the sin in our own lives first BEFORE we help do that with another believer.
In this politically correct culture where no one wants to take responsibility for any of their actions, you may feel like so many on this topic who say, “Well, I am in no position to correct a brother or sister who is engaging in sin.” We all have blind spots, me included. I hope you have people like I do who love me enough to point those out to me in a loving way. If you take a moment to read 1 Corinthians 5, you will see that God holds the church responsible and accountable to confront believers who are engaging in sin. If handled biblically, then restoration of that member is the goal.
When you look at Jesus’ words in Matthew 18:15-17, Jesus is not more concerned about His church where people feel loved, warmed and free to live their lives as they desire. The church is to be this, but not at the expense of tolerating sin in its members. If you doubt me, then read Acts 5. God actually killed a couple in the church (Ananias and his wife Sapphira), right on the spot for their belligerent sin. With thousands of people getting saved and joining the church, did someone fail to inform God this is not what the church is. I don’t think so.
Therefore, I am not surprised by what Acts 5:13-14 says, “But no one else dared to join them, even though all the people had high regard for them. (14) Yet more and more people believed and were brought to the Lord—crowds of both men and women” (NLT). Contrary to all the modern, contemporary, seeker-designed programs, this is how God grows a church – through holiness, godliness and righteousness. You may ask, “OK PK, where is grace?” Grace is in the discipline itself. When we tolerate sin, we trample all over the sacrifice Christ made on the cross. We treat His sacrifice as something that is not that important.
I wish to parphrase pastor and author David Platt here, "Do you really think we only follow a Savior who pardons our sin but never purifies our sin? And we treasure his death enough to treat sin seriously in his church" (Source: David Platt, Follow Me, Kindle Edition, p. 161). There are many large churches today with lights, lasers, huge professional bands and professional singers, lattes at every entrance, sermons filled with pop-psychology, not the word of God. They make people happy, not holy. They make people feel good about themselves, not about God. Their services are full of warm fuzzies, not convicting truth that will set them free. Their worship is about the creature and creation, not the Creator.
Assignment: When was the last time someone confronted you in the church about your sin? How did you respond? When was the last time you confronted someone in the church about their sin? If never, why? The best way to do this is get yourself an accountability partner. That way both of you can be totally honest and will hold each other accountable to God. Set times to meet, share, pray and read God’s word together. This is a safe way to learn how to do this.
Scripture To Meditate On: Galatians 6:1, “Dear 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” (NLT).
Prayer To Pray: “Dear Lord, I have to admit. This is something I am very uncomfortable doing and really have not done at all. I have all kinds of fears: fear of the situation exploding; fear of rejection, fear of ruining a friendship, fear of being hypocritical. Please help me to strive for holiness and to help other believers do the same. In Jesus’ name, Amen!”
I love you Southside! – Pastor Kelly