By the Grace bestowed by God the Father upon us and all who believe in our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, we are not, as disciples of Christ, any longer in a place to take vengeance (Romans 12:19, Matthew 5:39, James 5:6). We are now under a better covenant (Hebrews 7 and 8, especially Hebrews 8:6).
However, from the Holy Scriptures we still learn the proper attitude to possess toward sin and sinners. Therefore, we are to be sure to reprove our family members and friends* of their sins, in the same Christian manner taught by Paul in 2 Thessalonians 3:15, bearing in mind James 5:20.
“If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, which is as thine own soul, entice thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which thou hast not known, thou, nor thy fathers; Namely, of the gods of the people which are round about you, nigh unto thee, or far off from thee, from the one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth; Thou shalt not consent unto him, nor hearken unto him; neither shall thine eye pity him, neither shalt thou spare, neither shalt thou conceal him: But thou shalt surely kill him; thine hand shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people. And thou shalt stone him with stones, that he die; because he hath sought to thrust thee away from the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. And all Israel shall hear, and fear, and shall do no more any such wickedness as this is among you.” - Deuteronomy 13:6-11
Let us not be enticed by any to serve that crafty serpent. Let us call the serpent out and crush him!
"And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen." - Romans 16:20 (Also see Psalm 37:6-10)
We must address the sin by name and expose it for what it actually is. We must bring it into the light. Bringing it into the light is reproving it. As it is brought into the light it is reproved, and by being reproved it is brought into the light. By being brought into the light, what it is is made manifest, it is made clear and evident. (See John 3:19-21)
Here is a thought.
Speaking the Truth of Christ is shining the light of Christ. Let us shine.
Living in the Truth of Christ is being the light of Christ. Let us be.
"He shall pray unto God, and he will be favourable unto him: and he shall see his face with joy: for he will render unto man his righteousness. He looketh upon men, and if any say, I have sinned, and perverted that which was right, and it profited me not; He will deliver his soul from going into the pit, and his life shall see the light. Lo, all these things worketh God oftentimes with man, To bring back his soul from the pit, to be enlightened with the light of the living." - Job 33:26-30
*Family and friends are often the hardest to accuse of wrongdoing (and we must do so in the right manner), but if we love God more than we love them (Luke 14:26-33), and if we love them wisely (care for there spiritual benefit), we will obey the LORD’s teachings regarding this matter.
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