99.5 % of the difficulties which occur in the church are a result of people who sin (the other .5% is caused by computers and mechanical failures).
Over the years the color of the carpet and the matching of the colors in the church sanctuary have been the scapegoats for the cause of church splits. But, when you look honestly at the situation, you will come face to face with the horrible reality – sinning people split churches.
The hostility between people in the church begins small and then escalates. What starts as two warring individuals will sometimes turn into a battle between sides as others sympathize with the two positions and join sides. This hostility often occurs when an offender offends and is not exposed. Sally Churchgoer is very involved in decisions of decorating the church. Beth Christian is not so involved but wants to start helping decide what happens in the church. Sally, who has been doing this for years, sees Beth’s desire to help as exciting and welcomed – until Beth’s ideas are taken over hers. Sally reacts by saying something to one of the other ladies that puts Beth down. Instead of rebuking Sally for her selfish thought, the lady takes sides. Before long, the battle lines are drawn and the fight engaged.
We fight strongly to avoid being exposed for who we are. We are petty and self absorbed. We desire our own way. We desire God’s will to be done as long as it coincides with our will. We fight our brother or sister in Christ – in some cases because their testimony puts us to shame. When we are confronted with the reality of our sin, we do as Adam and Eve – we blame someone else. There is no way we want to admit that our selfish pride and self-aggrandizing ambition is the root cause of the sin. Sally wants her way and is offended because Beth’s ideas are new and fresh and were not thought of by Sally.
Because the church is made up of redeemed sinners there are going to be problems and difficulties. And when difficulties arise so many of us flee to the bushes and put on the fig leaf to avoid a confrontation with reality. But that confrontation is what we need. When God approached Adam and Eve He did so with the intent of restoring them to Himself. He addressed their sin in its completeness and made a way of restoration. All too often we skirt the issue of sin when it rears its ugly head in the church and compound the problem by not Biblically and humbly dealing with the sin.
Exposing sin in our brother or sisters heart is not something that we are to do lightly. It requires immense prayer and immense humility. God has called us to live in unity in the church. He requires that we rely on His Grace for our salvation and His Grace for our sanctification. When a brother or sister offends you or has offended you, fall to your knees in prayer to God. Take the time to pray and allow God to take the initial sting away before you attempt to confront the offender. As you pray and seek God’s face with a heart that is wholly His He will begin a work of restoration in you first which will allow you to go to the brother or sister who has offended you and win them back to God. You can expect excuse after excuse in the process. You can expect hostility and wounding. God has outlined the process for us in Matthew 18. It is not easy or fun but necessary for unity in the church.
The goal of confronting and exposing sin is restoration. The vehicle of confrontation is Grace and Humility. The drive of confrontation is courage.
May we grow to be more like Christ every day.
mrc
