Perhaps one indicator of the health of a church is whether or not it addresses sin. Churches that wink at sin or leave it unaddressed ignore clear biblical commands (e.g. Matthew 18::15–20, 1 Corinthians 5:6–8, Galatians 6:1–5) and tend toward a Corinthian unhealth.
But sometimes our willingness to address sin is equally unbiblical and so equally unhealthy. We can act as though Matthew 18 is the only passage teaching us how to address sin and miss the full counsel of God’s Word. Just as building our view of God from only a few key verses can lead to disastrous views of the Trinity, building our view of addressing sin from only a few key verses can lead to damaging practices.
This article is my effort to push us toward more careful, biblical thinking about addressing sin. It presents four distinctions we should sort through before addressing sin.
Plainly, one online article will not suffice to exhaust the Bible’s wisdom. So this article is not a definitive summary; it is an attempt to push us in a certain direction. The Bible is chockfull of instructions on how to deal with sin, and I’m still learning myself. Nonetheless, I pray and hope these distinctions prove as helpful to you as they have been to me.
Distinction One: Two Types of Offenses
There are two types of offenses:
“Deep waters” (from Proverbs 20:5) – The Bible gives us a bleak view of the human condition. Sin permeates every aspect of what we do. Even once we are redeemed by Christ and our natures change, the remnant of the old man lingers in our flesh. Our flesh stains all we do. This is magnified by our respective immaturities and by the foibles of our various and respective personalities.
God has designed Christian community and relationships to help expose these deep-seeded, heart-level, sinful dynamics so that we collectively grow in maturity and better understand and leverage the unique ways God has made us. But unraveling what is personality, what is “mere” immaturity, and what is actual sin can be difficult and complex. Especially since Scriptures exhort us to be slow to assume bad motives in others but instead to believe the best.
Just as building our view of God from only a few key verses can lead to disastrous views of the Trinity, building our view of addressing sin from only a few key verses can lead to damaging practices.
Key Passages: Proverbs 20:5, Romans 7:7-25, Galatians 5:16-28, Ephesians 4:11-16
“Clear sin” – On the other hand, there are outward actions that are clearly sinful according to the Bible.
- Outward in the sense that they are visible and binary – someone either committed the sin or they did not. There is no debating it. Greed, for example, is not binary. To varying degrees, it can stain all sorts of noble works. Theft, in contrast, is binary. The person either stole something or they did not.
- Clearly sinful according to the Bible in the sense that the Bible clearly establishes their action as sin. For example, spending a lot of money on shoes might not be a clear sin. In contrast, stealing shoes clearly is.
For the most part, anything that doesn’t fall under “clear sin” falls under “deep waters.”
Key Passages: Deuteronomy 19:15, Matthew 18:15-20, 1 Timothy 5:19
Main Takeaway: I should treat “deep water” matters differently than “clear sin” matters. Depending on my relationship with the person, I may help them draw out and untangle their “deep waters,” but I often need to overlook and bear with such a complex combination of immaturities, personality, and sin. However, when sin is clear, it must be addressed.
Distinction Two: The Environment in Which the Offense was Revealed
There are two environments that reveal offenses.
Inter-personal friction – In a fallen world, almost any meaningful relationship will have some element of friction within it. This friction often reveals the crud in our hearts. Because of that, most offenses arise out of some sort of inter-personal conflict. If our awareness of a sin or offense is a result of some friction we’ve experienced with the offending party, it falls under this category.
Key Passages: Proverbs 19:11, Matthew 7:1-5, Romans 12:3-21, 1 Corinthians 13:4-7, Philippians 2:1-11 and 4:2-9, James 3:13-4:12
External observation – However, sometimes we witness sinful behaviour apart from inter-personal tension. While the person observing the situation is likely in relationship with the offender, the offense does not arise out of that relationship. If the offense in question is not a by-product of friction with the offender, it falls under this category. Note: hearing someone gossip to us about the offense does not qualify as observing it.
Key Passages: 1 Corinthians 5:6-8, Galatians 6:1-5
Main Takeaway: In general, when the offense arises out of inter-personal conflict, the Bible compels me to be more focused on my own contributions than the failings of the other. I should be cautious about any “sin” that became clear to me in the midst of conflict with another. If the matter will trouble me and cause resentment or bitterness, I may need to address it, but only with a humble heart that seeks for any log in my own eye.
Distinction Three: Two Kinds of Relationships
There are two kinds of relationships we can have with the offending person:
Entrusted with their growth and formation – God has established order within his world. As part of that, he has entrusted certain people with the growth and formation of others. Parents are entrusted with the growth of their children, elders with the care of church members, employers with the growth of employees, and good friends with the growth of one another.
Key Passages: Proverbs 27:17, Ezekiel 33:1-9, Ephesians 6:1-4, Hebrews 13:17, 1 Peter 5:1-3
Not entrusted with their growth and formation – But many relationships are free from such responsibility. While it is true that all believers bear a certain amount of responsibility for one another, the Bible typically pushes us to give general encouragement and limits direct correction to occasions of “clear sin” (see above)
Key Passages: Ephesians 4:14-16, Hebrews 3:12-13 and 10:24-25
Main Takeaway: My voice in addressing “deep water” matters is likely limited by the extent to which God has entrusted that person’s growth to me. If they are a “mere” fellow believer and loose friend, I should typically only address things if they are clear sin.
Distinction Four: How a Person is Responding to Sin
There are three possible responses to our sin:
Unaware – We have a propensity to be blind to our own sin. This could be true of an immature believer that didn’t know, for example, that God calls him to give generously of his income. More commonly, it could be true with “deep waters” (see above), where someone does not realize how much, for example, fear of man drives certain behaviours.
Key Passages: Proverbs 27:5-6 & 17, Ephesians 4:14-16
Aware and not repenting – Sometimes people are aware of the sin in their lives but are not confessing it and battling it. They are comfortable with their sin and defend or excuse it.
Key Passages: Matthew 18:15-17, 1 Corinthians 5, Ephesians 4:25-32
Aware and repenting – Some sin is besetting. It gets its grip into a person and doesn’t want to let go. The Holy Spirit in such a person will compel him to confess that sin and battle it. For example, a young man may struggle with lust. He hates that he stumbles, but he falls again and again. Nonetheless, he memorizes Scripture, is honest in accountability, and makes it a regular matter of prayer. This man is aware and repenting of his sin.
Key Passages: Matthew 5:38-48 and 6:9-15, 2 Corinthians 7:9-10, 1 John 1:5-10
Main Takeaway: When there is clear sin, my voice may be needed when people are unaware or when they are aware but not repenting. When it is a “deep water” matter, typically only certain voices (see Distinction Three) will make aware or call for repentance. If the offending party is aware and repenting, we offer both grace and support in the battle.
One Final Note
These categories don’t mean we should never address the more complex “deep water” matters unless we are entrusted with that person’s growth. It’s better to talk openly with that person than to stew, gossip, become bitter, or allow it to be a wedge.
If we are truly able to overlook the offense, that is a glory (Proverbs 19:11); but if we cannot, it is not our glory if we sin in other ways. In such scenarios, we should talk with the person about the matter.
However, when we do address the matter, we should take care to heed the many Scriptures (some of which are listed above) that address inter-personal tensions.
Closing
This article is not a corrective to the churches who sweep sin under the rug. Rather, my prayer for this article is that it would challenge us who are willing to address sin to do so in a more carefully thought-through way, allowing the whole counsel of God’s Word to shape our approach. If it has been helpful to that end, I am thankful.
