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 Erring
brethren seem to have been a persistent problem in the Lord's
church almost from its beginning. And, if that were not bad
enough, the problem has been compounded by the way in which many
have erred toward these erring brethren.
In
the first place, some have erred toward them by treating their
sins too lightly. The plight of erring brethren and our
responsibility toward them is clearly set forth in Jas. 5:19,
20: "My brethren, if any among you err from the truth, and
one convert him; let him know, that he who converteth a sinner
from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and
shall cover a multitude of sins." Notice how God depicts
the condition of the erring. First, they have left the truth.
Secondly, they need converting (lit., "turning
around"). Thirdly, God sees such a one as a sinner in
"the error of his way". Not that he has merely
stumbled in doing wrong, but that he practices sin. And,
finally, God sees this sinner as a soul in the way of spiritual
death. To convert him is to "save a soul from death".
This is how God sees the unfaithful and it is the way in which
we too must see them. In fact, to view them otherwise is to
their hurt as well as our own. To play down the sins of brethren
is to play into the hand of Satan. Paul's letter to the church
at Corinth clearly shows that such sins cannot be ignored by
faithful brethren (1 Cor. 5). For the sinner's sake and for the
church's sake, sin must be acknowledged, faced up to and dealt
with. Failure to do so now makes it more difficult later, and,
worse, invites more of the same.
But,
some have gone to the other
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extreme and have erred toward erring brethren by over-reaction. Accordingly, some
have found themselves snubbed, avoided and practically
ostracized without being visited, admonished or even encouraged
to repent. The cause of truth is no better served in this way
than in ignoring their sins altogether. God shows what our
attitude should be when He says, "And yet, count him not as
an enemy, but admonish him as a brother" (2 Thss. 3:15).
Here is what must be done with the erring and how.
Admonish him — and do it "as a brother". Personal
hostility has no place in such soul-saving efforts.
One
other thing may be appropriate in this connection and it is
this. No form of "congregational reprisal" can become
a substitute for dealing with the erring brother and his
sin. It may be wise not to use these unfaithful brethren in our
worship services, but we err in making that the extent of
dealing with the problem. The word of God knows of no such
limited and partial withdrawing of fellowship.
Finally,
any Christian errs who does not see a personal responsibility
toward his erring brother. One reason why we do not restore more
of the unfaithful is because many among the "faithful"
do not relate themselves to such work. God looks to the
"spiritual" (all of them) to make the effort of
restoring (Gal. 6:1). It is obvious that God is concerned about
our attitudes and efforts concerning those who err from the
truth. May God and the erring brother know that we are concerned
too. Dan S. Shipley
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