Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you; reprove a wise man, and he will love you. Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight. – Proverbs 9:8-10 ESV
I know that the wages of sin is death. And I know the types of sinning unto death that the Word of God warns us that those living that way shall not inherit the Kingdom of God. And I know that if I see someone sinning unto death and do not warn them, that their blood is on my hands. So what am I to do? Turn my back on the scoffer and answer for his blood on my hands – or suffer him hating me because I have shared the truth?
It isn’t easy when you are sharing the whole Word of God with those who are still in love with their sin and who are more interested in a skewed idea of God’s grace that leaves them powerless to resist temptation or see sin overcome in their lives. Many times their self defenses will go up as they cling to their sin. They might loudly accuse you of being a hypocrite as they war against you in every way they can find. This can be their way of justifying to themselves why it is better to cling to sin than to surrender that part of their life to His will, saying, “we all fall short” as a proclamation that they expect no change in their lives — instead of as a proclamation acknowledging that we didn’t earn this born again, new creation walk under our own power — so we give Him all the glory.
There are too many who seem to be quite content to use the idea of grace as a license for their own continuation in conscious sin that the Word of God says is NOT God’s will. The mental gymnastics even go as far as some saying, but that isn’t me, that’s my flesh and the more that I try to obey the law, the more my flesh is going to break it. As if self-control wasn’t even part of the equation. As if resisting evil wasn’t serving God. As if they believe that it is evil and burdensome to serve the LORD.
I am sharing Truth. Do you love me for it or hate me for it? Do you fear God?
This Word of God cuts me deep. But not too kill me, but to heal me.
I still am working out my salvation with fear and trembling — not because I don’t trust God, but because I know that my heart is quite deceitful and that my pride can even find a way to turn praising the LORD into something that I might try to take credit for. I know what I deserve, but I trust what He promises. He should get all the credit for anything good and it should be quite evident that the mess isn’t His, but is mine.
God has blessed this mess, and He is at work changing it. One surgery at a time. Thank you, Jesus!
Harold J. Ballinger 