How We Should Respond When Sin is Exposed in the Church
- By Jason Brown
- One Comment
God is jealous for His Church—He is fashioning us into a pure and spotless bride for His Son Jesus! And as the Righteous Judge, He must address sin in our midst. This isn’t anything new—from the days when He called the nation of Israel His own possession, through till the days of the early Church in the book of Acts, and continuing until today, He is patiently and righteously perfecting the good work He began.
That doesn’t make it any easier to hear news of people’s sin being exposed. Each time the Church is rocked by another scandal or failing, we’re again brought to a place where we have to navigate the emotions of it all. Disappointment, grief, sadness, disillusionment, criticism, indignation, apathy… we all have a response, one way or another.
But there is a right way we should respond! Join Worship Vocalist co-founder Jason Brown as he unpacks a Biblical perspective for how we can respond in these situations! Don’t be discouraged—God is building His Church, and the shakings are always unto His glory and purposes!
For those who would rather read, here’s the text version below…
Hey friends!
I know many of us have been, in one way or the other, impacted by sin being exposed and brought to light in the church around the world… and in a moment like this, I know it can bring a lot of emotions to the surface! I wanted to share something that was really encouraging to me today, and also timeless, too, because… the events of the last number of weeks are nothing new. There is always a purifying that God is doing in His church, and He will bring sin to light! It’s for our good—it’s for the cleansing and the purifying of His spotless bride.
I was just on a Zoom call hosted by Lorisa Miller, pastor of UPPERROOM with her husband Michael—a really, really tender and significant call, and some of the things that she was addressing were so helpful and applicable for us and our community, so I wanted to share them here.
She pointed to Ecclesiastes 12:13-14, the conclusion of Ecclesiastes, where the writer says:
Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.
— Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 NIV
We can be sure that God is going to do that! He will bring every hidden thing to light and expose every evil thing, at the right time, and He’s doing that today! Thank God He is! And He will continue to do that more and more until the day of Jesus’ return.
As that happens, it’s so important that it produces the right response in our hearts.
As worship vocalists, what is our right response?
When we hear of the shakings, when we hear about sin amongst leaders and respected people in the church around the world—news of their flaws and failings—what should that do in our hearts? We can go back to David’s prayer in Psalm 139 and make that our prayer:
Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
— Psalm 139:23-24 NIV
News of people’s failure, news of people’s sin, needs to first of all bring us to a place of trembling and looking at our own hearts! Every place that we can see sin in someone else is an invitation to ask the Lord, “Is that in me?” And it should produce in us a heart that is merciful… a heart that understands our need of mercy… NOT criticizing and pointing the finger. This is not what it should produce in the Body of Christ.
I’m not going to provide commentary about the events of the last number of weeks. If we’re watching or reading this a year from now, different names might be in the news, but the circumstances are the same: people make mistakes, and God is exposing every hidden thing.
And in His bride, in us as worship vocalists, what is that producing?
It needs to produce the fear of the Lord in our hearts.
“Search me, God,” as David said. “Reveal anything in my heart that is offensive to You!” May God develop in each of us a heart filled with the fear of the Lord!
We can look at the passage in Matthew 7 as well, where Jesus says:
“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”
— Matthew 7:1-5 NIV
Let me be clear. Addressing sin is important! We can’t look the other way and call sin OK! But Jesus was telling the Pharisees in this chapter, “Don’t judge hypocritically. Don’t judge someone else in a way that you’re not prepared to judge yourself!”
In John 7:24, He says again,
“Stop judging by mere appearances, but instead judge correctly.”
— John 7:24 NIV
That means there is a correct way to judge! And the Bible gives us frameworks for that. This is more than we can get into in today’s post… but for starters, Matthew 18 lays out a framework of approaching people personally, in relationship, bringing along a brother or sister if they’re still unwilling to listen, etc. There’s a relational process in which we are supposed to point out sin and separate light from darkness.
For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.
— Ephesians 5:8-11 NIV
We are children of the light, and we can discern and find out what is pleasing to the Lord. We’re supposed to do that!
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, [which is] your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what [is] that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
— Romans 12:1-2 NKJV
The transformed mind is supposed to prove (discern) the good and acceptable and pleasing will and way of the Lord.
Pointing out sin amongst the believers is an important aspect of the Body of Christ.
But, like Ephesians 4 says, always “speaking the truth in love” (Eph. 4:15 NIV). If someone is caught in a sin, “you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently” (Gal. 6:1 NIV). This is to be the Body of Christ—not overlooking sin, but examining first of all our own heart: “Lord, start in me!” And then, in relationship—with love as our wardrobe, love as our filter—then we restore people. Gently. Humbly. Mercifully.
When we hear of failure in other people’s lives, it has to bring us to that place again of saying, “Where in my own eye is that plank? What am I not seeing in my own life?” Let us, in fear and trembling, be so hesitant to point out flaws in someone else before we really allow the Lord to examine our own hearts.
Here’s good news…
Lorisa pointed to a really encouraging passage in Acts, which is where I want to conclude for today. Remember the familiar story of Ananias and Sapphira, in chapter 5, when they lie to the Holy Spirit and both of them die, and a sober fear of the Lord comes over the whole church…
Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events.
— Acts 5:11 NIV
But just a little bit later, soon after these events, we find this encouraging passage:
Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace and was strengthened. Living in the fear of the Lord and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers.
— Acts 9:31 NIV
When great fear seizes the Church… the Church will grow!
This can be the fruit of what we’re experiencing right now in the body of Christ. When we are confronted with sin… or when our brothers and sisters are confronted with sin, it should produce the fear of the Lord in the Body of Christ! When the Church is living in the fear of the Lord, walking in the fear of the Lord, reverently examining our own hearts, it produces GROWTH in the church. God’s growth—facilitated by His Holy Spirit!
Maybe you are sober, or tender, or frustrated, or upset… maybe you’re finding that voice of accusation in your heart… let your heart be encouraged! We must let the fear of the Lord come upon us!
Worship vocalists: may our response to sin in the global Church be the fear of the Lord!
Examining our own heart. Examining our own hands. Coming before the Lord, saying, “Purify us, God! Start in us!” May the Lord do that work in our hearts to show each of us those places, those planks, where we need His mercy! And may we be quick to extend mercy to our brothers and sisters who are in need of it—just as we also are in need of mercy! May that spirit of the fear of the Lord be the thing that fills His church around the world. And may we GROW—in number and in depth and in maturity—through it. May your hearts be encouraged today. Blessings.
Responses
Thank you Jason for keeping a humble right mindset about all of this. As a church leader myself along with my husband Rev 2:1-5 where the Lord was speaking a very sober word to the church of Ephesus always has been a compass for us. As you spoke so well “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. May every leader not lose their first love! Jesus. May it never be first about us and our ministry but rather the appreciation for the cross of Christ. Therefore pure ministry will flow out of our relationship with Christ as He purifies His bride.