What can we do if we find others in our church group who are pretend-believers or unfaithful?
Do we exhort them to stand firm, encourage them, warn them, kick them out, or point them out to leadership? What should our response as Christians be to unbelievers or pretending believers in our church group?
Hebrews 3:12 - 14
ESV - 12 Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. 13 But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called "today," that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.
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Asked November 19 2014
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joniel m. evardo
For follow-up discussion and general commentary on the topic. Comments are sorted chronologically.
Joe Glascock
We need to be tolerant of each other, forgiving each other as God for Christ's sake forgave us, we need to be patient, and come to them and each other use n love and try to help them out as much as possible, and no push them away from God's love, but bring them to it by the way we live, and act, giving a positive Testimony, shining a positive light on Christ.
Danny Hickman
You do what you think is good for the ministry, but me, I mind my own business when I'm involved in something where there is a group concerned. People who try to correct other people are seen as troublemakers.
If you start a crusade to correct all the wrongdoing in your assembly you will never finish. Someone will have almost every sin imaginable covered. Selfishness, anger issues, greed, run-away pride, meanness, you name it. Or, are you just concerned about the ones flirting with everybody or outright hooking up with each other?
I live in a big city, so believers here have a natural shield from nosy brethren. But in a small town a carnal believer can have a hard time living in carnal peace. If I lived in a small town and every time I stopped at a convenience store there were fellow congregants in the lottery line playing numbers and buying booze, I'd speak and keep it moving. I wouldn't tell a soul. I don't think a crime is committed. How does that make the church look? A reflection can't be faked. Make-up can change an image, but nobody wears make-up all the time. The true picture is bound to be seen eventually.
Church police are the troublemakers. Ask any pastor who isn't partial to gossip. He/she doesn't want to "catch" the flock undressed, to put it kindly.
The preacher needs to do most of his/her chastising from the pulpit, massaging the hearts of the people and not their hands.
Everybody in the desert needs water, not just the ones grumbling.