Let's At Least Agree To Call Sin, Sin

487 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from: 2Sa 10:10-12, “And the rest of the people he put under the command of Abishai his brother, that he might set them in battle array against the people of Ammon. 11 Then he said, "If the Syrians are too strong for me, then you shall help me; but if the people of Ammon are too strong for you, then I will come and help you. 12 "Be of good courage, and let us be strong for our people and for the cities of our God. And may the LORD do what is good in His sight." (2 Sam 10:10-12) What a picture of Christian responsibility in the area of spiritual battles. When a brother or sister is in the midst of spiritual battle and they are being overcome by the enemy, we need to come alongside them with prayer, exhortation, and loving correction when necessary. Joab encourages his troops to “man up” and be strong not for themselves but for the sake of the people and the cities of our God.” The people and the cities of God is just another way of saying “the Church.” Do you get this? We need to be strong in the face of the enemy for the sake of God's Church. Again, this speaks of a unified front in prayer, exhortation, and loving correction. Let's, (like the Israelites,) “ get on the same page and see what God will do.” We see this same exhortation from the Holy Spirit in Paul's instructions to the Corinthians in 1Co 16:13,14, “ Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong. 14 Let all that you do be done with love.” It is imperative that we seek to guard all aspects of faith in our individual congregations, for the sake of God's church at large. And we are to do it with love. This includes taking steps against moral laxity as the Corinthians were instructed to do. The biblical commentator Lenski says that “faith is always endangered when the eye is sleepy or dulled against wrong conduct.” There will always be doctrinal differences in the church, but can we at least agree on calling sin....sin, and then deal with it in accordance with the Word of God......courageously, and with love. Father, help us to be loving and strong for the sake of Your church. In Jesus Name, Amen